Page 53 of Awakening His Mate

Suddenly, I’m on my feet, pressed against the wall behind me, his big frame crowding me. His fingers sift through the hair at the nape of my neck, tightening in a way that holds me in place as his mouth crashes against mine.

“What are you doing?” The words come out on a breathy gasp. The fire in his eyes is like nothing I have ever seen before.

“I can see that you don’t believe me when I tell you you’re all I need.”

“It’s not that I don’t believe you, but I don’t want to be the reason you walk away from people who love you.”

He scans my face, and my belly dips at the intensity staring back at me.

“Since you’re not listening, I’m going to have to show you just how much I need you.”

A thrill races through me, heat pooling in my belly as his fingers trail down the side of my neck in continuous motion. I know Jackson wants me, I could never question that, but the way he’s looking at me now steals my breath. There is so much adoration and love shining in his eyes that it makes tears brim in mine.

He frowns at my reaction. “Dove?”

“I’m okay,” I assure him, even though my tears are now careening down my cheeks. I swipe angrily at them, annoyed at myself for being so emotional at a time like this.

He reaches out with his thumb, capturing one of my tears. “Then why are you crying?”

“Because I’m scared.”

He steps back slightly, a sickened look on his face. “Of me?”

I grab his shirt, pulling him back to me. “I’ll never be scared of you. You’re the only one who makes me feel safe.”

“I don’t understand,” he admits.

“I’m scared of how I feel about you.”

His gaze softens. “I love you,” he says, and my stomach flips.

“You do?”

“Yeah, Dove. I do.”

I crash my mouth to his, my arms wrapping around his neck as he hoists me into his. I kiss him with such fervor that my lips feel swollen when he pulls back and sucks along my neck, drawing a dirty moan from me.

He isn’t gentle as he fists my hair, pressing me against the wall so hard that my spine feels bruised. My body feels wound tight like an elastic band that has been twisted over and over and is waiting for release, and I can tell he feels the same.

Butterflies beat frantically against the inside of my stomach. This is going to end in heartbreak, but the selfish part of me doesn’t care.

His tongue slides inside my mouth, and I open to allow him better access. I want to taste every inch of him, I want to feel him on every part of my skin. Even if this is all we can have, I’m done trying to deny myself even a brief second of happiness.

My body hums with need, desire throbbing between my legs.

How can they say we are not meant to be when every inch of me comes alive with passion at his touch?

He lowers my feet to the floor so he can cup me between my legs, applying pressure to my most sensitive parts. The barrier of our clothes has me growling, wanting to feel him against me, and my wolf agrees. She whines low in her throat, demanding we make him ours.

I’m not sure how to explain to her that it isn’t possible at this point—maybe ever—so I block out the animal I share my consciousness with and focus only on Jackson as he starts to undress me.

I lean off the wall so he can shove my clothes off. His follow a moment later, his sweater and T-shirt puddled on the floor with mine. I take a moment to explore the bumps and curves of the muscles on his chest, loving every inch of him, before I press a kiss over his heart.

He pulls his bottom lip between his teeth, his eyes heated as he takes me in. Nudity is not something I have ever been uncomfortable with. I see naked bodies all the time when wolves shift, but my powers make me latent, so I'm not used to standing completely bare in front of someone. I can’t help but cover my breasts with my arms, feeling more exposed than I ever have.

Jackson’s eyes soften as his hand wraps around my wrists. He doesn’t try to pull them; he just makes circular movements over my skin. “I don’t want you to hide from me.”

“I don’t mean to,” I admit as I lower my arms, letting him see me in all my vulnerable glory.

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