Page 35 of Beginning Fate

I'd kissed a dozen girls before and none had compared to this moment.

I had only meant to kiss her.

One perfect first kiss.

But the fire of desire within me craved more.

I moved to somehow get closer to her. My elbow hit the horn on her steering wheel. I only vaguely noticed the blaring sound, but it made Lauren jump like we'd just been caught doing something we shouldn't, and the magical moment between us was instantly broken.

Needing a bit of space, I slid back into my seat and let it sink in.

I'd just kissed my mate for the first time and already couldn't wait to do it again.

A smile lit my lips.

“Now you have.”

“What?”

“Now you've been kissed.”

There was that blush again. I loved seeing it and knowing I'd put that color there.

“I didn't know what I was doing.”

“Could have fooled me.”

Her mouth fell open, but I needed her to know I had liked it. More than that, I had loved it. If it were up to me, we'd already be naked in the back seat, allowing me to memorize every inch of her. But I knew from the insecurities she had shown that doing so would be pushing her too far too quickly.

I could be patient with stakes this high. The last thing I wanted to do was rush her into anything she'd regret.

“Uh, I have to go.”

“Okay.”

She stared at me for a moment. “Are you going to get out?”

“No. I told you, we should talk.”

“That wasn't talking.”

She was cute when she was frustrated.

“Come on. Back to your hotel room—to talk. I promise I won't even kiss you again, unless you ask me to.”

I hated how uncomfortable she looked, but this was important.

“Just talk,” she finally relented.

“Yup. I just want to talk.”

“Fine.”

“Fine,” I replied, then I looked out the window to hide my smile.

We didn't really talk on the way over to the hotel. I could feel her nerves spiking the closer we got, and she was completely on edge by the time she parked the car.

I was beginning to think this was a bad idea.

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