Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 23597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 118(@200wpm)___ 94(@250wpm)___ 79(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 118(@200wpm)___ 94(@250wpm)___ 79(@300wpm)
He worked with his hands, his movements unhurried, precise.
I hadn’t noticed the massive garage tucked between the trees and off to the side of the cabin when we first arrived. The arousal and excitement of what was happening made everything else fade into the distance.
It was large, with two massive bay doors that were both open. Inside, there were tools of every size and shape that hung neatly on the walls and an array of other large, almost frightening-looking tools. Saws and clamps, knives and blades.
Kasias stood in the center currently sanding a large slab of lumber. I wasn’t focused on anything aside from the way his muscles bunched and flexed with every movement he made. I knew it had to be chilly outside, still early enough in the morning that frost littered any green leftover, but even with us being high enough in the mountains that the nip in the air would be frigid, I could see beads of sweat lining the length of his spine.
Shirtless.
He. Was. Fucking. Shirtless.
He was an incredibly massive male, and with his jeans slung low over his hips, his wide, dark boots covering his feet, and his broad, muscular chest on full display, all I felt was a straight shot of lust right to my core.
I clenched my thighs together as I felt even more cream spill from me. God, I was still so tired, weak from fucking all night. My pussy was sore, my body aching. And as each second passed, I felt that arousal rise until I couldn’t think straight, until I was clenching my hand around the coffee mug so tightly I thought I’d break it. This man was going to be the death of me.
Were all fated mates like this? Were they now one, two souls in the same body, the very thought of not having the other so heartbreaking it actually felt like someone ripped your ribcage open and took the organ out?
Because that’s what it felt like as I looked at Kasias, as I thought of never touching him again, never having him smell me, lick me, fill me, and roar out that I was his.
The next sequence of events happened in slow motion as I watched him turn off his saw, slowly straighten, remove the other woodworking paraphernalia that shrouded him, and slowly turn toward the cabin.
I swear he stared right at me, although how could that be possible, since I’d become shrouded behind the curtain? But his eyes were locked right on me, as if he could sense me, knew where my thoughts were going, that my desire was at a fever pitch, that my heart was racing at the thought of not having him.
As I watched him prowl, stalk toward the cabin, I made myself set my glass down before I broke it, dropped it, said fuck it and tossed it. I let the blanket drop from my body so I would stand before him totally bare.
I knew as soon as he came through the doors he’d give me everything I could ever need in this world.
Because if this was what it meant—if this was how people felt when they were losing their mind—I never wanted to be sane again.
12
Penny
I felt like I’d been with Kasias my entire life, felt that fated mate bond between us growing stronger by the second. Nothing could rip it. Nothing and no one could tear it apart.
And we would continue to grow every second of every hour of every day until we drew our last breaths.
In reality, hardly any time has passed at all since I’d seen him in that bar, since my Iberian lynx recognized his polar bear and my soul knew he was mine. No time at all had moved since he’d brought me to his home.
I was his now.
He was mine now.
I stepped off the back deck and started making my way into the thick line of woods that surrounded the cabin. I felt this hum of energy move through me, this tightening of my skin. My lynx paced inside, growing restless, impatient, trying to push out.
Patience.
Patience.
I was naked, barefoot, but I felt nothing, not the rocks and twigs beneath the soles of my feet, not the leaves and branches moving across my arms and legs. I was focused, concentrating. I felt settled, and for once in my life, everything was exactly how it was supposed to be, how it should be.
I’d shifted since meeting Kasias, but things felt different now. There was no rush or frantic energy in me. I was at peace, and I knew my heat was subsiding. But that didn’t mean I wanted my mate any less. In fact, I wanted him as much as I did before, as much as when I was delirious with my body’s need to have him fill me. But this was a different kind of need. It was the kind that wanted to know all parts of him. I wanted to share every memory I had, every fear, every happiness I’d experienced. I wanted him to know me better than I knew myself. And in turn, I wanted the same.