Home > Loving York (Warwick Dragons #2)(20)

Loving York (Warwick Dragons #2)(20)
Author: Milly Taiden

Josie was still and quiet beside him as she watched him, holding her breath. He could hear her heart beating a million miles a minute. He knew just how nervous she was as she waited for him to tell her where they stood, now that she had revealed everything to him.

It was a lot.

It really was.

When Johanna had come to him with the possibility of getting a second mate, he had scoffed. When Josie had come into his life, he had been confused, but happy. The woman, with her high heels and her daredevil ways, was as fun as she was infuriating. York was feeling things again. Not just love and lust, but things. His coffee tasted better in the morning. His runs were more pleasant to get through. He had slept. Actually slept. A full night, and he knew he owed that to the fact that they had been tangled up in each other.

Josie soothed something inside of him

Not just his dragon, but the man, too.

He had been lost in his grief, shut down against the world for a hundred years. Josie had come in like a storm, forcing him to take notice of his life. He was an old, grumpy man. That’s how he had been living.

That wasn’t right. He hadn’t been living. Only surviving.

Now that he remembered what life could be like, he wasn’t willing to let it go.

He wasn’t going to let her go.

He had already lost one mate, and he wasn’t going to lose another.

Josie hadn’t lied to him, but she had kept things to herself that could have severe repercussions on their relationship. They hadn’t known each other long, so he couldn’t blame her for being wary of telling him everything. She was being manipulated by one male shifter, so her prudence made sense. The point was, she had told him. She didn’t want to steal from him and his family. He could smell that on her.

York also knew that Josie felt things for him. Her desire for him was always mixed in with her floral perfume. He couldn’t deny that she felt things for him.

“Josie,” he repeated, turning to face her. “You’ve come to mean a lot to me in the last few days. It’s not because you’re my mate, though I’m sure that helps. But there’s just something about you. It’s like my soul is finally coming to life again. I like spending time with you. And I know that it would take me very little time to fall completely in love with you.” He was a shifter, for fuck’s sake, he was already halfway there. But this was hardly the time to get into that. They had more pressing matters to attend to. “I’m not asking you to make a decision about the mate stuff right away. You’ve been under a lot of stress because of all the shit Steiner has pulled. But I wanted you to know who you are to me.”

There. He had said what he had to.

Josie’s face pulled into a tight frown, which confused the hell out of him. “You’re not breaking up with me?” She shook her head, and the rest of her words were said at warp speed. If he hadn’t been a shifter, York doubted that he would have been able to understand a single word out of her mouth. “Not that we were together. Two dates don’t make a relationship. But you’re not mad? You’re not going to fry me to a crisp? You’re going to help me? I’m so stunned! I thought I was going to lose you over this. And I so didn’t want that, York. I really didn’t want to steal from you. Or your mom, because she’s just as great as you. In different ways, obviously. What I feel for you is so profound. I mean, I know we’ve only just met, but you’re a really great man, even if you are grumpy and set in your ways. I love every second we spend together, and you get me, and…”

Whatever else Josie was going to nervously say died on her lips when York silenced her with a kiss. His mouth crushed against hers, his tongue tracing along her lower lip, before he nipped her softly. Josie kissed him back, her hands going around his neck.

“Go out with me,” he said against her mouth. He was echoing the words she had said to him, when he had been in nothing more than a towel, only a few days ago.

Josie’s eyes were wide in surprise, her lips swollen. She didn’t answer, but grabbed his shirt collar, bringing him to her for another searing kiss. York used his strength to pull Josie down, laying her under him on the couch. Her legs wrapped around his waist as he settled between her legs, pressing his erection to the core of her. His cock was rock hard, ready to go, straining painfully against his jeans.

They kissed and kissed, each stroke of tongue, each movement of lips bringing them closer together than York would have thought possible. In the embraces they shared, they repaired the damage Josie’s secrets had threatened to rain down on them before they even got a chance to get going

York was just about to start peeling her clothes off of her when the doorbell rang. He stiffened above her, pulling his face away to look into her eyes.

“Were you expecting someone?”

She nodded. “I ordered food.” Her voice was breathless.

“I’ll get the door, then,” he said as he leaped from the couch. He rearranged his pants. Answering the door with a raging hard-on was probably not the best idea. He didn’t want to scare the poor delivery person. “We’re going to eat a bit, then figure out our next move.”

York headed for the door, paid the young man, and brought the large paper bag to the kitchen. He didn’t want to judge a lady for her eating habits, but there was enough sushi to feed a small army. He laid two plates down on the dining room table, even deciding to pour out two glasses of red wine Johanna always kept on hand. He debated lighting a candle or two, but thought that would have been too much. He hadn’t really set up a dinner for two in a long time. The night he had cooked for her had been different.

This night was heavier. Josie knew she was his mate. They hadn’t flat out said that they were together, but their heavy make-out session had left little doubt in his mind that Josie wanted to be with him.

The scent of her desire had been mouth-watering and perfect. He had heard her heart beat for him. He knew she wanted him, cared for him. Before the night was through, he would have to spell things out with her, but just then, they needed to eat. Clear their heads and come up with a plan to beat Steiner.

Josie’s footsteps upstairs puzzled him, but he figured she needed a second to compose herself. She had cried a lot, and she had probably wanted to wash her face, or whatever it was ladies did after shedding loads of tears. York busied himself, taking out the small black trays topped with clear lids.

His heart did a little flip when he saw that she had ordered two spider rolls.

“I got those because you said they’re your favorite. I was going to ghost you, and I was pretty crushed. I was going to binge the hell out of those while crying my eyes out,” Josie said as she came waltzing into the kitchen.

She had changed out of her sweats and had slipped on a floral dress with a pair of high heels. They were the pink ones from the very first day they had met in the bank, when he had yelled at her for wearing such dangerous footwear. She had been gone less than ten minutes, but she was the most beautiful woman he had ever laid his eyes on.

“You look…”

Josie blushed. “Well, you’re so handsome in your sweater and jeans. I couldn’t just sit next to you in my comfy clothes. I would have felt bad about myself.”

“Why?” he asked, walking toward her.

“Because you’re really hot,” her tone was breathy as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

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