"True, but nothing happened." Even in the dark, I could tell his bottom lip jutted out a little too far, and his head angled too close to his chest.
I stepped in front of him, gripping the warm skin of his shoulders. "Did you want something to happen?"
"What I want is irrelevant," he said. "You don't like being alone with an alpha."
"That was before," I said.
"Before?" His eyes filled with anticipation.
"I got to know you better," I said. To prevent myself from waxing poetic about his dreamy alpha qualities, I doused our conversation with the equivalent of ice water. "It was wonderful to watch you with your mom and dad today."
He grinned. "Wait till you meet my siblings tomorrow."
I remembered the text we'd sent my dad and groaned. "Oh no. Don't remind me. Family dinner?"
"Yes."
"Non-negotiable?"
"Mandatory."
"Damn it," I muttered against his lips. "Well, if we do something tonight, I might die of embarrassment tomorrow." I tugged on his hair, pulling him closer to kiss him properly. "That's a chance I'm willing to take."
We stumbled up the grassy hill in the dark, hands seeking and feet fumbling as we continued to kiss, grope, and shuffle toward the hotel. At the first wolf whistle, we broke apart, returning to the present moment, where we were outside at a beach wedding reception. Half the people milling around, smoking, drinking, and taking a break from dancing might recognize either of us.
Hand in hand, we dashed inside, giggling. When our gazes met, I couldn't look away. Mika was so handsome, even with the sandy imprint of a volleyball on the side of his neck.
In the elevator, my heart raced, and I felt giddy. This wasn't my first time, but it would be my first with an alpha. My alpha. My mate.
I wanted everything all at once, but I didn't know where to start. A blowjob seemed like the best place, the first base of casual hookups.
This wasn't a casual hookup, though. I wanted to take my time, to taste every inch of sandy, sweaty skin, to bury my face in his musk and drink him down.
When we were finally alone in the hotel room, Mika stopped me from kissing his neck with a laugh. "Let's shower first. I've got sand in places that would make my mom blush, and that's saying something."
He wasn't wrong. I too had sand where it didn't belong. When I tried to follow him into the bathroom, he locked me outside.
"Hey! We could shower together."
"Not this time," he said. "Let me get cleaned up. Tonight …"
He didn't have to finish the thought. I felt it too, the gravity of this momentous occasion. Our first time together should be special, not a fast fuck in the shower, grinding sand further into places that would make us sick later.
Well, there was still a chance of that, even after I scrubbed all my most private crevices squeaky clean. Somehow, I even had sand in my gums, grinding away at my sensitive flesh when I brushed my teeth.
I forgot all about the sand when I exited the bathroom and saw Mika stretched out on the bed, completely naked and stroking his shaft. A sweet smile graced his lips when he met my gaze through half-lidded eyes.
"I'm down for anything," he said, "but I understand if you don't want me to mark you tonight."
Despite the flutter in my chest, I spoke from my irritatingly logical mind. "It does seem like we're moving too fast. We just met. I get that we're fated mates, and I feel drawn to you like I've never been drawn to anyone."
"But." His hand stilled on his cock, and he opened his eyes wider.
"Are you really sure we're compatible after two weeks?"
With a slight shake of his head, Mika grinned. "Were Bruce and Becca sure after fifteen years?"
I swallowed back a deranged laugh as a joke about marriage being a lifetime gamble blasted into my brain unfiltered.
