Chapter 11
Rhett
I sat in predatory stillness, every muscle in my body poised for defense.
There were a hundred ways to answer that question, and all of them seemed wrong. My justification for keeping it a secret seemed to wither under her intense gaze, and I mentally scrambled for an excuse.
Yes, but…
It seemed so logical at the time. She was going to leave the airport, disappearing out of my grasp forever. Then I let it go on too long, dragging her to my family home even though I knew how I was going to react.
This was a mess. I had such a carefully laid plan, but the one unpredictable variable was the most important one: Angie.
The longer I was silent, the more color drained from her face. A wet sheen danced at the edge of her eyes, and even though it was faint as a distant echo, her fear seeped into me through the bond.
Before she could tumble further down the rabbit hole of emotion she was in, I blurted, “Citrus and chocolate.”
“What?”
“You said we’re like citrus and mint. I disagree. We’re like citrus and chocolate. Distinctly different, but complementary.”
“I don’t understand.” Her frown deepened. I wasn’t getting this right.
“All the thoughts in your head come pouring out in this constant stream of half-formed ideas.” She visibly bristled, and I hurried to finish my point.
"I like that about you. I get stuck in my head, and I don’t know how to say what I’m thinking, or how to break silences, or even how to talk to people that aren’t family.
You seem to be able to talk to everyone.
“I’m a planner, and you’re a doer. It makes perfect sense. I can make sure you don’t jump without a parachute. You can make sure I don’t overthink it so hard that we miss the flight.”
I put my hand over hers, which was basically embedded in my forearm at this point. “Sorry. The short answer was, ‘Yes, you’re my fated mate.’”
“Shit.” Her nails were about to draw blood as she gripped me even harder. “Holy shit.”
Was that a good reaction? I couldn’t tell.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I couldn’t just whisk you away straight from the airport without you thinking I was a crazy person.”
“Are you kidding?”
“No?”
I grunted as I landed flat on my back in front of the stove. Thankfully, there was a pile of blankets to cushion my fall as Angie tackled me with all four limbs.
Her thighs wrapped around my hips, arms clinging to me in a chokehold. I would have thought she was attacking me, except she was laughing. Sobbing?
Both.
I propped myself up as much as I could, lifting her head so I could see her face. There were tears streaming down her cheeks to splash on my bare chest. She was also smiling and squealing like she had just won the lottery.
“Is that what this is?” She tapped the center of her chest. “This insane feeling? And the kiss. Of course! No wonder it was so good.”
My hands migrated to her hips, gripping tightly as I resisted the urge to rub against her. “You liked the kiss?”
Her fingers snaked through my hair as she lowered her face to mine and kissed me like our lives depended on it. Pride made the bond swell in my chest when she pulled away breathless and flushed.
Pride wasn’t the only thing swelling as her hips kept shifting over mine.
“You’re not mad I didn’t tell you sooner?”
She sat up, absently stroking my chest as she considered. “It should be a huge red flag that you lied.”
I didn’t defend myself. She was right.
“But we started this whole thing on my lie, so I would be a hypocrite if I were mad.”
“It’s the only secret I kept. Everything else was real. My family, my history—I was never dishonest.”
“I know.”
I couldn’t stop staring at her lips. My arms ached from holding myself still, and my jeans were so tight I was about to tear right through the fabric.
“How do you feel about all this?”
“I feel…” She fisted the space over her chest where I felt the bond, as if it was tangible. “I feel relief. Excitement. Horny.”
“You and me both, babe.”
Angie stopped me as I tried to sit up and kiss her again. “How do you feel about all this? Some crazy lady walks up to you at the airport, and now you’re stuck with her for life?” Her eyes rounded. “Is it really for life, just like that?”
“I feel like I never thought I would get this lucky.” I kissed her palm as it came to rest on my jaw. “It’s really for life. We don’t have to complete the bond right away. You can have whatever time you need to think about it.”
