She leaned back to give him a smile that hadhim hardening within her once more.
“Did I ever,” she breathed.
The overwhelming compulsion to drag heragainst him and sink his fangs into her throat hit him.Notready. She’s not ready!
Right then, it didn’t matter. Not to thepredator within him that knew she was his, and wanted everyone elseto know it too.
“David?” she asked tremulously.
His teeth grated together as his clenchedjaw worked back and forth. “Don’t move,” he said when she went torise off him.
Mia froze as she gazed down at him. Shedidn’t have to see his ruby eyes to know he was struggling not tounravel before her. She could feel it in every tensed muscle of hisbody.
“You need to feed from me,” she whispered.“To complete the bond.”
She had to admit there was no denying whatthey were to each other anymore. He was her mate. She thrilled atthe idea of it as her fingers stroked his nape. Maybe she still hadsome issues to work through, but she was getting better every day,and he was helping her with that. One day, she’d be a woman hecould hold close. Until then, she would be the woman who could easehis frustration and his need to be joined with her foreternity.
“Not until you’re ready for it.”
“David—”
“No! Not until you’re ready, and not in thedressing room of a mall.”
“I know what we are to each other. There isno denying it. I think I can handle it. This has to be done, foryou.”
“This has to be done forus. I won’trisk frightening you and possibly hurting you if you panic.”
She studied the stubborn set of his jawbefore releasing a sigh. “Soon.”
He couldn’t look at her as he nodded. Thelast thing he wanted was to be a disappointment to her, to somehowbreak her trust in him by moving too fast or doing something beforeshe was ready, but he didn’t know how much longer he could take notbeing connected to her completely. He’d been so certain he couldhold out on binding them until she was certain she could handle it.Now he realized the choice may soon be taken from him.
“I think we’re going to have to placemirrors all over the walls of our room at home,” he said todistract them both from the turmoil within him.
“Ourroom?” she asked, trying totease him back.
His eyes flashed red, and she knew instantlyhe hadn’t been ready to be teased.
“Yes, it isourroom, Mia.”
“Yes, it is,” she agreed.
A throat cleared outside of the dressingroom. “Both of you please come out of there,” a man commanded fromthe other side of the door.
Her hand flew up to cover her mouth as thecolor drained from her face. David leaned forward to whisper in herear, “Get dressed. I’ll take care of it.”
“Are you… are you stable enough to do so?”she asked.
“Yes.” He kept his hands locked behind thechair as she climbed off of his lap. Taking another minute tosteady himself, he unlocked his hands, rose, and pulled his jeansup to button them. He opened the door and stepped out to face thesecurity guard and two very unamused female employees.
The two women’s eyebrows rose when theyspotted him. The younger one licked her lips and giggled. The olderone gave her a disapproving frown, but her eyes held an interestedgleam when they came back to him. The male security guard remainedanything but amused.
“You’re going to have to come with me,” theman said crisply to him. “As is your companion.”
“No,” David said in a low voice as he lookedeach one of them in the eye, drawing them in with his power.“Nothing happened here. You heard nothing and saw nothing.” Aglassy sheen descended over their eyes when they became enthralledby his words. “Go back about your day as if it were any other.Now.”
The three of them bowed their heads beforeturning and walking away. The door opened behind him and Mia pokedher head out. He’d never seen her embarrassed, wasn’t sure he’dbelieved it possible, but her face was a fiery red hue. He couldfeel the heat radiating from her as she gazed between him and thedoor leading out of the dressing area.
“They don’t remember a thing,” he assuredher.
