Page 242 of Knot What I Expected

Still waiting for me.

I lean closer.

He smells amazing. Soap and pine and smoke and that warm, masculine scent that is simply Rowan.

My Alpha.

My mate.

I need to be closer.

“Rowan,” I murmur again, curling my arms around his neck.

His eyes lock onto mine. I move against him. Barely. But just enough.

His jaw clenches.

“Gabby.”

“What?”

“You know fucking what.”

Despite the need burning through me, my lips twitch.

“I have no idea what you mean.”

“Liar.”

“Maybe.”

His gaze drops to my mouth again.

“Careful, Honey Girl.”

“Or what?”

A growl rumbles through his chest.

Oh, God. There he is.

Monster.

Except I’m not afraid of him. Not anymore. Maybe I never should have been.

I lean in until my lips hover over Rowan’s. His breath mingles with mine. And that’s when I see it. The exact second he scents me.

My arousal.

My need.

His nostrils flare. Gold floods his eyes.

His fingers dig into my hips before immediately loosening again, and somehow that little correction—his instinct screaming take while the man chooses to wait—makes my need sharpen.

“Fuck, Gabby.”

His forehead drops against mine. For one breath, neither of us moves.