Page 34 of Unexpected Mate

He stepped around the corner of the screen. His body was lit from behind, creating a silhouette of his figure.

“Cage,” I whispered.

Ihad dreamed of seeing him again, of having another chance to figure things out between us. Maybe the photos that Draven had shown me were photoshopped, maybe they were of a friend. Maybe, maybe, maybe.

“You have been quite a busy girl these past months!” said Cage. “You have blossomed so much. Come and sit down. I’ve been wanting to speak with you, but you’ve been rather elusive and your mates have been a little clingy tonight.” His laugh was warm, but I bristled at the way he had said “mates”.

“I know when we met, you were going through a rough time,” Cage continued. “I shouldn’t have tried to force the claim, and I shouldn’t have tried to change who you were meant to be. I scared you with the mate bite, and I pushed you away with my stubbornness. You just needed time toprocess everything and I was a selfish jerk. I had dreamed of meeting my mate and had envisioned us marking each other on the spot. I never dreamed I would have a soulmate that didn’t even understand the pull. I wanted everything to be as I had imagined it, and I never even realized that I had something better, right in front of me.”

I couldn’t breathe. I just sat there in stunned silence. He reached out slowly, his thumb sliding along my jaw.

“You don’t have to answer,” he continued, “but I have to ask. If I hadn’t ran that day - if I had stayed, instead of throwing a tantrum and leaving you, would you have claimed me?”

Tears rolled faster down my cheek. “Yes,” was the only word I could get out.

He squeezed his eyes shut. His voice shook as he spoke again. “Would I have been the first mate you claimed?”

My response was hardly more than a wisp of air. “Yes.”

I watched as a tear slid down the side of his face. “Do you still think about me? Do you ever miss me?” he asked.

“Yes.” I choked on a sob.

“Do you still love me?” His tears slid faster down his face.

“Yes. I never stopped loving you.”

“Oh Tia!” He swept me into his arms and I sobbed against him. “I have never stopped thinking about you either. I love you, Tia. You were meant to be mine. I was so stupid.”

He rocked me as he held me tight. My emotions were a churning sea inside me; it was too much emotion to pear.

“Cage.” I paused, not wanting to ask the question, butknowing I had to. “I saw photos. You were with a woman. Did you two claim each other? Are you still with her?”

I wouldn’t be the one to break up a family, regardless of how badly I had dreamed of this moment.

“No!” Cage cried. “I had no idea you were shown photos. I can’t imagine the pain you must have gone through seeing those. I did date a wolf female. I am ashamed to admit it, but I was trying to forget you. I was mad at the world and thought I could make my childish fantasy real. But it was never right. She wasn’t you. You are the one for me. I felt our tenuous bond break. Was that when you saw the photos?”

“Yes,” I confessed. “I wanted you to be free to claim another mate and not bound to me because your wolf decided to bite me.”

“Even then, you wanted me to be happy.” His voice was full of regret.

“Cage, please stop. We were both at fault. I was a terrified girl when I stumbled onto your pack lands. I had no idea what I was, or that supernaturals even existed. Draven showed up and kidnapped me, and that sent me into even more of a tailspin. I didn’t know about mates, and I know it hurt you when I struggled to understand. I was a mess and needed time; I shouldn’t have gotten my feelings hurt when you struggled to accept me as a shifter. We both needed time, and patience.”

“And I ruined it by locking myself away from you, and then storming back home,” Cage added. “Tia, please believe me. There is no other woman. I ended it with her right after the bond snapped. I didn’t even realize what I wanted until it was gone.”

My heart broke as I looked at his sorrowful face. I slipped my arms around his neck and clung to him. I tried to remember all the reasons I had for getting up and walking out of that room but surrounded by his incredible scent and held in his arms, I couldn’t focus enough to remember anything. It didn’t seem to matter anymore. He continued to rock me gently, his warm breath blowing through my hair. My desire stirred. I tried to keep a grip on my self-control but it was getting harder with every passing moment. I needed to get out of there, back to the safety of the cave before my dragon instincts pushed to the forefront again. The heat that had been simmering, was now beginning to boil. I had to go. I had to—

“Tia, is it too late for us? Can you forgive me for being a controlling idiot who forgot how a mate should be treated?”

I had dreamed of this moment, and now it was happening. I was going to get a second chance with Cage.

“Oh, Cage!” I cried and pressed my lips against his. He froze for a moment and then, slowly, his lips moved against mine. His hand slid into my hair, using it to hold me still so he could explore my mouth. I moaned and unbuttoned his shirt, eagerly slipping my hands inside to glide across his hot skin. His other hand worked at the laces I had loosened on my gown and I felt the fabric slip down from my breasts like a lover’s touch before it puddled around my hips.

Cage’s mouth left mine and I growled in protest, until I felt his hot, wet mouth kiss my breasts, sucking and teasing. I arched into him. This was the longest I had managed to go without sex since my heat started, and it was coming backwith a vengeance. The smell of my arousal tickled my nose. My heat added a punch to the scent to ensure that my mates wouldn’t be able to get enough of me, and Cage responded with a moan. Suddenly, he stood, lifting me with him and letting my beautiful gown flow down my body like water, leaving me naked in front of his dark lust filled eyes.

He laid me gently on the floor, the plush carpet teasing my sensitive skin. I watched through heavy eyelids as he slid his arms from the open dress shirt, and then slowly slid off his pants. He laid them carefully on the chair, and then turned back to me. I had always thought Cage was the most handsome man I had ever seen, and now he stood naked in front of me. A Greek god in the flesh.

My heat turned from pleasure to pain, instinct telling my body that I had resisted too long, and I needed to mate. This wasn’t what I wanted for my first time with Cage. I tried to shove back against it, clear my head, remember all the things I still needed to talk about with Cage. I needed to make sure… what?

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