“It hurt,” I admitted. “And I never want to feel like that again.”
“I swear on my life, Kian, I will never do anything to hurt you again, not intentionally.” Gabe held my gaze like he needed me to see he was being honest.
I believed him. It was crazy and maybe stupid of me. But I believed him. Now that I knew and I was certain I hadn’t manufactured the attraction between us in my head. “I believe you.” I slipped my hand from under his and cupped his cheek. “I really do, and at least of all the reasons I thought, I never figured hey, he turns into a bear… It’s a pretty good one.”
Gabe snorted.
“Well, if that was the only reason our date got ruined.” I bit my lip, hoping I wasn’t being too forward. “I was thinking maybe we could do a do-over?”
Gabe’s eyes lit up. “I would love that.” His high cheekbones flushed red. “I made lunch while you were asleep. I was restless, and my bear wanted to take care of you.”
My heart flipped, and I threw myself in his arms and kissed him. Gabe’s arm went around my waist, and his tongue licked into me, and I felt his hard cock against my thigh. I squirmed, and Gabe moaned and deepened the kiss. I slipped my hands into his hair and moaned, but then Gabe pulled back and placed his head on my shoulder. Gabe groaned. “I really want to do this, but there’s something I should tell you first.”
My heart skipped a beat, but it hit me. I either trusted Gabe or didn’t…
“I hear your heart racing,” Gabe whispered. “But I swore I’d never hurt you, Kian, and I know I have to earn that trust.”
I shook my head. “No. No. I trust you. I do.”
“It’s nothing bad. I swear. At least, I hope you don’t think it is. I think it’s a good thing, the best thing to ever happen to me, really…”
I’d never heard him sound so unsure of himself.
I turned so I was straddling his thighs and looking him in the eye. I took his face in my hands. “I know this is crazy for me to say, but something inside of me is saying this is something special.” I nibbled on my lips, trying to decide if this was too forward. But what the heck? “I’ve never felt like this about anyone before, and maybe it’s absolutely crazy, but I think maybe this could be something serious,” I blurted out in one breath before I lost my nerve.
Gabe grinned and stole my lips in a searing kiss, then pulled back. “You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear you say that.”
“Good.” I grinned and squirmed in his lap again. “About picking up where we left off…”
Gabe chuckled and gripped my hips, holding me in place, which didn’t help since I could feel his still very hard, oooh-so-thick cock. If we were naked, it would be teasing my hole. I shivered at the memory of that sweet, perfect stretch followed by the fullness that was almost too much but was just perfect.
He moaned and nipped my neck. “Hold that thought,” he whispered.
I chuckled and ground my hips. I loved how Gabe reacted to me. It was a heady feeling.
Gabe leaned back so he could look at me. There was worry in his eyes still, but not as bad as before. “You’re my mate.” The way he saidmatewas almost reverent, and it stirred something deep inside of me.
“Mate?” I felt like I knew what that meant, but I think I needed him to say it.
Gabe bobbed his head. “Mate,” he repeated. “I guess the easiest way to describe it would be soulmate…but it’s more than that. For a shifter, you get one, one person that completes you. One person that you wait for and hope that you find to spend your life with.”
That was what I’d thought he meant. “And that’s me?” My heart was racing. “Me?”
“Yes, you, Kian.” Gabe’s hands rubbed up and down my back. “You’re everything to me, everything I’ve been waiting for.” He tucked his head in my neck and breathed in deeply. “Mine,” he growled.
The word, the way he said it, had goose pimples appearing all over my skin, and I shivered. It sounded so right.
Gabe bit down on my neck, and my dick leaked. “I want to mark you, Kian, claim you as mine. Please say yes.” His voice was so deep and gravelly; it felt like it was ripped from his soul. “From the moment I saw you, I wanted you. I wanted to know everything about you. Touch you, taste you, mark you so there’d be no doubt that you’re mine.”
I groaned and nodded. “Yes.” I was following my instinct, and I trusted it and Gabe. “Claim me.” His eyes didn’t waver. His voice was steady and firm. Everything I was, everything in me, said to believe him. So I was taking the leap because I was head over heels for this man.
Gabe stroked my lips with his thumb. “I will never want anyone else, never desire anyone else. Mates can’t be unfaithful once they’re claimed. That’s just how things work in our world. You know what that means, Kian. You’ll be mine, forever.”
The words were like a vow. One that I’d been searching for since I understood what it meant to be loved and cherished, seeing my parents’ relationship. I felt the rightness in every part of me. Besides, if it was a dream, it was a dream come true. “Forever sounds perfect to me.”
At my words, he slammed our mouths together, his arms binding around me. My world turned on its axis, and I groaned as he buried his fingers in my hair, holding me close as he ravaged my mouth. My heart raced with excitement as I gave myself freely to the passion of this moment and this man…what it meant.
I groaned and opened my mouth, allowing Gabe in. He moved his tongue against mine, touching, caressing. Every touch felt like heaven, but I wanted more.
