Page 58 of Entering a New World

“Sex alone won’t complete the bond. It’ll strengthen it, yes, but the thing that binds us together will be the mating bite.”

Levi raised his eyebrows. “You want to bite me? Or do you want me to bite you? Isn’t biting more like a vampire thing?”

I chuckled.

“I don’t know how vampires mate, but biting is very much a shifter thing. So no, as a human, you don’t have to reciprocate the bite for the bond to be completed. I will have to bite you, though, and I’ll bite hard enough to draw blood.”

Levi swallowed audibly, paling a little, but his cock jerked, nonetheless. A part of him liked the idea. Probably the part of him affected by the bond.

“Soo… we could have sex without mating?” he asked tentatively, pulling his lip between his teeth.

I groaned. Fuck. I wanted to cross the distance and kiss him. I wanted to claim him as my mate. Complete the bond between us.

“In theory, yes,” I said, my voice straining. “But to be honest, I’m not sure if I’d be able to hold myself or my wolf back. So I won’t sleep with you until you’re ready to be my mate. I couldn’t live with myself if I forced the mating bond on you without your consent.”

“But the bond is already there,” Levi whispered, placing a hand on his chest. “I can feel it right there, pulling at me.”

“I don’t know why you feel it as intensely as you do. Usually, humans only feel a strong attraction towards their mates. But no matter how much of our bond you can feel already, you’re still able to leave as long as the bond is not completed. When I’ve claimed you, there’s no going back; we’ll be tied to each other for as long as we live. But if you leave now, the bond will weaken, and you…” I swallowed, balling my hands into fists, every fiber of my body screaming at me to shut up. “You’d eventually be able to have another relationship.”

Levi shuddered, shaking his head vigorously.

Relief flooded my system, and I unclenched my fist.

“I don’t want that,” he said quietly, a myriad of expression flickering over his face, until determination settled in. His jaw hardened, and a fire ignited in his steely-grey eyes.

I watched with fascination as he crossed the distance between us. I was rooted to the floor, unable to move as he tipped up to his toes and wrapped his arms around my neck. Looking deep into my eyes, he took a steadying breath, his muscles tightening against me. “I’m ready. I don’t want to wait any longer. Hell, I can’t wait any longer. It’s… being away from you is eating me up from the inside.”

I cleared my throat, swallowing against the lump in my throat that didn’t want to budge. “Are you sure?”

My wolf howled in protest, clawing at my chest.

Levi nodded, his eyes never losing contact with mine. “When I think about Vancouver, it feels like a distant memory. A life that no longer fits. Even if we weren’t mates and the thought of leaving you wouldn’t make me sick to my stomach, I don’t think I’d want to go back. I like it here. The people, the town, hell, I even like the nature—even though I almost died out there.”

His voice was steady, his pulse quick but even, and the determined set on his jaw left no doubt: he was serious.

I felt light in a way I never had before. Like I weighed nothing. Like I was walking on clouds.

My mate was ready. I would finally get to make him mine.

Chapter 16

Levi

I was breathing heavily, my heart pounding in my chest, but that unsettled feeling inside me was finally gone. My mind made up, my head was a much brighter and clearer place, and my body felt lighter, as if a weight as heavy as the world had been lifted off my shoulders.

One second I was staring in Rhett’s warm eyes, watching the tears well up in them, and the next, Rhett’s hands grabbed my ass, and I was lifted off my feet. I tightened my hold on his neck and wrapped my legs around his waist, clinging to him for dear life as his mouth smashed against mine.

His lips set my body on fire and I moaned, shamelessly rubbing my erection against his, tightening my legs, trying to get as much friction as possible with these pesky clothes in the way.

I was dimly aware that we were moving. The lighting around us changed, but I couldn’t care less about where in his home we were as long as his lips stayed firmly on mine. Hell, at this point I didn’t think I’d care if he wanted to fuck me out in the woods, as long as he finally fucked me.

A shiver raced down my spine, my mind conjuring an image of us in a clearing, surrounded by grass, moss, and trees, the clear sky above us.

Maybe I wouldn’t mind fucking outside—at all. But not now.

Opening my mouth, I licked at the seam of his lips, demanding entry.

Our tongues met and an electric shock hit me, zipping through my veins right into my groin. My muscles clenched, my cock jerked and precum soaked my underwear.

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