“Are you very sure?” Cormac asked.
“For now. Later. When you’re healed, we can sit down and talk about it . . .”
He stopped her words by touching his hurt hand to her lips. “I don’t want to talk about it later.” Cormac exhaled, warm breath on her cheek, then he raised his head and bellowed, “Brody!”
His voice was broken, but he could still be loud.
Nell half sat up. “What are you doing?”
Brody nearly fell into the room, his eyes round with fear. “What? What’s the matter?”
Behind him, down the hall, Nell heard Shane ask, “What’s going on?”
“Nell refused my mate-claim,” Cormac said. He sounded calm. Too calm.
“What?” Brody said, dismayed.
“Mom,” Shane called, “the guy saved my life. Give him a break.”
“And you need someone to be with,” Brody said. “You know, for the next half of your life.”
Nell sent him a glare. “Thank you very much for your concern.”
Brody raised his hands. “I’m just saying.”
Cormac was the only one who’d remained silent. “It’s your decision, Nell.”
“I know it’s my decision. You all need to stop badgering me. I need time to think.”
“That’s your final word?” Cormac asked.
Was he trying to drive her straight to insanity? “It is.”
Cormac drew a long breath. “In that case . . . Nell, under the light of the sun, the Father God, and in front of witnesses, I claim you as mate.”
The words weren’t loud, but they moved full force. Brody started to laugh.
“What?” Nell half shouted.
Cormac kept his gaze intent on her. “Is that a refusal?”
“Yes!”
Cormac shrugged, the movement tired. “It’s your decision.” He looked at Brody, who was grinning like a fool, then back at Nell. “Nell, under the light of the sun, the Father God, and in front of witnesses I claim you . . .”
Nell screamed and sat up. She slammed her hands over her ears. “Out!”
“Get back here, Brody,” Shane said from down the hall. “Obviously, those two need to talk.”
“And shut the door behind you.” Nell took her hands from her ears to point at the door.
“. . . as mate,” Cormac finished.
Nell balled her fists. “You double-crossing, sneaky . . . bear.”
“Go on,” Cormac said to Brody, who didn’t bother to hide his laughter. “We need some privacy.”
“Take all the time you need,” Brody said. “Hang a sock on the door or something. We’ll keep away until it’s gone.”
“Brody,” Nell said in a furious voice.
“Good luck,” Brody said to Cormac. He started to go, then he swung back and came to the bed, leaning down to enclose Cormac in a careful embrace. Cormac returned it the best he could. “Thank you,” Brody said. “Seriously.”
“Anytime, cub of my mate. I know you and Shane are the most important things in the world to her.”
Now Brody looked embarrassed. “Yeah, well.” He broke the embrace and headed for the door. “Have fun, kids.”
And he was gone, a giant draft and house-rattling door slam in his wake.
“You’re not going to take no for an answer, are you?” Nell asked, her heart fluttering with the beginnings of panic.
“Nope.”
“You’re not following the rules.”
“I’m following the rules to the letter.” Cormac put his arm around her shoulders and eased her back down to him. “You don’t need time, Nell,” he said. “You’ve had too much time. So have I. I know you’re scared. I am too. But we’ll go into it together, figure it out together. No more games, no more time alone. Let’s take the rest of time . . . together.”
Yes! Nell wanted that. Someone to live with, someone to laugh with. Shane and Brody might have mates soon, their own families. She and Cormac could be here, anchoring them.
“You’ve done nothing but rush me and confuse me since you came into my house,” she said. “You started banging in my kitchen at five in the morning to get my attention, didn’t you? You could have waited for a civilized hour.”
“I believe in being direct.”
“Direct this, bear brain.” Nell growled at him, a she-bear at her most formidable. At the same time, she slid the torn dress off over her head and dropped it on the floor. “You need to finish what you started.”
His eyes sparkled with interest. “Yeah?”
“I’m talking about my kitchen. I want it finished, and looking as good as the ones in those fancy magazines. And then I want you in it with me, cooking my cubs dinner, or giving our friends a party, or taking me in a mating frenzy on the countertop. Got it?”
Cormac gave her a quiet smile. “I think I do.”
Nell drew a breath. “In that case, Cormac—I accept your mate-claim.”
He caressed her cheek. “But there aren’t any witnesses.”
“My ass. They’re listening outside the door.” Nell raised her voice. “Did you hear me? Cormac, mate of my heart, in front of my nosy, can’t-mind-their-own-businesses sons, I accept your mate-claim.”
The cheer from the hall and the bedroom beyond confirmed that her cubs were there and listening hard. Then they were laughing, their rumbling filling the house. Brody moved off, back to Shane’s bedroom.
Cormac caught Nell in a kiss that stole her breath. She held him, her lips warming with his, while the rest of her body trembled.
Cormac eased back from the kiss, his eyes beautiful blue again. He ran his fingertip down her nose, then he turned away and rolled out of the bed.
Nell gaped up at him from the quilts. Cormac was stark naked, the bandages white on his dark skin. His cock, uncaring about wounds, lifted in readiness.
He started to bend to the floor, then he grunted and tossed something up with his foot to catch in his hand.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Putting a sock on the door.” Cormac opened the door, quickly draped the sock over the doorknob, and closed it again. “I don’t want anyone in here until I’m done.”
“But you’re still hurt. We can’t possibly . . .”
Cormac grinned. “No time like the present.”
He came back to the bed and looked down at Nell where she lay on the quilt in nothing but her panties. His sinful look made her shiver.
“I’d love to dive right into you,” he said. “As it is . . .” He lifted the quilt and slid carefully under it, grunting again.
“You should sleep,” Nell said. “We’ll celebrate later.”
“No.” Cormac lost his smile, the word sharp. “I almost lost you today. I almost lost me. I’m not waiting another second.” He jerked the quilt out from under her, enclosing her in it with him, and moved himself on top of her. “Mmm,” he said, lowering his head to kiss her. “This doesn’t hurt.”
“But you could start bleeding again.”
“I don’t think so.” He took her hand and put it on his abdomen. “Graham is good, and I’ve been lying here basking in the warmth of my mate. I think I’ll be fine.”
She exhaled. “Thank the Goddess.”
“Yes, the Goddess sure has been good to me.”
Cormac stopped talking then, his smile leaving him, his eyes stilling. Nell touched his cheek, but he simply looked at her.
Their bodies wanted to come together, the mate frenzy rising in Nell and beginning to blot out other thoughts. She moved against him, rewarded by the weight of his cock slipping between her legs.
Cormac’s jaw tightened, as though he held himself back, as though he feared hurting her.