“How do you know I’ll be safe?” she asks, her voice so soft, her long hair falling over her shoulders. I brush it aside and run my hand over her ribcage, not wanting to move from her side. Ever.
“Because,” I tell her. “The Kodiaks owe you and will do everything in their power to make sure you are protected.”
“How can they be so kind to me? My grandfather...the Spencers haven’t been kind to the Kodiaks.” She bites her bottom lip, running her hand over my back, pulling me closer. “I loved my family, but I’m ashamed of the things my grandfather did.”
“Hey,” I say, wrapping my arms around her. “When the shifters of this valley look at you, they are going to think one thing. You pulled a trigger to save our lives. You are nothing but bravery and grit, Adelaide. You’re…hell…” I get choked up and I shake my head, holding her to my chest. She rolls on top of me, emotions swelling between us.
“I’m what?” she asks, needing to hear the answer.
“You’re mine.”
“I am.” She undoes my jeans and her skirt is hitched high on her thighs. Everything about her is beautiful, and as I look up at her, I can’t quite believe the stars aligned for us to be mated. I’m the luckiest Kodiak this valley has ever seen.
I run my hands under her blouse, her tits needing my attention. And she swivels her hips, lifting her ass just so, as she takes hold of my thick cock.
I close my eyes, memorizing this moment. She sinks down against me and she whimpers softly as I fill her up. When I open them again, the light of the moon filters through the curtain, forming a halo around her. “I love you, Adelaide Spencer,” I tell her.
“I love you too,” she says as she presses her palms to my chest as I take hold of her hips and we rock in unison. The heat of the moment fueling us, the adrenaline from the night pumping through our veins. We’re both exhilarated and exhausted, but more than anything, we are in love. We feel it as we look into one another’s eyes, we feel it as our skin touches, as our fingers lace, as we reach the climax and fall deeper and deeper into one another’s arms.
“Marry me,” I say as we come. “Marry me, Addie.”
“You mean it?” she asks in wonder. Those shimmering tears pricking her green eyes.
“I was an untamed virgin when we met,” I say, still amazed that this woman was able to see my scars, the wounds on my heart, and love me all the same.
“But now?” she asks, a smile spreading across her pink lips.
“Now I am yours.”
“I don’t think you’re tamed quite yet,” she says with a small laugh, a laugh filled with hope.
“No?”
She shakes her head. “But it’s only been a month. I’m guessing taming might take a bit longer.”
“Is it too fast?” I ask, hating the idea of her turning me away.
“No,” she says quickly. “You can’t choose when you fall in love, can you?”
I shake my head. “I suppose not. And you can’t choose your mate either.”
She crawls into my arms, and I wrap my arm around her, breathing in her now-familiar scent. “Gunnar,” she says, her cheek on my chest. “I thought I was going to feel trapped, stuck. Like I didn’t have a choice in this matter. But that isn’t it at all. The thing is, you can’t handpick your mate or the day you meet your person but you still get a choice.”
“Yeah?” I ask, looking down. Our eyes lock and I see it all. Our future. Our family. Our life.
God, I love this woman.
“Yeah. In the end, I still get to choose how to answer your proposal. I get to decide how I want my life to go. Yes, I just moved here, and yes, there is the store and yes, this is all so new. But I still get to answer the question however I want.”
“And what do you want?” I ask, my heart racing. We can’t have come all this way for her to say no now.
She kneels beside me on the mattress, runs her fingers through my hair, looking at me like I am already hers. I am.
“I want to be your wife, Gunnar Koleman. I want to be your one and only. I want to be your forever.”
“God, woman,” I say, sitting up and pulling her into my arms. “Were you trying to scare me?”
Her giggles fill the room. “No,” she jokes as I tickle her, forcing her to collapse in a heap of laughter. “But I’ve got to keep you on your toes if I want to tame you.”
I pin her to the mattress, shaking my head at the woman I’m going to marry. Growling in her ear, I tell her the truth of it, her eyes glittering with passion and promise. “There may be taming the man, but the bear in me will always roam wild.”
Chapter 20
Adelaide
After he proposes, we come back downstairs, and even though our hearts are filled with a new commitment to one another, the house isn’t ready for our news.
