“Enough,” he panted, breaking off the kiss and willing his cock to calm the fuck down. “For now.”
Sameen’s eyes were bright, her parted lips swollen, and she pressed her hand to her heart. “You stopped. Why did you stop?”
“Because if we do this, Sameen, we do this right. And that means nothing happens you aren't completely ready for. We have time. Once we get Mara back, we'll have the rest of our lives.” He sealed his promise with a gentler, almost chaste kiss, and tucked the blankets around them. "We still have a couple of hours before Cade starts getting pissy and wakes everyone up. Sleep a little longer with me?”
“I’ll try.” Sadness tinged her tone, but when he cupped her cheek and asked her what was wrong, she forced a smile. "I want the chance for a life, Peter. With you.”
He kissed the top of her head as she let out a little sigh and relaxed against him.
Oh, you'll have your life, sweetheart. Because I'll die before I let them hurt you again.
* * *
Peter wasn’t wrong.Just under two hours later, Cade pounded on the bedroom door. “We’re leaving in thirty minutes,” he called. A few seconds later, he repeated the same exact words across the hall.
“We know, ya’ arse. Do ya’ think we’re faffin’ about in here? We’ve been ready for an hour,” Farren snapped. Her door slammed, and Cade stomped towards the stairs muttering to himself.
Sameen sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. “Will you do something for me?” she asked, her voice so quiet, he could barely hear her.
“Anything.” He rounded the bed and knelt in front of her, his hands on her bare thighs.
“Cut my hair.” Gathering the long locks in her hand, she draped her tresses over her shoulder so the ends brushed Peter’s fingers. “When they took me, I think...it only reached my shoulders. Twelve years. I had no control over my body. This...I know it’s a little thing. Something I shouldn’t even think about right now. But before I have to face them...”
“Shhh, sweetheart. If you want me to cut your hair, I’ll cut your hair.”
Peter led her into the bathroom and flipped on the light, then frowned when Sameen turned away from the mirror. “What’s wrong?”
“I...I don’t know what I look like,” she whispered. “I haven’t looked. Not once.”
Peter framed her face with his hands and brushed a light kiss to her lips. “You’re beautiful.”
“It’s not that...” She kept her gaze focused on his chest, like she thought he’d be angry or disappointed with her. “I kept hoping I’d remember. That who I was...would come back to me. But last night, I realized I didn’t care. Who I was isn’t important. I need to figure out who I am.”
His mate was so much more than beautiful. She was brave. Strong. And so fucking intelligent and down to earth he couldn’t believe she was real. After all she’d been through, to be able to stand in front of him half naked and give him so much of her trust...
“You’re the bravest person I’ve ever met,” he said, taking her hands and linking their fingers. “You’re willing to risk your own life to help people you didn’t know existed two days ago. And you told me off this morning like you knewexactlywho you were and what you wanted.”
Her cheeks flushed, and she stammered out an apology, but Peter silenced her with a kiss.
“Sameen, you standing up for yourself? That was the sexiest damn thing I’ve ever seen. And you weren’t wrong. I deserved every word. And probably a lot more.”
His mate almost smiled. “I wish I had your confidence.”
With a snort, Peter dropped her hands and started rummaging in the bathroom drawers until he found a pair of scissors. “When I could finally shift back after the fire? I could barely figure out how to make my tongue work. Couldn’t stand up. Couldn’t move my left arm at all. I was so pissed. And scared. Wolves...we’re fast. Strong. The next full moon? I couldn’t run. We were at Liam’s family estate outside of Dublin, and me and Livie? We were stuck inside. At least Livie could shift. I was too scared to try. What if I got stuck again? What if I never came back?”
Peter turned Sameen to the side, making sure she didn’t have to face the mirror, and gathered her hair in his hands, suddenly terrified he was going to cut too much or too little and shit. She could hate it.
“That confidence you think you see? It’s an act. Hell, I think it’s an act with most people. Cade’s an alpha. He was born to lead. It’s in his blood. And the second Mara was taken? He was just as broken as the rest of us.”
Sameen peered over her shoulder. “That’s how I feel. Broken. The Thirteen broke me in every way they could. And some they didn’t even intend. So much so, I don’t remember what it was like to be...whole.”
“No one’s whole, Sameen. We like to think we are, but we’re not. Everyone’s broken in different ways.” Peter took the chance to press a kiss to her cheek, then picked up the scissors. “How short do you want to go?”
Chapter Sixteen
Sameen
The black leather jacket wasn’t anywhere near as comfortable as the soft t-shirt and sweater she’d worn the previous day. Every piece of clothing she had on now was designed for battle. Black pants that clung to her slight curves, a fitted gray tank top, and the jacket all weighed her down, but at least her hair felt lighter.
