“They don’t mean anything,” I murmur. “I swear to God, Gabby. You are the only one we want. The only oneIwant.”
I wait, as thoughts flit across her face too quickly for me to read.
I’m completely unprepared when she steps forward, her body brushing against mine as she tips her face up. We watch each other, our breathing mingling together.
“Don’t you break my heart, Hudson Reyne,” she whispers. “Don’t you dare.”
And then she kisses me.
Her hands slide up and around my neck as my arms wrap around her, holding her to me as she explores my mouth gently, her soft touch almost undoing me.
When I can’t take any more, my arms tighten and she squeaks into my mouth as I take over, tasting the hint of butterscotch on her lips, drinking her down like the finest wine.
She’s better than any wine I’ve ever tasted.
The cards crunch under our feet as we stumble backwards, my arms shooting out to protect her back from slamming into the wall. The shelf next to us wobbles, a plant crashing to the ground as I hoist her up, her legs wrapping around my waist.
“Don’t hold back,” she begs. “No more, Hudson.”
“No more.”
It takes seconds for me to undo the row of buttons lining her shirt, Gabrielle’s fingers stumbling as she does the same to me. Holding her up with one arm, I help her push the sleeves down, shrugging off one arm at a time before my mouth drops, tracing a line up her skin.
Now that I’m tasting her, touching her, for the first time?
It’s better than I ever imagined.
She cries out as my teeth bite gently into her throat, leaving just the edge of my teeth. Nowhere near enough for a bitemark, a bonding bite, but a promise.
Mine.
Her hands roam across my chest, raking across my nipples as I tug the band holding her braid free, releasing her hair in a cloud of black waves that falls around us.
“I want you to grow old with me.”
Her eyes widen at my words.
“I want to sit with you, with our pack, on a porch somewhere. Cook good food. Drink wine. Laugh. And I want to watch you every single day, until this beautiful hair turns silver. And you’ll be just as beautiful to me, Gabrielle.”
“Every day,” she whispers. Her eyes mist, a single tear dropping that I kiss away.
“Every day.” It’s a vow.
Our hands fumble, clumsy in our desperation as we explore each other.
She breaks away from our kiss, her pupils blown wide.
“Nest,” she breathes. “Take me to the nest, Hudson.”
I turn, keeping her locked around me as I stride out of the room and down the hall. It feels like an eternity as I carry her into her room, past her bed and to the double doors, pushing them open with a single hand.
When I lay her gently down on a midnight blue blanket, she reaches for me again. “Closer.”
It takes me a second to kick off my shoes before I ease down on top of her, her arms tugging at me until every inch of us is pressed together.
Her scent rises up, hot, sweet, fucking delicious butterscotch that makes my mouth water with need.
“Are you sure?” I ask, kissing her neck.