Gunnar’s brothers are all still here, in various states of disarray. All of them are still shirtless, but thankfully someone found them jeans to toss on. I’m guessing Elizabeth buys them in bulk to keep in stock for when her clan of boys shift unexpectedly.
Everyone is in shock from Axel’s death, and the council has just arrived. I’m not allowed in the living room of course, so I am relegated to the kitchen with Elizabeth, who is still shaken up from the events of the night.
“Is it all going to be okay?” I ask as she puts on a kettle for tea.
“Yes,” she says, adding tea bags to two mugs. “You did nothing wrong, Addie. You saved my son’s life.” She brushes a tear away, looking over at Finley who is curled up on the cushioned window seat, a crocheted blanket over her small body. “You saved my granddaughter's life too. If Axel had taken her, I’m not sure we’d have ever seen her again. Everyone on the council realizes that.”
She adds honey to our tea and I can’t help but smile. This is a bear family after all, maybe they add honey to everything. We sit in silence, and part of me wants to tell her that Gunnar and I are engaged, but it’s his family, he has the right to tell them first.
Eventually Blaine comes in and tells me to come to the living room, that the council would like to speak with me. I look over at Elizabeth who grabs my hand and squeezes it.
“Oh,” he says. “And, Mom, you can come too. Gunnar said he wanted you there.”
Together, we walk into the living room and I see all the Koleman brothers, along with four burly mountain men. It’s not like any council I’ve seen before, not like a city’s board of directors. No, this is a group of real men, formed and forged by this valley. They carry strength and concern, it’s knit on all their faces and it allows me to relax. They aren’t my enemy. They are committed to keeping this land safe for everyone.
“You must be Adelaide,” a tall, white-haired man says.
I hold my hand out to him and he shakes it. “I am.”
There’s a long integration of how the events unfolded the day before, but not once do I feel judged. In fact, the way that Gunnar talks about me, I’m perceived more as the hero, which I know isn’t true. I only did what anyone would do - protect my mate.
It still feels weird using the word, but I know that nothing defines us more. Gunnar is my mate, my love, my future.
By the time dawn breaks, every member of the Koleman family is still here at Elizabeth’s cabin. Gunnar is on the couch, and I’m here with him, pressing an ice pack to his bruised and battered face. Despite his injuries, we are still glowing from our engagement.
I texted my friends around four a.m., telling them the news, knowing they wouldn’t see the texts until they woke. I also asked if Kate could stop at the pharmacy because I had an inkling that getting engaged wasn’t going to be my biggest news of the day.
Though everyone is exhausted, there is something in the air that keeps everyone awake. I’m guessing adrenaline, and I have a feeling these brothers are going to crash hard. Finley is tucked in her daddy's arm, and they sit next to a roaring fire. It’s summer, but the early morning air is cold and the warmth of the flames seems to melt the fear th
at had reverberated from this valley all night.
A knock on the door has me finding my feet, and as Gunnar moves to stand, I shush him, telling him not to move a muscle. The poor man has been through hell and back and I’m just grateful he is here. Alive.
I love him so much.
And he loves me.
I pull open the door and see Kate, Harley, and Piper standing on the porch. They are carrying fortification in the form of freshly baked scones, coffee cake, donuts, and holding a large carafe of coffee.
The fresh scent of baked goods has the Koleman brothers standing, wanting to see where all the goodness is coming from.
“This is so sweet of you,” I say, leading my friends into Elizabeth’s home, the brothers reaching for flannel shirts as they follow the scent of the food.
“You’re engaged?!” Harley whisper-yells, and I laugh as Gunnar joins us, his strong hand on the small of my back.
“You don’t have to be quiet,” I tell her. “Everyone is awake. And they all know. Gunnar and I told the council and his family earlier.”
After they all congratulate me, and give Gunnar and me hugs, they ask what went down last night.
“Gosh, everyone in town is talking about it,” Piper says, setting down baskets of food.
“It’s amazing that the Kolemans were able to get the bear. I mean, they could have died,” Kate says, her voice hushed.
Elizabeth walks into her kitchen. “Thankfully my boys are strong, and Gunnar had something to fight for,” she says, winking at me.
