Page 48 of The Coyote's Veterinarian Omega

I took a shaky breath and let Cam lead me from the room.

We went upstairs this time, the worn carpet on the stairs cushioning our footfalls. Without a word, Cam opened the door to one of the rooms, revealing an enormous expanse of space.

Cam shut the door behind us. “Nobody’ll bother us up here,” he said, and I nodded again, then sank down on the messy bed.

Cam’s scent immediately washed over me, and I closed my eyes, before frowning. I couldsmellCam now? And I liked it?

I opened my eyes again and watched Cam pace to the window. “Why didn’t you come back?” he asked. “Caroline said we shouldn’t leave it long …”

“I …” I hesitated, looking down at my feet resting on anotherworn carpet. It matched the one in the hall, on the stairs.

I could lie. Say I’d just been busy. And I had been—all these birthing animals were running me off my feet.

But deep down, I knew there was something else. “I was … afraid,” I offered finally. “I don’t know why.”

Cam pressed his lips into a thin line as he leaned against the wall, amber eyes regarding me carefully. “We don’t have to do this,” he offered. “I know … I know it’s a lot.”

I nodded. I knew all that. I also knew he’d given me the option to back out before he bit me the first time. There was a reason I didn’t take it.

It felt wrong to deny him anything. And I’d heard in his voice how much he wanted this.

And I’d hoped, at least for a little bit, that he didn’t just want it. That heneededit as much as I did. When he’d suggested it, I’d been weirded out—I was still trying to get my head around shifters and fated mates, and now he wanted to bite me andbondme …

But if I dug down past my confusion, there was a simple answer. An instinctual one, singing in my blood, ringing through my bones, making me ache.

Yes.

Just yes—no caveats, no if, ands, or buts. I wanted Cam, and I wanted to be his forevermore. And if he’d have me? If he wanted the same?

All the more proof I was making the right decision.

I folded my hands in my lap, twiddling my thumbs. “So … how do we …?”

Cam’s brows shot up. “You want to? You just said you were afraid, and like I said, we don’thaveto—”

I gave him my best glare. “Just because I’m afraid doesn’t mean I don’t want to. Think about rollercoasters—they’re scary to get on, and half the time, as you’re sitting in that car, climbing thatfirst hill, you’re sitting there thinking you’ve just made a huge mistake. You think about how you can get back to the ground, if they’ll stop the ride and let you off. And then the drop comes, and you’re scared shitless, but it’s also …”

“Fun,” Cam said.

“Exhilarating,” I breathed, then met his gaze. “And the ride ends and you wonder what you were scared about.”

I watched Cam’s throat work. “All right,” he said, pushing away from the wall. He approached the bed cautiously, almost like a predator stalking his prey. I leaned back on my elbows, watching him. He landed one knee on the mattress, then the other, planting both hands on either side of me as I laid myself out beneath him.

“Let’s go for a ride,” he said, and, despite myself, I started laughing. He blinked those golden eyes. “What? What?”

I put a hand over my mouth, shaking my head. “Sorry. Sorry, it’s just—” I sobered a little. “Dirty talk is kind of ridiculous, isn’t it?”

His expression twisted. “I wasn’t—oh, God, did I really say that?”

I snorted. “You did.”

He bit his lip. “Fuck, I did. Oh my God.”

I laughed harder, and he joined me, both of us dissolving into deep, rolling guffaws, until I thought I wasn’t going to be able to breathe any longer.

Then, without warning, Cam leaned in and nuzzled my neck, right above the aching bite mark. I froze, my eyes going wide as the tip of his nose brushed over the old scab and, beneath it, the ache. “Wyatt,” he breathed against my skin.

I inhaled. It was all the response I could manage.