Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 22480 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 112(@200wpm)___ 90(@250wpm)___ 75(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22480 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 112(@200wpm)___ 90(@250wpm)___ 75(@300wpm)
“Stalker? Is it an ex-boyfriend of yours?” Anger radiates from him in waves, and I have the sudden urge to explain the situation before the hot polar bear shifter implodes.
“No.” This whole interview has gone completely off the rails. “It’s my sister’s ex-boyfriend.” The truth sounds stupid, but I’m in too far to stop now. “I have no idea why he suddenly decided to start stalking me when they broke up.”
“Has he hurt you?”
“No,” I automatically answer and realize we’re getting way off track here. “But what does that have to do with me getting a job with you?”
I feel like I’ve suddenly stepped into the twilight zone here.
“Fuck the job.” His roar fills the large room around us. “I don’t give a fuck about anything else but you.”
“Huh?” I’m betting I look like one of those funny memes right now.
“You’re my goddamn mate, and I won’t have some asshole threatening you.”
“Hold on a minute. What do you mean I’m your mate?” Now I know I’m in a crazy dream, and I’m not too sure I want to wake up.
Dillon blows out his breath. “I knew it the first moment I laid eyes on you.” He sits back in his chair and stares into my eyes. “You’re the best present the universe has ever given me, and I plan to spend the rest of my life making sure you’re taken care of.”
Woah. This is a lot to take in. “Do I have any say in all this?” I can’t believe I’m questioning my good fortune. Oh man, the hunky polar bear shifter thinks I’m his mate.
“You have all the say, little goddess.” He sighs. “The short answer is that shifters only have one true mate. Once they find their soulmate, the universe seals their souls together with an invisible bond that nothing can destroy. Unfortunately, the same rules don’t apply to humans. Humans have the choice whether or not they accept their soulmate.”
“So, you’re stuck with me, but I’m free to make my own choice?”
“I’m not stuck with you.” He runs his hand down the back of his neck and mutters something under his breath. “You’ve already become a part of me that I can’t live without. Nothing in the world is more important to me than you.”
“I have so many questions.” And I don’t even know where to start.
“Ask away.” Dillon walks over and sits on the sofa next to me. As his yummy masculine scent wraps around me, I wonder why I’m fighting this so hard. I should be ecstatic that the universe dropped the hunky polar bear shifter right in my lap. Talk about my freaking lucky day.
“I know next to nothing about shifters. Can you start at the beginning and explain everything?” Shouldn’t be hard at all. Oof.
“Okay.” Dillon sits back and rubs his bottom lip for a few seconds. “Here are the basics. All shifters have an inner animal intertwined with their human souls. I share characteristics with wild polar bears but still maintain all my human traits, too. My human side maintains complete control of my entire being unless some traumatic event causes my inner polar bear to take over. As you saw yesterday, I can shift from polar bear to human and back on demand.”
His answers lead to even more questions. “And you’re allowed to mate with humans? How does having children work? Are they born human or polar bears or a little of both?”
“Mating is automatic.” He takes my hand in his and brings it to his lips for a soft kiss. “There’s no fighting the universe’s choice, and we can have children. Our children will be born human and will remain human until their first shift, which is usually around four or five years old.”
Chapter 5
DILLON
I stare down into her confused aqua eyes and fight the urge to kiss her until we’re both too tired to fight this pull between us.
“I need some time to absorb all this. I’m not sure I’m ready to jump into a relationship that’s going to last for all eternity.” She bites her juicy bottom lip and shrugs. My inner polar bear urges me to hurry things along, but I force the fucker to shut up and let me do all the wooing. Making sure Emilia chooses me for her eternal mate is too important to fuck up by rushing.
It might kill me, but I’ll do whatever it takes to convince her we’re meant to be. “I’ll give you time to adjust.” While my inner bear goes slowly insane, I silently add, “Why don’t we do this? You take the job as my office manager, and we can take things slow while we get to know each other. Could you possibly start right away and make sure it’s right for you, and then we’ll work on getting your belongings moved here?” I can’t imagine how I’ll be able to let her go if she wants to leave, but I’ll cross that bridge if we come to it.