Page 31

Went to the movies once with a girl when I was thirteen.

Begged my parents to say no when she asked me out again.

Why?

Secret. :P

Asshole.

I’ll pick you up for dinner.

… Still an asshole but fine.

We’d see if he was still saying that after I showed him what I had in mind.

Carter offered to give us the apartment for the night, but I declined. As nice as it was to have Tate all to myself, I couldn’t keep expecting Carter or my roommate to keep leaving their own home so I could tease Tate to the point of insanity with my tail.

When I showed up at Tate’s apartment to pick him up, Carter was the one to answer the door.

“What have you done to him?” he asked me, though less intimidating than the last time he’d asked me that. He had a hint of a smile on his face. “He’s practically had the zoomies all afternoon.”

“At least I’m not doing parkour off the walls!” came from the hallway. “You broke a plant last time.”

Carter looked at me bashfully. “That plant attacked me.”

Before I could do any teasing about Carter and his plant murder, Tate appeared from the bathroom, tugging on the hem of a long-sleeved Henley that I was certain he’d borrowed from someone. I’d never seen him in anything that actually fit him but damn, that shirt seemed tailored to his perfect body. He’d paired it with a leather jacket and a pair of dark wash jeans that frankly made me want to scratch my entire plan and take him right back to bed.

“Is this okay?” he asked. “I’ve never…”

He didn’t need to finish the sentence. “Are you going to be warm enough in that?” Carter asked, breaking through my fantasy.

Tate rolled his eyes. “Yes, Dad. Don’t wait up.”

In full teenage-angsty glory, Tate took my hand and dragged me from the apartment. Just outside the door, he paused and hauled me into a blistering kiss. He tasted like toothpaste, still smelled like the soap from his shower. Mint and cedar swarmed my senses. My tail flicked to life, my wings wrapped around him protectively, hooking around him like a second pair of arms to hold him even closer to me. Tate hummed, the sound vibrating my lips.

Heat built quickly, and I found Tate pressing against me from chest to hip, the rigid drag of his cock along mine nearly buckling my knees when he murmured, “Tell me we can take this straight to bed.” His lips brushed mine, the ghost of his breath warm over my sensitive skin.

I almost caved. Almost. Unfortunately for my sweet little human, I was that much more resilient. “Not yet, baby.”

His sound of protest was somewhere between a whine and a groan.

I indulged him with one more kiss. “It’ll be worth it. I promise.”

Releasing him from my grip, my hand slipped down his arm until our fingers tangled together. Tate stared at our entwined hands in awe, like he simply couldn’t believe it was happening.

It took my conversation with Tegan to remind me that Tate and I had gotten hot and heavy almost too quickly. Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised that Tate was a little nervous. We’d practically skipped everything he’d likely expected. Casual hookups were great, but something told me that Tate wasn’t built for casual or something hot and steamy right off the bat, even if we had shared some amazing nights together.

Outside, the early-autumn chill wrapped around us. Tate tugged his jacket a little closer to himself, tucked in closer to my side. My left wing wrapped around him like a blanket, curling around his shoulder just like his favorite throw would. I walked him to the edge of Creelin U’s campus, pausing just inside the wrought-iron gates that separated the school grounds from the woods beyond.

“Alright, baby,” I murmured, putting on my best drawl and teasing a slight finger across his forehead in an attempt to ease some of that anxiety that constantly buzzed through his system. It worked. Tate’s eyelids fluttered, color flooding his cheeks. “I’ll need you to completely trust me for this next part. Can you do that?”

When his pretty eyes gazed up at me, sparkling like two dark pools of emerald in the moonlight and he nodded, the sight alone nearly buckled my knees.

Chapter 15

TATE

Maybe I should have questioned what Luc meant before I put my entire trust in the man, but it was too late now. The second I nodded my approval, he’d wrapped me in his arms, securing me to him with his tail around my waist, and lifted us into the air.