Chapter 7
Seven
Knox
T he pull to her is inexorable.
Night and day, all I think about is her. I try hanging out at her cabin when she works and waiting for her to return, but the pull to her is consuming. I can hardly eat or sleep whenever she’s not around, and I can’t stand not knowing if she’s safe. The other night was far too close of a call, and the thought of anything happening to her paralyzes me. I didn’t realize that finding my mate could drive me to the brink of madness, but it has.
And I can’t even show myself to her—my true self.
The thought angers me, but the feeling quickly dissipates with the sound of her car turning onto the long gravel drive. I can hear her coming from a mile away. My heart rattles madly in my chest, my body waiting for the scent of her sweet perfume to hit me before she’s even out of the car.
“Hey, Wolfie,” she says, my body flooded with excitement at how she flashes me that brilliant smile. I don’t hate her calling me Wolfie, but I wish she knew me as Knox. It’s weird, usually dream-sharing can only be done between packmates, but it seems the ability extends to a shifter’s true mate as well.
Bailey settles into her usual routine, leaving the door open for me to sit in the doorway and keep her company as she makes dinner. She chats with me about her day, telling me all the best and worst bits, which customers were nice, and how her boss was a prick. Then, when she’s done eating and cleaning up, she pats my head and says goodnight as I curl up and sleep on the deck, and she retires to her bedroom.
I let sleep take me quickly, eager to meet my love in the only space she can see me. Tonight, the dreamscape starts slow and inconspicuous. The two of us are walking down a sidewalk headed nowhere in particular. It looks like the city … but nowhere I’ve been before. Bailey’s hands are tucked into her pockets as we walk, the pungent smell of rain hanging in the cloudy sky.
“How do I always end up dreaming about you now, Knox? Ever since I met you that night in the clearing, I dream about you more nights than not.”
I still haven’t brought myself to tell her she’s my mate. Or that I’m a shifter currently trapped in my wolf form due to the magic I utilized to bring us together.
For now, she thinks all this is a figment of her subconscious.
“I guess this is your way of making sense of having a wolf as your new protector,” I tell her, and she smiles. “I must be the personification of that.”
She wraps her arms around herself and squeezes, shivering. “I wish we were somewhere nicer for this dream.”
“Here,” I say. I stop on the sidewalk, large drops of rain now falling. They coat her lashes and drip down her cheeks, highlighting an inquisitive smirk that makes me want to nibble on her bottom lip. I hold my palms out, and she places her hands on mine. “Close your eyes.”
I concentrate as a rush of warm air surrounds us, no time passing before we’re standing somewhere new.
“Open your eyes,” I say. She does, eyes wide and breath held as she looks around.
“It’s beautiful,” she says softly. “But how did you?— ”
“It’s just a dream, Bailey. A mirage. Anything is possible here when we’re together.”
“I like that. Hey, Knox, can I ask you a question?”
“Anything,” I tell her.
“Do you live in the woods? Where did you come from?”
I shrug. “I do live in the woods. I have a cabin that is not so different from yours. I have a … community … that I belong to, but I keep pretty much to myself anyway, so. What about you? Do you ever get lonely living in the woods?”
She smiles and shakes her head. “No. I have friends, and my best friend is great. We’ve been besties since we were little. But I like my peace and solitude. I like the quiet. I like the birds chirping. I feel more at home here than in the city, I guess.”
“I guess we have that in common,” I say. The way she smiles gives me butterflies, and I can’t resist her lips any longer.
The humid air is warm and thick, leaving the taste of salt on her lips as I lean in and kiss her. She sighs against my mouth, wrapping her arms around my waist and pulling the two of us closer together as the kiss deepens.
“Come,” I tell her, taking her hand and pulling her to the sandy beach. We sit down together, admiring the sunset. The glowing orb is half-covered by the horizon, but it won’t sink lower than this. Here, in this dreamy state, everything is perfect. Everything stays perfect.
But she’s perfect regardless of where we are.
I lean over and cup her face, admiring how her eyes shine when she looks at me. She’s got this fire that comes out every time she smiles. I’d happily suffocate if that fire took up all the oxygen in the room.
I pull her face to mine, letting my lips linger in front of hers before finally letting them touch. She breathes deeply, her lips parting and welcoming my tongue into her mouth. I love the way she tastes salty and sweet and heavenly. I don’t know if other humans taste this good, but I can’t imagine it. I can’t imagine anyone tasting better .
My mouth claims hers as I fight to keep from devouring her. Our lips tangle around one another, twisting and licking furiously in the deepening kiss. My hand snakes up into her lengthy hair, her raven locks tangling around my fingers as she moans quietly into my mouth. I feel a stirring in my pants at the way she kisses me back, her mouth as hungry and her body surely as needy as mine.
I so desperately want to have her, but … not here, not like this.
I want her in person, flesh to flesh, skin to skin.
She breaks off the kiss and pulls away, a glimmer of worry in her eyes. “What’s wrong?” Bailey asks.
I smile, not wanting to upset her or ruin this perfect, dreamy state with my impatient desires. “Nothing,” I say, and it’s almost true—life since I’ve found her has been night and day. Everything feels so much better when she’s around. I hate having to wait for her to see the real me. I want to show her everything I am. I want to lay with her in bed and trace my fingertips along her skin. I want to have every inch of her, and I have no idea how long before I can make that happen.
“Okay,” she replies, though she doesn’t look like she entirely believes me.
I kiss her nose, then press my forehead to hers.
“Nothing is wrong when I’m with you,” I tell her.
And I mean it.