Page 71 of Dawn Unearthed

I shook my head and wrenched away. I shouldn’t have touched her. I shouldn’t have done anything without permission. And yet, here I was, doing it all over again.

“It’s not because of me. I took away your choice.”

She shook her head and took a step forward. I held up my hand, afraid that if she touched me, I would never let her go. The bond flared between us, pulling me towards her, but I forced myself to stay put. I made myself not touch her.

“You didn’t take away my choice. You and I slept together, Rome. I gave myself to you that night. You know you were the first person I was with since Rupert. I gave myself to you. That was my choice. One I would make readily again. We were waiting for the mating mark; until we got to know each other better. But you know it was inevitable. I would have chosen you, Rome. You didn’t take that choice away. It was Faith. She’s the one who took everything. She’s the one who hurt me. Who killed Penelope. It wasn’t anything you did. You aren’t the one who hurt me. You aren’t the one who took away my will. That was her. She’s a dark witch. A necromancer. What else were you supposed to do? Were you supposed to let me die in your arms, bleeding out? Was I supposed to let my blood mix with Penelope’s as I died near her? What were we supposed to do, Rome? You need to stop blaming yourself. I can feel it in the bond. I can feel your pain, and it’s killing me. Please, don’t walk away. Don’t stop touching me. Just hold me.”

She was crying then. And I tried…tried so hard to hold myself back. I couldn’t. Instead, I took the three steps between us and crushed her to me. “I’m sorry.”

She let out a breath. “No, don’t be sorry. You saved me, Rome. And I can feel you. You are my mate. You’remine. Do you understand that? I hope you do. I hope you realize that I would have chosen you if given the time. We were already making our path. We would have ended up here. Maybe not in the same way, but we would have. And now, we have a future. We will fight Faith. We will protect this town and the pack. Though to do so, we need to be together. You can’t walk away. You can’t look at me and only see the choice that someone ripped away from us. I need you to look at me and see who we are and who we could be. I’m falling in love with you, Rome. Don’t you understand that? I’m falling in love with you. And it has nothing to do with the bond but because of the man you are. So, please don’t walk away. Look at me. Be with me. Kiss me. Can you do that? Can you kiss me right now?”

The floor nearly fell out from under me, and I staggered. “Of course, I want you, Sage. I’ve always wanted you. From the moment I saw you in that forest. When you were saving my life, when you used your magic without knowing to protect me, I wanted you. I will forever hate Faith for what she did. Because when I close my eyes, I can still see your lifeless form in my arms. I marked you, Sage. I engaged in the biggest taboo I could.”

She studied my face. “Now, what do we do? Do we go back to who we were? Or do we find a way to make this mark ours?”

I was holding her, and in answer, I leaned down and brushed my lips against hers. “You’re mine.”

“Good, because you’re mine, too.”

I kissed her. She tasted of sweetness, tea, and of the herbs that had made her healthy. I could feel her within my soul. My bear grappled as I held her. Tasted her. I picked her up, unable to stop touching her. She wrapped her legs around my waist. Thanks to the bond and the magic within the coven, I was able to keep her safe. For this moment, she was whole. We both were.

I would take every step I could to make sure she knew that I was the right choice—if she’d been given one.

“Kiss me, Rome. Be with me. Always.”

I retook her lips and carried her to my bedroom. She had never been in here. We had made love outside under the stars before. I had fed her in my kitchen. But she had never been in my bed. Now, she would be. Inourbed if I had anything to say about it. Of course, she would be the one to make that ultimate choice. I would never again take away her will.

“Be with me, Rome,” she repeated.

“Always, Sage. I’m never letting you go.” I hadn’t meant to say that last part, but as the bond flared between us at my words, I knew she felt the same.

“I can feel you. Deep inside.” She blushed. “I mean the bond.”

“Since we’re both still clothed, I knew what you meant.” I paused. “Is that okay? I know it will take some getting used to. Bears come by it naturally, but I know as a witch, you’ll have to figure out what works for you.”

I gently placed her on the bed, and she reached up, resting her palm on my chest, over my heart. “I like the feel of you around my heart, Rome. I like the idea of you knowing where I am, and that you’ll be able to find me. That I’ll always know how to findyouif you’re hurt. That I’ll always know you’rethere. That might be too much for others, but not for me. Be with me, Rome,” she repeated. “Let’s make thisourchoice. No one else’s.”

“I don’t want to scare you.” I swallowed hard. “I’m a bear, Sage. I could hurt you.”

Her eyes darkened. “Be yourself, Rome. And I’ll try not to hurt you, either.” She winked as she said it, and my bear roared, craving her more than I ever thought possible. I lowered my head and kissed her again before gently nipping at her collarbone and neck.

She moaned, tugging on the bottom of my shirt. I leaned up and pulled the shirt over the back of my head. She groaned and looked at me, licking her lips. No words were needed, not between us. We could feel each other along the bond.

I lowered myself again and took her mouth, this time greedily. Far harder than before. She moaned again, scraping her fingernails down my back. I grinned; my bear happy yet needy.

I tugged at the bottom of her shirt. She sat up, and I pulled it over her head before I did the same with her bra.

Her eyes widened, and I kissed her softly as I pulled away to look down at her beautiful breasts. They were heavy, full, her nipples a dark red. They were more than a handful and perfect for the size of my hands. I groaned then leaned down, taking one supple nipple into my mouth.

“You taste fantastic,” I ground out before I latched on to her other nipple, using my free hand to palm her breast and play with her. She slid her fingers into my hair, moaning. I looked up as her head fell back, her long hair cascading around her.

She looked like a goddess.Mygoddess. My mate.

I was so fucking excited to have her, to have her body and soul as part of me.

This was where we should have marked one another. This was where we should have become true mates. I needed to push the thought of how it had happened out of my mind and focus only on the woman in my arms. I looked up at the slight scar on her shoulder, the one that would be there until the end of time. The one that told the world that she was mine. I licked the slight ridges. Sage shivered and pressed her thighs around my hips. “Rome. That feels…” Her voice trailed off.

“Yes. I could probably make you come by sucking on it. Do you want me to try?” I asked.

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