“What’s there to think about?” She smiled so brightly it almost made me squint. “You called us fated mates. You can’t leave fate waiting!”
“Are you sure? This is a lot. If I mark you, the bond is going to be one hundred times stronger than what you’re feeling now.”
“Mark me? Like bite me?”
“Yes,” I growled, losing the battle with my desire and rolling my hips beneath her.
Angie gasped. “Will it hurt?”
“Not if I bury my cock inside you.”
“Holy shit,” she said again, almost panting. “Now. I want it now.”
A small piece of my logical mind was still intact, and I glanced around the rugged cabin in a panic. “There isn’t even a bed in here.”
Angie climbed off me, spreading blankets across the hard floor. In seconds she was undressing, and the sight of her naked flesh called to me like a siren. Swirls of color and delicate lines marked her arms and chest. There was even a design on her upper thigh. She was like a work of art.
I grabbed her ribs, dipping low to inhale the scent at the base of her neck. My teeth grazed her skin where the hickey I left was still purple and tender, and she shuddered, goosebumps pebbling over her chest.
I kissed a trail down her neck, and the goosebumps got bigger. The shuddering was more like shivering, and I jerked away.
“Don’t s-s-stop.”
“You’re freezing.” I shook my head, trying to clear the lust. I’d heard of the mating frenzy, but this was way more intense than I expected. It was only the second day, and I felt like I was drugged—intoxicated by her scent, her beauty. I would have done terrible things just to have her.
Neglecting her wellbeing didn’t make that list though.
I yanked one of the blankets from beneath us, wrapping it snugly around her shoulders. The fire crackled and wavered as I added two more logs. It was probably overkill, but the sooner the cabin was warm, the sooner I could finish claiming my mate.
Angie didn’t protest when I scooped her into my lap, throwing another blanket around both of us and sitting as close to the growing fire as possible. Her nose was cold as it traced lines along my chest, and a fresh wave of guilt had my rapid pulse slowing.
This wasn’t the right way to do this.
I should have brought her straight to my cabin. It wasn’t finished, and it didn’t have many more amenities than this place, but at least it had a bed.
A bed and a fireplace weren’t enough for a human mate. She needed running water. A kitchen. A bathroom.
Being around Angie felt so natural that I almost forgot we came from different worlds.
“Do you like the city?” What would I do if she wanted to go back there? The weeks I spent in Seattle helping the guys at Silver Bullet Security felt like long, miserable years.
“I like certain parts. The lights at night. The restaurants. Walking everywhere.” She hummed thoughtfully. “I like the rain sometimes, but I guess it rains everywhere, not just the city.”
“Did you like your job?”
“No,” she laughed. “My boss was an asshole. But maybe that was because I was always late.”
I sighed. “We need to slow down. There’s too much I haven’t told you.”
“Should I be worried?”
I should be worried. “No, it’s just…mates can’t be apart.”
“Can’t be apart? How far are we talking here?”
“I don’t have an exact distance. We can have jobs, social lives, all the normal stuff, but if you wanted to stay in Seattle…”
“You would want to come with me.” She lifted her chin to look at me. “I hadn’t even considered any of that.”
I smiled. “I know.”
“My sisters and I would be separated by an entire country,” she whispered.
“How close are you with your sisters?” Idiot. Why didn’t you ask more questions?
“Best friends. Vicky and Sloan are my ride-or-dies.”
“I won’t ask you to leave them.”
“But what about your brothers? Your mom? Cindy needs you.”
I tried not to sound as anguished as I felt when I said, “My brothers take good care of her.”
Angie moved positions, straddling my lap so we were face to face. It took enormous effort to ignore the fact that she wasn’t wearing anything but panties. “Tyler told me there isn’t anyone who does shifter tattoos in this area.”
Of course, he did. Tyler always had my back, even if he was subtle about it.
I studied the expression on her face, hoping this was going where I thought it was going. “There isn’t.”
“I always wanted to open my own shop.”
