Page 67 of The Enforcers: NOAH

Chapter 26

By the time Noah got back to the cabin, he was so anxious to see Mina and make sure she and Brock were okay that his wolf was growling nonstop despite his deep breathing.

Brock was sitting with Tank, talking, their backs against the wall of the crazy shed. Brock waved at Noah, but he seemed okay, so Noah went inside looking for Mina.

He burst into the bedroom and stopped dead.

She was standing there brushing her hair with nothing but a towel around her, reaching from her delicious breasts to just under her curvy ass. Her hair was damp and curly from the shower.

“Hi,” she said.

Noah couldn’t stop staring. All he could think about was the way her thighs felt when he was between them, the way she tasted, the way she’d sheathed him with her pussy and made him feel more than he’d ever felt with anyone else.

“I—um. I brought you some clothes. They keep extras at Nashville. And for Brock. I brought some. I mean…”

He was still staring, and a flush was rising up her skin.

Noah gave up. “I really, really want to take that towel off and kiss every inch of you,” he said.

Mina’s eyes dropped to his crotch. “I would not have known that,” she said demurely. “You hide it so well.”

“I have a boner the size of the Washington Monument.”

“Mmm. A pointy, historic monument. How romantic.”

He smiled and took a step closer. So did she.

“How’s this for romantic?” he said, lifting her hair off her shoulders and brushing it back, his fingers lingering on her soft skin. “I want you with my heart, my body and my soul. Every time you smile, the day gets brighter, and when you’re unhappy, I can’t rest until I try to fix what’s wrong.”

He took her hand and started kissing her knuckles one by one. “Please be my mate, Aramina Reston.”

She gazed into his eyes, and her expression grew sad. “I still need time,” she said softly.

He nodded. “I’m going to keep asking, you know.”

“I still don’t understand why.”

Because you are my mate, whether you know it or not.

He played with her hair instead, desperate to think of what to do, how to reach her. Finally he made himself ask, “Is it Justin? Are you saying no because you can’t feel about me the way you felt about him?”

She frowned. “Why would you think that?”

He shrugged. Then he took the hairbrush from her, moved behind her and began brushing her hair, easing out the tangles.

“Shifters have this thing, called true mates or fated mates,” he said. “It’s like soulmates on steroids. When they find each other, they feel it right away, and they can never be happy apart.”

He smoothed the brush through her hair, following it with his fingers, loving the feel of the soft silky strands.

“When true mates commit to each other and accept the bond, it’s magic,” he said. “Not metaphorical magic—literal magic. They can lend each other strength, heal each other—even bring each other back from the brink of death.”

He hesitated and then said, “It’s instant, like you and Justin. I thought…” He broke off.

She raised her eyes, meeting his gaze in the mirror. “But I’m not a wolf.”

“You don’t have to be,” he said. “Jace Monroe has a true mate who’s a human. The night they bonded, the magic was so powerful it bound the whole Silverlake pack and territory, and allowed Jace to heal Emma from a fatal wound.”

Mina was staring at him, eyes wide. “Oh.” She hesitated. “Is that how shifters always mate?”