Page 59 of Mated Exile

Thinking of what I saw between us last time, my eyes dip down towards the ground, searching. She's gotten close enough to me that I could reach out and graze my knuckles across her cheek, curl a finger along her neck, but I resist. Mercifully, I don't see threads between us today—though the thought fills me with bitter disappointment, I stamp down the emotion, because I know I don't deserve her.

Meeting her eyes again, I admit, "There are a lot of things you don't know about me, Dee."

"Oh? Then tell me." She crosses her arms, which only serves to push her breasts up against the neckline of her shirt again, damning me thoroughly. "Whatever secrets you had as a fourteen-year-old boy, I doubt they're big enough to make me think you wouldn't be a good alpha."

I suck in a sharp breath. If only she knew. Given her powers, she'll find out one day, and I have no doubt she'll look at me in betrayal. It occurs to me that I could tell her now, but I admit, I'm a weak man. I don't want to see the disappointment in her eyes when she discovers what I did, how I fucked everything up.

So I choose to tell her another, far smaller secret. "Fine. You might've figured it out by now, but when we were younger, I had a massive, raging crush on you."

Her brows fly up, and she tilts her head to the side. "I never knew that. You were always teasing me. You used to tell Kieran not to bring me on your little boys adventures."

Mostly because the sight of her body, going through puberty just like mine, gave me massive, raging hard-ons. "I knew I wasn't supposed to have feelings for you. Kieran told me he had a crush on you, and your father had made it pretty clear he intended to set you two up if he could. I did my best to stay away from you after that—especially when Kieran was with his father every other weekend."

"I remember that." She starts chewing her lower lip again, and I find my eyes drawn to the spot, even as things start to get uncomfortable below my belt. "You and I used to hang out and play video games and go out into the woods together. Then suddenly one day you stopped, and you tried to make Kieran stop inviting me to things. I didn't understand why."

Bitterness swells in me. "Well, now you know."

Her eyes fly up to mine, and she frowns. "But that was then. This is now. Things can change."

"Can they?" I consider the way I've seen Kieran look at her, my insides twisting as I remember the sight of him pressing her up against the wall, naked from the waist down, aroused and about to take her for himself. "Some things stay the same. You and Kieran—you'll always be a pair."

Her eyes flash with sudden, uncharacteristic anger, and she stalks towards me. I take a step back, then another, until my back hits the windowsill and I wince, feeling foolish.

Delilah puts her hands against my chest and sharply says, "I'm the one who decides who I'll be a pair with. There's no reason why you can't date me while Kieran does the same. He's made it clear that he's okay with it, I've made it clear that I'm interested, and I knowyou'reinterested. So shut up and let it happen already."

I can't help it. I laugh, staring down at her, full of incredulity. "You're just as stubborn as you were when we were twelve, Dee."

"Yeah, well." She huffs, narrows her eyes, and drops one of her hands down south. I inhale through my teeth as her long, clever fingers curl around the bulge pressing up against my pants. "We're not twelve anymore, in case you haven't noticed, Roarke. I know what it looks like when a man is aroused by the sight of my cleavage."

My eyes drop down to the subject in question. Her anger has brought heat to her pale skin, stretching from her neck down south. I can only imagine how far the blush goes—it disappears along the curve of her breasts, dipping below her thin shirt.

I lick my lips, and her eyes follow the curve. She takes another impossible step towards me, pressing our bodies together. My hands instinctively settles on her hips, the softness of her curves pressing against my hands.

There's no mistaking the blood pooling in my abdomen, especially as she tightens her grip around my bulge.

In a low voice, I admit, "I want you so bad, Dee. I don't think I ever stopped wanting you."

"Then have me." She tilts her chin up, exposing the vulnerable curve of her throat. "Whatever it is that makes you hold yourself back from me, forget about it. It doesn't matter—I don't care."

"You will," I whisper. "One day you will."

"Today is not that day."

Delilah stretches up on her toes, and there's no more holding back. All my self-control, every bit of denial and shame I've wrapped myself up in, is overridden by overwhelming desire. I drag her up against me and press my mouth against hers.

Those lips she licks and bites are soft and heaven-sent. Stroking my tongue against them, I swallow the whimper that leaves her mouth as they part to my entreaty. She tastes sweet and sinful, feels warm and soft as I press her curves against my chest. My fingers dig into her hips, curling around to claim her body, my arousal growing as she draws her hand up beneath the hem of my shirt and plays with the waistband of my pants.

Walking her back towards the bed, I curve my body downward and lick inside her mouth. She lets me in, tilting her head to give me a nice angle, stretching up on her tiptoes to meet my height. Grabbing my hand, she draws it up beneath her shirt until my fingers cup her breasts beneath a thin, sporty bra. A growl of pure pleasure explodes from my chest as I stroke her nipples through the cotton and feel her arousal grow. The smell of her fills the air, warm and aroused, and I want nothing more than to bend her down and stroke inside her until she's mine,allmine.

Pulling back from our kiss, Delilah pants against my mouth. Her hand drops to my pants, reach for the button and part it. Then she curls her fingers on the zipper, looks up into my eyes, and squirms.

"Roarke." My eyelids dip low at the sound of my name on her tongue. "Is it okay if I...? I mean, I want to... can I suck you off?"

Twenty-Six

Delilah

Roarke freezes, and for a moment I think he's going to find some way to say no. I feel his abdomen tighten against my fingertips. Biting my lower lip, I blush, wondering if I've been too forward or pushed too quick.

---