I wasn’t sure I agreed with him, but he went on before I could debate it.
“You have been honest about everything from being new at your job, to your ambition to attend that fundraiser, to your promise not to give your heart unless it was forever.” He searched my eyes. “I’ve never been open like that in my entire life. You don’t play pretend. You’re all in.” He shook his head, his thumb stroking my cheek. “Even before you grabbed my hand and my wolf howled in my soul, recognizing you as our mate, I was bewitched by you.”
And there was the look I’d seen while we were singing, the intensity in his eyes that said I was the only thing in the world that mattered. Was it just the wolf instinct making him look at me like that?
I took a step back, unable to think straight while he was touching me. “We’ve only known each other for a few days. Is this just wolf instinct? Do you get any choice in it at all?”
He pressed his lips together and finally shrugged. “You’ve been honest with me, and I promised myself no more secrets, so the truth is, I don’t know. I can’t give you a guarantee. But I was interested in you before you ever touched me. I was struggling to stay away even though you were Chandler’s sister and off-limits. That had nothing to do with my wolf.” He sighed, his gaze lifting to my face again. “When you dragged me up to sing karaoke, something happened. Like the words were being torn out from our souls. It sounds like something I’d laugh off in a movie, except I was there. I felt it.” He paused. “Did you?”
“Yes.” The word fell out of my mouth before I could examine my answer, but it was true. I had. “Maybe you are my fairy tale, too. I’ve been holding out for forever. I just never dreamed I’d spend it with a werewolf.”
“Makes sense to me.” He chuffed. “You deserve more than any regular human guy could offer.”
I raised a brow, enjoying the sexy glint in his eyes. “Is that so? What other werewolf traits are you hiding?”
He came closer, grasping my hips to draw me against him as his big hands slid over my ass. Nuzzling my mouth, he whispered, “I can tell by your scent you want me as much as I want you.”
I hummed as I tasted his lips over and over. His erection throbbed between us, and as his hand ran up my back and into my hair, I ached to climb him like a damned tree. I broke the kiss, a little breathless. “Not just want. Need.”
He scooped me into his arms so fast I gasped. I clasped my hands behind his neck while he carried me toward the shimmering water like I weighed nothing. His balance never wavered as he raced along the rocky terrain. He lowered my feet to the ground under a stone outcropping.
I stared up into his eyes. “When you were telling me about your werewolf abilities, you left out superstrength.”
“I didn’t want to brag,” he winked.
I laughed, and in that moment, I realized that somewhere along the way, my heart had chosen him without any conscious decision-making. I hadn’t offered it or given it. Was that love? I’d only known him for a few days.
Did it matter? We’d found each other. And maybe he’d been what I’d been waiting for, all along. I grabbed the bottom of his T-shirt and pulled it up and off him. His muscled chest was dusted with dark hair down the center. He wasn’t gym-rat ripped but more toned from hard work.
I lifted my gaze to his face, and his smile made heat flush my cheeks. Could he see me blushing in the dim light?
He grinned. “I was going to say my eyes are up here, but then I thought, fuck it. I like knowing you’re looking at me.”
I rolled my eyes, unable to wipe the grin off my face as my hands wandered up his abs. “Not my fault you’re so sexy.”
His hands slipped under the back of my shirt, teasing the hot skin of my back. “Oh, baby, I’ve got nothing on you.”
I rose on my toes and kissed him, my tongue reaching for his. He gave me everything I wanted, tilting his head to deepen the kiss. I did need him, more than I’d ever realized I could need or want anyone. He walked me backward until my back pressed against the smooth rocks. I freed the button of his jeans, and he growled into my mouth.
“You sure?”
“Yes,” I gasped. “Now.”
The kiss went from hot to scorching as we scrambled out of our clothes, fusing our lips back together as each piece hit the rocks. He lifted me up, and I wrapped my legs around his waist as the tip of his erection brushed my opening. Suddenly, rational thought pierced through the haze of desire.
I groaned. “Condoms.”
His mouth trailed down my neck as he whispered, “I can’t get you pregnant unless I make you a shifter first.”
“And you…?”
“Haven’t been with anyone in… Fuck, I can’t remember it’s been so long… A year or more? I’m clean.” His teeth teased my shoulder. “It’ll kill me, but we can get dressed and go back if you’d rather…”
I nibbled at his earlobe and whispered, “Don’t you dare stop.”
He turned his head, claiming my lips with a growl and a chuckle that melted me all the way to my toes as he rocked his hips up into me. What was it about this man? We were naked together for the first time, outside under the stars, and I’d never felt sexier and more confident in my own skin. Being with him was as easy as breathing. No first-time jitters, no intrusive thoughts about my body, and no wondering if I was doing everything right. Plus, we were outside! I’d never done anything remotely like this, but with Cole, I felt safe.
My nails dug into his shoulders as every hard inch of him entered me. God, it was like he had been made for me, filling me completely. I tilted my head as he nibbled at my neck. His teeth scraped my skin, and I tangled my fingers in the back of his hair, needing him as close as possible.
He held me up with one hand and cupped my breast with the other, pinching my nipple before he took it into his hot mouth, his tongue swirling around the taut nub. Watching his lips on my skin was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen. I ground my hips into his thrusts, craving the friction, the reminder that this union was real. This wasn’t some steamy dream. I was living it.
His gaze met mine from under his thick lashes, and the ache for release flooded me. I never wanted this to end, and at the same time, I wanted to let go and lose myself in the delicious orgasm that was building inside me. He slid his hand down my body until his fingers were between us, searching until I gasped, “Right there.”
He claimed my lips, his fingers working in time with his hips as his thrusts became more frenzied. My inner muscles contracted, and I surrendered. My orgasm hit so hard I was trembling in his arms until he erupted deep inside my body. I struggled to catch my breath, an exhausted smile on my face that might never go away.
His voice was a ragged, breathless whisper against my neck just below my ear. “I give you my heart, my protection, and my life.”
I pulled back, staring into his eyes. “What?”
He caressed my cheek. “I…” He paused, searching my face. “The words were from my wolf. For my…”
Mate. I heard him finish but not with my ears.
And this time I didn’t try to talk myself out of it. I heard him. There was a connection here, and maybe I could figure out how it worked. I stared into his eyes and thought, If I give you my heart, it will be forever.