Barbarian's Mate (Ice Planet Barbarians, #6)

by Ruby Dixon

“Oh. He was very…sour…when he found out you went to the main tribal cave alone. He yelled at Taushen for many hours.”

I don’t either. I’m devastated. This is my worst nightmare. All I’ve ever wanted is a family. Someone that loves me. A happy ever after. Resonating to Haeden? My dream is completely destroyed.

I am the only male to have two mates and yet have never touched a woman.

The truth is that I do not hate her. I could not. She is sunlight and warm smiles. She is laughter and happiness, and those things are lost to me. I have not been happy since Zalah died cursing my name.

I want a mate that loves me, not someone that can barely tolerate me. I can’t bring a baby into this world in any other way, no matter how badly I want to be a mother.

Just once, I wish she would look back. I wish she would see me, waiting on the horizon for her. Waiting to take care of her. To comfort her. To be her man and her mate and whatever else she needs.

Wait. Fear? “You’re afraid? Of me?” “Of losing you,” he rasps. “Like Zalah. And you are so much smaller and more fragile than her.”

“That is a lot of mouths to feed.” I feel weirdly crushed at his response. “I…guess it is.” He scrapes at his knife, not looking me in the eye. “Then it is lucky for you that I am an excellent hunter.” Warmth blooms in my chest. “That is lucky.”

It has taken many torturous nights to get to the point where her eyes light up with pleasure at the sight of me, but I would trade not a single one. This moment has made all of them worth it.

“Only,” I grit out, voice ragged. “You are the only female that will ever touch me.” Because I am hers and hers alone.

“Anything,” I rasp. She could ask for my arm and I would gladly remove it from my body.

“I had a mate,” I snarl at it, stabbing my knife into its side again. “And I loved her! You took her from me!”

“You were mine the day you landed in this world. I felt a connection the moment I saw you, and it frightened me. When we resonated, I realized that you were always meant to be mine. And I will keep you safe.”

“You are mine. That is all you need to know. If you are taken, I will come after you. If you are sick, I will never leave your side. If you leave, I will follow. You will never be without me, because I will come after you. Know this.” I brush my fingers over her breast, where her khui thrums. “Feel this and know it to be true.”

“And when you are well,” I tell her in the same firm voice, cutting off her protest before it starts. “I will lie down with you in the furs and take you as mine. We will mate until you carry my kit. Then, resonance will be sated. But do not seek to tell me that you are not mine yet. Because you have always been mine.” Her wounded eyes blink, and then she nods slowly. “Yours,” she whispers. “Always,” I growl back.

He’s right - I was looking for words when all along, he’s been a man of actions. Words are easy to say, but actions are everything.

“But make no mistake - if you leave this world, I will not be long behind, because I cannot live without you.”

“I will always be good to you,” he says solemnly, all traces of playfulness gone from his hard face. “You are my life, my heart, my everything.”