The warm sensation sliding around me and the sudden weightlessness I experience wake me up before his voice does.
I experience a feeling of floating as everything comes back to me, and my brain re-engages with my limbs as warm hands and body transfer heat to mine.
âBaby, weâre here. Wake up.â Coltonâs honey tone slides over me as his scent surrounds me in a comfortable, firm hold, submerging me in his delicious scent that makes me giddy.
I blink my eyes open to find myself in his arms while being scooped out of the truck as he stands by my door.
The night cloaks us, but the illumination in front of me makes my eyes blurry as I try to adjust and screw them shut quickly, taking a moment to savor that in-between awake and dreaming state.
He holds me, pressing me to him, one arm under my legs and one around my back, while my face is against the crook of his throat, nestling in as the cool air brings me around fully.
I impulsively slide my hands up his expanse of hard chest, searching for a place to anchor myself, aiming to slide around his neck when sense fully awakens me.
I realize this is probably not wise when my heart is so bruised.
Getting tangled up with Colton is not what I need. Itâs far too easy to accept his touch and willingness to add intimacy to the mix, but I have to be stronger than him.
âI can walk. Put me down,â I croak hoarsely, my sleep-addled tone heavy. I wriggle to free my legs, resisting even if itâs feeble, and thankfully, he isnât fighting me.
After a moment of hesitation, Colton relents, and I carefully slide my feet to the ground, but he keeps me anchored to him with his arm around my waist and tugs me front on, closing the gap between us.
He lifts his other hand to stroke my cheek as he leans in to bridge the height difference, rendering me momentarily senseless, as that burning connection makes my knees buckle almost wholly.
He cups my face and pulls me in, bringing his forehead down to mine, and pushes us together intimately.
Our breaths mingle in the cool air, and Iâm overly aware of how dangerously close this is. A little inch more, and weâll kiss.
Iâm caught tired, slow in reaction speed, and somehow feeling vulnerable at waking up to his touch.
âWhen my momâs settled in the infirmary, we need to talk. We need to figure this out and fix us. I missed you more than youâll ever know, Lorey. Iâm never letting you go again.â
His eyes stray to my lips, and that crazy, overwhelming urge to lean in and take what heâs pondering doing almost kills me.
My lips part slightly as the tug of desire pulses through me with hunger, and Iâm powerless to pull back when caught in his breath this way.
His touch makes my skin erupt in goosebumps all over, the low intensity of his voice drawing me in as if no one else exists around us, and I almost weaken to the point of melting into him.
My pelvis and between my thighs heat to molten lava at this kind of contact with him, and I almost have to press my knees together to gain some control.
The haze is approaching, and I guess itâs already screwing with my libido.
Or maybe itâs always just him, and Iâm still a weak fool for this man, more so when caught off guard and too tired to think straight.
So easy when this feels so right, but I catch myself and finally muster the strength to pull back, covering his hand with mine and sliding it from my face.
âColtonâ¦â I start to rebuff him, but he doesnât let me loose as easily as he put me down.
âWe canât ignore how we feel about each other, that weâre meant to be,â he says.
Thereâs a hint of desperation in his ravaged tone, mirroring my urges, his jaw tensing and squaring off, which only makes those irresistible dimples prominent.
Those lowering brows bring out the cute-boy faceâleaning closer and making it harder to breathe when my senses are filled with him.
It sparks that self-defense mechanism in me, though, I have that urge to run far away before he cripples me again, and I slide my hands between us and push him away with enough force to get him to release me.
âWhy not? You did!â I bite, stepping back coldly, as his hold drops, and the sweep of hurt and regret is evident on that flawless face.
It tugs at me, slicing my heart with a sharp stab, but I donât weaken, pushing my pain and agony away and refusing to break.
He can go to hell if he thinks he can be mated elsewhere but still have a side chick, so he doesnât have to live with the mistake.
I wonât be some dirty secret that has to steal moments with him and share him with her just because he didnât manage to break our bond by taking another.
Iâm not doing this, no matter how much I yearn for him or still love him.
I have more respect for myself than that, and I wonât be one of those wolves who disgrace themselves by committing adultery with a mated, even if we were destined.
He broke this, not me. He made his choice, no matter what his reasons were. It canât be undone.
âYouâre angry, hurt, and upset⦠all valid, and I understand why. If you need time to forgive me, fine. But Iâm not going anywhere. Iâm not giving up.
âI need you, and Iâll earn your forgiveness, no matter what it takes.â Colton is back in serious, soft-faced, high school, hot boy mode, and I shake it off.
I ignore him, trying to blot out words that wound me to the core, and turn to walk away, but he catches me by the wrist and stops me in my tracksâtugging me back slightly and igniting further fury.
Itâs a burning, searing touch that was invented to torture me by being both the best feeling in the world and the worst.
That bubbling temper dominates the pit of my stomach, but before I can turn to tell him to back off, my thoughts are interrupted by a high-voltage distraction.
âChica!â Meadow comes bounding from nowhere, darting at me like a lioness pouncing on its prey, like a freight train and a tornado all in one.
She sweeps between us, hauling me off my feet in a bear hug that momentarily dazes me and spins me around with alarming strength for a girl shorter than me. âDios mÃo, niña, te extrañé mucho.â
Sheâs strong and persistent in her very aggressive affection.
She smothers me in Latino love, squeezes me so my ribs almost crack under the strain, and then dumps me on my feet to grab me by the face with an insane grip.
She kisses me all over my cheeks, nose, and forehead like an overbearing momma, and itâs a furiously fast barrage that doesnât give me a second to counteract.
I can only screw my eyes shut, pucker up my face to protect my poor features, and accept this ambush while trying to unhook her fingers around my cheeks before she leaves bruises.