Page 9

Finally, she says, “Conall, I understand you think you have the right to keep me here, but you don’t. Whatever you think I am to you, it’s wrong to force me against my will.”

I know she’s right, but the idea of letting her leave makes my chest and belly ache. My wolf snarls inside me, his feelings clear. Neither of us is willing to let her leave. Not tonight.

“No.”

The denial breaks something within her. She releases a short scream and snatches one of my boots from the floor, hurling it at me. When I dodge the missile, she reaches for something else. This time it’s a potato I dug up from the wild garden I’m attempting to cultivate behind the cabin.

As I evade, I lunge for her, grasping her hips and backing her up until her body is pressed to the wall. She shoves at me, her nails digging into my chest. My wolf perks up at the sensation. He doesn’t understand she’s not flirting with us the way a she-wolf would.

Mate. Bite our mate.

My wolf’s demands are overwhelming. He wants to bite her, to make her ours. Right. Now.

Fighting the urge to mark her throat with my teeth, I encircle her wrists with my hands. I try to remain gentle. Her wrists are so delicate. Dainty. I’m able to circle them with the fingers of one hand, pinning them both above her head.

My fierce little mate doesn’t give up. She tries to bite me. My wolf loves the idea, but I know she’s not doing it because she wants to mark me, so I push back his insistence that we give her what she wants.

I pull her away from the door and spin her around, keeping her hands lifted above her head. My other hand rests on her belly, my fingers spread wide over her soft abdomen, and the weight of her heavy breast rests along the ridge of my thumb. It takes all my control not to rub it across her nipple.

“You’re staying here tonight,” I state. “It’s late. There are predators much worse than me hunting by the light of the full moon. It’s not safe for you to leave. If you did, it’s very likely you’ll get hurt.”

I can’t stop myself from lowering my head to nuzzle the back of her neck. Her fragrance is even more potent, and I want to sink my teeth into her. She tries to shift, the movement releasing the faint scent of arousal from her clothes. My cock hardens immediately, eager to believe our mate wants us. I can’t stop myself from leaning harder into her, grinding my cock against her lower back as my hand smooths down her belly to her hip.

She growls in irritation, but a shiver wracks her body, betraying her true reaction. She’s affected by my touch. My wolf wants to howl with happiness. Our mate might resist us, but her body yearns for our touch.

I know it’s true when the next words from her lips are, “So I can leave in the morning?”

I nudge her earlobe with my nose, then tug it between my teeth, causing her breath to stutter before a soft sound escapes her throat.

“We’ll see,” I hedge. I can’t promise I’ll be able to let her go. Even if I wanted to, my wolf and his instincts might not allow it.

“Fine,” she agrees with a sigh.

Though I don’t want to, I release her hands and back away.

She turns to face me and asks, “I don’t suppose I can convince you to sleep on the floor?”

I don’t bother to tell her no. Instead, I walk around to put out the lamps and candles, then add a couple of logs to the fire because the cabin will probably be too cold for her in an hour or two.

She waits until all the lamps are extinguished before changing into her nightdress. Likely, she believes I can’t see her in the dark, but she’s incorrect.

I can’t stop staring as she strips down, leaving her bare to my gaze before she pulls a thin, long-sleeved dress of sorts over her head. It has a wide neckline gathered with a drawstring and billows around her like a tent. It’s so delicate, the shadows of her nipples and a hint of the thatch of hair between her thighs are visible through the fabric. I gawk at the perfection of my mate. She’s a goddess in human flesh.

The urge to touch her is strong, but I fight it, knowing she won’t give in to me. Not yet.

For tonight, I will enjoy sleeping beside my mate. In the future, based on her body’s response to me earlier, I believe I can convince her to surrender to me. Eventually.

Without a word, she climbs into the bed, trying to keep as much space between us as she can. But it isn’t possible. The homemade mattress is too soft, creating a dip around my body.

Immediately, she slips down into the depression where I’m lying so her little body lands against me. After a few more attempts to lie on the mattress without touching me, she sighs heavily and gives up, letting her back and ass rest against my side.

I desperately want to turn over and curl my body around hers, wrapping an arm around her waist, but I refrain…

… until she shivers.

Without a word, I get up and rummage through my trunk, pulling out the fur pelt I use in the winter. My little witch may have magic, but her body is human. She can’t keep herself warm the way I can.

I spread it over her form before I climb back into bed with her. Since she’s still shuddering from the cold, I gather her into my arms the way I’ve been longing to—tucking her back against my front, wrapping my top arm over her waist and sliding my other beneath her head.