"Have you considered," he breathes heavily, “that maybe if you stopped running, you might have a shot at a life beyond what most humans can imagine? I may hardly know you, butI see you,Vessa.You weren’t born to cower. I smell it on you—that semblance of magic. It calls to me fucking day and night.”
“Axe, please . . .”
“I wasn’t finished,” he grunts.
His tone is less demanding now. “Despite coming from two different worlds, we still found each other. Give this a chance. My people will protect you. In time, they will accept you. I knowthey will. Unless your mind is settled. I can live with that. But I won't leave until you say the words."
All I can do is watch the magnificent lightning that churns in his eyes. In those currents, there is no anger. Only understanding.
“You sure as hell are different from what I expected. But I wouldn't change it for anything. I . . .” He halts. “I’m glad that it’s you.”
Guilt. Longing. My heart is a pendulum, swinging back and forth between them.
Axe moves in, towering over me. "Just say it. Tell me you reject me, and I'll go."
My blood heats at the nearness of him, fear and arousal intertwining. Anticipation strains between us, an elastic band pulling back inch by inch. Against the counter, I try to steady my breathing so that he can't see right through me. So I don’t snap.
But no matter—my scent gives it away.
Axe grips the edges on either side of me. This time, a primal growl rips free. My breath hitches when he tilts his head down until he's looming at the nape of my neck. Hot air caresses my bare skin, muscles tensing even tighter as I press my thighs together.
"You can't do it, can you?"
The truth surfaces on the faintest whisper. "No."
He grabs my hips and effortlessly hoists me onto the countertop. Before I can close my legs, his hands latch onto them, lowering his mouth to my throat. My brain goes haywire as he playfully nips at the skin, nails digging into his arms of steel. The warmth that spreads down my spine is all-consuming, liquefying my core. I shouldn’t delight in being ensnared like this. I should shove him away. But his body is too savory, too inviting.
Axe rumbles. The hungry vibration skitters along my skin, and with that, my entire being tenses. Any second now, he could bite down on my shoulder. Without my silver cuffs, I am utterly helpless against those teeth. Curling my toes, I realize that I’m not afraid of this beast, but rather my instantaneous attraction to him. It takes every ounce of resistance I can muster to bring my hands to his broad chest and disconnect our bodies. Adrenaline still racing through me, I heave out a ragged breath.
Axe doesn't withdraw himself. His chest is still rising and falling heavily, hands tightly wrapped around my thighs. “You have no idea what this scent does to me.”
I pull back as far as he’ll let me. "You think seducing me is going to convince me to come back home with you?"
His grin vanishes. “That wasn't my intention?—"
"Like hell it wasn't," I snarl, sliding off the countertop.
I manage only four steps before Axe reaches out and hauls me right back into his chest, those cobalt irises disconcertingly bright. "This isn't over.”
"I'm not letting you whisk me away just to bring me back to a place where I’m clearly not wanted."
“Fuck it,” he grumbles to himself, tearing his shirt right down the middle. I don’t have time to step back before he claims my hand and presses it over the sun crest that marks his heart.
Pain rushes into my body. Talons, reaping through my chest. I almost drop to my knees, but he holds me against him. When my eyes close, I swear I hear the faintest whining—no,pleadingof a wounded animal.
I did this.
“Come back. Please.”
I’m not sure I can meet his eyes again. Until now, I didn’t believe it. That I truly have a mate. A soul bond. This isreal—so real, I feel it humming in my marrow. It’s the same current that sings every time our hands make contact.
With my fingers still splayed along his skin, he shuffles his feet nervously. "I know things didn't start off the way they should have. But I promise, if we leave here together, we can have a fresh start. We'll spend more time together. Who knows, maybe we’ll even become friends."
"What the hell makes you think I want be 'friends' with you?"
Jaw clenched tight, he drops my hand. "Friends or not, that's fine. Think of me as a regular guy who just wants to earn your respect. Give me six weeks of your time to share my world and to learn what it means to lead a pack and to belong to a loyal family. Just . . . give yourself a real chance to weigh the option of accepting me. If you find that after six weeks, you’ve seen enough and I am not what you want, then you’re free to leave."
I mull over the proposition. It’s only six weeks, inarguably more lenient than what most lycan mates are given. From what I can gather, his augment holds no real threat against me. I’ll talk to Maurleen and see if we can find a way to conceal my identity until I have gained Bleeding Sun’s affection. Surely, the deeper Axe cares for me, the less likely he will be to hand me over to the Blood Master. Right?
