Moving slowly so she could stop me any time she wanted, I lifted my hand to her jaw, cupping the side of her face, everything about her so small and delicate compared to my giant self.
For the first time, she leaned into the touch, accepting the comfort.
Emotion welled in my chest. Such a small gesture, but it was huge progress for the two of us.
“If you need me, I’ll be here for you. Always.”
Chapter 15
Elodie
“If you need me, I’ll be here for you. Always.”
I wanted to look away, no, I wanted to cry at the sincerity in the depths of those blue-green eyes. But I couldn’t. I could only drown in the hulking, comforting, overwhelming, yet somehow instinctively safe presence that washim.
Valens.
He didn’t look comforting. If you saw him, giant, muscled, bearded, usually scowling—he had a real case of resting alpha face—walking down a dark alley,comfortedwouldn’t be the word that came to mind. Yet somehow, it was still true. He was giant, and he’d use those muscles to defend every single member of his pack. Even the ones he didn’t care for. His scowl melted away when he looked at me or his sister. He was a family man, for sure. And his hands might be callused from hard work, but they were gentle with me.
I barely knew him, and that was my fault. He’d been waiting so patiently for me to let him in or decide to push him away.
Most alpha males would have raged, pushed, demanded. But he did none of that. He offered friendship and respect, sharing his family lore with me and giving me the space I asked for.
Inviting me on a date so I’d be more comfortable, when I’d basically offered him a carte blanche, five-day fuck fest.
Why did he have to be sogood? It would be much easier to keep seeing him as the bastard Hungarian who’d helped torment and chase the Blackwater pack if he’d stop being so damn honorable. Someone I could walk away from.
Someone who’d make the decision to reject the bond easy.
But he wasn’t.
He was the man standing here comforting me when I was complicating his life and offering absolutely nothing in return. The same man who raised his little sister when his parents had died when he was only seventeen and she was nine. The same man who’d spent all his time working on repairing everything he could for his pack mates, to make up for the neglect of his previous Alpha.
I could no longer deny that my fated mate was a good, honorable, kind soul.
“What if I need you to go?” I asked in a broken whisper.
“Then I’ll go.” His thumb swiped over my cheek so tenderly, I could cry. When was the last time anyone had held me like I was precious? Looked at me as if he’d burn the world down if that was what I needed to be safe?
“Don’t go. Please.”
“I won’t,” he promised as I threw my arms around his waist.
It must have startled him, because he froze for a moment, as if he was scared that if he moved, he’d spook me. But after a second, his arms circled my back, pulling me in tight against his rock-hard chest.
We stayed like that for a while, just hugging, rocking in the kitchen while my thoughts ran away. Eventually, I pulled back enough to look at his face.
“Why are you being so nice to me? No one is that patient.”
Valens snorted. “Would you rather I be a dick?”
I playfully swatted his arm. “Obviously not, it’s just… I don’t trust nice. Nice comes with strings attached.”
He frowned, considering. And then he scooped me up under the arms, setting me on the countertop and moving forward between my knees in one smooth motion.
His arms were still looped loosely around my waist, but now we were at eye level. It was like the second I told him I wanted to spend my heat with him, all bets were off on the physical touching.
I hated myself for how much Iloved it.
