“Gideon…”
“I want us to be mates, but there’s been this smallwhat-ifin the back of my head. But I think that was just my insecurities, because everything else says you’re mine. And although I might not be able to shift, my wolf…” He placed his hand on his chest, right over his heart. “I can feel my wolf inside me, and he’s as obsessed with you as I am. Every time we’re together, my wolf wants to bite you. Claim you as ours.”
My heart skipped at his earnest expression. I nodded. “I feel really drawn to you, too. It’s fast, but I feel it in my heart. You’re it for me. There’ll never be anyone else for me.”
He sucked in a sharp breath. “I didn’t know witches could feel their mates, too.”
“I think I can,” I whispered. I put my hand over his where it rested on his chest. “I feel this sense of knowing deep inside me that insists you’re mine and I’m yours.”
“I don’t want you to live across the street,” Gideon said.
“What?” I frowned at the sudden shift in what we were talking about. “Why would I?”
“The apartment. Above the bakery. You sounded so excited about it, but…”
“I’ll admit that when I first thought about starting a business here, I’d planned on getting my own apartment, but that was back when I was worried our relationship was moving too fast.” I bit my bottom lip as I tried to summon the courage to say what I was thinking. Finally, I blurted out, “I was kind of hoping I might move in with you.”
Gideon’s eyes widened. “Really?”
“Really.” I swallowed hard. “I’m trusting my gut, and it’s saying you’re it for me. It doesn’t matter that we’ve only known one another for a few short weeks.”
“But the apartment… you talked about wanting it.”
“Oh, I’m still excited about the apartment. It’ll be good to have a second source of income.” I sucked in a shaky breath. “So, um, what do you think? About moving in together?”
Gideon’s eyes flashed, and I got the sense of his wolf being close to the surface as his emotions spiked. He brushed his finger over my cheek. “I want you to, but half the time you insist on staying at Elwood’s, so I didn’t think you… I didn’t want to pressure you.”
“I’m sorry if I’ve confused you,” I said. “If it’s any consolation, I’ve confused myself, too. It felt like everything was happening so fast. I didn’t know how I could fall for someone so quickly. But I can’t deny how right this feels. I don’t want to be away from you another night.”
He cradled my cheek in his palm as his gaze locked on mine. We stared at one another for a long moment. We’d shared intimate moments before, but this… this felt different. It was more. It was everything. My heart thundered in my chest as my skin started glowing.
The first time my magic had come to life when we were together, I hadn’t known what to think. But now it was always close, like it wanted him as much as I did. To reach for him. Touch him. And that made sense, I guess, because my magic was me, wasn’t it? And I didn’t think I’d ever get enough of him.
I sucked in a shaky breath. “I love you, Gideon.”
His eyes widened, but his smile was so full of happiness I could feel it radiating from him. “I love you, too, Declan.”
Gideon’s mouth met mine in a soft kiss that quickly turned heated. When he tugged my lip between his teeth and nipped at it gently, need spiked through me. The tenderness between us was washed away with an urgency I couldn’t control. When he pulled his mouth from mine, I was panting. Clinging to him. Wishing we didn’t have clothes on.
“Need you,” I said.
I shouted in surprise when he lifted me off the ground. Wrapping my arms and legs around him, I relished the feel of his hard body pressed to mine. He cupped my ass with his hands and pulled me closer yet. His fingers bit into me, and I hoped he’d bruised me. I wanted to wear his mark, any mark at all.
He carried me through the apartment to his bed. With each step, my erection rubbed against him, and I thought I could come from that alone. He set me gently on the mattress andfollowed me down, crawling over me, almost like he wanted to cage me in and never let me leave.
“Mine,” he bit out harshly. That single syllable was followed by a low, satisfied rumble that I knew was his wolf.
His mouth trailed down my neck, and I tilted my head to give him more access. He hummed in approval. It was a deep, primal sound. More growl than not. His teeth grazed over my skin, and I shivered. I wanted his teeth in me. I wanted to be his in every way I could.
Gideon. Me. Together. Always.
But without his wolf…
I felt a pang of…something—disappointment? longing maybe?—wash through me, but then he ripped my shirt from collar to hem, and all thought was torn away with it. I groaned when his tongue swept over my newly exposed skin. Like tasting me was his greatest desire. Like he couldn’t get enough.
As he tugged on my jeans, I pulled at his shirt. We flung aside the rest of our clothes, piece by piece, until there was nothing between us except the golden sparks of my magic zinging along our skin like magical fireworks. When I reached for him, he grabbed my hands and pinned them to the bed.
I gasped his name then, “Please…”
