But still …
How many nights in recent years had she spent wishing for an easy camaraderie like they offered? The ache in Nessa’s chest grew, the longing for a family after so many years of being alone making her eyes water.
Murphy reached across the table, his hand settling over Nessa’s. She looked up, and he sent her a worried look. “You okay, Nes?”
“Yeah.” She gave him a small smile.
His brow furrowed in confusion. “I can smell your tears. Did I say something to upset you?”
“Not at all. It just made me think of my own brother, that’s all.”
Murphy cocked his head to the side. “Do you want to talk about him?”
She bit her lip, contemplating it. She’d have to discuss everything with Murphy soon enough, but talking about Angelo would mean talking about Tony, and she would not ruin their date by bringing up that psychopath.
“Maybe later?”
Murphy’s eyes widened, as if he was genuinely surprised by her offer. She didn’t blame him. After all, she had only recently told him her past was a topic she never wanted to discuss. But now, after only a week of truly knowing Murphy, everything felt so different. It both terrified and elated her.
Hoping to get their date back to a more romantic topic, she cast a quick look around to ensure no one was watching them before leaning in and whispering, “So how does mating work exactly? I’m assuming you’ll bite me, but what else happens?”
She wasn’t really looking forward to it—she assumed it would be unpleasant—but she couldn’t deny that she was curious, especially after the kind of books she’d read over the years.
Murphy’s dark brown eyes heated, the lust on his face unmistakable. It called to her, and she felt her body answer in response, a ball of desire forming in her lower belly.
“Why do you ask?” His voice took on a husky edge, and a pleasant shiver slid down her spine.
Feeling a strange mixture of horny and shy, Nessa shrugged in an effort to appear nonchalant. “This is forever, right?” She quoted his previous words back to him, anticipation causing her desire to strengthen as his gaze heated further. “I’m wondering what all it involves. Is there a specific process?”
He adjusted his hand on hers, lacing their fingers together. Lowering his voice, he answered, “I’ll bite you, Nessa. It’ll leave a permanent mark. It’s typical for shifters to place the bite somewhere others can see, like where the neck meets the shoulder.”
His eyes trailed over her neck as he spoke, the intensity from his stare nearly undoing her. “Mostly, it’s meant to be shown off, like a wedding ring is among humans. Since you’re a human, though, I can always place it somewhere else to avoid people asking you questions.”
His gaze traveled down, lingering on her breasts, and her breath caught. He’d bite her breast to mark her? Her nipples pebbled at the thought, and she squirmed in her seat, thighs clenching together.
Okay, maybe the idea of him biting her wasn’t as unpleasant as she’d previously thought. It was actually hot as hell.
She licked her lips. “Does it hurt?”
“I’ve heard that some shifters find it painful. But I’ve also heard there are ways to make the bite quite pleasurable.” His eyes worked their way back up to her face, meeting her own and holding her gaze until she felt like she’d melt into a puddle of need right then and there. “I’ll make sure you love every second of my mouth on you, little mate.”
Holy shit.
How could so few words sound so deliciously dirty?
He meant sex. He had to. That sounded so intimate, so …exciting.
Now, more than anything, she wanted to experience that with him.
But could she do that? Would it be possible to get to that level of trust and security? She already trusted Murphy, of course, far more than she’d trusted anyone in such a long time, but most of her issues were with herself.
Could she handle laying herself so bare, metaphorically and physically?
She wanted to, obviously, but she didn’t want to get either of their hopes up if sex turned out to be a hard limit for her.
“I—” She stumbled over her words, completely tongue-tied. She smiled sheepishly. “Would I bite you, too? Or is that weird, since my canines aren’t as sharp as yours?”
She’d noticed his teeth last night when they’d been kissing, but she’d gotten so swept up in the moment to truly appreciate how sharp they were compared to hers. They looked normal when he smiled, but there was definitely a difference.
