And it would happen. I could smell her desire pouring off of her, this sweetness that saturated the air and made me drunk from it.
I let my gaze linger along her face, then was shamelessly looking her over. I took in the delicate arch of her collarbones, went lower still to watch how her breasts rose and fell under the thin material of her shirt. My mouth dried at how hard her nipples were, the peaks stabbing through the shirt as if seeking my mouth.
And still, she stood there, knowing I was checking out every perfectly curvy inch of her, letting me have my fill.
Her eyes were hooded, her pupils dilated. Sweet Jesus, she was so aroused right now.
My cock throbbed again and again and again. The fucker jerked once more, the tip getting wet with pre-cum, the prelude to the massive explosion I’d no doubt have as I came and filled her up.
“What are you thinking about?” she asked softly, her voice huskier from her desire, although I gave her credit for trying to act like she wasn’t just as affected in this moment as I was.
I let my gaze travel back up her body until I was looking in her eyes. “I’m thinking about when I first saw you, something in me awoke.” I let those words hang between us. I wanted to tell her who I was to her, what she was to me, and the fact that she’d never be without me.
The need to explain about my Lycan side—my animal as much a part of me, maybe even more, as my human side. The words were on the tip of my tongue to explain that although I wasn’t immortal, I lived centuries upon centuries, and that once I gave her my bite, she’d stop aging, never growing old until the time I faded away and went back to the earth. It was the way of my kind. She needed to know this before I claimed her, because Christ, I needed her to consent to this wholly.
I needed her to tip her head to the side and bare her throat, knowing what she was asking for, knowing she’d experience a world unlike she’d ever dreamed.
And no, I wouldn't think about her denying me. I wouldn't worry about her running from me. I’d give chase, of course. Always. But I’d never force her. I’d just keep trying, and trying, and trying.
I want to tell her she’ll never be alone, that she’ll always have a protector.
“You're just for me, all for me, female.” I let my gaze linger on her lips, so soft and red and full. “I won’t let anyone else have you. Never.” I knew how possessive those words were, and they were the truth. Even if she denied me, told me she didn’t want the mating—which would be the hardest, most devastating thing I’d ever experience in my long life—I’d never let another have her. I’d destroy any male who thought they could touch her, have what was mine.
And Mikalina would always be mine.
She gasped, maybe from my blunt honesty, maybe because she felt that truth deep in her soul.
“The instant I saw you”—smelled the sweet scent of knowing you were my mate, an aphrodisiac the likes of which I’ll ever experience from another—“I knew I had to have you.” Because you were already mine, female. “Something that called to me in the most primordial way.” You were made for me and me alone. The same as I am for you. “You make me feel alive, Mikalina.”
She stepped closer as if she couldn’t stop herself, and I groaned in approval, coaxing her closer.
“I’ve never felt anything like that, and I knew I couldn’t ignore it.” All because we are meant to be together.
I didn't stop myself from lifting my arm and smoothing a finger over her bottom lip. She made a sweet, soft sound of pleasure.
“Tell me you feel that way too.” I stared at her mouth, wanting to kiss her, nip at the bottom swell, stroke my tongue between her lips.
“It’s true,” she gasped, and I gently pulled her bottom lip down, the flesh so very soft under my thumb, like silk and velvet, and everything else that was pleasurable to the touch. “It’s crazy,” she moaned, and her eyelids fluttered down.
It’s fate, my darling.
She moved another step closer, and I snagged her around the waist and had her on my lap seconds later, her legs straddling either side of my thighs. It was my turn to close my eyes in pleasure. The feel of her on top of me, the hottest, most intimate part of her right up against the hardest, thickest part of me, nearly having me coming right then. I rolled my hips up involuntarily, grinding my cock against her, and she gasped, pressing down.