Page 61 of Captive Mate
“Too soon with the water bottle jokes?” He was grinning.
“Nate’s right, Matthew, you are a fucking asshole,” I spat.
His grin faded away, replaced with a thoughtful look that meant trouble. “I thought it was thematepart of the mug that had you so pissed.”
I pushed on his chest. As usual, it was like pushing on a warm, perfectly muscled brick wall. My fingers lingered a little before I yanked them away like they’d been burned. Traitors.
“I’m not pissed. I’m…” Inarticulate? Confused? Either would’ve worked. Trying desperately not to believe in something that seemed impossible?
That too.
Matthew sighed and settled on one elbow, using his other hand to stroke the hair off my face. It’d gotten all tousled, and after I’d spent so much time brushing it out.
“Forget the numbered list. You’re not one of my councilors. Sorry.” He leaned down and kissed me, and I didn’t have the heart to turn my head away. Gods, his lips were wonderful. But he broke the kiss and leaned up again to gaze down at me. “So you’re not a werewolf. What are you, then?”
I blinked up at him. “There’s no way you’re not angry I didn’t tell you before now. And there’s no way that isn’t a problem for you.”
He pressed his lips together. “Actually. Nate told me his wards would’ve activated if another werewolf crossed them, so I was already pretty sure you were something else. I’ve just been waiting for you to want to tell me.”
I’d been agonizing over it, and he’d known the whole time. So fucking typical. “Well, now I’m telling you,” I said. “And don’t tell me it’s not a problem for you, because your council would never go for —” I snapped my mouth shut before one more word could escape.
Fuck. Double fucking fuck.
Matthew stared at me, the beginning of a smile teasing the corners of his lips. “My council would never go for what exactly, Arik?”
My lips wereclosed, gods dammit. I shook my head and glared at him.
“Because,” he went on implacably, “it almost sounded like you were about to be upset that they wouldn’t accept you as my mate. Which you wouldn’t care about if you didn’t — care.”
“They wouldn’t,” I said, even though I’d been so determined not to say another word. “They wouldn’t.” And that came out sounding…pathetic. Like I really did care.
“Yeah, they would,” Matthew said softly, his eyes glowing. He put his hand to the side of my face, his palm cupping my cheek tenderly. “They would, because they’d have to. If they didn’t, I’d resign as pack leader. And then they’d probably have to deal with Ian. No one wants that.”
He meant it. Gods, he actually meant it.
“Why haven’t you asked me then? Why haven’t you — you let me think you didn’t want more than this.”
“I told you I loved you. I told you five days without you was too fucking much and I wanted you here, with me. And in case that didn’t sink in: I love you. I’m in fucking love with you. I’d mate you right here and now, if you were wondering, and I’m not going to ask anyone’s fucking permission but yours.” He gripped me a little tighter. “I left the ball in your court. Did you really want me following you around like an idiot all day every day, begging you to let me knot you and bite you and keep you forever?”
Well…yes? Fuck. I couldn’t admit that. I couldn’t even admit that to myself without feeling like I belonged on the cover of a teen magazine. Or worse, in a teen magazine’s advice column.
I swallowed hard. “I’m a lynx. A bobcat, specifically.”
Matthew stared for a second and his eyes lit up. “Do you have the…” He took his hand off my face to gesture vaguely at his ear, looking like he was about to burst with the force of suppressed laughter.
“Yes, asshole, I have the cute little tufty ears, fuck.” My cheeks burned, and I scowled at him — until he swooped down and kissed the scowl right off my face.
“I love tufty ears,” he muttered between kisses, “and I love you. Bond with me. I’ll knot you every night and eat your ass until you scream.”
“I don’t — mmm — scream when I’m —mmm— oh, gods,” I cried out, as Matthew abandoned my mouth in favor of moving down.
And then farther down.
It turned out I did scream, and I loved every second of it.
Matthew’s eyes were glowing and his shiny, reddened mouth was stretched in a cocky grin when he left off between my legs and braced himself over me. He’d pushed his boxers off at some point, and his erection was flushed and dripping. A bottle of lube was lost somewhere in the tangled sheets, but he’d already gotten a lot of it on his hand.
I spread my legs even farther, wrapping my hands around the backs of my knees and giving him an unmistakable invitation.
