Chapter Twenty-seven
I had dreamed of seeing him again, of having another chance to figure things out between us. Maybe the photos that Draven had shown me were photoshopped, maybe they were of a friend. Maybe, maybe, maybe.
“You have been quite a busy girl these past months!” said Cage. “You have blossomed so much. Come and sit down. I’ve been wanting to speak with you, but you’ve been rather elusive and your mates have been a little clingy tonight.” His laugh was warm, but I bristled at the way he had said “mates”.
“I know when we met, you were going through a rough time,” Cage continued. “I shouldn’t have tried to force the claim, and I shouldn’t have tried to change who you were meant to be. I scared you with the mate bite, and I pushed you away with my stubbornness. You just needed time to process everything and I was a selfish jerk. I had dreamed of meeting my mate and had envisioned us marking each other on the spot. I never dreamed I would have a soulmate that didn’t even understand the pull. I wanted everything to be as I had imagined it, and I never even realized that I had something better, right in front of me.”
I couldn’t breathe. I just sat there in stunned silence. He reached out slowly, his thumb sliding along my jaw.
“You don’t have to answer,” he continued, “but I have to ask. If I hadn’t ran that day - if I had stayed, instead of throwing a tantrum and leaving you, would you have claimed me?”
Tears rolled faster down my cheek. “Yes,” was the only word I could get out.
He squeezed his eyes shut. His voice shook as he spoke again. “Would I have been the first mate you claimed?”
My response was hardly more than a wisp of air. “Yes.”
I watched as a tear slid down the side of his face. “Do you still think about me? Do you ever miss me?” he asked.
“Yes.” I choked on a sob.
“Do you still love me?” His tears slid faster down his face.
“Yes. I never stopped loving you.”
“Oh Tia!” He swept me into his arms and I sobbed against him. “I have never stopped thinking about you either. I love you, Tia. You were meant to be mine. I was so stupid.”
He rocked me as he held me tight. My emotions were a churning sea inside me; it was too much emotion to pear.
“Cage.” I paused, not wanting to ask the question, but knowing I had to. “I saw photos. You were with a woman. Did you two claim each other? Are you still with her?”
I wouldn’t be the one to break up a family, regardless of how badly I had dreamed of this moment.
“No!” Cage cried. “I had no idea you were shown photos. I can’t imagine the pain you must have gone through seeing those. I did date a wolf female. I am ashamed to admit it, but I was trying to forget you. I was mad at the world and thought I could make my childish fantasy real. But it was never right. She wasn’t you. You are the one for me. I felt our tenuous bond break. Was that when you saw the photos?”
“Yes,” I confessed. “I wanted you to be free to claim another mate and not bound to me because your wolf decided to bite me.”
“Even then, you wanted me to be happy.” His voice was full of regret.
“Cage, please stop. We were both at fault. I was a terrified girl when I stumbled onto your pack lands. I had no idea what I was, or that supernaturals even existed. Draven showed up and kidnapped me, and that sent me into even more of a tailspin. I didn’t know about mates, and I know it hurt you when I struggled to understand. I was a mess and needed time; I shouldn’t have gotten my feelings hurt when you struggled to accept me as a shifter. We both needed time, and patience.”
“And I ruined it by locking myself away from you, and then storming back home,” Cage added. “Tia, please believe me. There is no other woman. I ended it with her right after the bond snapped. I didn’t even realize what I wanted until it was gone.”
My heart broke as I looked at his sorrowful face. I slipped my arms around his neck and clung to him. I tried to remember all the reasons I had for getting up and walking out of that room but surrounded by his incredible scent and held in his arms, I couldn’t focus enough to remember anything. It didn’t seem to matter anymore. He continued to rock me gently, his warm breath blowing through my hair. My desire stirred. I tried to keep a grip on my self-control but it was getting harder with every passing moment. I needed to get out of there, back to the safety of the cave before my dragon instincts pushed to the forefront again. The heat that had been simmering, was now beginning to boil. I had to go. I had to—
“Tia, is it too late for us? Can you forgive me for being a controlling idiot who forgot how a mate should be treated?”
I had dreamed of this moment, and now it was happening. I was going to get a second chance with Cage.
