Page 41 of Sweeter Than Honey
“Jett, I,” she lost her breath.
He slipped his hands beneath her arms and lifted her from the chair. Cara’s hands went to his arms to steady herself. Her heart raced wildly, the beat tapping against the side of her neck. His lips parted slightly, his own breathing matching the quickness of hers.
She shook her head but didn’t know why. To stop herself from what she hoped was about to happen? To stop him from giving it to her?
“I’m leaving in the morning,” she said in a rush. “What are we doing?”
His eyes dropped to her mouth. Why wasn’t he saying anything? Tears stung her eyes for the second time today, just as confounding now as they had been earlier.
“I’m sorry that I can’t give you more.”
“Can’t or won’t?” She pressed. What did it matter? He’d made his position clear, yet it didn’t stop or even slow down the desire she had for him. Wasn’t there someway for them to be together?
“Cara,” his voice dropped off apologetically. Jett cupped her face between his hands, his head dropping a fraction of an inch. Her breath hitched with anticipation.
“Thisis enough. It’s enough. Please.”
She meant it, fully. Completely. It hurt to think they’d part soon, that life would go on with Jett Mitchell falling into a distant memory. She wanted something beautiful and vibrant to hang onto. Something that would take longer to fade.
He pulled her onto her tiptoes and crushed his lips to hers.
Chapter Eighteen
Hewasgoingtolose control.
Cara’s taste washed over him, and he couldn’t get her close enough. He pulled her away from the chair and lifted her, his arms beneath her bottom as her legs wrapped around him. He moved them toward the living room, but his brain was a foggy mess of lust and he stopped to push her against the wall.
She took his face between her hands and kissed him as if her life depended on it… or, like this was the last time they’d ever be this way. A pang of despair tried to work its way in, but he shoved it back.
He didn’t want her to go. Was thinking of all the ways he could keep her safe just a little while longer. It made sense for her to go to California and the rational side of him knew that with crystal clarity. But the selfish side of him, the one that had grown quickly accustomed to having her around, wanted her to stay.
How quickly things had changed for him. And how unfortunate that he couldn’t allow himself to feel what he thought he was feeling.
He broke their kiss and cruised the tender flesh along her neck with his lips. She’d felt so soft and supple beneath his hands while he’d been massaging her. He’d wanted to kiss her, to follow the paths his fingers had made with his mouth.
“I want you,” she breathed as her head lolled to the side. “Take me upstairs.”
The bear inside him roared with anticipation. Fuck, he was in so much trouble. He wanted to obey her command more than anything. He wanted her, too, with a near frenzy of lust that could easily consume his common sense. Breathing hard, Jett placed a gentle kiss in the hollow of her throat and pulled back.
“I don’t think we should end things like this. It’s not fair to you.”
Her forehead wrinkled. “Not fair to me? What do you mean?”
“I won’t take advantage of you like this.”
Now she looked thoroughly confused. “You’re not. I want you.” She touched his jaw lightly with her fingertips. “Look at me.”
He met her eyes and something inside him tore into two pieces. “Do you understand when I tell you that I can never take a proper mate again? Shifters get one and only one. I can’t claim you beneath the full moon and connect our souls. I can’t produce children. It’s why so many shifter men live alone if they’ve lost their mate. It’s not… it’s never the same if they try again.”
The words tumbled out of him. He needed her to understand. He was doing this for her.
“But you can still love someone and want to be with them without the—” she waved a hand, trying to think of the words. “The moon thing, and more children.”
She didn’t understand. Jett held her tighter, though he knew he should let her down. “When a shifter takes a mate during a proper ceremony, it’s more than committing to each other. It’s a joining of souls. Soulmates. It’s the promise of a family. Of unity. What good am I as an incomplete partner? As half a man?”
Cara pressed a hand to her forehead and wiggled to get down. He set her carefully on her feet. “Jett, no. That’s not how it works. You’re not half of anything because you can’t have more children. Or any of the other stuff.”
“You don’t get it.”
