Page 9 of Crescent Warrior

“We should be safe from them here.”

They both laughed, lying on the ground next to each other, staring up at the canopy of trees that soared above them. The leaves were dappled with light and she felt contentment spread into her soul. Now, if only he could recognize her as his mate, all would be well.

“Why are they always kissing?” Cole scowled, turning to look at her.

Earlier when they walked into the kitchen, they found her parents sharing a heated kiss against the wall. Pretending to gag, they raced out, leaving her laughing parents behind.

“I don’t know. Do you think it’s fun?”

Cole shrugged his broad shoulders. He was getting bigger and bigger with each day, and she adored his new physique. She wanted to touch him all over—couldn’t wait for the moment when she would finally be able to.

“I can’t imagine they would be doing it so much if it wasn’t.”

“I guess we’ll have to wait until we have our mates to find out,” he sighed, turning to his back to look upward into the canopy of the trees again.

She turned toward him, covertly staring at his mouth. His lips were plump and pink, the bottom one thicker than the top, and tempting in a way that she was probably too inexperienced to fully understand. She wanted to kiss him, though. He was her mate, after all—she recognized him the moment she reached puberty. His scent called to her above all others and her wolf immediately reared its head, growling,

Mine.

Plotting a way to kiss him, she grinned as an idea occurred to her. Transforming her face to an expression of worry, she sighed deeply. “It’ll be a shame to have no experience, though. What if we’re terrible at it?”

His eyes widened and he looked at her quickly. “Do you think so?”

“Well, we won’t know what we’re doing.” She shrugged, hiding her glee as her trap was sprung. “I should find someone to practice with.”

His brow dropped into an intense frown immediately, and he sat up. “Practice what?”

“Kissing,” she smiled, loving the jolt of pleasure she got when his expression became mutinous.

Could he be jealous? Oh, she would give anything for right now to be the moment that he realized she was his.

“Who the hell would you practice with?”

“Anyone.” She shrugged, looking away so she could hide the longing in her eyes. “Maybe Griffin or Nicholas. I can’t imagine they wouldn’t want to practice for their mates as well.”

He gripped her arm, his fingers biting, and she knew he wasn’t aware of it. Excitement rose in her.

Please Gods, please. Let it be now.

Looking back into his eyes, though, she saw only annoyance. Not the adoration she felt for him.

“Why wouldn’t you practice with me?”

She feigned an expression of surprise. “You? I hadn’t thought of that.”

The annoyance in his eyes flared again and she smothered a laugh.

“Did you want to practice kissing?” she asked, reaching out to push his unruly hair back from his forehead.

“Yes,” he nodded, grabbing her around the waist and dragging her closer to him.

She knew her clothes would be dirty, but she couldn’t find it in her to care.

She shrugged as if it didn’t matter to her, while her heart was pounding in her chest. “We need to press our lips together.”

He nodded slowly, eyeing her lips with trepidation and a hint of longing. She felt her nipples harden, her body reacting in a way she was unfamiliar with—a burn starting low in her stomach and her breath going shallow. He moved forward, his hands still on her waist, hot as brands on her body.

“Stay still,” he murmured and she nodded, unable to reply.

---