I smiled tearfully. “I love you, too. That’s why I want you to become my wife.”
She took a deep breath, appearing to want to say yes but hesitating. “Nathaniel, I need to tell you something.”
“What?”
“I’m a hybrid.”
I blinked. “Sorry?”
“I’m a hybrid—I’m a bear and a dragon. I never told anyone . . . not until now.”
I stared at her for a long time as the news registered. Once it sank in, I started to laugh. Her disappointing frown gave way to her slapping my shoulder.
“Stop it. Stop laughing, you jerk! It’s not funny!”
I shook my head. “No, it is funny. Because…!” I fell to my side, nearly losing the ring.
When I recovered from my cackling fit, I sat up, grabbed her hand, and shoved the ring on her finger. It was a perfect fit.
“You’re so silly, Geraldine,” I said. “Marry me. We’ll be a hybrid family. My daughter is a hybrid, too.”
Realization flooded her features. “That’s why she smells like that.”
“Like what?”
“Just . . . different.”
I squinted at her, sniffing the air. “But I sense your dragon. I don’t smell anything else.”
“I’ve learned how to cloak it over the years. But your daughter hasn’t.”
I smiled at her. “Do you feel better now that you’ve told me?”
She nodded as she grinned sheepishly. “I was so nervous. But I guess when you revealed your daughter to me, I should have known. I wasn’t the only one keeping secrets.”
“And we’ll never keep any secrets from each other again.”
“No, never. I could never.”
I nodded as I ran my thumb over the giant gem. “Speaking of secrets, who was that man?”
Her eyes darkened as she took a shaky breath, deflating slightly as she dove into an explanation about Dr Fleming and all his advances on her. Anger gave way to fury and I nearly shifted again, an urgent desire to kill him swelling in my belly.
“The danger is done,” she told me. “You won the battle. He ran off with his tail between his legs.”
“If I see him again, Geraldine, I will kill him. For you. For your honor.”
She shook her head. “He didn’t even touch me.”
“But he tried. That begs for justice.”
She cupped my face. “My sweet Daddy . . . so protective…” She kissed my lips, the softness of her mouth beckoning me into the sheets, again.
When I surfaced from our impassioned kiss, my thumb was still tracing the gem on her finger.
I smiled. “So, tell me—will you marry me?”
“Yes, Daddy. I’ll marry you. I’ll be so happy to marry you.”
“Do you promise you won’t keep anything from me ever again? I swear I’ll do the same.” I licked my lips nervously, realizing then that there was nothing hidden between us anymore.
We were fully exposed—vulnerable.
She sat up next to me, hovering over my body in all her naked glory, glowing with delight as she met my gaze and confidently replied, “I promise . . . I’ll never keep anything from you ever again.”
Thank you for reading! I hope you loved the second book in The Unbreakable Doctor series. Wasn’t it amazing to see Geraldine and Nathaniel grow close to each other? Their love proved to be unbreakable, regardless of what happened between them.
That dreadful Dr Claude Fleming got what he deserved; don’t you think? But, it seems his story isn’t over yet. Can he change his ways for the wolf of his dreams? The one that he saved that fateful night she nearly died? He will have so much to prove, so much to sacrifice . .