I tightened, trying to strengthen my resolve
, to get control of myself. I found myself moving to the side, slipping under his arm, and making my way toward the bar. I could get through the rest of this night, could focus, work, and not let this beast of a man have me feeling on edge.
I stopped at the bar and told myself not to look over at him, yet I felt his gaze on me, knew he watched me, felt it as if he were touching me, skating his fingers down my body. Looking over my shoulder at him despite telling myself not to, I saw he watched me still, his head slightly lowered, his eyes at half-mast.
God, he looked so … territorial.
He looked like he owned me.
And the way I felt right now told me … he did.
Chapter Three
Zakari
I let her walk away but I wasn’t taking my eyes off her, even if I wanted to, which I sure as fuck didn’t. My bear refused to let his mate go. But I had sensed, smelled, how nervous she had been, how confusing all of this was to her. I couldn’t blame her. She was human and probably wasn’t as well versed in shifter matings as I was.
But regardless, she was mine.
I forced myself to move back to the table with my brothers, keeping my focus trained right on the woman who was made solely for me.
“Your mate,” Oli said and I glanced over at him, giving him a sharp nod, feeling my jaw go tight, my teeth clashing together. It was taking everything in me not to go up to her right now and toss her over my shoulder. I wanted her in my bed, in my home. I wanted her surrounded by my things, my scent covering her, my mark covering her long, slender neck.
I wanted all of that with each passing second. I grew even more impatient. But I reminded myself she was human and I had to take my time, go slow, be gentle. That went against every instinct in me. I’d waited a lifetime for her, dreamed of her, jerked off to the thought of her.
There had been no one else for me, no one who could sate my desires, no one who even interested me. Because my very soul knew that she was the only one who could give me what I needed, pleasure me, complete me.
“Your control astounds me,” Cason said and I grunted, taking the beer in front of me and downing it in one long swallow.
I felt my brothers’ gazes on me, smelled their jealousy over the fact I’d finally found my mate. They still searched, still waited. And their time would come. I had no doubt about that.
“What are you going to do?” Damon asked and leaned forward.
“What am I going to do?” I looked at each of my brothers. There was a collective murmur from them. No doubt they wanted me to let my bear have control of the situation, to claim her and not give her much of a choice in the matter.
There was no going back for me, no not having her in my life.
“Take her, claim her,” Maddix said, the brother who I could safely say was the most barbaric of the six of us. “She’s yours. Waiting is pointless when the end result is the same.”
Easier said than done now that I was faced with my mate just feet from me. I didn’t want to scare her, didn’t want her thinking that I’d hurt her. I’d just as soon cut off my own hand than make her frightened of me.
I stared at Maddix, who seemed to have this perpetual scowl on his face. I almost felt a little bad for his mate when he did find her, because I knew Maddix would go crazy, his possessive need, the bear residing in him, taking over fully. He tried to act like he was in control, but we all knew that he was far from it. Him hiding off by himself, keeping away from us unless we forced him out of his cabin, spoke volumes of how wild he was becoming.
I just hoped he found his mate soon.
“I’m going to give her time,” I answered honestly. “I’m going to make her desire for me climb so high she can’t stand it anymore.” I looked over at her. “And it’s already there. I can sense it, smell how much she’s fighting to not want me or this.” Human or not, her body knew that we were made for each other, that she was mine.
She’d fight it because she didn’t understand it. But as soon as I touched her, kissed her, as soon as I marked her, was deep within her, she would know that she was irrevocably, undeniably mine. There was no going back. And as much as I told my brothers I would give her time, the truth was I was an impatient bastard. There’s no way I could stop myself, not when the object of my dreams was finally before me.
Not when it was taking everything in me not to beat every male’s ass in this bar for even looking her way.
I hoped she was ready, because being mated to a bear shifter was no fucking joke.
* * *
Bethany
“I’m glad to hear that she’s going to be okay,” I said into the receiver, standing in the back room of the bar and listening to John finish telling me the details about Rhea’s wound.