Page 36 of Breathe Again

“I can’t believe you suffered so much, and for me. I hate that you went through all that, Cole,” she said softly, not able to look at me. I couldn’t stand the idea of her pitying me.

“Elizabeth, look at me,” I told her, waiting for her to meet my eyes. “If it meant getting to this point with you, I’d do it all over again.”

I felt love flow between our bond and it filled me with more happiness than I knew possible. She smiled, and I knew she felt it, too.

“I don’t deserve your forgiveness,” she said. I started to protest, but she stopped me. “But, I’m grateful for it. Besides, it’s a little too late for you to get rid of me now.”

I laughed. “You have no idea how thankful I am for that. Come on, I think it’s time for bed before we both fall asleep in these dumplings.”

I rose to head to the bedroom, but Elizabeth didn’t move. I looked back to see her sitting there pouting. “Aren’t you going to carry me?”

“No,” I said. “My leg hurts.” She rolled her eyes and moved to get up, but not before I swooped her up into my arms. She squealed in delight and I had to take a second to get my footing, still feeling a little off from her meds and our new bond. “This is a bad idea, you know.”

Somehow we made it safely to the bed and I plopped her down unceremoniously. My limbs still felt heavy and I knew I needed to sleep off the weird effect of the drugs, even if they technically weren’t in my system.

I stripped out of my clothes as she watched intensely. I knew she liked what she saw when she licked her lips and her heart rate sped up.

“What are you doing?” she finally asked.

“Getting ready for bed,” I told her.

I would have gladly stripped nude, but when she started to pout, I left my boxers on just to mess with her.

“You can’t mess with me when you’re broadcasting your thoughts through the bond,” she said.

I laughed. “That is going to take some getting used to. Do you need me to get you anything while I’m up? Would you like to change out of your clothes at least?”

She looked at me, and I could feel she was nervous. It was cute. The last time we were together she had been in charge and confident. Looked like the tides had turned, but it would be fine, because I was more than happy to be in control while in the bedroom.

Without another word, she hesitantly rose from the bed and hobbled into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. I could feel a barrier between our bond, like she was blocking me. How the hell was she doing that? It was something I knew I would need to learn to do too.

When she finally came back out, my breath hitched. She was only wearing the black bra and thong I’d given to her to throw on just before her mom arrived. She limped over to the bed and sat down, when the covers were pulled up around her, she removed the bra and flung it across the room.

I was instantly turned on, hard enough to hammer nails.

She rolled over and smirked at me, still covering herself with the damn blanket.

“Can you get the light?” she asked.

I shook my head and jerked the blanket away from her. She moved to cover herself with wide eyes, surprised by my actions.

“Don’t,” I said, my voice filled with command. “Don’t cover yourself from me, mate.”

She shivered, and not because she was cold. I watched goosebumps break out across her arms and I reached over to rub my arm up and down her, feeling the coarse sensation of her usually smooth skin. I drank in the sight of her, watching her nipples pebble. Her breasts had grown fuller and more magnificent than I remembered. She shook under my scrutiny, her heartrate increased, and I smelled her arousal thickening the air around us. I hadn’t even really touched her—yet.

Elizabeth

Chapter 16

He was staring at me, leaving me feeling more exposed than I’d ever been before. I knew through our bond that he was enjoying the sight, and that made me push aside my normal discomfort and relax a little.

This was Cole: the love of my life, the boy I’d never gotten over, my mate, and the only man I’d ever been with.

Cole growled the second I thought about that last statement. It was true. It wasn’t that I hadn’t tried. In hindsight it was probably because I was already tied to him.

I smirked, knowing the idea that I hadn’t been with anyone else was driving him crazy. He scanned my body with obvious excitement. I felt like his prey, about to be consumed, and it lit a fire within me.

Cole’s movements were slow, and calculated, as he closed the gap between us. His eyes stopped roaming my body and fixated on mine. My heart began beating erratically as my pulse sped up.

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