Page 160 of Nobody's Girl

I have a picture of my soon-to-be-mate up in my bedroom. Just thinking about it fills my mind with her image. And there it is—the thump in my chest every time I think about her and I together like this.

Alyssa’s deep sapphire eyes, her dark black, silky hair, and those perfect red pouty lips. My heart’s going wild now.

My body and lips press harder against Linda’s. I move us until she no longer moves. Holding her to the wall, I force my tongue past her lips, pulling her hair back so she has to accept it.

Linda twists beneath me, pulling her mouth from mine. “Eden! Stop!”

My head is swimming. Crap! What have I done?

“Linda, it was wrong what I did? I didn’t know.”

Linda moves away from me. She’s a little older than I am by about five or ten years, I guess. Her eyes have tiny wrinkles at the corners. Right now her face is flushed red.

“Eden, you have to be a lot more delicate with your mate. She’s innocent after all. Coming on so strong will frighten her. You don’t want to do that, now do you?”

Linda’s dress is bunched up at her waist from my actions. I reach out to smooth it for her. She steps back and does it herself.

“Sorry, Linda. So, no tongue then?”

She shakes her head. “Absolutely not, Eden. You’re marrying a princess of sorts. No tongue. No pulling of hair. No pushing her up against walls, doors, or any other hard surfaces. She’s to be treated only with gentleness and always with respect. Do you understand me?”

I look away, angry with myself. “I do, but …”

She pulls at my chin to make me look at her, interrupting my words. “But nothing, Eden. Touch her very tenderly. She’s completely innocent. Plus, she knows nothing about you. Believe me, you will be a complete stranger to her. The last thing she’ll want is for you to handle her like that. You’ll scare the hell out of her.” She smiles at me, making me feel admittedly stupid.

“I’m a child, Linda,” I say as I mope about how inexperienced I am.

Her arm runs around my shoulders and she gives me a little squeeze. “No, Eden, you’re no child. Here, let’s try this again. Only this time follow my lead instead of taking off on your own.”

Pulling me to sit on a bench with her, she turns. My hands are placed by her, one on her shoulder and one on her waist. This feels awkward, too much like a dancing position.

“This feels weird, Linda.”

“It’s proper to stay some distance away. Now give me a chaste kiss on my cheek,” she instructs me.

I purse my lips and place them on her cheek. “There you go, Linda. Was that chaste enough?”

Her smile tells me it was. “Now, a simple, nice, non-threatening kiss on my lips, Eden.”

Practicing extreme softness, I press my lips to hers. I have to open my eyes a bit or the visions of my Alyssa will run into my head, making me lose control. When I pull back, I find her smiling at me.

“That was nice. Very nice, with no hint of I want to take you right now to it.”

I drop my arms to my sides. “Is that what it felt like when I kissed you? Like I wanted to take you to my bed?”

I never want to treat my baby Alyssa like that. She’s too special.

Linda touches my arm. “Yes, Eden. What you did to me was very sexual in nature. I know you’re a young man with raging hormones and needs, but Alyssa is too inexperienced to deal with that right away. Maybe she’ll like it later, probably many years from now, but not at first. You think you have it all under control now?”

I nod. With her I do. Once I have my hands on my mate, well, I don’t know for sure.

If just her pictures and thinking about her stir this beast inside of me, what will the real girl do?

My cell phone vibrates in my pants pocket. “My father, Linda. If you’ll excuse me, please,” I say as I walk away from her. “Hello, Papa.”

“You should come inside. Your mother and I need to tell you something about Alyssa.”

“Be right in,” I say, a bit nervous.