“I wish I could trust myself enough to shift right now.A long run sounds good, but I don’t know what my panther or lioness would do.I just wish I could be at a place in my life where I did know.Everything is happening so fast, and nothing is normal; it’s all a mess.Can you understand where I’m coming from at all?”El said, her voice giving way to the emotions she was trying to hide.
Trip’s heart broke.The Claudia thing seemed so minuscule to him, but to her, it was just one more thing to deal with.Looking at everything as a whole, made Trip realize what all they were asking her to deal with.El wasn’t even sure who she was, or what she was, and yet they were all piling their personal baggage on top of her and telling her she had to be okay with it because they said so.
“I do understand, El, for the first time I get it,” he told her, stepping forward and taking her face in his hands.“You are the most important person in my life, my mate, and I have failed you.There will never be a time when I will ask you to tolerate Claudia or any other woman that came before you, nor will I allow them or any other female to touch me.”
“Maybe the woman I’ll be in a few years won’t care.My beasts will understand, and we’ll be in tune with one another, but right now I just can’t,” she told him as if she owed him an apology.
“You don’t have to explain yourself to me, El.You haven’t anything to apologize for.”
Trip brought his lips down slowly, so if she wasn’t ready for his affection yet, she had time to tell him.El grabbed his shirt and pulled him the rest of the way.Their kiss was an explosion of emotions.El’s anger bled into Trip’s regret as they each fought to make it up to the other one.
When El finally pulled back for air, she tugged her shirt over her head and unsnapped her bra, letting it fall to the ground.Trip felt his eyes go dark with hunger as he took in his mate’s body.He undressed himself as El finished taking her clothes off.They crashed together in a flurry of passion.El grabbed Trip’s hair and brought him down for another kiss.
Trip had other plans.He left her lips and trailed kisses down her throat to her breasts.He suckled on each nipple, gently at first and then went back and tugged them harder, rousing a guttural moan from El.
“I can’t wait,” she begged him.
Trip moaned.The urgency in which she needed him fueled both of their arousals.He could smell her scent long before he put his fingers between her slick folds and felt how wet she was for him.
He lifted her by the waist, El instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist, and in one powerful thrust, Trip buried himself deep inside of her.El let out a shaky moan as her head fell back.She was the most beautiful sight Trip had ever seen.The Mother had blessed them with a mate more gorgeous than he’d ever dreamed of.Her luscious body rubbed against him as he pounded into her.They both moaned and grunted as they lost themselves in the heat of each other’s bodies.
“I love you, mate,” Trip whispered before he sank deep inside of her and poured his seed.
“I love you too,” El replied as she tightened around him and shuddered as her orgasm took over.
Chapter 10
El
Her and Tripspent another few minutes in the woods just enjoying each other’s company.El finally told Trip she thought they should get back.Willow had performed the spell that is supposed to keep El from getting pregnant, so now they had to figure out what to do with their newfound information.
Even though she and Trip had made amends, El wasn’t comfortable telling Trip what she thought about Claudia.
When they got back in the house, Shawn’s mother’s cooking made El’s mouth water.She hadn’t eaten in a while, and her stomach growled.
“I’m glad to see you two have made up,” Marcus chirped with a devious smile as he plucked a leaf from El’s hair.
El blushed and then gave Marcus a quick kiss on the cheek.
“Hi,” she said.
“Hi.I missed you, mate,” Marcus whispered.
“I missed you, too.I’m glad you’re here,” she admitted as she moved into his embrace.
“I am, too.
“Well, Willow has successfully protected us from procreation for the time being, so now we need to focus on what to do about this legend, if anything,” El said, acknowledging everyone else.
“What do you mean, if anything?”Ryan asked.
“If I can’t get pregnant, then we won’t have a chimera child, that’s meant to rule both species.”
“That won’t suffice for those who are after you.As far as they know, you’re lying about being protected, or you could easily change your mind and have her reverse it,” Ryan pointed out.
“This is true, but how do we convince them or deal with them?”El asked.
“I think the biggest thing right now, is we need to figure outwhothey are,” Ryan replied.
