Page 28 of Unhinged Magic
“I have every right to be jealous, Skip.”
She forced her hands through her hair, tightening her bun. “Here we go again,” she said on an exasperated breath.
What in the ever-loving fuck?
“Why are you doing this?” I asked, shoving my hands into my pockets.
I sat on the bed beside her. Fuck it. It was now or never.
“Doing what exactly?” She drew out the words as if she had no clue.
“Why play this game? Why deny the mate bond when we both know it’s here?”
Her brows rose before she frowned. “Wesley, this needs to stop. There is no mate bond, and you know it. Do you use that line on all the women?”
“Huh?”
What the fuck was she on about?Allthe women?
“I would never use the…” I shook my head in disbelief, my hand fisting the material of my sweats. “That’s…no.”
She stilled, her chest barely rising and falling, studying me as one would a line of convicts. I watched her face change from annoyed to sympathetic before morphing into something morereal.
“You’re serious?” she asked. Inspectingme again.
I swear this woman…
“What do you mean, am I serious?Of course.”
She stared at me like I was insane.
How. Did. She. Not. Get. This.
I had one rule in my life: never touch a woman without permission. Because I knew what the alternative felt like. I had not been granted that courtesy.
“Can you please trust me for just one second?” I whispered, hovering my hand over her knee. My nerves were onfire. “Can I touch you, right here?”
She watched my hand float just above her skin.
A long pause.
A small nod.
I rested my hand on her knee and she visibly stiffened. “Do you honestly not feel that?” I asked.
The brush of her skin against mine sent my heart pounding and my blood rushing.
She shook her head. “Sorry, I’m justreallyconfused right now.”
I ran my knuckles against her bare skin, and she inhaled a sharp breath. “Tell me you don’t feel that,” I urged, the sensation of touching her sending memindless.
“I do… feel something,” she stammered.
“Something?” I said incredulously, pulling my hand away. “Skip, I’m aching for you. My entire body is begging for your touch. I’m not kidding around, not for a second.”
She tucked her legs to her chest, her scrutiny assessing me for cracks. For any hint I was making this up. Could she honestly not feel what I did? “Let me kiss you.” My unplanned words came on a quiet breath. Another stupid idea, but something had to give here.
Her cheeks flushed. “What? No!” she hissed.
