“No. I. Am. Not. I really want to know. Why me?”
He shoved his hands into his hair. “I don’t know why. God, that’s like asking why is the sun shining today. Because it just fucking is. There are plenty of things in this world that don’t make a damn bit of sense and this is one of them. Neither one of us should be here, but we are and I’m going to go out of my mind real soon if you don’t ask the real goddamned question.”
“Are you a shifter?” She blurted. Not that the answer mattered in the wake of his outburst. He wanted her. Like really wanted her. And she wanted him just as bad.
“Yes. I am.”
The air in the room seemed to still as they stood there staring at each other, neither making a move. The implications of hearing it out loud slammed into her.
He wasn’t human.
She was.
“We aren’t supposed to do this are we?” Every question that popped into her head kept getting harder and harder.
“If we were just going to have sex and you didn’t know about shifters it would be fine. But it won’t just be sex and you already know. To proceed will be extremely dangerous.”
“It won’t just be sex?”
He shook his head. “Not if I can help it. My wolf wants you as a mate and that is very difficult to deny.”
That little revelation made Sienna’s head spin. Things were definitely going way to fast.
“I don’t even know what that means,” she said.
“It’s a little like a human marriage except it’s driven by biology and desire in the animal instincts of a shifter and usually when it happens it happens for life. There are no divorce courts for shifters.”
“Are you crazy? We’ve know each other what? Seven hours? We aren’t getting married.”
“Mated.”
“Mated, whatever.” Her chest was starting to hurt and she couldn’t catch her breath. “This is too much.”
“I know it is, baby. But the truth of the matter is. Now that you know about shifters you can’t go back. Not to the bar. Not to your apartment. Not even to your life.” He cupped her cheek and pressed a quick kiss to her forehead, causing her to flinch.
“What am I supposed to do?” she asked.
He ignored her question. “But our mating could save your life.”
Whoa. She took several steps back until her butt hit the counter behind her. She definitely couldn’t catch her breath.
Gage closed the distance between them in one stride and wrapped his arms around her. “Easy. Try to take a slow, deep breath. You’re hyperventilating.”
God she was and she couldn’t stop. She quit trying to process everything he’d said and focused solely on following his directions. After a few minutes of deep rhythmic breathing and the stroke of his hand up and down her back, she calmed.
“I would prefer to ease you into this information and take the time you need to process it, but I’m afraid we don’t have that kind of time. I believe the wolves from the bar are probably still hunting us.”
“But why?”
“Because they are responsible for what you saw. That carries a stiff penalty alone, but if you get a chance to tell anyone, things will be infinitely worse for their pack.”
She tried to hold up her hand to stop him. “Please no more. Everything you say sounds more ominous than the last. I can only take so much bad news at once.”
“Then let me take the fear away. I can help you.” He shifted his big body closer, effectively caging her in with both hands on either side of her.
She took another slow breath and let it out on a long exhale, trying to ignore the instinct to lift herself up and wrap her legs around his waist. Apparently her body didn’t get the message from her brain that he was off limits. “How?”
“Like this.” He dipped his head back toward her neck and kissed her several times on the outer shell of her ear.
Damn, it felt really good when he did that.
“You still want to have sex with me?”
He laughed softly, continuing to pepper her neck
He shoved his hands into his hair. “I don’t know why. God, that’s like asking why is the sun shining today. Because it just fucking is. There are plenty of things in this world that don’t make a damn bit of sense and this is one of them. Neither one of us should be here, but we are and I’m going to go out of my mind real soon if you don’t ask the real goddamned question.”
“Are you a shifter?” She blurted. Not that the answer mattered in the wake of his outburst. He wanted her. Like really wanted her. And she wanted him just as bad.
“Yes. I am.”
The air in the room seemed to still as they stood there staring at each other, neither making a move. The implications of hearing it out loud slammed into her.
He wasn’t human.
She was.
“We aren’t supposed to do this are we?” Every question that popped into her head kept getting harder and harder.
“If we were just going to have sex and you didn’t know about shifters it would be fine. But it won’t just be sex and you already know. To proceed will be extremely dangerous.”
“It won’t just be sex?”
He shook his head. “Not if I can help it. My wolf wants you as a mate and that is very difficult to deny.”
That little revelation made Sienna’s head spin. Things were definitely going way to fast.
“I don’t even know what that means,” she said.
“It’s a little like a human marriage except it’s driven by biology and desire in the animal instincts of a shifter and usually when it happens it happens for life. There are no divorce courts for shifters.”
“Are you crazy? We’ve know each other what? Seven hours? We aren’t getting married.”
“Mated.”
“Mated, whatever.” Her chest was starting to hurt and she couldn’t catch her breath. “This is too much.”
“I know it is, baby. But the truth of the matter is. Now that you know about shifters you can’t go back. Not to the bar. Not to your apartment. Not even to your life.” He cupped her cheek and pressed a quick kiss to her forehead, causing her to flinch.
“What am I supposed to do?” she asked.
He ignored her question. “But our mating could save your life.”
Whoa. She took several steps back until her butt hit the counter behind her. She definitely couldn’t catch her breath.
Gage closed the distance between them in one stride and wrapped his arms around her. “Easy. Try to take a slow, deep breath. You’re hyperventilating.”
God she was and she couldn’t stop. She quit trying to process everything he’d said and focused solely on following his directions. After a few minutes of deep rhythmic breathing and the stroke of his hand up and down her back, she calmed.
“I would prefer to ease you into this information and take the time you need to process it, but I’m afraid we don’t have that kind of time. I believe the wolves from the bar are probably still hunting us.”
“But why?”
“Because they are responsible for what you saw. That carries a stiff penalty alone, but if you get a chance to tell anyone, things will be infinitely worse for their pack.”
She tried to hold up her hand to stop him. “Please no more. Everything you say sounds more ominous than the last. I can only take so much bad news at once.”
“Then let me take the fear away. I can help you.” He shifted his big body closer, effectively caging her in with both hands on either side of her.
She took another slow breath and let it out on a long exhale, trying to ignore the instinct to lift herself up and wrap her legs around his waist. Apparently her body didn’t get the message from her brain that he was off limits. “How?”
“Like this.” He dipped his head back toward her neck and kissed her several times on the outer shell of her ear.
Damn, it felt really good when he did that.
“You still want to have sex with me?”
He laughed softly, continuing to pepper her neck
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