Page 39 of His to Defend

“Oh, I know.” He gripped her hips and held her to him while he kissed her thoroughly. “As long as it’s only one dance.”

“Are you jealous?”

“Not at all,” he said confidently. “You’re mine.”

Her face twisted in confusion and he instantly regretted his choice of words. He still had to ease her into the idea of mating. And how he’d done it without her permission. A gigantic violation of the grizzly code. Never mind that it was a shitty thing to do. She deserved to know the truth. And he’d tell her, too. Soon. After the wedding. He couldn’t risk causing any more drama for Harper and Axel. Especially considering he’d initially only come to the ridge to stop the wedding that was about to take place.

It was incredible how fast things could change. Now, he not only didn’t see a problem with Axel marrying a half breed, he understood it. The connection between mates was stronger than any other bond. There was no fighting it. He’d tried.

If a man could resist the pull of his mate, he was a stronger man than Ryker because there’d been no way he could have stopped himself from being with Nina. Ever.

“I just meant that you’re my date.” It was lame, but it was the only explanation he could come up with and it seemed to be enough.

Nina smiled and tossed her hair back over her shoulder.

“You look gorgeous.” He meant it. She was always stunning, but the dress she wore accented all of her curves and her cleavage was downright criminal. Ryker had to work hard to keep from dropping a kiss between her full breasts. Because it wouldn’t stop at just a kiss and he knew it. Instead, he forced himself to focus on something else. “Your hair is very sexy.” And it was. She’d curled it in soft waves that fell over her bare back. “I’m glad you wore it down.” He twisted his hands through her locks. “Gorgeous.”

“Well, I had planned on wearing it up.” She wiggled her eyebrows at him. “But the girls freaked out over the bruise you left the other night.” She half turned, exposing the back of her neck and the bite mark he’d left there.

There’d been an attempt to cover it, but he could still see the outline of his mark. It was red and bruised, and even through the makeup that had been applied, Ryker could see how strong the bite had been.

Guilt mixed with need crashed through him. How could he at once need her and feel terrible for what he’d done? It didn’t make sense.

“They were probably just worried about the dress,” he lied. Ryker knew damn well why all of the women had freaked out. They knew the truth. He’d mated her. His stomach roiled with the knowledge of what he’d done, but he swallowed it down. He didn’t need to worry her. Not now. “Well, I think you look amazing.” He pulled her to him and kissed her deeply.

Would she hate him when he told her the truth? Would this be over?

Never.

He could never let that happen. His bear needed her too badly. He needed her with a ferocity that almost scared him.

“Nina!”

She pulled back and turned to the sound of Luke’s voice calling her. “Show time.” Nina placed one more kiss on the tip of his nose before laughing. “I’ll see you after, okay?”

“You can absolutely count on it.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Everything about the ceremony was perfect. Folding chairs had been set up in a grassy field set back from the main lodge. The clearing was surrounded by thick pines that opened up at one end to where the creek flowed past, with the majestic mountain ranges in the distance. There couldn’t be a more spectacular backdrop for Harper and Axel to exchange their vows.

Not that anyone was looking at their surroundings. All eyes were on Harper and Axel, who stood under an arbor made from pine boughs and couldn’t take their eyes off each other. They oozed love and commitment and they hadn’t even said their vows yet.

In the front row, Harper’s mother, Shelly, held her baby granddaughter, and she may have been the only one who wasn’t fixated on the bride and groom, because she looked to be completely in love with her new grandchild.

The justice of the peace stood facing the crowd and spoke about love and the journey Axel and Harper had taken to find each other but Nina was only half listening. She scanned the crowd and found Ryker sitting about halfway back with Natalia and a man she’d never seen before. She’d expected to make eye contact with Ryker, but he wasn’t looking at her. He wasn’t watching the wedding at all. Instead, he was focused on the man next to him. They appeared to be having an intense conversation under their breath.

While she watched, Natalia reached across and smacked both the men with her clutch. Properly chastised, at least for the moment, they turned to face the front. Ryker’s eyes locked on hers then and at once she felt better. She gave him a smile, but a moment later, the smile on his own face fell, his expression hardening.

For the first time, Nina could see the features of the man sitting next to Ryker. The man who’d just once again said something to him. They looked strikingly familiar. Even from a distance, Nina could see that the stranger had the same familiar dark-green eyes, the same strong jawline. His hair was lighter, but otherwise, they looked very similar.

Brothers.

But why then, if Ryker’s brother had shown up, did he look so pissed off? Next to them, Natalia looked as though she might murder both of them and she once again smacked them with her clutch before turning to face forward.

“Who has the rings?”

Nina vaguely registered her cue and she refocused on the ceremony happening in front of her. She stepped forward and handed over Axel’s ring while across from her, Luke did the same. Axel had both Luke and Kade as his groomsmen, because there was no way he could choose only one.