Page 36 of Lavender and Lightning

“You’re okay, baby. It was just a dream. I’m here, baby girl. I’m here.”

The hands on my shoulders pull me off the mattress and into a warm chest. I breathe deep, my lungs filling with lemonade and fresh grass. I feel the wetness on my cheeks, and I exhale shakily. My arms circle around Mateo’s ribs, holding him tight as my entire body shakes. We sit for a long moment, a tangle of limbs and blankets, and the world comes back into focus the longer I let Mateo’s scent surround me. The room echoes with the sound of rain hammering on the metal roof, along with the crash of waves in the distance. The room brightens in a flash of lightning, thunder crashing shortly after. I jump at the noise, snuggling closer to Mateo.

“It’s okay. You’re okay. It’s just a storm,” Mateo soothes, one hand rubbing up and down my back.

“I’m sorry,” I mumble, my face hot.

One of his hands comes up and pushes my hair back from my face, tilting my chin to look at him. In the dim light, I can only see the sharp line of his jaw, the tousled hair falling over his forehead. His eyebrows are pulled down, mouth slanted in a serious frown. I try to look away, but Mateo’s fingers under my chin hold me in place.

“You never have to apologize for your fear, Lydia. Not to me. Not to anyone.”

My lower lip trembles from the intensity of his words, and another tear slips free from my eyes. Mateo leans in and gently kisses it away. I shudder at the warm brush of his mouth, Mateo purring in response. His fingers slide from my chin to cup the back of my neck, and I let him tilt my head back as his lips fit over mine.

My chest expands, filling with emotion as he kisses me ever so gently. His touch is tender, reverent. My whole body warms and melts under his touch, joy settling in every corner, down to my bones. My heart sings for him, so loud I’m sure he can hear it even over the pounding rain above us. I wind my arms around his neck, shifting until my legs straddle his hips. Mateo groans as I press my body to his, and I can feel the hard length of him through our thin sleep clothes.

Mateo moans my name as I kiss down his jaw, the stubble rough and exciting against my skin. His fingers drag down my back, his short nails scraping lightly. The world shrinks to the size of his embrace, nothing and no one else mattering while Mateo holds me close and secure. Every worry, all the fear of moments ago, is gone, replaced by light and heat and soul-deep want. I nibble at his neck, reaching back and pulling his hand away from my neck until it covers my breast.

“Please touch me, Mateo. I need you,” I whisper in his ear, the desperate sound nearly lost in the clap of thunder.

“You have me, baby girl. All of me,” he pants, squeezing my breast just how I like it.

I throw my head back as his other hand joins the first, a sigh of pleasure slipping past my slightly upturned lips. Mateo’s mouth finds my neck, and the scrape of his teeth makes me shiver. The fingers of my good hand drag down his bare chest, and I feel the muscles twitch under my touch.

“Are you mine?” Mateo asks huskily against my skin.

The vulnerability of his voice shakes something loose in my chest, shredding my last thread of hesitation. I cup his chin with my palm, drawing him up to look into my eyes again. The bald emotion in the depths of his stare catches me off-guard, and I stroke his cheek with my thumb.

“Yes, Mateo. I’m yours. I… I love you.”

There’s another flash of lightning and a slow roll of thunder, and even the rain seems to pause as I hold my breath and wait for his response. I watch as Mateo’s face cycles from shock to disbelief before settling on undimmed joy. His smile lights up his entire face, and my heart soars at the sight.

“You love me?” he breathes, words cracking even as his eyes glisten with silver around the edges.

I nod, afraid to shatter this moment with words. He closes his eyes and swallows before looking at me again.

“I love you, too. Lydia, I… I’m so…”

Mateo trails off as his hands come up and brush my hair away from my face before they cradle my head. His thumbs brush my cheeks, and I can’t help but return his dazed smile.

“You are everything I’ve ever wanted, everything I never thought I could have.”

Thunder crashes around us as he tilts his forehead to press against mine. The rain pounds the roof and windows, but I can hear him whisper over all of it.

“I choose you, Lydia Anderson. Yesterday, today, and every day until my heart stops beating. You’re mine, and I’m yours.”

When our lips meet, I can taste the salt of our tears of joy, mixing with his sharp ozone and tart lemonade flavor. He tastes like teenage summers: invincible and eternal. His hands are hot and insistent as we work to peel away our clothes until it’s just skin against skin, the heat of his body penetrating deep to the very core of my being. And when his fingers brush against my slit, I breathe his name like a prayer.

His fingers slide into my aching pussy, filling me and stroking all the right places to make me moan and shake. His other hand finds my good wrist, guiding me to wrap my fingers around his throbbing cock. I work my hand up and down his length to match the thrusting of his fingers inside of me, settling fully in his lap as I rock on the waves of building pleasure.

“When I’m finally free to make you my mate, this is where I’m going to put my mark,” Mateo says, words vibrating with his purr.

His hand squeezes my wrist, thumb brushing along the soft skin on the inside of my arm. I whimper as I imagine how his teeth will feel in my skin, and I swallow the urge to beg for it, even if I know he can’t.

Seth forced a bond onto Mateo that he never wanted, and because Seth was Mateo’s first bond mate, the law gives Seth the right of refusal on any future bonds Mateo may want. Seth would never allow me to bond with “his” alpha, so we have to wait until the courts grant a legal renouncement, which would strip Seth of his bond rights and let Mateo go free.

Mateo’s tongue on the skin of my collarbone brings me back into the moment, along with this thumb brushing circles over my swollen clit. I gasp and arch into his touch, sparks flying along my skin. I feel Mateo’s grin against my breast before he nips and licks at the flushed flesh.

“I want the world to see my mark on you, to know that a strong, beautiful, sexy fucking omega like you belongs to me.”

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