Page 52 of Watch Me Burn

Oh. I think I do.

He opens his mouth again. I’m not sure what else there is to say, but there’s only one way to stop him now that my grumpy wolf is on a roll. Going up on my tiptoes, I cup his jaw with my hands so that I can keep him still. Then, before he can jerk out of my light grip, I press my lips to his.

I’m not an idiot. Like how I tugged his hand only because he let me, if Conall didn’t want my kiss, he could easily break freeof me. When he doesn’t, I take that as permission to deepen the kiss.

His hands settle on the small of my back, tugging me close. Our chests bump together as I cling to his cheeks, kissing him until I’m breathless.

He wants more. I can sense the heat between us, and if I was secretly worried that now that my fire magic is active, I’d burn him with my kiss, I’m not anymore. After I break the first kiss, he dives back in for the second, and it’s my turn to enjoy the sensation of Conall plundering my mouth with his tongue.

When he pulls away, I search his face.

One second, his expression is full of heat and hope. The next? He goes completely guarded.

His eyebrows draw together. “What was that for?”

“For loving me,” I say simply. “For caring about me. No one… no one’s ever really cared that much about me to go to so much trouble to make me happy. I mean, Aunt Maureen, yeah. And Elise, too. But they’refamily. None of my exes would ever do anything like that.”

When Conall’s canine fangs elongate right in front of my eyes, a growl rumbling deep in the chest I was just pressed up against, I know I fucked up.

I’ve never seen him act as possessive as he did when he claimed me in front of James, but that’s nothing compared to the way that he looks at me right now.

I gulp. “Conall?”

“Fated mates are made for each other. The bond forms, and then we have forever to learn each other. I want to know everything about you. About your aunt, and the pottery class where she met her mate. About what it was like in that Fang City with Elise. Your puphood in New York. I want to know it all… but if you care about me at all, you will never mention any of your previous mates in front of me again.”

He sounds so desperate for me to agree that I have no choice. “Okay. But only if you don’t tell me about any of your other girlfriends.”

“That’ll be easy. I told you, Red. I’ve never had one.”

Oh. So heisa virgin…

“So, uh, this mate thing…”

“We don’t have to do anything about it now,” he grates. “We can just forget it.”

Oof.

Really? After everything he just said, he wants me to forget it?

“Can you?” I ask.

His laugh is surprisingly hollow. “Of course not. You’re all I think about. If I’m not in the caves, I’m curled up on the rock outside your house, watching over you. Fuck, I’d scratch at the door like a puppy if I thought you’d answer for me.”

My mouth falls open. It’s one thing to hear that I’m supposed tobe his fated mate. To hear him call out the things about me that frustrate him, and those he likes… those heloves. But for Conall freaking Hunt to bethisvulnerable?

“I… never guessed,” I admit softly.

He sighs. “I know, and it’s because I know that I’m fooling myself. I can’t have you. As much as I’ll do anything to have you, it’s your choice… and you won’t choose me. Not yet, at least. And that’s okay.”

“Is it?”

It was a simple question, but Conall reacts as if I kicked him in the nuts. He lets out a frustrated howl, storming away from me, eating up the ground as he stalks toward the woods, his hands fisted at his side before he whirls around again.

“You drive me crazy, Red. Do you know that?”

I’m glad it’s not just me.

I shrug. “I have that effect on a lot of people.”

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