Chapter Seventeen

KEYARA

Key woke up slowly, feeling entirely rested. She snuggled closer to the man next to her before opening her eyes with a start. She vaguely remembered pulling Ash into bed with her several hours ago.

She lay as still as she could, taking in her surroundings. Her head was tucked into his shoulder, and his arm was draped around her back, his hand pressed flat against her stomach.

One leg had come free from the robe and was thrown over his hip. His other hand rested on her bare thigh, his rough fingers drawing faint patterns over her skin in his sleep.

She suppressed an embarrassed moan. She slowly began to try to squirm free from his grasp, but his hold only tightened in his slumber.

She could feel his arousal under her leg, and it made her blush. But she had to admit she felt similarly. Why else would she wrap herself around him in her sleep?

She stopped trying to escape and pressed her lips to his neck. She inhaled his musk. He smelled like pine needles, cloves, and faintly of smoke.

She ran her lips along his collarbone, shifting her weight on top of him to do the same to the other side.

Ash awoke with a deep, satisfied growl, grabbing her by the hips until she straddled him.

She gasped. She wore nothing underneath the robe and could feel his arousal pressing against her. She fought the urge to grind her hips.

She cleared her throat when she saw his eyes, clouded with black, watching her with desire. “Good morning,” she said.

He growled again and dug his fingers into her flesh, but the darkness dispersed from his eyes until they were back to their brilliant green.

“If you keep doing that, I may mark you before you’re ready,” he told her huskily.

“Hmm…you still haven’t explained to me what that means,” she told him coyly. “Maybe I wouldn’t mind.”

She leaned down and gave him a quick peck on the lips, then jumped off the bed and grabbed the clothes he had brought earlier. She went behind the screen to change.

When she threw the robe over the top of the screen, she heard Ash groan from the bed. His reaction to her gave her confidence she had never felt before. She laughed.

“You all right over there?” she teased.

“Mm-hmm,” came the strained reply.

She pulled on the leather pants. They were very fine leather indeed and fit her snugly. The shirt was slightly too large.

She did up the buttons and tucked it into her pants, wanting to contain the billowy fabric. She rolled up the sleeves until the arms were the right length.

The portrait and necklace she had been carrying would not fit into the pocket of the leather pants; they fit too snugly.

“Ash?” she said, as she came out from behind the screen.

She watched his expression with a slight sense of pride. His eyes clouded once more, and she could see the desire on his face.

“Yes, Keyara?” he said in a deep voice.

“This is something my mother gave me. It is extremely important. This leather is too tight for me to fit it in the pocket. Is there somewhere else we can keep it?”

He cleared his throat. “To see you in those breeches, I will guard it with my life.” He bowed teasingly and held out his hand.

She walked to the bed and handed over the bundle and watched him tuck it in an inside pocket of his tunic.

She perched on the edge of the bed, looking at Ash. “I want you to tell me everything,” she said seriously.

“I know you’re keeping much of what will happen from me. And I’m sure you have your reasons. But not knowing what to expect is worse. So, please, tell me. What is marking? What will it do?”

He sat up and looked into her eyes. “All right, Key, you’re right. You deserve the truth. I have not wanted to frighten you is all.

“In truth, it is not all that scary, but I know I take our way of life for granted. You may feel much differently.”

He took her hands in his and looked down at them clasped together before continuing.

“Marking is how we claim our mates. It solidifies the mate bond, making it much stronger. It will allow me to sense you in a much more intimate way.

“I will feel when you are scared or in pain. And you will for me as well.”

He looked back up at her, and she nodded encouragingly.

“It will also bind you to me in a few ways,” he continued. “You will be able to mind-link with me. Only me, but it is useful nonetheless. It will tell others you belong to me and protect you.”

She smiled softly. All that sounded quite…pleasant, actually. Why had he been so worried? “That does not sound bad,” she said hopefully.

He looked back down at their hands, frowning. “There are negatives as well, of course,” he said softly, looking up again. “To mark you, I must bite you—here.”

He touched her neck softly where it met her shoulder, massaging the spot gently.

“It will hurt,” he continued sadly, “and afterward, it takes some time to recover. More so for you since you are human. It is easier when both mates are wolves, I have heard.

“For a while we will have to stay very close together, or you will start to feel sick, and you will need to sleep a lot to let your body adjust to the changes it will go through.”

All right, now she understood why he was so worried. But that still did not seem all too horrible to her.

“All right. Thank you for telling me, Ash. I feel better now, knowing what to expect. But I don’t understand why you were so hesitant to tell me this.”

He looked at her earnestly, clasping her hands harder. “Because once you do this, Key, there is no going back. You cannot break a mate bond without severe consequences or even death. We will be bonded forever.”