Page 35 of In Your Eyes
“I told him about you,” he said quietly. “You remember that day when we saw each other at the regional meeting and you were late because of the car accident?”
That day was impossible to forget, and I felt my cheeks heat too. “Uh-huh.”
“I knew what had happened. I could smell you. The way your face looked.” He trembled and sucked in a deep breath. “I was fifteen, so I knew a fair bit about how males and females tied, but I wasn’t sure how we’d do it. I begged Yoram to tell me the next time Ethan came to visit. At first he said no because the last time his family took me, my father found out and made sure they suffered for it. But I was old enough to get there on my own and he trusted that I’d never say he had any part of it, so a few months later, when his uncle came, Yoram told me. I snuck off pack lands, went to Ethan’s hotel, and asked him about tying with a male. After that, it was all I could think about.” He gazed into my eyes. “I could have stopped you anytime.” He must have sensed my disbelief, because he kept talking. “Did I ask you to stop?”
Hesitantly, I shook my head.
“See? If I had asked you to stop, you would have.”
It was a nice thought, but it wasn’t true, and I couldn’t lie to him. “No. You don’t understand. I lost control of my form. I couldn’t think straight.”
“You tied with your mate, Samuel,” he said firmly. “That was instinct, and though it certainly could have been more romantic, you were doing what we both needed and wanted.” He paused and looked at me meaningfully. “Not just what you needed, but what both of us needed.”
“I didn’t know you were my mate,” I confessed. “I realize that makes me a fool. You knew as a child. Shifters are supposed to recognize their true mates. But I’d always learned that males have to tie with females, and I never considered… I never thought….”
“Intellectually, you didn’t know. That’s true. You’re so smart, Samuel.” He beamed, looking proud of that fact. “And I think maybe because you’re so smart, you forget there’s more to knowledge than what’s up here.” He tapped my head. “Your wolf half is more driven by instinct, by your gut. In that form, you recognized who I am to you, so that form took over. Stop punishing yourself for following your instincts. The same instincts will always stop you from hurting me. If I had asked you to stop, you would have.”
“Do you really believe that?” I whispered, desperately wanting it to be true. I didn’t want to cause Korban pain, not ever.
“I know it.”
“I didn’t hurt you?”
“No.” He shook his head. “I suspect it’ll feel better if we slow down next time and use some lubrication, but my mate—my brilliant, always composed, always careful, always prepared mate—wanted me so much he couldn’t think.” He cupped my cheek. “If there’s one thing I know about you, Samuel Goodwin, it’s that your brain is constantly running, evaluating, considering. But it wasn’t then, was it? When we were in that workshop and you—”
I winced at what he was about to say, but he held my gaze and continued.
“When you tied with me and gave me the mating bite, you weren’t thinking. For what I strongly suspect was the first time in your life, you followed your gut, your body.” He paused. “You followed your heart. Because of me.” He smiled broadly, the sides of his eyes crinkling and his face lighting up. “No, honey, that didn’t hurt.”
Chapter 12
IHADa lot to think about, including whether I thought too much. But one thing was at the forefront.
“What about you?” I asked. “Do I ever make you, uh, not think?” I gulped and darted my gaze away, feeling too exposed by the conversation to reveal any other part of me.
“Are you asking if I want you?” Korban said, his voice going husky. He spread his legs and slid down over me, grinding his erection against my hip. “Does that answer your question?”
Suddenly breathless and ramrod hard, I nodded.
He settled on top of me and nuzzled my throat. “I want to bite you,” he whispered. “I want to push myself deep into your body, lock you to me, and mate.”
I whimpered, his words arousing me uncontrollably despite knowing that what he wanted would be uncomfortable for me. It didn’t matter. I had taken what I needed from him twice, and he hadn’t complained. Korban needed to tie—my mate needed to tie—and I would give that to him.
“Okay,” I said, my voice shaky. “You can do that to me.” With him lying on me, it wasn’t easy, but I managed to wiggle out of my underwear and flip over. When my belly was pressed against the mattress and my backside was accessible to him, I said, “Go ahead.”
Waiting for him to begin, I squeezed my eyes shut and gripped the sheets. He didn’t do as I expected and push his prick into me. Instead, he kissed the back of my neck.
“Korban?”
“Uh-huh?” He kissed me again, swiping his tongue out that time and licking my nape.
“What are you doing?”
“Kissing you.” He followed the explanation with a series of kisses from my hairline to the top of my spine. “Tasting you.” He licked and sucked his way across my shoulder. “Touching you.” He smoothed his fingers down my flank, sensitizing my skin. “Making love to you.”
“I don’t understand.”
Korban wrapped his arms around me, squeezed me tight, and then wedged his face against the side of my neck and laughed. “Only you,” he said.
