I lick my lips and look away from her briefly as I try to think of how to phrase this.
I inhale sharply and look at her as my brain tries to process everything. Whatever happened to her has disconnected her from a core part of who she is.
“Okay, well, with people like us.Shifters. We have what we call a mate. It’s a strong, impenetrable bond between two people that ties us together. Many believe that mates share a soul, and that you can only be complete when you find your mate. Yesterday when we found you, I felt our bond leading me toward you.”
“Like a rope pulling you?” she asks. Finally, I see a glimmer of recognition in her eyes.
“Yes! Exactly like that. Did you feel it too?” Addison nods her head slowly. “That feeling is how I know you’re my mate. And if you feel safe or comfortable with me, anything like that, it’s because of our bond. Because we’re meant to be together. So when you feel my cock poking you, it’s because I have that attraction, and I want to mate you… complete the bond.”
“Mate me and complete the bond?” Addison repeats it as a question, like she’s still not sure what any of this means.
“Yeah, I want to do both. More than anything in the world.” I pause and watch her, wondering what she’ll make of all of this.
“How do we do that?”
Right. Obviously, she doesn’t know that either.
“We would have sex, and during, I would bite your neck,” I explain.
Addison looks more confused than ever, and I’m certain she is about to ask more questions, so I quickly add, “We’ll talk about the logistics of that when the time comes. We won’t be able to mate yet. You’re hurt and confused, and I just want to take care of you. I need to make sure you’re all right before we do anything like that.”
She rests her head against the pillow again, clearly thinking about what I just said.
“Is the way I feel right now normal?” Her voice is barely audible as she asks, and I feel myself perking up. I have an idea what she’s talking about because I can still smell her arousal thick in the air. Even softer, she asks, “Between my legs?”
“How do you feel?”
Her breath hitches, and I feel her moving beside me, her thighs clenching together tighter. The thought of her possibly stimulating herself in some way makes my cock twitch.
“Warmth. Like it’s tingling and pulsing.” She bites her lip as she looks over her shoulder at me again. “Last night I... I had a dream, and I felt it then. You were kissing me, and it started. Now, when you’re talking about mating, it’s even stronger.”
I’m speechless for a moment. It’s hard for me to believe that she is as innocent as she is. These are things she should have learned a long time ago, yet she’s clearly clueless.
“That’s all a part of our bond,” I answer.
I have to fight the urge to reach out and grab her, pinning her to the mattress and kissing her.
“I feel like I need something. I don’t know what it is, but this feeling is so intense. I need something to get rid of it.” She lets out a frustrated sigh.
My wolf is practically begging me to take care of it for her. He’s whining inside me, wanting only a taste of her. I just don’t know if that’ll be enough.
“I can help make you feel better if you’d like,” I offer. If it were possible to be any harder, I am now.
“What would you do?”
I try to calm myself down because I know this is going to be a slippery slope. Once I get a taste of her, I’m not going to have enough. I don’t want to push her into anything she doesn’t want. But my wolf is howling, desperate for me to reach out and take her. It’s so loud in my head that the voice of reason is drowned out entirely.
I reach over and grab her face, turning her toward me. She doesn’t flinch away this time. As I lean down and press my mouth against hers, her body reacts to me. Her lips are soft and smooth. Every movement is tentative but electric. That same pull that drew me toward her in the woods is back again, stronger than before, begging me to position myself between her legs and fuck her.
I ignore it. Instead, I focus on just kissing her, my lips moving against hers with more hunger and passion with each passing second. It takes a moment, but Addison picks up on how to do it.
My hand trails down her arm, goose bumps rising on the flesh. She rolls over so she’s on her back, and I’m acutely aware that all she’s wearing is an oversized T-shirt. No pajama pants or panties to keep me away from her.
A soft moan creeps out of her mouth as I grip her waist.
“Fuck, you have no idea what you do to me,” I whisper as I pull away from her.
She stares up at me, her hazel eyes glossed over with desire. I see the desperation behind them. She wants this, maybe just as bad as I do.
