Page 43 of Step Brother Bear

His face scrunches. “Isabella, I killed my dad.”

“He was about to kill you.” I point to the gun on the floor. “What else were you going to do?”

“That’s not why I killed him.”

“What do you mean?”

“He called you a bitch. I snapped.”

I pull his face to mine. “It doesn’t matter. You saved your life. You saved mine.”

He shakes his head. “He’s right, Isabella. I’m an animal. A monster.”

“I don’t care.”

“You don’t under-”

“No, stop it! It doesn’t matter if you’re an animal. Even if you become more feral every day, I want to be with you.”

His hands slither up my neck, pushing through my hair to cradle my jaw. “I don’t deserve you.”

“Yes, you do.” I crash my lips against his, ignoring the coppery taste of my stepfather's blood on his lips.

He slowly melts into me, deepening our kiss and pulling me onto his lap. I grind against his hardened length, wanting more but knowing now it is definitely not the time.

I inch back. There’s one more thing I have to say before I lose my nerve. “I love you, Derek.”

“You can’t love me.” Tears are in his eyes.

“I know you love me too. More than just being your mate.”

He bites his lip and turns his head, but I carry on. “We’ve both been dealt a shit hand when it comes to examples of love, but we have each other to rewire our brains and show what real love looks like.”

“I love you so much,” he whispers, as if still afraid to say the words. “It’s what scares me. I can’t offer you the life you want.”

“Derek, last week I didn’t even know what I wanted, but now I do. All I want is a life with you.”

He smiles. “Okay.”

I return the toothy expression. “Okay?”

He sighs. “Yeah. I’m tired.”

“Tired?”

“There’s no point fighting you anymore. If you want to run away with your animal stepbrother, I won’t stop you.”

I laugh. “It’s about fucking time.”

He charges at my lips, kissing me with so much force that he pushes me down to the ground without breaking the kiss.

It’s like a piece of myself snaps into place. I’ve admitted my truth. Derek loves me. Really loves me. I’d know it’s true even if he didn’t utter the words. I hold him tighter, our kiss deepening. It’s probably not the best idea to fuck my stepbrother next to my stepfather’s corpse, but who am I to deny my ovaries?

Derek sits up. “No.”

“Yes,” I whisper, reaching for him.

He slaps my hand away and groans. “No, seriously. We need to figure out what we’re going to do.”