“What’s wrong? Do you want to stop this? Because, I gotta be honest, Shea. I won’t be able to hold back now that we’ve started. So tell me to go. Tell me that you don’t want to mate me. I’ll listen. I swear, I’ll always listen. You just have to make me believe it.”
“It’s not that.” She shifted, the feeling of absolute fullness so strange yet so pleasurable, she never wanted him to leave her. But that was her hormones talking. Her heart… she gave that to Colton a long time ago. But her soul... “It’s just… this is forever, isn’t it? We do this, it’s for forever.”
“You can bet your fucking life on it.”
And that right there was why she had to stop him before he went too far. Their first kiss had blown out her shields, but she rebuilt them. Letting him go down on her, finally getting her first taste of him… while their relationship began to change after that, she kept waiting for him to remind her that their bond hadn’t been broken yet. If he claimed her in the heat of the moment, if their bond snapped into place… it really was forever.
The only way out of the bond after that was death.
Did he really want to be tied to her for life? Did she?
“I’m a witch,” she reminded him, swallowing her moan as Colton twisted his fingers, flicking her clit with his thumb as if that would distract her.
It almost worked, too. That single touch nearly knocked her fear out of her head before it came rushing back in an instant. She tried to scoot back, giving in when Colton followed her movement, his dark blue eyes gobbling her up with his gaze.
She shivered as he leaned in, nipping her bottom lip with his front teeth. Before she could register the sharp sting, his tongue darted out, licking her lip, lathing the exact spot where he nipped at her.
Colton didn’t have the healing talent like the Moonshadows did. The heat of his mouth, the soft caress of his tongue… it made her feel a hundred times better. Then again, maybe that was the gentle way he went back to thrusting those two fingers inside of her.
It was distracting, but not so much that she forgot how important this was.
“I’m a witch,” she began again. “I… I have to know that you won’t regret this in the morning. Because you claiming me… you biting me… I’ll finally be your mate for real, but that’s not going to change what I am. I need to know you can accept that before we go any further.”
His expression went feral. To her surprise, his eyes stayed the same stormy blue shade. For a man as close to his beast as Colton was, he was in total control as he continued to finger her as if he didn’t doubt that he would need to. As if he’d lose it if he didn’t get inside of her.
“I’m a shifter, Shea. The second I come inside of you, my wolf’s gonna rise up and bite you as I fuck you. You accept that.”
“I’ve never had a problem with what you are,” she told him.
“I know. And I don’t care if you’re a witch—”
He was lying. Shea might not have the skill to tell when someone was being deceitful by using magic like other witches, but she knew Colt. Whether he was doing it on purpose or not, he was lying.
Was that enough for her to stop this? Now that he’d decided he wanted her for his mate, she knew the only way she’d get him to give up his claim was if she told him that she wasn’t ready. That she wasn’t sure that this was right.
Of course, then she would be lying, too. And unlike Shea, Colt’s nose would pick up on her big, old honking fib right away.
She closed her legs on his hand.
Colton took the hint. He stopped thrusting his fingers, pulling them out when
it became clear that he couldn’t use her desire—and her need—for him against her. As she watched him, he lifted his fingers to his mouth
“Delicious,” he rumbled.
“Colton…”
“Okay. You’re right. I’ll… I’ll try. Promise.”
Was that enough?
Yeah. It was.
It had to be, because Colton was right. There was no going back from this.
Shea fell back against the pillows and, on a submissive moan, let her legs fall open again.
She expected him to reach for her with his fingers again. He didn’t. Shoving the blanket aside, he climbed onto his bed, wedging his wide shoulders between her thighs as he buried his face in her pussy.