The Omega’s Beary Special Christmas (A Bear Under The Christmas Tree)

5. Ferris

FIVE

FERRIS

“It’s like this.”

I stuffed a cushion and then a second behind my back. “This better be good. My bestie practically had sex with your neighbor in this room.” Ewww, as much as I loved Charlie, I was thankful he and Hector had left to do whatever they were doing. Not that it took much imagination.

But that was combined with relief that Charlie hadn’t taken a liking—or a lusting—to Hugo.

My head was still thumping from where I’d bumped it last night, and my ankle was sore, and everyone had annoyed me. And it was snowing again.

But I sat up as a thought popped into my head. “Charlie hates the snow.” I didn’t know why that was relevant.

Hugo rubbed his brow, and I admired his long slender fingers and his clipped nails. I almost said, “You seem overwhelmed. You can tell me later.” But when was that? I was staying in his house for Christmas, and he was supposed to be in my condo. Was I supposed to leave now?

Weird that last night I’d insisted on going home, and now? Despite the snow piling up outside the house, the warmth in the room hugged me, begging me to stay.

“Okay. I doubt they’ll be in the snow.”

I took a breath and concentrated on Hugo. That might have been a mistake because he was still wearing those sweats from last night, and they didn’t hide his enormous cock. Despite being taken aback by him and his big dick and naked butt rushing into the house last night, I was eager to get another glimpse of his length.

“Fine. Back to you. Start talking.” I crossed my arms and wore what I hoped was a serious expression.

“A mate is like a husband.” He left it there, expecting me to put all the puzzle pieces together.

“Are you saying you want to marry me?” That was kind of sudden. We’d only just met.

“No, not marry.” He glanced outside at the billowing snow. “It will be so much easier if I show you.” He pulled the biggest armchair to the window and offered to help me up.

I hesitated because I suspected I was getting played for a fool. But I took his hand and… and… I didn’t want to let it go. It fit into his palm perfectly as though that was where it was meant to me. I stared at it, hoping it would explain the intense emotions in my head and the butterflies in my belly. But it gave me nothing.

Hugo helped me to the window, and I sat. This armchair was just right. Goldilocks would have been jealous.

“I’m going outside, and I’ll be naked at first.”

While I was excited about ogling his cock and ass, it was freezing out there. Maybe he was into endurance experiences. There were lots of people around the world who went for a dip at Christmas in freezing water. That must’ve been it, but why was he eager to show me?

Hugo disrobed in the living room so there was no need to go outside if the point was having me stare at his nether regions. But he opened the door, and I winced, yelling at him to close it, and he vanished into the world of white and more white.

A knock at the window made me jump, and I glared at him. I’d had enough scares since I’d arrived and didn’t need another one. Hugo raised his arms, and very nice arms they were. He must work out.

But hair or fur began to ripple over him until there was no skin. His face morphed into a something. No, not a something, a bear. I gripped a cushion, my fingers digging into the stuffing. My heart sped up and pounded in my ears, forming a backdrop to whatever was happening outside.

I couldn’t run away, not with my swollen ankle, so I hunkered down in the armchair and eyed the poker by the fire. If the bear could open the door, I’d have to whack him.

But the animal waved at me, and as he did, the fur faded and was replaced by skin, the snout vanished, and Hugo stood shivering, his gaze fixed on me.

My mind went blank. If this was an elaborate party trick and I was the butt of the joke, what was the point? I was nobody to Hugo.

He raced in, stamping his feet, still naked, his body crawling with goosebumps, and he got dressed and threw a blanket from the sofa over his shoulders. He huddled on the couch, his legs curled under him.

“I’m a shifter. Shifters are people with an animal inside them. Mine happens to be a bear. Hector is a bear shifter too.”

What was I supposed to do with that? He may as well have said he was from Mars.

“So are you not human?” If he was human, I wanted to order an animal to be inside me too, and I hoped they weren’t too expensive. Mine would have to move near the ocean. “Can I get one? An animal, I mean.”

“Sorry, no. People are born shifters.”

Damn.

Hugo launched into a long explanation about shifters and their history, and I sort of listened, but I was battling with a problem of my own. I’d envisioned having sex with Hugo, thinking something more might develop, but he wasn’t human.

“Hector and Charlie are mates. They might even be mated by now.”

His words brought me back to reality. Right. My friend’s reaction to Hector suggested they were off to fuck, so humans and shifters could be something to one another.

“They’re fated mates.”

“Mates.” I rubbed my stubble. There was that word again. Hector had said it earlier.

“So they’re together now? In a relationship?”

He nodded. “But that’s not the only couple who are fated mates.”

My head swiveled around the room, half expecting more people to prance into the house. “And who would that be?”

I’d never understood the expression, “My heart was in my throat,” until now. I couldn’t swallow, could hardly breathe, and I steepled my hands together, reminding me of elderly men in period dramas.

Hugo got up and squatted at my feet. He wasn’t kneeling, so this wasn’t a proposal, but he was a shifter, so maybe this was that.

“You and me, Ferris. As soon as you got out of the car two days ago, I scented you were my mate. My bear did too.”

I leaned forward and inspected his eyes. “Is he in there?”

“Yes.” He sat back on his heels. “But did you hear what I said?”

Had I? He said words, and I heard words. Mate. There was a sentence with “mate” in it. “I am your mate.”

The world outside the house went quiet, the snow muffling the sound of traffic, if there was any, and kids having a snowball fight in the yard across the street. Maybe they went inside, but I interpreted the silence as the universe waiting for me to make a decision or to just speak.

I gulped. “What does that mean exactly?”

“It’s similar to marriage, but there’s no way out of a mateship unless one person dies.”

My eyes welled with tears, thinking of Hugo passing away, and I took his hand and stroked it over my cheek.

“But as a human, you have a choice whether to accept me as your mate.”

“And you don’t?” There was so much I didn’t understand.

“It doesn’t matter.” But his voice had that sing-song quality, and I suspected he was fibbing, as he’d done the day we met.

“Tell me.”

Hugo sat on the floor and crossed his legs while still holding my hand. I needed that connection with him and enjoyed the warmth following from his skin to mine. How was that possible when he’d been freezing his butt outside? But I was getting distracted.

“You are free to marry—or mate—anyone, but for me, you are it. I will never be with anyone else.”

Oh, wow! Thanks, universe. Way to pile the guilt on my shoulders. If I refused him, he’d be alone. But plenty of people lived a life with no partner. That was me convincing myself not to accept being Hugo’s mate out of pity.

“You alone have to make that decision. Look into your heart, Ferris. No matter how long it takes, I’ll be here. And I’ll accept your decision if I am not enough, if this life is not what you want.”

This guy. Every word he spoke made me cry harder. Tears spilled over my cheeks. But it was a life-altering decision, and I refused to be rushed.

“Maybe a coffee and some breakfast first. I don’t like to make mating decisions on an empty stomach.”

Hugo grinned. “Got it. Do you like bacon?”

“It’s only my number one favorite food.”

He kissed my palm before heading into the kitchen. But I missed him. The lingering scent wasn’t enough. Him banging and cleaning in the kitchen wasn’t enough. I wanted Hugo beside me. For always.

“Okay, I’ve made my decision.”

Hugo raced out of the kitchen, and right there, I fell in love with him. Not that I hadn’t been already.

“Just before I make my decision, does mating come with a side of sex?”