Page 105 of What a Wolf's Heart Decides

“No!” She seized his jaw in both hands, making him lose his balance and fall on top of her. They sank deeper into the flowers, petals brushing their faces.

He barely felt it. The soft curves beneath him were too distracting.

So was the angry female staring up at him, her blue eyes blazing. She slid her hands into his hair, tugging his head back in a gentle but no-nonsense grip. Her pelvis cradled his, and before he could shift away she wrapped her legs around his waist, drawing him into her. “You listen, Bard Bennett.”

Well, he was now. With her thighs over his hips and her hot sex pressed against him, he was all fucking ears.

Still grasping his hair, she forced him to meet her gaze. “You think you’re protecting me, but you’re wrong. You think you’re being noble, but you aren’t.” She drew a ragged breath, and something told him she summoned every ounce of her courage to say her next words. “I’m not asking you to mate me. I know that’s not possible. I’m just asking you to stop denying what’s between us. Because something is between us, and it’s not a bad thing. It’s good and wonderful and I want to see where it goes.”

For a moment, he could only marvel at whatever capricious twist of fortune had caused such a bold, amazing female to land in his lap. He was utterly unworthy of her. His heart pounded as he stared into her eyes—the blue as clear and pure as a spring sky. When he spoke, he put every ounce of sincerity he possessed in his voice, hoping she heard the truth in his words.

“If I could mate you, I would do it in a heartbeat. No force in this world would stop me from making you mine.”

That pleased her. It was there in her eyes. But it also made her sad.

Goddammit, he couldn’t bear to see her sad.

It hurt to breathe. Maybe because his heart was breaking. Voice hoarse, he said, “I can’t give you everything you need.”

She released his hair and trailed her fingertips over his face, down his scars and the eye patch he’d hated for twenty years.

“I don’t need everything,” she whispered, and she offered him the sweetest, saddest smile. “I just need you to kiss me.”

In that moment, he knew three things.

Kissing her would be a mistake.

They would both regret it.

He was going to do it anyway.

Gaze on hers, he let power fill his voice. “Open your legs.”

Her eyes widened as she complied, unable to refuse the order. At the same time, her nipples hardened against his chest and her desire filled the air, the sweet scent blending with the roses.

Dark satisfaction curled through him, and he drew on his power a little more. “Wider.”

Her lips parted. Her heart rate kicked up. She shifted beneath him, spreading her thighs, her sex making a soft wet sound as it opened.

He lifted himself above her, then moved down her body, planting soft kisses on her neck, her chest, her belly. As he reached her sex, she sucked in a breath.

“Bard?”

“Hush.” He kissed the top of her mound.

She jerked. “Bard.”

Lips hovering above her sex, he looked up and crooked a brow. “You asked me to kiss you, did you not?”

“Y-Yes.”

He lowered his gaze to the luscious sight of her wet pussy, the lips pink and glistening. “You didn’t say where.”

She let out a sob. Moisture gathered at her opening.

Drawing on his power once more, he gave her an order. “Keep them open.”

Her response was another breathless sob. More cream seeped from her entrance.

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