Free A Bride for the Bear (Bear Creek Clan 6) by Harmony Raines Page B

far, the farmhouse makes me feel as if it is your house. And it will never be our house.”
    “I see. Do you want me to sell it?”
    “No. No, not at all. But you won’t accept my money, so please let me at least have a hand in decorating it.”
    He was silent for a while. “This has all happened so fast. I need a little time to get my head around it all.”
    She laughed. “Fast? You try getting used to the idea that half the people of Bear Creek can turn into a bear. That takes some time to get your head around.” She pulled up in front of Drew’s house. “Coming in?”
    “No, do you mind? I’d like to give what you said some thought.”
    “Sure,” she kissed him quickly and then went into the house.
    ***
    “Champagne,” Alli said, accepting a glass from Kian. “Thank you.”
    “I guess you would call it a successful wedding. No one fainted and no one stood up and said they objected.”
    “It doesn’t take much to please you, Kian,” said Melanie who had joined them. “You always had simple tastes.”
    “Thank you, Melanie,” he said grinning at his sister. “You do look beautiful, by the way.”
    “Thanks, it’s one of Alli’s dresses.”
    “Ahh, the paying it forward thing again.” He looked at Alli and winked. “I think I do like that idea after all.”
    “Good. Because Drew’s dad has offered to come over and help you. He hasn’t got much work on at the moment, and would like to keep busy now the excitement of the wedding is over.”
    “I could have quite a workforce by the end of the day,” Kian joked.
    “I hope so. Today has made me so excited about us getting married. I have it all planned in my head.”
    “I just have the honeymoon planned,” he said, sweeping her up into his arms. “Shall we dance?”
    “You dance too?” Alli said laughing.
    “Oh, he’s so old I bet he does dad-dancing,” Melanie said, pretending to cover her eyes with her hands.
    “I have some fantastic moves,” Kian said, pulling Alli close as the music started. He bent down and whispered in her ear. “I have been longing to take you back to my house and make love to you there.”
    She missed a step and nearly stood on his feet. “You mean now?”
    “Yes, we could think of some excuse, Melanie is happy mixing with everyone. We could just go back for an hour.”
    “Kian, we can’t.”
    He kissed her neck as they moved, her body trembling in response. Then he said, “We can do anything we want. You have done your job, everyone is happy, and they will not miss us for an hour.”
    She laid her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. “I don’t know if I want you to be quick.”
    “That’s my girl,” he said, and while the music still played, they made a quick exit. As they headed to the car, Alli texted Melanie to say they had to go back to the house for something and they wouldn’t be long. The text back from Melanie said, “Have fun,” followed by a smiley face. Alli tried not to feel too mortified that everyone would probably guess where they were going and why.
    She drove fast, the streets mostly empty due to everyone being at the wedding. Alli found herself filled with nervous energy, almost as if this was the first time with Kian. Well, it was, kind of. It was the first time in the house they were going to share together. The house where they would raise their children and live together until old age took them. She had dreamed about creating the garden, filling it with scented flowers and a green lawn for their children to play on.
    Turning to him, she smiled; he put a hand on her thigh, squeezing it with his fingers. She thought of his big, strong hands, which would complete the work on the house. The kind of house a man would feel proud of, when he stood back and saw all that he had accomplished. She needed to be part of that accomplishment. He knew that now, she hoped anyway.
    Beside her, he stiffened; as they climbed the trail leading to the house, he had caught a glimpse of