CHAPTERNINETEEN
Joy watched Adam stretch across the bed, nearly rolling onto the floor. Crawling on top of him, she rested her head on his chest. It was quickly becoming one of her favorite resting places
“Good morning,” she said, lightly tracing her finger across his shoulder. “I guess there is something we need to talk about.”
“I suppose you’re right.” Adam’s voice was quiet and serious. Far too serious for her liking. She had woken up worrying about him making a speedy retreat and heading back to his life and his job, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask the question for fear of hearing the answer.
“Yeah. I think if you’re going to make a habit of this, we’re going to need a much bigger bed,” she said.
Running his fingers through her hair, he slid his hand across her back. “To say the least. But I’d like to make more than just a habit of this.” He reached his arms across her narrow bed. Both of his arms dangled off the sides.
“I hoped you would.” Her heart soared the second he said the words. All morning, she had tried not to get her hopes up. She knew she would be crushed if he said he was leaving to go home. She tried like hell and failed to keep the cheesy-ass grin off her face.
“After you left Alaska, it tore me to shreds. I love you, Joy. And I’m not just saying it lightly. For me, as a shifter, I say it because you are the only one for me. You are my fated mate.”
“The Fates? Are you being serious about this?”
“Exactly. You are fated to be my mate, and being apart from you was worse than death.”
“Aww. I hated every second I was away from you because I love you too. After witnessing the things I have, I believe in the paranormal aspect of all of this. I’ll admit, I don’t understand it all yet, and it does frighten me. But I love you, and I know in my heart I want to be with you. We can make this work.”
“That’s what I’m getting at. I’d like to stay here in Florida with you.”
“But to give up Alaska? I can’t ask you to do that. You love everything about your life there. I’ve seen how much you love flying there. It would be like asking you to give up oxygen. Maybe … maybe we can consider another arrangement. I could go back to Alaska.”
“No. I’ve seen the fear in your eyes and the shock in your heart when you saw me shift. Both the first time and especially when I had to ... well, you know. I don’t want to see you terrified of me again.”
“I don’t see what the difference is if it happens in Alaska or Florida.”
“It makes a huge difference. There is something I learned about after you left. I’ve been thinking about it for a while now. When a polar bear shifter moves south from the North Pole, it reduces the ability they were born with to shift. The farther the bear goes and the longer the bear stays away, that ability to shift decreases until it vanishes altogether. By moving to Florida, my shifter side would go into complete remission. After a while, I’d never shift again, and you’d never have to be frightened of me.”
Joy quietly listened, but she didn’t like a word of it. Giving up the very essence of his nature for her was too much. She wasn’t sure she could live with herself if he gave all that up for her. The thought of it alone made her sick to her stomach.
“I can’t ask you to give up your nature for me, Adam. Please. You’ve got to rethink this.”
“I’m not asking you for permission, doll. This is something I want to do, willingly.”
“Giving up your job and your home is one thing. Taking away a part of your soul is another. I’m a realist, Adam. This sort of thing just doesn’t work. Odds are you’d regret it in time. And after regret comes resentment. I don’t want you to grow to resent me. I don’t want that to happen to us. I think it would be tragic.”
And that was the crux of the matter. She knew in her heart how much he loved everything, every part of his life in Alaska, from his friends to his job, to the natural beauty of the area. She also had to believe he loved shifting into his bear form. Gerri had told her that shifting was the best feeling on earth for a shifter. How could she let him give that up?
She couldn’t. There was no way she would let him go through with it. She had to find a way to talk him out of it.
“My polar bear side is something I’ve tried to run from all my life. This stability I’d gain by going into remission would be just as much a blessing for me as it would be for you.”
“Remission? So, it wouldn’t be permanent?”
“From what I’ve learned, my shifting abilities can be restored.”
Joy wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. “I want to be with you. It doesn’t matter if it’s in Florida, Alaska, or on fucking Mars. If it’s so important for you to stay in Florida, then we should do it. But I think we should strike a compromise. We give it, say, six months. If you are so miserable from not galloping around Alaska in polar bear form, I’ll go with you back to the north.”
She wasn’t a fan of it, but she would compromise to see if it was something he truly wanted to do, like he said. If not, he had an escape, and they would move back to Alaska. Her guess was that he would be ready to head back to his home much quicker than the six-month deadline she was setting.
“I wouldn’t exactly call it galloping.” He laughed.
“Well? What would you call it?” She shrugged, unsure of what would be the correct term for what polar bears did.
“More like lumbering, at a quick pace.”
“Lumbering is just awkwardly galloping,” she said, patting his chest. She slid her naked body down his, kissing each sexy outline of his delicious, muscled body until she arrived at his thick hard cock. “Obviously, you’re in agreement with my proposal,” she said, palming his swollen manhood before engulfing him with her mouth.
“You could get me to agree to anything right now, doll,” he groaned, wrapping his fingers in her hair and cupping her head.
“Is that so?” she asked teasingly.
“Mm-hmm,” he groaned again as she picked up her pace. “What a way to wake up.”
“I’m glad you like it. I’ll have to keep it in mind for future reference.” She giggled before closing her mouth over the head of his cock again.