Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 72065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
“If what?” Aleena’s heart was racing.
“If you can forgive me,” Bear rumbled. “For lying to you and deceiving you…for not getting to you in time.”
“But you did get to me in time,” Aleena protested. “They didn’t change the color of my eyes.”
“No, but they hurt you, baby!” The pain in his eyes made her heart flutter. He cared about her—deeply and truly, she could tell.
“I’ll heal,” she said gently, putting a hand over his. “I’m not angry with you, my Bear—now that I know the truth of why you thought you had to disavow me, I understand. Though I wish you would have told me from the first,” she added.
“I should have,” he said earnestly. “And I’ll tell you everything from now on. In fact, I won’t be able to hide anything from you, even if I wanted to—which I don’t—if only you’ll let me Bond you to me.”
Aleena frowned.
“I don’t understand. Does Bonding make a person more truthful or forthcoming?”
“When a Kindred Bonds his bride to him, it creates a kind of mental link—a Soul Bond—between them,” Bear explained. “They can send each other thoughts and feel each other’s feelings. It’s a truly intimate and life-changing thing which makes lying or withholding almost impossible.”
“That sounds wonderful,” Aleena said softly. She liked the idea of being so tightly bound to the man she loved.
“So will you let me Bond you to me?” Bear asked anxiously. “Will you forgive me for the pain I caused you and give me another chance?”
Aleena felt her heart swell with love. Yes, he had hurt her in the past but she had never been one to hold a grudge. Now, looking into her husband’s golden eyes, she could see how much he loved her and she wanted to return that love a hundred—no, a thousand fold.
“I will,” she said, smiling at him. “If you’ll let me stay here with you. I don’t want to go back to my home world and have to deal with the stares and the whispering that I’m sure the trouble with my family will cause.”
“We’ll live together here, aboard the Kindred Mother Ship,” Bear promised. “You’ll love it here—women are respected and admired and treated as equals among my people.”
“That would be a nice change,” Aleena admitted. “But…can my mother come to live here too? I mean, she doesn’t have to live with us but if we could find her a domicile not far from ours—”
“Of course she can come.” Bear nodded. “In fact, I’m going to bring her back here as soon as possible so she can be a witness at our Joining Ceremony.”
Aleena frowned.
“What? But my husband, we’re already Joined.”
“The first ceremony was one of convenience—one I meant to break because I didn’t believe anything real or lasting could come from it,” he said firmly. “I want to have a new ceremony with you—one to symbolize our lasting love and the fact that we’re never going to be parted.”
Aleena felt like her heart was melting.
“Oh, my Bear—what a wonderful idea,” she murmured. “When will we hold it?”
“After you get out of here—the Med Center,” he clarified. “They’ll probably want to hold you at least a little while for observation. I’ll set up an appointment for tomorrow with the woman who helps plan events—Kat is her name, I believe—and we can hammer out the details.”
“But when will you Bond me to you and change the color of my eyes?” Aleena asked anxiously.
“After you’re healed and we have the ceremony,” he said firmly. “That will give us time to plan everything out.”
“But I don’t want to wait!” Aleena protested. “I want to be with you now—tonight.”
“But baby, you’re still hurt.” He cupped her bruised cheek gently. “Don’t you want time to heal?”
“No—I want to be with you now,” Aleena said stubbornly. She nuzzled her cheek into his big, warm hand. “Please, my Bear, if you truly want to prove your love for me, change the color of my eyes and Bond me to you so that I know you’ll never leave me.”
“If that’s really what you want, I’ll do it,” he murmured, stroking her cheek. “Just give me an hour to get a few things ready, baby and then I’ll come back for you. That will give the quick-healing gel we used on your face and lip some time to work. Is that okay?”
“That sounds fine.” Aleena smiled at him. “I’ll be waiting for you.”
“All right. I’ll be back soon.” He kissed her tenderly on the forehead and rose to go. “Just relax and take a little nap, baby.”
Aleena nodded and, after he left, she tried to do as he said but the events of the night kept playing out in her mind. Her time with her stepmother and half-sister had been horrible, but she was already putting it to the back of her mind as well as she could. Instead, she concentrated on the wonderful knowledge that she and the man she loved were going to be together forever.