Page 79 of His Wild Mate

My dick jumped at her words as visions of our time together sprang to mind.

“Yes, we have.” I chuckled. “But that was for pleasure. Thomas's order specifically says that no one is to touch you or harm you. I honestly don't know if marking you to seal our bond would constitute harm or not. And I can't take a chance of screwing that up.”

“You could try. If you went first and couldn't do it, then I wouldn't bite you. But if you could, then I would.”

My heart fluttered with excitement.

“I guess that could work.”

Without hesitation, she pulled off her shirt and exposed her neck to me. My mouth watered and my teeth elongated with anticipation.

“Are you sure about this? There's no going back once this happens. You'll be stuck with me forever.” My words came out a little garbled since I wasn't used to talking with my wolf fangs in place, but I saw a darkness wash over her face as she sat back to consider my words.

“Forever?”

“Forever. I'll be yours and you'll be mine. We'll continue to grow closer until someday, if we're lucky, our bond will complete and then I won't have to ask what's going through that head of yours because I’ll be able to hear all your thoughts.

She gasped and her eyes widened.

I wasn't expecting the fear I saw there.

“Paige, is everything okay? Is there something you want to tell me?”

She adamantly shook her head and tears welled up in her eyes.

What was she hiding? Surely it couldn't be that bad.

“Sweetheart, you know you can tell me absolutely anything, right?”

“Not this,” she whispered.

“Did something happen today?”

“No.”

I was wracking my brain trying to figure out what was going on but came up short.

“I don't want you inside my head.”

“That won't come for a long time, years, decades even. You don't need to worry about that, but mates shouldn’t have any secrets. You can tell me anything. You know that, right?”

She shook her head slowly. “Not this.”

A bad feeling settled into my chest. What could possibly be so bad that she didn't want to tell me?

One thing was clear, now was not the time to attempt to seal our bond. She clearly didn't trust me yet. And if she couldn't trust me with her secrets, how could I expect her to trust me with her heart?

Paige

Chapter 20

The air had felt like it had been sucked out of the vehicle as we sat by the river. I had been prepared to bond myself to him for a lifetime. What was I thinking?

If I did and it fully sealed someday, he'd know everything I'd done. Emmett was a good man—the best. He wasn't like me and could never understand why I'd had to do the things I've done.

“You deserve better,” I whispered.

Pain sliced through my heart. It was the pain of rejection.

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