Page 64 of Coming Home

I picked her up as I sat myself down on the couch and lowered her onto my lap. “Actually I do. I thought maybe we could pick up exactly where we were interrupted last weekend.”

I knew she knew what I was asking, and I needed so badly for her to say yes. I couldn’t stand another second without being bonded to her.

She pulled her hair to one side and once again exposed her neck to me. “You mean here?”

I could hear her heart beat race and knew she was nervous. I hated that she still had hesitations about my intentions being real. I was about to prove to her just how serious I was.

“Exactly,” I said, calling my canines forward. I didn’t even hesitate as I sunk my teeth into her neck. I had already waited far too long.

Shelby moaned and I felt a pinch as she bit into me.

Finally, I thought.

Of course I’d heard about the frenzy that consumes a pair as the bond seals, but I was not at all prepared for the emotional flood it caused, especially with my mate. I felt her warm tears drip onto my shoulder and I knew she was crying. I prayed they were happy tears.

I started to pant and needed her with a desperation I didn’t know possible. I literally ripped the clothes from her body, understanding why bonding and sex tended to go hand in hand. I couldn’t get inside her fast enough.

As she settled down on me, my entire body shuddered with a sense of completeness I had never known. We were one. Neither of us moved as my teeth slowly retracted. I licked the drop of blood on her neck and kissed the mark I’d left with a grin of satisfaction.

She did much the same, then threw her head back and started to move as if she couldn’t take it on more second. Her eyes locked with mine and never left, until she couldn’t keep them open any longer as she withered in my arms. It felt like a volcano had just erupted inside me as my overheated body released, too.

I laid us down on the couch without a word and tucked her close to my chest.

“Mine,” I said with a newfound fierceness.

“Always,” she replied, kissing my chest where her head lay.

Shelby

Chapter 21

Life felt pretty close to perfect. Ben had finally claimed me and a lot of my fears and concerns about him leaving subsided. Okay, they weren’t entirely gone, but dimmed in comparison. He was mine now, always and forever, and officially. I could handle the time apart that we’d be facing, because I knew he couldn’t stay away now that we were bonded mates.

That knowledge didn’t make his leaving any easier, though. We spent the bulk of the weekend skyping with his family, making love, and finally discussing our future together.

“I’m okay with moving to San Marco,” I assured him for the millionth time.

“But I see how much you love teaching here, and I hate that I’m going to take that away from you,” Ben said.

“You’re not. This is my choice because I have final veto power, remember? Besides, there’s children who need good teachers there, too,” I told him, recalling a promise he had made to me when he was discussing the job with Patrick.

A part of me was terrified any time he mentioned the job. A sniper? I hated guns and stuff like that, but then I had to force myself to remember that this was what he does. Still, I knew he had been shot at least twice in his nine years of service. That didn’t sit well with me, but I would never tell him that.

“Maddie is in Westin, and Lizzy is there half the year. I’ll have family around, not to mention friends. We grew up with the Westins, Ben. I’m going to be fine there. Besides, it’s only a couple hours flight back home, and I know Thomas will send me the plane anytime I ask.”

“I know, I just want you to be certain. No regrets.”

“I am certain, and this is only a trial anyway. Maybe it will work out, maybe it won’t.”

Ben sighed. “There’s only so many opportunities for an ex-sniper, sport. I was lucky to stumble across this one. As much as I hate to admit it, I have Walker to thank for that.”

“Admit it, he’s growing on you,” I teased.

“That little shit really is,” he admitted, making us both laugh.

It was Sunday night, or maybe even Monday morning, as we lay in bed talking. Neither of us wanted to close our eyes, knowing morning would arrive and Ben would have to leave.

“Are you sure you’re okay with the twins?”

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