Page 126 of Chaos At Second Sight

She laughed a little, making me moan. “But I am.”

I cleared my throat again and offered her a lopsided grin. “Mind if I ask you to prove it?”

“How?”

“Can I touch you?”

Ruby looked shy, averting her eyes, but nodded, peering up at me from under long lashes.

The instant my hand brushed that amber fur along her cheek, there was electricity, the look in her eyes like a shot of lightning straight down my spine.

I felt warmth, a feeling of home invading me, spreading from my fingertips on her face to my chest. “You are magical, aren’t you?”

She giggled and the sound alone finished me.

Suddenly, I was pinned to the wall and an involuntary oof escaped me. Her arms encircled my body, one clawed hand forcing my head into the crook of her neck.

We are the same height, I noticed with pride.

Her hot breath was on me as she sampled my scent, while I was out of breath—for several reasons.

“I can’t breathe, my love.” I laughed as I lazily dragged a palm down her side, dipping my fingers into her fur, savoring the soft texture and the sparks.

She lifted her eyes to mine. Hell, that didn’t help with my respiration issues at all. “Why?”

“Because you are perfection.” I smiled helplessly. My fingers played with her ears—even they were fluffy and dainty. Her eyes fluttered shut, a pleased rumble vibrating through her chest.

“Do you find me beautiful?”

“Of course. You’re cute.”

She frowned. “I don’t like cute.”

“You’re also beautiful,” I quickly added with a breathy laugh. Laughing was a way to release my shock, my amazement, at her simply being here. At being mine.

“Thank you. And you’re handsome. A movie star,” she admitted.

I grinned. “Well, thank you, Ruby!” Adoration bloated my chest every time my mate looked shy. “And you look like a warrior princess of all the enchanted lands.”

A sensual heat spread through me as I pressed my lips against my mark, skimming my nose on her furry throat. I gently scratched at her neck, her shoulders. What would her tail feel like? I touched it.

Ruby yelped a little, bringing the tip of it to her stomach.

“Oops.” I bit my lip to keep from laughing. “Not a good spot?”

She gave me a wide-eyed look and, very deliberately, placed her tail back in my hand. I burst out with that laugh now. “Oh, now you trust me with it?”

As I stroked it carefully, I almost moaned at how soft it was. Like touching fresh snow.

“Lucien’s turn, Human,” Lucien seethed like never before. The familiar pressure built under my skin until a blast of heat and immense pain split my chest open and he crawled out.

With a smile, I let him.

I had lived with half a soul until I had met her—them. Always the outcast. Always alone. Because the only lycan I knew was, well, me.

That changed today.

For the first time in forever, I wasn’t the only one. For the first time in my life, I felt at peace, and she was the reason.