“Tattooing shifters isn’t without risk. Sometimes our animals get testy when they experience pain.”
“Do you know how many crybaby men I had to kneel on top of just to finish their tattoo? I can handle shifters.”
I didn’t doubt she could.
“I’m not asking you to give up your life, Angie.”
“I’ve always wanted to pack up my stuff and move somewhere foreign and new.”
“I would hardly call Glacier Run foreign.”
“It’s foreign to me! I don’t think I’ve even been to a small town before. And you have your own culture that I know nothing about. It’s like marrying a guy from Denmark.”
“What does Glacier Run have in common with Denmark?”
“I have no idea!” Her hands slid over the back of my neck. “But won’t it be fun to find out?”
“You’d really drop everything and move here just like that?”
Angie closed her eyes, pressing her forehead to mine. Her breasts brushed my chest as she exhaled. “When I saw you for the first time at the airport, I had this feeling. Like I knew you. Like you were this perfect person, and I wanted to protect you.”
“Protect me?” I snorted. She was this precious human, and she wanted to protect me?
“From that mean gate agent, but also from—from everything.”
“And what about here?” I trailed my fingers between her breasts, touching the place where the bond lived. My thumb brushed the edge of her nipple, and she sucked in a shaky breath. “Do you feel this?”
“Yes,” she whimpered, arching her back toward my touch. “Like you tied a rope around me and you’re reeling me in.”
“Does it feel good?”
“Yes. Yes.”
Angie inclined her head, her lips meeting mine. I meant to meet her softness, to go slow as I eased into this.
We didn’t have to complete the bond tonight. There was plenty of time.
Except my body didn’t get the memo, my mouth capturing hers. Heat rushed through me, my head spinning with the intensity of it.
I needed her, needed as much as I needed food and water.
I threw the blanket from my shoulders, pinning her beneath me and circling my hips to grind against her core. Her legs locked around me, meeting each thrust with her own urgent movement.
Firelight danced in her brown eyes. I could see my reflection's silhouette in them. It disappeared as her pupils expanded and she bucked, thighs shaking with ecstasy.
“That’s it, let me hear you come.”
She cried out, lips parting, and I nipped at her bottom one as she came undone.
Somehow, her hands found the zipper on my jeans. I didn’t consciously remove them, barely registered what was happening until I sank so deep inside her that I lost track of where I was—who I was.
Her core was still pulsing, holding me tight as I thrust fast and hard. My teeth ached, the need to bite her so strong my vision blurred.
I struck like a snake, sinking my fangs into that tender spot at the base of her neck. Sparks exploded around us, heat building between us until it rivaled the fire above us.
It was as if we became the bond as it ignited. One unbreakable soul. Two missing pieces coming together.
Pleasure like I’d never known tore through me. I collapsed beside Angie, holding her tightly to me as we both panted.
“What the heck?” She breathed. “Seriously, what the heck?”
Emotion spilled out of her in waves. Lingering hints of pleasure. Surprise. Awe. Fascination.
“If you keep thinking about me like that, I’m going to get a big head.”
She jerked upright, glaring at me. “You said there was no mind reading!”
I took a lock of her hair, watching as the blue curled around the brown when I twirled it. “I can’t hear your thoughts, only your emotions.”
“Wait, so that’s you?” She clutched the space between her breasts again. “You’re happy.”
“I am,” I told her, tugging her back down to the floor. “I never thought I would find you.”
“Were you looking for me?”
“More like hoping for you.”
“All this time,” she murmured, running her fingers through my hair. If I were a cat, I would purr. “You were out there waiting for me.”
I hummed my agreement, drinking in her scent as a fresh surge of arousal had my blood pumping faster.
“I think you were right. I think there was a reason that nothing ever fit before this.” Angie climbed on top of me, kissing my jaw. “Now, are we going to do that again? Because you are like really good at that.”
“We’re going to do that until you’re sick of me.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of you.”