Then I wouldn’t feel like the world’s biggest idiot.
“I spent most of the morning jealous as hell that I’m the only one without a claiming bite. I should have?—”
Her head pops up until she’s staring straight into my eyes. “You want a bond with me?”
“I do.”
“We don’t have to have sex for you to claim me,” she says softly. “We get to define how things go in our relationship. Not to mention, it’s extra sweet because I know you’re not lost to the fog or overtaken by your instincts.”
A low growl rattles out as I weave my hand in her hair, pulling her mouth to mine.
Hmm, perhaps I was trying to be too much of a gentleman. I have the sudden urge to roll on top of her and rut her into the mattress.
Charlotte shoves her tongue into my mouth, taking over the kiss.
My heart races.
She gave me permission to bond her, right?
That wasn’t just wishful thinking on my part.
Was it?
No, I don’t think so.
She whimpers, scraping her teeth over my lip.
It teases my senses, and I snap.
My canines dig into her lower lip, and her blood spills against my tongue. There’s very little to distract me from the agonizingwait for her to accept the connection, but once she does, I’m hit with a staggering wave of her contentment.
My emotions are never this extreme, and it will take some time to get used to feeling emotions that aren’t my own, but it’s also awe-inspiring to be able to experience how she feels about claiming me.
And even if I plunged my teeth into her, it very much feels likeshejust claimed her final mate.
Malachy’s scent flits through my mind, and he sends something that feels like happiness and congratulations through the connection. A second later, Patrick does the same.
I retract my teeth, licking over the bite to clean and seal it.
Charlotte brings her hand to my cheek and pulls back to breathe. A bright smile crosses her face, and my heart thumps erratically.
“You just made me so happy,” she whispers.
“Me too, love.” I nod, pulling her down to rest against my purring chest. “Try to get some rest. I’ll keep an ear out for Lucky.”
“Thanks, Cormac.” She sends something through the bond that feels like appreciation, and I choke up. That is definitely going to take time to get used to, but in a good way.
Lucky only sleeps for an hour, but Charlotte didn’t fall asleep for at least thirty minutes, so I carefully move her to the bed and go to collect the now-awake child.
“I peed a lot,” he says, pointing at his Pull-Up.
I frown, rolling my shoulders back. It’s time I officially put my money where my mouth is and handle Lucky’s care without waking Charlotte.
“Let me grab your clothes, and I’ll meet you in the bathroom. You can leave the wet diaper on the floor while you try to use the potty.” I smile, striding over to collect his pants and underwear. “I think we have washcloths in that bathroom. Unless you normally use wipes?” I glance around, trying to spot them.
“I use toilet papers,” he says, running off toward the bathroom.
Won’t there still be pee stuck to his skin in that case?
