Page 15 of Wolf's Wild Woman

“I’ll keep myself safe, also,” he said softly.

“I don’t…” I paused and shook my head at my own reticence.

“You’re not going anywhere,” he said when I didn’t finish. “I’ll give you all the time you need to accept we’re mates. We might have a few children while I wait, but I’m game if you are.”

I almost laughed until the truth of his words hit me. I dropped my hand to my stomach, and he laced his fingers over mine there. We’d had sex so many times since we’d arrived home it was possible I was already pregnant.

“I don’t know if I can stay,” I warned him instead of commenting on the children remark.

“Because of Benji Makers?”

“No. Because of who I am in this town, who my mother was in this town. I’ve weathered enough storms here,” I admitted. “I don’t want to weather any more.”

“Storms aren’t meant to be weathered, baby. They’re meant to call to the wild inside you, to entice you outside. Have you ever been for a run during a storm?”

I shook my head.

“There’s something primal about it. I’ll take you the next time we have one.” He leaned in and nipped my bottom lip. “Maybe, I’ll persuade you to be a little adventurous in the rain.”

“You like to dance in the rain?” I teased, though I was pretty sure he was talking about having sex outside during a storm.

“I like the idea of dancing with you in the rain. Of settling you under me and making love while the storm crashes around us, crashes inside us.”

“You make me want things,” I admitted.

“Want them,” he encouraged. “With me. Stay with me. Here. Make it a home with me. Fill it with laughter and children.”

“Yesterday, my wolf and I were set on getting the hell out of this place.”

“And now?” he asked me.

I shrugged. “Part of me still wants to run as far and fast as I can. But not without you. My former alpha, Rowan, once told me when I met my mate, I’d know it by the way my heart feels when I’m around them. By the way it beats a little stronger in my chest.”

He took my hand and placed it over his heart, letting me feel the strong, steady thump there. “Does this mean you’re accepting that we’re mates?”

“I don’t know how to be a mate,” I confessed. “My mother never had one, so I didn’t get that example.”

He snorted. “I told you about my mother. It doesn’t matter. What they didn’t give us doesn’t matter. We’ll figure it out together. Just the two of us.”

“I don’t want to screw this up,” I told him. I didn’t want to do anything that might encourage him to walk away and leave me. God, it would hurt so much more to lose him after I let myself fall in love with him. Mating was a lifetime commitment. “Maybe, we should try being mates for a week or so and see how it goes?”

He laughed, and damn, but the sound was sexy. Then he stood, grabbing me and lifting me out of my chair as he did. He set me on the countertop beside the stove and wedged himself between my thighs. “No trial run. We’re mates. Period.”

He leaned in and kissed me. His tongue slicked my bottom lip before dipping inside on my moan. He had me wrapped around him by the time he let me up for air.

“Say it,” he commanded. “Tell me you’re my mate.”

I bit my lip. If I said it, there would be no going back with a man like him. I couldn’t let fear dictate my choices, though. Benji had caused enough trouble, and my mom had made her choices. Her choices weren’t mine. Leaving this town wouldn’t change that. I had to understand that in my head, in my heart. This was my chance at happiness, and I would take it. I took a deep breath and said the words that would change my life forever.

“I’m your mate.”

He lifted me off the counter and tossed me over his shoulder instantly.

“Wait! What about the oven?” I yelled, and Taylor paused, turning back long enough to turn it off before heading upstairs.

He tossed me on the bed and immediately followed me down, covering me as he tugged at clothes. I helped him until we were both naked and he was pressing inside me. I’d learned I loved it when he filled me up. I’ve never felt more alive than when his cock pumped into me, rubbing every nerve along my channel and edging me higher and higher toward the greatest pleasure I’ve ever known.

“Always like this,” he vowed to me. “It will always be this good, this fulfilling.”

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