Page 54 of Daddy's Mail Order Mate

I laugh at that, brighter and louder than before. Without thinking about it, I shift my posture and turn a bit more towards him and even feel a trace of a smile tightening my cheeks.

“I guess that explains all the paper pushing you seem to do.”

“We have to constantly process and file reports, conduct investigations, and ensure the smooth operation of our society.”

“Yeah. I suppose if I think about it, there’s a lot on the Council’s shoulders. You guys have to make sure wolves don’t just eat each other alive or blow our cover to all of humanity.”

He hums and I hear his exhaustion drag it out just a bit too long.

“And so much more.”

I take this moment toreallylook at him. The lighting is too soft now, but I know there are some fine lines tracing around his eyes kept in a constant vigilant squint and between his frequently furrowed eyebrows. And I know from the other day that he has so many scars across his body from what must have been thousands of fights over the years.

Even as a young man, he’d been one to take the world on his shoulders. It hadn’t surprised me to hear that he’d gone off to do just that with the Council.

A question edges along my thoughts, but before I can muster the will to ask, I brace through a sudden shiver that rattles through my limbs.

I go for a deep swig and it distracts me enough that I don’t notice him until there’s a warmth settling around my shoulders and I feel him towering not inches from me.

Startled, I lower the bottle and gently grip at the edge of his jacket he’d slipped around me.

With him this close, my body vividly reminds me just how desperately it wants him. Knowing that the heat I feel against my skin ishismakes me feel far drunker than a few sips off a beer should.

To the point that I completely forget myself and turn my face into fabric, nuzzling into the soft fleece. It evensmellslike him, and my eyes close as I take in a long, slow drag of him.

But then I remember that he isright fucking thereand freeze.

I feel far too warm now thanks to the blush that hits my face like a freight train on a brick wall. Will I ever stop embarrassing myself?

I shift a bit away from him and force myself to look out into the woods—because if I look at him I’m pretty sure I’m going to just self-combust.

He clears his throat before speaking in a low, careful murmur.

“It’s okay.”

My head tilts back towards him, and my confusion makes me bold enough to try and look up at his face. The quiet intensity of his expression makes my knees nearly buckle out from underneath me.

I try to speak, but my mouth just gapes open.

Thorn fills the silence, and the words are one I couldn’t have even dared to dream of.

“I love your scent too.”

Chapter 16 - Gwen

“You—... do?”

The words stumble breathlessly out of me, absolutely dumbstruck. A more lucid line of thought tries to scold me for sounding like an idiot and making a fool of myself. What if I ruined the compliment by seeking clarification? What if he takes it back or makes some sort of additional comment that makes me feel so much worse, when I could have just been happy with what crumbs he threw me?

Thorn hesitates at that, and I feel the urge to flee begin to pierce through me. I don’t know if I make some sign of it in my body language, because he reaches out and grasps a hand around my wrist. My breath audibly catches in my throat, and my eyes whip between his hand to his face in a silent startled question. His grasp twitches—it almost seems to loosen at the same time as his expression darkens and seems to withdraw. My arm starts to carefully twitch back as though I’m trying to coax it out of a trap, but then he holds firm.

“I do.”

I breathe out shakily. What am I supposed to make of all this? Of all the people I’ve ever known, he is the one who’s hurt me the most. Herejectedme in every way possible. And yet here he is now holding on to me and admitting something sointimate. My lips press together and I stare down at our feet to find some escape from his eyes and find some relief from the confusing, embarrassing loveliness of this fragile moment.

“There’s so much about you that is just… Irresistible, Gwen,” he murmurs. “Every detail. The way you smell… The way you move… Just the sound of your voice, even just yourbreathingmakes me…”

The way he mirrors my own thoughts with each slow, breathy utterance seems to weave some sort of spell through me. By the time his thought drags off, I’m helplessly hungry for more. So I wet my lips in a slow, nervous way, and gradually lift my gaze up to his once more.

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