“Oh, Cage!” I cried and pressed my lips against his. He froze for a moment and then, slowly, his lips moved against mine. His hand slid into my hair, using it to hold me still so he could explore my mouth. I moaned and unbuttoned his shirt, eagerly slipping my hands inside to glide across his hot skin. His other hand worked at the laces I had loosened on my gown and I felt the fabric slip down from my breasts like a lover’s touch before it puddled around my hips.
Cage’s mouth left mine and I growled in protest, until I felt his hot, wet mouth kiss my breasts, sucking and teasing. I arched into him. This was the longest I had managed to go without sex since my heat started, and it was coming back with a vengeance. The smell of my arousal tickled my nose. My heat added a punch to the scent to ensure that my mates wouldn’t be able to get enough of me, and Cage responded with a moan. Suddenly, he stood, lifting me with him and letting my beautiful gown flow down my body like water, leaving me naked in front of his dark lust filled eyes.
He laid me gently on the floor, the plush carpet teasing my sensitive skin. I watched through heavy eyelids as he slid his arms from the open dress shirt, and then slowly slid off his pants. He laid them carefully on the chair, and then turned back to me. I had always thought Cage was the most handsome man I had ever seen, and now he stood naked in front of me. A Greek god in the flesh.
My heat turned from pleasure to pain, instinct telling my body that I had resisted too long, and I needed to mate. This wasn’t what I wanted for my first time with Cage. I tried to shove back against it, clear my head, remember all the things I still needed to talk about with Cage. I needed to make sure… what?
“Beautiful, stop thinking,” he whispered. “I love you, now let me ease the discomfort.”
All rational thought fled my mind. He loved me, he wanted all of me. I was getting a second chance with my first fated mate.
He joined me on the carpet, lowering his body against mine. My skin burned everywhere his skin touched my own. His lips caught mine again and he kissed me with wild abandon. I cried out when I felt his fingers brush against my most sensitive parts, every slight brush sending shock waves of desire through me. My hands ran down his chest, memorizing every curve and muscle. One day I would explore those with my lips and tongue.
Cage jerked against me as my hand wrapped around his throbbing erection. Primal need pounded in my head. Mate. Mate. Mate. I fought it, wanting this first time to be a loving one.
Cage’s fingers sunk deep inside me. I gasped from the sudden intrusion, but my dragon was pleased. My pupils shifted to slits as I groaned his name. He moved to kiss my lips again and then startled when he saw my face. My insides turned to ice - he was going to reject me again.
Instead, he leaned down and kissed me, and the tension left my body. He hadn’t been repulsed. I wanted to laugh with joy, but another wave of pain slammed into my body, the heat reminding me that it hadn’t gone away.
Cage’s hand suddenly pulled away from me. He lifted my hips and slammed into me. This was no gentle stroke; this was hard and fast. A new pain ripped through me, and I cried out in surprise.
“Oh, Tia. You feel so good.” Cage moaned as he slammed into me. Hearing his satisfaction reassured me. If this was how he liked it, I could adjust, just like I had for my other mates.
As he angled himself deeper, he rubbed me just right and I could feel my body begin to tighten. His fingers gripped my hips tighter and he slammed me against him with each thrust. With two more hard pumps, the coil of desire in me sprung free and I climaxed, moaning his name in ecstasy. I was lost in bliss, when my back was suddenly slammed into the floor from the force of his thrust, knocking the wind out of me. I gasped in a panicky breath, but before I could draw in a second, he had buried himself inside me again, hard enough that I bit my tongue. I whimpered in pain, and his mouth covered mine. Tenderly, his tongue lapped up the bit of blood and caressed the tiny wound.
“I’m sorry, honey. I am having trouble controlling my wolf,” he whispered. “We’ve both wanted this for so long.” He was panting hard as he spoke, slowing his pace, and giving me time to catch my breath. I melted under his touch, and he began moving faster, his movements more frantic. I bounced as he pulled out and slammed back in, harder and harder each time. Pain ripped through me again, from the rough love making or my heat I couldn’t say.
My shoulders hurt from the impact with the floor, but I ignored the discomfort. My mate was holding me, loving me; life was perfect. Again, my belly tightened, and pleasure washed over me in wave after wave. My walls tightened and gripped him tighter, and with a growl he followed me over the edge, his body jerking with the aftershocks of his pleasure.
“I love you,” I whispered.
My fangs dropped and I leaned forward to mark my mate and finish the claiming. Instead, a rag was shoved in my mouth.
“No biting, dragoness. That isn’t part of the plan.”