Page 89 of Untraced Magic
She didn’t seem to register the words, silent syllables moving her lips. Her skin glowed a milky white, moonlight dancing over her in delicate shadows.
I repeated myself, my hand skimming her cheek.
“Mates. Soulmates—I didn’t know. I only figured it out myself a few days ago.”
“Mates,” she repeated numbly.
A single word. A fucking breath of salt-kissed air. I wanted to catch it with my lips but cautiously, patiently, stilled in front of her.
I lifted her chin, drawing her gaze to mine, desperation tearing at my insides, against the outer calm I forced upon myself. “You may not feel it. Or maybe you do? But by the gods, you hit me hard, Morgan. Wild, likenothingI have ever experienced before.”
Her silence grated against my calm.
A hand on each cheek, I melted in her chocolate orbs. A blink, a stray eyelash. My thumb swept over it.
I continued. “I never believed in mates, not until I met you. I felt it tugging at my soul. I have walked my entire life without you, not realizing such a love existed. Then you found me. I’ve never felt a love like this, Morgan. I love you… more than I thought I could loveanything.”
Her hands slid off her hips, hanging to the ground as if the earth had some powerful grip on her. A single tear fell from her eye, trailing past her cheek. Her mouth opened, then closed.
Her voice shuddered. “This can’t be… I just… I don’t understand.” Her gaze pulled from mine to the distance.
“Morgan, look at me,” I ordered, both hands on the sides of her face.
She forced her head away, grabbing at my hands.
I couldn’t let this be it. The mate bond hadn’t even gained its full strength, but I could feel it. Once it finally snapped into place, if she rejected me, it would ruin me. I hadn’t explained that part to her yet, that the rejection of a mate had the potential to kill the other.
“Morgan,” I repeated. Low, desperate. “Look at me.”
She obliged, her eyes finally boring into mine, a torrential storm brewing in that beautiful gaze.
“Please don’t freak out,” I said, my breath so close to her lips that hers brushed my own. “I know this sounds crazy, and a little scary. But it’s also exciting, intoxicating, and a little wild even,” I continued, my gaze traveling south to her lips and back up again. “Tell me what you felt when you first met me.”
Her hands still rested on mine, cupping her face. No longer trying to tear me away.
She sucked in an unsteady breath. “When I met you… I felt drawn to you.” She stared up at me, moistening her lips. “I tried to ignore it, but it’s like you were hurling towards me and I was powerless to stop it.”
My fingers moved a stray hair behind her ears, trailing her jawline. “Like you had no control,” I offered.
“Yes,” she breathed. “When I’m around you, I can’t explain it.” She spoke honest truths, vulnerability in her words. “When you touch me…” She shook her head. “You’re right; this is wild.”
Time lapsed, fading everything outside of our connection to a blur.
“Mate.” She whispered.
My heartsoared.
Morgan raised onto her toes, moving her lips against mine with force, an inferno of relief washing through me at the contact.
My lips tempted hers to open for me, and she greedily obliged, a fierce passion pulling us under. She moaned against my mouth in a way she hadn’t before, pushing her hips against mine, desperation in her kiss, her touch.
I couldn’t think straight, my mind consumed by every kiss, every sigh.
At last, I pulled away, catching my breath.
Glassy irises stared back at me as she gasped for air, the reflection of the moon on the face of my watch catching my attention.
12:01 a.m.
