I woke up warm.

The warm sunlight pouring in through the windows stretched across the bed and I could feel it on my naked back.

Underneath me was not my mattress like I was used to but a warm solid body, that I was half on top of, my check pressed to a very muscular chest. I slowly open my eyes to take in the man beneath me.

Magnus was sprawled on his back, one arm thrown above his head, the other wrapped around me.

Because of the Mark, I could sense the gentle hum of his emotions, subtly and only noticeable if I focused but there none the less.

He was content.

Very content.

If he were a cat he’d be purring.

Smiling to myself I press a kiss to his chest before slipping out of bed.

There’s a dull ache in my hips and lower back but it’s a pleasant reminder of what happened.

Pulling on a loose pair of lounge pants I make my way downstairs and go to Zhen’s room. I smile at the sight that greats me when I open his door.

At some point he had shifted from his Panda form and now I could really see how much he resembled his mother. A wave of sadness hits me when I think of Adrianna and how Zhen will have to grow up without her or Zoe and I wonder if I’m making the right choices, if I could be the kind of parent he needs.

A soft snore breaks into my thoughts and I laugh softly. He’s clearly not waking up anytime soon.

Stepping away from Zhen’s room I make my way into the bathroom and into the shower.

It wasn’t long before the shower door opened behind me and a pair of large muscular arms come around my waist. A smile I don’t even try to hide takes over my lips as he nuzzles his nose against the Mark on my shoulder, inhaling deeply.

“How do you feel this morning Gorgeous?” Magnus’s husky voice whispers in my ear, sending shivers down my body.

I almost purr as I press my body against his, savoring the solid feel of him along my back.

“Mhm.” I arch my back slightly, pressing my ass back into his groin, earning a low growl from Magnus and I can feel a wave of his lust through our bond.

I barely have a second to think before Magnus has spun me around, lifting me up, my legs around his waist my back against the wall of the shower.

He goes for my mouth like a man starved.

Last night he was slow, gentle, controlled, making sure to be careful but this, this is pure passion.

And I freakin love it.

“I can sense what you’re feeling now Gorgeous.” He mutters, his lips burning a path down the column of my neck. “I’m almost disappointed….”

“Dis…Agh…”I moan as one of his hands finds its way to my chest to tease my nipples, “Disappointed?”

“I was so looking forward to figuring out how to see around that mask of calm indifference you wear. Now it’ll be easy to figure out what you’re feeling. Not that I hate knowing what your feeling, but it’s taken some of the fun out of it.”

“I’m sure we can find other ways to keep you entertained Mister Bruin.” I mutter, digging my fingers into the muscles on his back as his other hand kneads my ass, his fingers flicking over my entrance, teasing me. All the air in my lungs leaves me as he suddenly pushes two fingers completely inside of me.

“I like the sound of that Gorgeous.”

He continues to assault my senses and my prostate, so I reach one hand between us and take his hard, leaking cock into my hand, stroking him in time with the ministrations of his fingers.

I only manage a few strokes before he withdraws his fingers and lines himself up with me and pushes in deep, connecting us so intimately that I must throw my head back with a deep low moan.

“Oh yes, Magnus!”

He doesn’t take his time with slow, searching thrusts, but instead pounds into me with force and passion, it’s mind numbingly intense, my toes curl and I hold onto him with an iron grip.

This is a level of passion I’ve never experienced before. It feels like we are racing to an explosion that will rock me to the very edges of my soul.

And it does.

I’ve never felt anything like it. It’s like I can feel every nerve in my body come to life in a single mindless, vision blurring, mind numbing moment.

Magnus’s deep guttural groan lets me know he’s found his own bliss just after me.

We slowly, gently, reverently wash each other off as the water starts to run cold in the shower.

***

“When did you learn to cook?” I look over at you, raising an eyebrow slightly as I stir the batter I’m mixing for muffins, a faint blush blooms on your cheeks, “no offense Gorgeous but from what you’ve said about your upbringing it doesn’t seem like something your parents would teach you.”

I chuckle at that.

He’s not wrong.

“It wasn’t.” I answer, turning back to the muffin batter, “Adrianna and I had a personal chef for our first year, it’s quite common in our culture, hired help, chefs, maids, nannies, things like that but when Zoe came into our life, she refused to have any sort of help. She taught me how to cook. She insisted that I help her in the kitchen, saying it was our way to ‘bond’. Looking back, I can’t help but think she and Adrianna where helping me prepare to be on my own. It almost seems like they were planning my freedom long before Zhen was ever conceived.”  

I look over at Magnus as the silence starts to stretch out. He’s staring down into his mug of coffee a sad, thoughtful look on his face.

“What’s wrong Magnus? Does it bother you that I talk about them?” I worry, hoping that isn’t the case. It helps to be able to talk about them, the pain of their loss is there but being able to remember the good things, the happy things helps. It feels like I’m honoring them by remembering our time together and all they did for me. I don’t want to forget them; I don’t want Zhen to forget them.

“No!” Magnus looks startled at my words, “No, that’s not it at all. It’s just sad, and confusing. I’m so happy Zhen is here, so much of me, especially my bear, already consider him my cub but the more I hear about Adrianna and Zoe the more I hate what happened, that they had to be taken from him, from you so soon. I wish I could have met them.”

“They would have loved you. Adrianna would have talked about business with you endlessly, having a million and one ideas about how to grow your gym and she would have gone with you all the time to work out. Zoe would have teased you endlessly about being helpless in the kitchen despite having a chef for a father. They would have mothered you and your siblings, especially Iago and Indy who they would have taken under their wings immediately. They would tease me about how they always knew I’d end up Mated to a ruggedly handsome man. They were the sisters and mothers I always wanted all in one.”

I slide the muffins into the oven and turn back toward Magnus, leaning on the counter a sad smile on my face.

“You may not be able to meet them, but it means so much that I can remember them with you and with Zhen.”

“I would never ask you not to talk about them, especially right now, not when you need to remember them the most.”

Magnus comes over, pulling me into his arms in a tight embrace. “You’re my Mate Jing. You and Zhen are my family and I would never ask either of you to forget the women who mean so much to you both.”

I lean into his embrace, savoring the comfort and safety of being in my Mate’s arms. I can feel his love pulsing though our bond and I know he must feel the same from me.

It feels so right.

My life was good before but now the possibilities for our future seem even more exciting.

I didn’t realize how much of an adventure it would be,

Having a bear’s love.