“Still don’t speak Spanish,handsome.”
“Are you sure?” he asked. His accent was thick, but he sounded a bit more like the man she’d spoken to so many times throughtheirbond.
“That I don’t speak Spanish? Yes,quite.”
He growled at her, and sheshivered.
“Pequeña gitana, you will be the death of me.” His words were the first sign that he was giving in to her request. He waslettinggo.
He wrapped a muscular arm around her waist and pulled her against him as he buried his face in her hair. His warm breath against her neck was a sensation she’d never felt before. She tilted her head, giving him more access, and encouraging him not to stop. When she felt his teeth scrape against her skin, Anna bit her lip so she didn’t moan like a wanton idiot. Apparently, she didn’t hide her desire very well because her mate chuckled, a deep, dark sound that made her stomachclench.
“Don’t tease,” she said in a breathy voice she’d never heard come from her lipsbefore.
“Not teasing,mí amõr, simply giving you a taste of what is to come.” He pressed a kiss to the same spot and then leaned back so he could look down at her. “That is where you will wear my mark when we complete the BloodRites.”
“When does thathappen?”
“When you’re ready,” he answered as he pushed her hair back, his fingers brushing against her skin as he exposed her neck and collarbone. He was staring down at her as though the world turned only because she existed. She never thought she would be on the receiving end of a looklikethat.
“Criña.”
“Yes?”
“I’m going to kiss you now. If you don’t want me to, simply say so, and I willrespectthat.”
Anna stared back at him, her lipsunmoving.
“My brave pequeña gitana,” he murmured just before his sensual lips pressedagainsthers.
Gustavo lethis wolf have control as he took his mate’s offered lips.Ours, mate.His wolf growled.Yes,the man agreed.Want, need, touch.His wolf was desperate for skin on skin contact. He let his hands slip around her waist to her back and then under her shirt. Her flesh was warm against his hands and as soft as silk. She was perfecto, and shewashis.
Gustavo tilted his head and ran his tongue along the seam of her lips. She submitted immediately and opened her mouth. He could feel her eagerness through their bond and was incredibly humbled that she wanted such intimacywithhim.
As her tongue danced with his, he poured his desire into her mind, and her response was instantaneous. Her skin flushed and her eyes widened as she pulled back from the kiss. Her chest rose and fell as she tried to catch her breath, and he decided he liked the way she looked after he’dravishedher.
“Yep,” she said breathlessly. “Intense. The word should have your picture next to it in thedictionary.”
“Scared?” he asked, knowing she wasn’t but needing to hear itfromher.
“Not in the way that you are asking. I’m scared of how you turn me into a hussy simply fromakiss.”
Gustavo chuckled. “There is no shame in desiringyourmate.”
“This feels like something more than desire,” she said as she ran her hand up his chest and let it rest over hisheart.
“It’s the bond between us. It is growing stronger and will continue to do so. It will be painful to be apart. You will need my touch, just as I need yours. Please know, you can touch me whenever you want. No matter the circumstance, if you need me, I’m yours. Always yoursfirst.”
“What do you mean, need to touch you? I’m getting the distinct impression you’re not necessarily talking in anintimateway.”
He shook his head. “No, not like that, though I do hope you will want and need that kind of touch as well. I just mean contact. The comfort of knowing I am with you. The confidence that the freedom to touch me gives you, just as allowing me the freedom to touch you gives me confidence. It is essential to our kind. A lone wolf would eventually die without the connectionofpack.”
“And you crave mytouch?”
“All you have to do is use the mate bond to feel what I feel foryou,Anna.”
He could feel her searching his mind, and he gave himself the freedom to search hers. And despite everything she’d learned, she wasn’t scared. But she wasexhausted.
He swept her up into his arms and settled her in his lap as he sat on the bed and leaned against the headboard. He wrapped his arms around her and tucked her head against his chest. His wolf rumbled in satisfaction, and for the first time in his long life, Gustavo feltpeace.