A rush of emotion swells over me. For Elizabeth’s kindness, for Gunnar’s strength. For Finley’s safety. For the fact that no one but the council and Gunnar’s family know that it was me who pulled the trigger. It was a night that changed me, put into perspective exactly how precious life is, and how when you find love, you take hold of it with both hands, holding onto it tight. Because there are no guarantees.
There is only the here and now.
And the here and now is pretty freaking amazing.
Gunnar comes up behind me, his hands on my waist, and he kisses my neck, not caring who sees. I lean into him, my heart so full. I never imagined I’d come to Alaska and find so much - that I would find my mate.
“You guys are seriously too cute,” Harley says.
Kate pulls me aside into the hall, as the Kolemans begin dishing up food. “This is what you asked for,” she tells me. I take the brown paper bag and thank her. “You sure you’re okay, Addie? You just got engaged and now this…it’s a lot, sweetie.”
“I know, but I love Gunnar. And after last night, I was reminded of how precious life is. I don’t want to waste a second starting my future with the man I love.”
She wraps her arms around me. “I’m so happy for you. Now go find out if I’m going to be an auntie.”
Continue the Journey
The rugged mountain men of Bear Valley are ready to defend their untamed love. Continue with the Koleman brothers’ story in Untamed Lovers.
Mountain Men of Bear Valley Reading List
Mountain Men of Bear Valley
Untamed Virgins
Untamed Lovers
Untamed Daddy
Untamed Fiancé
Untamed Hearts
Chantel Seabrook
Amazon bestselling author Chantel Seabrook writes hot, steamy romances with possessive bad boys, and the passionate, fiery women who love them. Swoonworthy romances from the heart!
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Also by Chantel Seabrook
Therian Agents (Lion Shifters)
Chasing Payne
Turning Payne
Taming Kiera
Six Men of Alaska (Reverse Harem)
The Wife Lottery
The Wife Protectors
The Wife Gamble
The Wife Code
The Wife Pact
The Wife Legacy
Full-length, Fantasy Reverse Harem
Cara's Twelve
C.M. Seabrook Books
Men with Wood Series
Second Draft
Second Shot
Fighting Blind Series
Theo
Moody
Wild Irish Series
Wild Irish
Tempting Irish
Taming Irish
Savages & Saints Series
Torment
Gravity
Salvage
Standalones
Melting Steel
Frankie Love
Frankie Love writes sexy stories about bad boys and mountain men. As a thirty-something mom who is ridiculously in love with her own bearded hottie, she believes in love-at-first-sight and happily-ever-afters. She also believes in the power of a quickie.
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HOMEWARD
The Sailor’s Secret Baby
His Old Fashioned
Dirty Cute
The Mountain Man’s Muse
The Mountain Man’s Cure
The Mountain Man’s Babies
TIMBER
BUCKED
WILDER
HONORED
CHERISHED
BUILT
CHISELED
HOMEWARD
SIX MEN OF ALASKA
The Wife Lottery
The Wife Protectors
The Wife Gamble
The Wife Code
The Wife Pact
The Wife Legacy
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MOUNTAIN MAN CANDY
MOUNTAIN MAN CAKE
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HIS BILLION DOLLAR SECRET BABY
UNTAMED
RUGGED
HIS MAKE BELIEVE BRIDE
HIS KINKY VIRGIN
WILD AND TRUE
BIG BAD WOLF
MISTLETOE MOUNTAIN: A MOUNTAIN MAN’S CHRISTMAS
Our Virgin
Protecting Our Virgin
Craving Our Virgin
Forever Our Virgin
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A-List F*ck Club
Small Town F*ck Club
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CLAIMED BY THE MOUNTAIN MAN
ORDERED BY THE MOUNTAIN MAN
WIFED BY THE MOUNTAIN MAN
EXPLORED BY THE MOUNTAIN MAN
CROWN ME
COURTED BY THE MOUNTAIN PRINCE
CHARMED BY THE MOUNTAIN PRINCE
CROWNED BY THE MOUNTAIN PRINCE
CROWN ME, PRINCE: The Complete Collection
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MCQUEEN
JACK
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THE COMPLETE COLLECTION
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Bear Valley Book 1)