Chosen Mate: Lion Shifter Romance (Cybermates Book 5) by Candace Ayers (classic books to read .TXT) 📕

He just laughed and slapped my back. “Get in line. It’s long.”

Elin looked over at me and laughed when Laila said something to her. Her eyes crinkled in the corners. Then, tucking her lip between her teeth, she put her juice down and came toward me.

My body stiffened, desire racing through me. It was always like that, a constant struggle to hide my arousal from her so as not to push her or make her feel threatened. I hoped soon I wouldn’t have to hide how badly I wanted her anymore.

She licked her lips and stopped right in front of me. “Do you want something to eat?”

My stomach clenched. I damn sure did. It wasn’t on the menu, though. Smiling down at her, I brushed her hair behind her ears. “Only if you eat with me.”

Patton grunted as he walked by.

Elin giggled and leaned into me, bracing herself with a hand on my chest.

Patton made some wisecrack, but I wasn’t paying attention to him. My mate was looking up at me with an expression on her face that I couldn’t place. I held her hips and raised a brow. “What’s up?”

“How do you feel about wrinkles?”

I chuckled, surprised by the odd question. “I don’t usually feel anything about them.”

“On me.” Her smile faded. “How are you going to feel when you wake up one morning, look over at me, and I’m old and wrinkled?”

“I’m going to feel like the luckiest sonofabitch in the world.” I grinned down at her and kissed her forehead, then her temple, then the tip of her nose. “As long as I get to watch each one form, I will love every wrinkle on your face, and anywhere else, provided they’re on you.”

Her lips parted, then closed. Then, she sucked in a deep breath. “What if I get fat? What if you look up one day and I’ve eaten all the brownies and I’m as big as a house?”

I growled and yanked her body against mine. “I won’t like that. Not unless you leave some brownies for me. You’ll always be beautiful to me—now or later, whatever you weigh—because you’re you. My mate.”

Her eyes misted over but she blinked it away and nodded. “I think I’m ready then.”

I stared down at her, hoping I heard what I thought I just heard and that I wasn’t interpreting her words wrong. “You’re ready for—?”

“For us to be mates.”

That knocked the breath out of my lungs and I stood staring down at her for several seconds. Then a mad rush of adrenaline shot through me along with a determination to prove to her that she owned me.

Lightly easing her away from me, I climbed on one of the dining table chairs and cleared my throat until attention of the room.

“Oh, my god, Dylan. Get down!”

“Excuse me. Listen up, everyone.” I met Elin’s eyes and grinned widely. “Elin and I are mates and we are going to spend the rest of our lives together—to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health. To love and to cherish, wherever life takes us, till death do us part.” My voice softened as I looked down into her eyes. “When I breathe my last breath, I will die loving her.”

The place exploded with whoops and cheers and Elin buried her face in her hands, and groaned. “Dylan.”

I stepped down and went down to my knees in front of her. Holding her hips, I waited until she looked at me. “If we have one child, if we have ten children, I will love them all, but you’ll always be my number one, my queen.”

“Get up!” She giggled and pulled at my arms. “If I’d have known you were this corny and sentimental, I never would have agreed to this. Now, get up.”

“Not until you promise to move into my place with me.”

“I’ll move in. If you get up.”

“Louder. I want to really believe it.”

Laughing full out, she raised her voice. “I’ll move in!”

“One more time.”

“I’ll move in with you!”

I stood up and pulled her into a hot kiss. When she panted against my lips, I pulled back and fought to keep my hands off her ass. “There. That’s settled.”

Parker let out a bark of laughter. “Get a room!”

Elin’s cheeks turned red and she buried her face in my chest.

Laila snorted. “We all know what you two will be doing in the ten or fifteen minutes.”

Patton showed up at my side, brownie in hand, nodding approval. “Well played.”

Laughter danced around us, but I was focused on Elin with a burning intensity. “You did mean it, right? You weren’t just trying to get me to shut up and stop embarrassing you, right?”

She gave me a nod and licked her lips. “I meant it. I’m ready.”

Scooping her up and cradling her in my arms, I took off for the door, shouting congratulations to Arden and Flynn on the way out. Despite her protests and insistence that she could walk, I carried her the whole way, racing in the direction of my house—our house.

22

Elin

“We’re going to your house?” My nerves were back as Dylan took the stairs up to his front door two at a time. I had a stupid grin on my face and a swarm of butterflies in my stomach.

“We are.” He held me in his arms as he walked into the house wearing a proud smile. He didn’t put me down until we were inside. “Only it’s our house.”

I gaped at him and then looked around. Everything was pristine. Shiny, clean, and perfect. No sign of smoke or fire or water damage. It smelled fresh.

I chewed on my lip and moved away from him, taking my time to explore. When I walked into the kitchen, I felt as though I’d stepped into the pages of a magazine. The kitchen was nice before we set it on fire, but now, wow! The granite countertops seemed