Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 28031 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 140(@200wpm)___ 112(@250wpm)___ 93(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 28031 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 140(@200wpm)___ 112(@250wpm)___ 93(@300wpm)
“Stop,” she said softly, and I froze instantly. She sounded out of breath, as if she’d run a mile. “Wait. Waitwaitwait. Just hold on.” Mia closed her eyes and took a shuddering breath.
Confusion and desire, her need to have me close but to keep me at an arm’s length until she gathered herself and the situation, were evident in her expression.
“I stayed away as long as I could.” My voice was barely recognizable as my wolf and the hard need for my mate slammed into one another. It wasn’t an answer to her unspoken questions, but it was the only clear-thinking response I had right then.
Everything in me wanted to go to my mate and hold her close, reassure her that everything would be okay, that I’d never let anything hurt her. I took a step toward her, my inner animal and desire to be with Mia so strong I wasn’t thinking rationally or clearly. The possessiveness I felt for her had been growing every single day, and I was getting perilously close to my breaking point.
She’d been on my mind constantly—nonstop—from the time I woke up in the morning to when I went to bed at night, then all throughout my dreams. I couldn’t focus, had a hard time eating, sleeping. My body was so ready for her that my canines ached to mark her pretty neck, to push in deep and give her my seed, marking her from the inside out. The very thought made me so territorial I found myself snarling thinking of another male even looking in her direction.
“Come here, Mia,” I said her name on nothing more than a growl.
She still held her hand out, shaking her head, the scent of her arousal mixed with her confusion the only thing that was keeping me grounded in reality and common sense.
She touched her lips again, and I lowered my head slightly, my eyes still locked on hers as a low rumble of pleasure left me. I smelled her increasing arousal as she ran the pad of her finger over her bottom lip, as her thoughts were no doubt going back to when I kissed her.
Her eyes snapped up to mine before widening slightly.
“Come here, my mate,” I purred, coaxed.
“Tucker, wait. This is all so confusing.” She closed her eyes briefly and shook her head before opening them again. “I don’t understand what’s going on—”
“You know what’s going on.” Although I knew her statement hadn’t been in the literal sense—because she could smell and feel the mating need I had for her—she was having a hard time wrapping her head around it. And I understood that, even if it frustrated me because I wanted nothing more than for her to be as crazed for me as I was for her.
“But how? Why?”
I had a feeling she was talking to herself, trying to sift through all the things that were happening.
I didn’t bother reminding her about when she’d come of age in our pack, about how that’s when I first realized what she was to me. She knew whether she wanted to fully admit it right now or not.
But before she’d turned nineteen, I hadn’t seen her as anything but the Alpha’s daughter—another female within the pack to protect with my life. All females were precious, bearers of life, and the most important creations to a shifter pack.
I hadn’t seen any females as anything more than that in all my years.
But that was different now. I was different. A mated male wanting nothing more than to be with his female and make her his in all ways.
“I need time,” she finally said and pulled her shoulders back, the strength coming from her hard enough that I actually felt myself calming even more.
She had the Alpha’s blood running through her veins, and by default, she had her own power.
It turned me on immensely.
“I’ll give you anything you want.” The truth came from me easily. If she needed the rest of her life to come to terms with being mine, I’d gladly give it. But I’d always be by her side. She’d always be my priority, the most important thing in my life.
She came above all else. The pack. The Alpha. My very life.
“I can give you as much time as you need, but you know you’re mine.” I took another step forward, and she didn’t stop me. I saw her pupils dilate, her lips part. I heard her sharp inhale as she no doubt caught the saturated scent of my need pouring off me and slamming into her.
I reached out and slowly touched my fingers along her temple, down her cheek, and traced her jawline before pushing a lock of her thick, long hair over her shoulder.
“But you know you’re mine. This pull, your need for me and mine for you, is undeniable.”