Page 26 of Falling for her Guardian

Her brows lifted, but she pressed her lips together and didn’t say anything.

“I’m serious, Seren,” he said earnestly, hoping she could hear the truth in his words. “He’s just a bad male, one of those guys who want to use people without consequences. He’s most likely done it to other females, not just humans but she-wolves too. Sometimes, the next-in-line alpha gets away with everything because no one wants to get on their bad side when they take over. It’s shitty on a hundred different levels, and I totallyunderstand why it would make you want to swear off dating shifters.”

He stroked his thumbs down her jaw and then her throat, resting them along her collarbone.

“I think it was worse because my sister is the one who figured out what he was doing and let me know, and she told my parents. My mom wanted to call his dad and tell him to rein in his son. She’s a momma bear at heart,” she said with a smile.

“The best moms always are. Did she call?”

“No, I forbade her from getting involved. It ended up that once I called him on his bullshit and told him it was over, a few of the she-wolves messed with me on social media, tagging my friends and family and suggesting I was a defective human and couldn’t handle being with a male like him. I deleted everything and my family went private and blocked them, and that was the end of it. It’s been a year, and I haven’t really wanted to date anyone at all, let alone a shifter.”

“So when you felt attracted to me, it freaked you out?”

She leaned away from his touch. “What makes you think I’m attracted to you?

He leaned into her, planting his fists on the couch on either side of her hips and inhaling softly. “Because I can smell your arousal.”

Seren had never heard such a thing. He couldsmellwhen she was turned on?

Before she could stop herself, she blurted out, “What does it smell like to you?”

He growled softly, the sound almost a purr but deeper. He closed his eyes and inhaled, then leaned closer, barely touchingher neck with his nose. She shivered as her skin prickled. “You smell like a fucking dream, Seren,” he said, his voice low and rough. “Like warm spices and honey.” He leaned back and his eyes bled from gold to ice blue. “You smell good to me all the time, but when you’re turned on? It’s amplified and it makes my bear go crazy.”

She rolled her lips together. No one had ever said something like that to her before.

Was she still thinking about being possibly betrayed and heartbroken by the sexy guy before her?

Yes.

But it wasn’t as strong as it was in the beginning. She could feel his honesty in some strange way in her heart, and she could tell he was speaking truthfully when it came to her.

He was close. She could feel his warmth and she wanted to snuggle up with him. He smelled so good, like leather and fresh snow.

“Are we done talking?” she whispered as her body tingled at his nearness.

“We can be,” he said. “Why?”

Instead of answering, because she wasn’t sure she wouldn’t say something wildly inappropriate for having just met him hours earlierandnearly dying, she kissed him.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and planted her lips against his.

His lips were warm and soft and he was so strong she could feel his muscles flexing as he lowered himself to his knees in theVof her legs and pushed his hands under her bottom. He drew her closer and she slid off the couch onto his lap, feeling the ridge of his erection press against her most sensitive place.

She couldn’t stop the moan that rolled up her throat as their lips parted and their tongues touched, everything inside her demanding she strip herself—and him—and find out just howwarm his skin was and just how the hell big the bat he was swinging was. Because it felt damn big.

He cradled her close and rocked his hips up, grinding himself lightly against her.

A flush crept up her spine. She dug her nails into his neck and met his hips with a soft rock of her own.

Holy hell, she could come just dry humping him.

She broke from the kiss and leaned back against the couch, panting for breath. His eyes were a beautiful mixture of blue and gold, and she could feel the rumble of his bear in his chest.

She wanted to do a hundred things with him, mainly ask him to take her to bed immediately. But she’d rushed into physical things in the past and didn’t want to make that same mistake. She wasn’t even sure she really believed in this whole mate thing. Even if something very deep in her heart told her that he was right and they were meant to be together.

“I think,” she said, her voice cracking. She cleared her throat and planted her feet on the carpet, pushing off his lap and rising to her feet. “I think that I’d like to go to sleep, I’m exhausted.”

He stared at her for a long moment, like he knew exactly how close she was to playing a quick round of strip poker without the poker, and she thought he might call her bluff.

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