Page 39 of Destined Mate

Lucas laughed, then cleared his throat.

Bodey glared at him, then glanced at me. “I need a moment with Callie.”

“Let’s go talk to Janet.” Miles strolled past me and patted Jack and Lucas on the back. “She’s probably made an amazing lunch for Sam and Michael, anyway.”

“You had me at lunch.” Lucas rubbed his stomach. “I’m starving.” He grabbed Jack’s arm and dragged him out the door.

“Will you two be joining us?” Miles asked.

“No. Callie needs to stop moving around, so we’ll stay here. I’ll make something for us,” Bodey answered, keeping his eyes on me.

“Okay. We’ll be by in thirty so we can head back to Grangeville in time.” Miles strolled out the door, leaving the two of us alone.

Neither of us said anything, and my pulse thudded in my ears. I was still pissed that he wanted his mom to watch over me. I felt like a child, not a twenty-two-year-old woman.

Huffing, he took my hand in his. His indigo eyes were warm as he scanned me. “Are you okay?”

“I’mfine.” For some reason, I couldn’t get myself to remove my hand from his. Unlike Theo’s touch, I enjoyed Bodey’s, and the warmth eased something inside me.

“I’m having a hard time believing that.” He grinned. “Are you upset over your visitors or what I said about my mom?”

My throat constricted. “I can handle Theo, but seriously, your mom?”

He arched an eyebrow and took a step closer, his scent washing over me. “You could’ve texted me that he was here, and you didn’t seem to like the way he was touching you and kissing you. I’m just trying to protect you.”

He had me there. “I didn’t, but I need to talk to him and tell him that he and I aren’t going to be together. I didn’t want to do that with Pearl and Charles here.” If I rejected Theo in front of people, it would make him look bad. I didn’t want that.

“I’m pretty certain he’s not smart, so I could see him coming back. What if he brings other pack members and tries to do those things to you again? He obviously knows you won’t reject him in front of others.” He arched a brow.

I looked up at him, my anger vanishing. He wasn’t trying to be a jerk; he was truly concerned. “You do realize that when I go back, you won’t be there to protect me, right? So…you might as well let me figure out how to handle this Theo situation while I’m here. I need to get through to him. He’s just trying to protect me in his own misguided way.”

“Doyourealize that when you go back there, you aren’t getting rid of me?” He cupped my cheek, staring into my soul. “I will still be there for you. You’re too special and too kind for someone to take advantage of you. I won’t allow it.”

His oath had my heart galloping and warmth spreading throughout my entire body, but not like before. This reaction wasn’t anger.

I didn’t know what was going on, but my feelings for him were intensifying, and we hadn’t been around each other for that long.

He lowered his forehead to mine and promised, “I’ll always be here to protect you. If anything ever happens, all you have to do is call me. I’ll drop everything to get to you.”

My eyes burned, and my breathing turned ragged, despite the agony swirling through me. I didn’t want him to stop touching me.

I stared into his eyes as they flicked down to my lips. My tongue darted out, licking my bottom lip before I realized what I was doing.

“You’re beautiful inside and out,” he murmured.

Part of me screamed for him to kiss me, but I was also terrified that he might.

CHAPTERTWELVE

Each second thatBodey’s lips hovered over mine, my stomach clenched tighter as dread and anticipation fluttered inside me, fighting each other.

I was frozen, so tempted to close the distance between us, but not brave enough.

Bodey blew out a frustrated breath and leaned back. “Come on. Let’s have something to eat and get you back into bed.” He took my hand gently and led me to the kitchen.

My body sagged. Even though I was relieved he hadn’t kissed me, a bigger part of me was disappointed.

I’d never truly been kissed. No one in my pack ever noticed me, and Theo and I had been just friends until recently when he’d decided to pursue me. Between that and my family homeschooling me, I didn’t have a life outside the pack. My world was small.

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