I slammed my face against the crook of his neck after he positioned me on his lap. I couldn’t fight the sobs escaping my throat. Too many emotions, too many feelings, but what stuck with me was his pain.
“I’m sorry if I disappointed you today. I didn’t know he would show up…”
“What are you talking about? I’m not disappointed with you.” His voice was so calm and sweet, nothing like the way he was talking at his office earlier.
“The money… You shouldn’t have given him anything…”
“Hey… Look at me.” He moved his hands to my arms and pulled me away from his neck as his eyes caught mine. “Don’t think about the money. We can earn it back. What is important is that he won’t come for you again.”
“If you’re not mad at me, then why did you leave me to come here?”
He took a deep breath as his eyes darted to my lips, his thumb brushing against them. “I was having a bad moment. I feared that you would leave me.”
“Why would you think that?Did you think I would go with Elliot? You must be insane to think I would want that monster over you.”
He gasped for air before he answered my question. “Everyone that was important to me left. And I don’t think I can handle it if you’re the one leaving me.”
“Riley…”
“I love you, Nadia. I wish I could make you stay with me for a long time..”
“I can stay forever, as long as you want me to stay.” A smile graced my lips as I cupped his cheeks, urging him to look at me. “I’m not Andrea. I won’t leave you. And if she did leave, maybe it was something more, and not because of you.”
“Caspian… Caspian is her fated mate.”
My heart jumped out of my chest. Now I finally know why she left Riley. There was nothing shocking about it. But I understood why it pained Riley, I just hoped I would be enough to fill the space she left.
“There’s nothing wrong with you then.”
His brows furrowed as confusion flitted in his eyes.
“If Caspian is her mate, then she did the right thing. I would leave everything and everyone for you, Riley. Because you’re my mate and you are meant for me. And if you were not lying, I think you were already smitten by me when you first scented me. It was just perfect that Andrea found her mate before I came, otherwise, maybe I wouldn’t have had a place here.” I pressed a finger to his heart. “So the Goddess did play fair. But how I wish you had waited for me instead of having a chosen.”
“Nadia…”
I shook my head, smiling at him. “I didn’t mean it in a bad way. I just want you to know my truth. I know this mate bond is helping a lot for you to like me or love me, but I know a part of Andrea is still there. But I will work on it…”
He was holding his breath, just looking at me, and I couldn’t fathom his emotions again.
I trailed my fingers down his chest until I reached the part where his heart was. “Slowly, I will creep into your heart until I occupy all the space in there.”
Riley grabbed the hand on his chest and brought it to his lips, peppering it with kisses. “I think my heart is full of you already. If you keep pushing more, it will explode…”
I giggled and pressed my lips on his cheek, trailing it up to the edge of his ear before I whispered to him, “Then it will explode and disperse throughout your whole body… And then I can finally say I own you. All of you.”
“You do. Own all of me.” He raised a hand to the nape of my neck and coiled his fingers around my hair and tugged them, causing me to softly gasp as my lips parted from his ear and his mouth trailed down my neck, licking and nibbling it.
“And you, who owns you, Nadia?” He asked in a raspy voice that sent tingles between my legs.
“My sexy Alpha…” But as much as I wanted him now, we were not done with our conversation yet. “Wait…” I palmed his chest and pushed my body away.
He grunted but didn’t let me get away from his hold and started attacking my neck more aggressively.
“Riley…” I giggled as I tried to push him away. “Stop…”
“No…” He groaned. His lips were now on the crook of my neck, sucking and biting the mark he had created.
“I want to know about your mother…”
