Page 33 of Forbidden Virgin Mate

Tanya’s fallen very quiet. I can tell she’s pretending to watch the snow fall and drink her hot chocolate, but my wolf can feel the stress rolling off her in waves. I know she’s had a hard time, too. Maybe she finds it difficult to talk about family in general. She says she loves hers, but it’s clearly not been easy.

“I guess we both had a rough run, eh?” I say lightly.

She jumps a little at my words, almost as if she was so lost in her thoughts that she forgot I was here. Her eyes look so sad, it pulls at my heart.

“Hey,” I say, pulling her against my body and loving the way she melts against me. “I told you I didn’t want to be a downer. But now you’ve heard my sorry story, why don’t you tell me about the Bay Area? What was it like growing up there?”

That seems to bring her back around, and she smiles up at me. "I think we need a refill. These are a little cold," she says, taking the drink from me and heading over to the pot. "Perhaps we should add a little kick?"

She pours a dash of bourbon into each hot chocolate, and I pull the blankets out on the sofa opposite the fire that's taken hold now. Once we're settled, I throw a blanket over us, drawing her legs over mine. She looks so beautiful, with a halo of soft blond waves spilling over her shoulders, porcelain skin with flushed cheeks from the fire, and blue eyes that seem to see straight through me. Despite the mess I'm in, my wolf feels so much calmer now that we're alone here.

I think back to the bags in her car. Is it really possible she's leaving?

"So, tell me about growing up," I prompt gently, wanting to understand her history better. Or maybe I just want to distract myself from my own problems for a moment.

She sighs, settling her drink on her lap. "The Bay Area is really lovely." She pauses. "If you live in the right area, which we did not. You've heard of the Jameson pack?"

I nod. "They're a big pack over on the west coast."

"Yeah, well, they didn't take too kindly to so-called thieves living on their doorstep, so we had to move a ton in those first couple of years." She looks into the fire as she talks, taking an occasional sip of her drink. "Eventually, we settled in a little town right across the Bay. I'd go to the city with my mom sometimes in the early days, but I don't think she's traveled further than the bar and supermarket in years."

"And your dad?" I ask, though I'm getting the feeling this is a more depressing story than I'd bargained for.

"He tried to work in the beginning, but it was all half-hearted. The fire had gone out in him. I think he just really missed his pack. He started drinking shifter brew, and that was that."

I blow out a breath, so impressed Tanya is who she is today after such a rough start. She clearly believes her parents are innocent of whatever theft they were accused of. If that's true, it must have been devastating all around.

“So, what were you doing when all this was going on?” I ask. “How did you end up becoming a teacher back here?"

"I guess I just wanted to come home and see what it was like,” she says quietly. "I was homeschooled. Or rather, I just taught myself. My parents were wary of outing us as shifters to humans, and we moved around a lot, anyway. I made friends online, and we helped each other. You find people in similar situations."

"Well, I think it's remarkable you are who you are after all this," I say, stroking her leg and enjoying how she trembles slightly under my hand. "Did you find what you were looking for by coming back?"

She chuckles slightly as my hand drifts higher, unable to stop myself. "I'd say I found a lot more than I was looking for."

"Me too," I say before leaning over and kissing her gently. I meant it to be a gentle kiss, but it quickly deepens. I pull her closer, and then she gasps as her hot chocolate nearly spills. We laugh, and she stands slightly to put it on the table. As she turns to sit back down, I haul her onto my lap so her legs are straddling me.

"Smooth move," she laughs. After such a heavy conversation, I love the sound of her laughter even more.

"You ever doubt I had moves?" I chuckle, noticing how she moves her hips slightly, settling on my hardening cock. "I'm not that old, you know."

"Notthatold, no." She giggles, leaning down to kiss me again. I slap her ass playfully, causing her to grind against me even more. I groan into her mouth as I lift my hips, seeking more of the delicious friction.

Soon, we've built a rhythm that's driving me half-insane. She moans as I pull her closer to me, and I can feel her heat radiating against my body. Moving one hand to the small of her back and the other to cup her face, I deepen the kiss even further.

Suddenly, I push up, still holding her against me until I lower her down, stripping her jeans from her as we go. She kicks them off and then pulls her sweatshirt over her head, discarding it on the floor. The orange firelight flickers and dances across her perfect skin, contrasting with her black thong that leaves little to the imagination.

My mouth goes dry as I take her in. She giggles again, obviously aware of the effect she's having on me as she shrugs the shirt from my shoulders and runs her nails across my bare chest, leaving jolts of electricity in their wake.

I growl in satisfaction, barely unable to restrain my wolf any longer. Her laughter ceases when she notices my fangs have descended slightly.

"I won't hurt you, okay?" I promise.

She nods. "I know you won't. I want this."

Satisfied with her answer and unable to wait a moment longer, I spin her around so she's kneeling on the sofa, her arms on the backrest.

I swear, I've never seen a sexier sight in all my long life.

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