His whole body goes still. “What?”
“I’m staying. Here. With you.” I reach up and grip his wrists where his hands still frame my face. “Not because of the bond, and not because I don’t have other options. But because I want this. And I want you.”
The sound he makes is barely human. Relief and joy and desperate hunger, all tangled together.
“Emma, are you sure?” He’s afraid to believe it, probably about to argue with me that I need more time.
“But I need you to understand something.” I hold his gaze. “I’m not going to be some fragile thing you have to protect and shelter. I want to be your partner. Your equal. That means you need to talk to me before making decisions that affect us both. You include me. Trust me to handle hard things.”
He blinks and nods once, but it’s enough.
“Yes.” The word comes out hoarse. “Anything. Everything.”
“Good.” I rise on my toes, bringing my mouth close to his. “Now stop talking.”
The first brush of our lips is gentle. Testing. Then his control snaps, and he’s kissing me like I’m oxygen, and he’s been drowning. His hands slide into my hair, angling my head where he wants it, tongue sweeping into my mouth with a hunger that makes my knees buckle.
He catches me easily, one arm banding around my waist, and pulls me flush against him.
I can feel every hard inch of him through our clothes, the evidence of how much he wants this. Wants me. I pour everything into the kiss. Every fear I’ve let go. Every wall I’ve let crumble. And every promise I’m making without words.
When we finally break apart, both breathing hard, his forehead rests against mine.
“I need you,” he says roughly. “I need... fuck.” His hands flex on my hips, restraint visibly fraying. “Tell me to stop if you want to stop. Because in about ten seconds, I’m going to carry you to that bedroom, and when we get there, I don’t think I can be gentle.”
Heat floods through me, pooling low in my belly. The smart thing would be to slow down. To take this slowly.
But I’m done being careful.
37
EMMA
He doesn’t carry me to the bedroom.
Instead, Bodhi walks me backward until my shoulders hit the wall, caging me in with his arms, his mouth never leaving mine. The kiss is devastating, all hungry lips and tongue and barely leashed lust. When I gasp for air, he just moves to my neck, sucking and biting his way down to my collarbone.
“I’ve been thinking about this.” His beard is rough against my skin. “All the ways I want to take you. Fill you. Cover you in my scent. Make sure everyone knows you’re mine.”
I arch into him, digging my fingers into his shoulders. “Then stop talking and do it.”
He pulls back just enough to look at me, eyes flashing gold. The bear, right there beneath the surface, wants out. Wants me.
“Careful.” His thumb traces my lower lip. “I told you I wouldn’t be gentle.”
“Good.” I hold his gaze. “I don’t want gentle. I want you.”
Something shifts in his expression. A wall comes down. The last thread of his careful control snaps.
He kisses me again, harder this time, lifting me easily so I can wrap my legs around his waist.
I feel him hard against my core, only thin layers of fabric standing between us, and I roll my hips instinctively.
His growl vibrates through both our bodies.
“Not here.” He peels me off the wall and carries me toward the fireplace, where the flames cast dancing shadows across the worn rug. “I want to see you. All of you.”
He sets me down on the thick rug, soft wool beneath my back. For a moment, he just stares, kneeling over me, his chest heaving.
