Chapter Eighteen

ASH

He watched her reaction carefully, feeling nervous and frightened. He was not used to feeling so weak, but he knew her rejection could break him like nothing else would.

He wanted nothing more than to mark her and claim her as his own. To present his new mate to the pack. But that was natural among his kind and caused him no trepidation, despite only knowing her for two days.

Surely it was different for her, being human, and as sheltered as she had been in her life. The prospect of being so fiercely bound to a practical stranger must be overwhelming for Keyara.

He frowned in confusion when she laughed softly. That was not what he had expected.

“Ash,” she said, raising one hand and placing it softly onto his cheek. “You are the kindest man I’ve ever met. You’ve been so respectful toward me. You stood up for me against Pershing.

“You make me feel safe, as safe as I have ever felt. Even though I just met you, I know with all my heart I can trust you.”

“And on top of all that…” she trailed off, blushing deeply.

He held his breath, waiting for her to continue.

She set her jaw and spoke again. “On top of all that, you have awoken a desire in me I have never experienced before. I would be honored to be bound to you.”

He could not help the soft growl that escaped his lips at her approval of him. His heart felt like it could burst.

He grasped her by the waist and pulled her lithe body on top of him. He buried one hand deeply into her thick, flowing hair, grasping it and pulling her face toward his.

He kissed her with all the passion he had built up over the last two days of restraint, and she returned his kiss just as passionately. He pressed his other hand to her lower back, wanting her even closer.

Her legs were on either side of his waist, straddling him, and her hands were running through his hair. When she broke their intense kiss and gasped for air, he moved his lips to her neck, kissing down the length of it.

He ran his tongue over the spot where he would mark her, tasting her and teasing her.

He nibbled lightly at it and felt her gasp in pleasure, rubbing herself against his arousal. The feeling of her body against him almost undid him.

~Wait~, he thought. ~I don’t want the men to hear this. ~His passion was rising, and soon he would not be able to stop himself~.~

They were in too tight quarters to have any real privacy, and it was the least he could give her. He wanted to be able to give her his full and undivided attention, free of responsibilities and distractions.

It took every ounce of his self-control to pull back from her warm body.

“Wait, Ash, please don’t stop,” she moaned, attempting to pull him back toward her. “I’m ready.”

He kissed lightly back up her neck, finishing with one last soft kiss on her parted lips.

“You have no idea how happy that makes me,” he said, with all the feeling he could muster. “But we have a dozen men just outside that door.”

She blushed deeply, clearly not having considered that until he reminded her of it.

He stroked her arms. “Let me send them on ahead,” he told her, “and then we can have the whole place to ourselves.”

She nodded, biting her lower lip. The gesture made him want to take her plump lip into his own mouth. ~Get out of here while you still can~, he told himself.

“I will be back shortly,” he assured her. “Stay here.”

He fought against his passion and made himself stand and leave her.

KEYARA

As the door closed, she ran her hands through her disheveled hair and laughed softly. She had never felt anything like that before, and she ached at his sudden absence.

She flopped backward on the bed and let out a soft moan.

Outside the door, she heard Luca giving orders to the men and silently gave thanks to Ash for his foresight.

If she could hear them, they would certainly have been able to hear her. She seemed to have lost all control of herself and could only imagine what it was leading to.

She thought about what she had told him, that she was ready to be claimed by him. She had been surprised at her own words but did not regret them.

She ~was~ ready and knew that she could fully trust him with every part of her. She could certainly think of far worse fates than having him beside her in life.

It was a strange thing to admit to herself, but what he said about the mate bond must have been what was creating this assurance in her emotions.

She felt connected to him in every way and completely comfortable with him. ~What a change from yesterday in the courtyard~, she thought.

She listened to the men gather as they made preparations to leave. There were sounds of men shouting to each other and orders being issued, until they seemed to fade into the distance and then disappear.

She wondered if they knew why they were being sent away by Ash, what would happen after they left. Surely they did.

The thought embarrassed her but not as much as it probably should have. Ash had told her all of this was natural among their kind, after all.

No one had mentioned the fact that she was their leader’s mate, but no one had questioned her presence either. They seemed to accept her with no judgment or curiosity, as if she was already one of their own.

Suddenly everything was silent, save for the soft crackling from the fire that blazed in the hearth. The door opened slowly, and Ash’s striking face peeked around the door. She smiled at him.

He smiled back, and the feeling warmed her. He approached the bed slowly.

“Now, where were we,” he said in a deep voice.