Conleth’s brow furrowed. “Is that meant to be a compliment?”
She stretched up to kiss him again. “Yes. It is.”
His dubioushmmshifted to a hungry growl as her mouth found his. His hand slid to the small of her back, pulling her closer. Paige melted against him, surrendering to blissful sensation.
With a muffled curse, Conleth broke the kiss. He set her at arms-length, though his hands lingered on her waist. “You’ll be the death of me. Before you entirely destroy the last vestiges of my willpower, what did you want to talk about?”
A different kind of heat rushed to her face. “Oh. Um. Mating. What does it involve, exactly?”
His bemused look shifted to downright alarm. “I have to admit, I was not prepared for that level of inexperience. I’m going to need a moment to adjust my plans.”
“I’m not a virgin! It’s just that I get the impression that mating means something more to you. Shifters, I mean.”
“Ah.” His expression cleared. “It does. But there’s no need to worry. We aren’t doing that tonight.”
Embarrassment fled, replaced by dismay. “We aren’t?”
Conleth laughed, pulling her close again. He captured her mouth in a long, heated kiss.
“Don’t get me wrong,” he murmured, hips moving in a slow, promising roll that wiped every thought from her mind. “I’m all yours. Any way you want. But you’re right. Mating is something more.”
At that precise moment, it was hard to imagine anything more than the hard ridge pressing against her stomach. From what she could feel, even that might be more than she could handle. Though she was more than willing to try.
With an effort, she focused on his words rather than things lower down. “So if mating isn’t just sex, what is it?”
“It’s difficult to explain.” Conleth released her, stepping back. Paige had mixed feelings about that. “But in essence, it’s a permanent connection. Not only bodies joining, but souls and minds as well.”
That matched what she’d seen of mated couples, like Buck and Honey, or Callum and Diana. “So it’s a kind of psychic link?”
“More than that.” Conleth met her eyes, expression utterly serious. “I have to make this very clear, Paige. Mates are able to share emotions and thoughts. They always feel each other, in the same way you can always feel gravity. And that bond cannot be broken. If we mate, it is forever.”
There was no question what he wanted. It was clear in the tense line of his forearms; the way his hands clenched at his sides, as if to stop himself from reaching for her.
That leashed hunger sparked a matching yearning in her own body. It was all too tempting to throw common sense in the trash and give way to that desire…but long habit held her back. She couldn’t only think of herself.
“I know we’re mates,” she said. “And I know how much you want to be fully mated. But…I’m not ready for that. Not yet, at least.”
There was no disappointment in his eyes; only understanding. “Which is why we aren’t going to mate.”
“It’s, uh, not something that can happen by accident?”
He shook his head. “Mating is always a deliberate act, above and beyond sex. The exact steps vary for different types of shifters. Traditionally, the pegasus mating ritual starts by flying one’s intended mate back to the nest.”
She suddenly regretted asking him to take her home. “Conleth, we just did that!”
The corner of his mouth lifted in amusement. “Believe me, I wouldn’t have brought you here if that wasallit took. In any case, the flying part is more a custom than strictly necessary. Most shifter rituals boil down to the same thing, in fact. It’s not enough to simply be intimate with each other. To fully form the bond, I’d have to bite you.”
Paige had never been particularly into rough sex, but for some reasonthatprospect held distinct appeal. The thought ofConleth, all control gone, biting down hard as he strained into her…
She thrust the mental image back down. “Um. It’s not that I don’t trust you, but that sounds like something thatcouldhappen by accident.”
“I wouldn’t, but it wouldn’t matter if I did.” His voice roughened. “Paige, I could fuck you against every wall of this house, and mark you every time you screamed my name. In the morning, you’d just have a satisfied smile. We still wouldn’t be mated.”
She swallowed hard, trying to ignore the insistent pulse between her thighs. “Why not?”
“Because the mate bond isn’t something I do to you.” He took a step closer. “It’s somethingwemake. Together. You have to want it. To want me. Truly, with all your heart.”
He was close, so close. She couldn’t look away from his eyes; dark now, all the green consumed by need. He lifted a hand, tracing the shape of her cheek, her chin. It was only the lightest of caresses, yet she felt it all the way to her toes.
