Page 16 of Fated In Winter

And there he was, still holding my hand.

And when he lowered his head, his gaze gold, I didn’t stop him.

Instead, I went on my tiptoes and moaned as his lips pressed to mine.

CHAPTER5

Conner

I hadn’t realizedI had cupped her face, hovering over her as my tongue delved into her mouth until it was almost too late. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t do anything. All I could do was crave her.

This is a mistake, it didn’t make any sense, and yet it was as if I was sitting in an abyss, wondering where I had been all this time.

Where Romy had been all this time.

And now there was no turning back. There was no going back.

Romy was here, in my arms, and she was kissing me back.

I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do or how I was supposed to breathe or how I was supposed to do anything.

All I could do was hold onto her, to kiss her, and to crave more.

I pulled away, knowing I needed to, knowing I needed to focus, and as I wrenched away, the two of us stared at one another, sucking in deep breaths.

“What was that?” she asked. She shook her head, ran her hands through her hair, making her look sex-tousled and sexy. “What was that?”

“Fuck. I’m sorry. I didn’t know that you didn’t want it, fuck.”

“I’m not saying I didn’t want that. I’m the one who kissedyou. You didn’t force anything, but why was that just so explosive? Why did it happen so quickly? I don’t even know you, Conner, and yet it feels like I know every inch of you. Every ounce of your soul. Why is this?”

I swallowed hard, saying the one thing I shouldn’t, the one thing I knew I was going to no matter what. “We both know why, Romy.”

“How? I’ve lived nearly a century, and I never thought I would find my mate, not after losing so many people.”

I frowned. “In the wars?”

“I can’t talk about it.”

“Romy.” I cupped her face again, running my thumb along her cheek. “Talk to me.”

She pressed her lips together, her eyes looking as if she were fighting a war inside until she nearly exploded. “I’ve lost everyone. They’re all dead. My entire generation. My family. They died in every war that we’ve had. I thought maybe my mate was one of them. Because I had lost everyone else, and it would only make sense that it’s been so long that I must not be able to find my mate because they don’t exist anymore. How could it be you? How are we just now finding one another?”

“I don’t know, Romy. But I want to know. Is that wrong?”

“I don’t know either. But we just met. And I can’t focus. I need you to touch me, but I know I shouldn’t.”

“Are you as touch-starved as I am?”

She froze, blinking. “Why would you ask that?”

“I hold myself back. You know that. Because of the way that my wolf is. I haven’t been with another person in too long, and you know shifters need that connection.”

We needed sex, skin-to-skin contact. That was how our wolves survived—any shifter, for that matter, from what I had learned.

And yet, I didn’t know if that was the case with Romy or not.

I didn’t know if it should be the case.

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