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Which... just pisses me off more.Is that how they see me? Is that who they think I am?
“Glad he’s back? Damned right I am.”
A low growl rises from his chest, and he stands, even though it's obvious the movement pains him. He paces for a moment, then presses his hands against the wall of the cave like he doesn't know what to do with himself.
His distress makes me stand, even though I'm still angry. But it's like I can't just stay sitting when I know he's hurting. When I feel his pain like it's my own.
I move closer to him, wanting to touch him, but I stop myself. “Iamglad that he’s here because losing my mate was consuming and painful. It was devastating, like a piece has been missing from me every day since I lost him.” And now comes the biggest truth. “Much the same as Onyx is a piece and Phantom is a piece.” He turns a little toward me, his hands dropping, and this time I can't stop myself, I reach for him, and curl my hands into his hair. “You’re a piece of me, too, but... I’m confused.”
“This should be easy. You said… you made us think…” His arms come around my waist, pulling me against him, holding me in an embrace that is neither short nor sweet. It’s powerful and persuasive and now I’m intoxicated by him. My head swims a little, and I stare into his eyes. Wanting him to touch me. Wanting him to kiss me. It feels like the whole world is holding its breath, waiting for this moment, for a reminder that Rayne's appearance really hasn't changed anything between us.
But then he pulls away, moves to the side, and I’m denied contact, the warmth of his body.
It’s more than I can stand. I reach for him and he shakes me off. “Don’t try to seduce me.”
I've never seen him like this. Never heard him like this. He's trying to sound angry, but the hurt in his voice comes through stronger.
“I’m not.” And now my voice isn’t more than a whisper. “I’m not.” I plunge my fingers into his hair and pull him down for a kiss that is meant to brand him into my mind, to let him know that the force of what I feel for him is not tempered by what I feel for Rayne. But instead, his kiss conquers me. His lips are hard and possessive against mine, claiming me as his woman in a way no one can ignore.
He holds me against him,hard. Then he turns us so I'm trapped between him and the wall. His body keeps me in place, so I can feel every inch, muscle, and plane. And I do. Ifeelhim, this big man, this creature of muscle and strength. So big compared to my tiny size. So large that it feels like I'm surrounded by him, not that it's enough. As he kisses me, I just want more.Needmore.
His kiss slides down my throat, greedy and hungry, while I grasp his shoulder with my free hand, while I moan and whimper and throw my head back into the cave wall. When he reaches for my shirt, he pulls it down to expose my bra, then unclasps it, letting the cool kiss of the chilly air touch my bare skin. I almost tell him we have to stop, that he was just hurt, that there are a thousand reasons for us not to do this, but the words die before they leave my mouth. Instead, I just hold myself still as he cups my breast, kneads it, then uses his palm to tease my nipple.
My breath sucks in, and I pull him into another kiss. His tongue duels with mine and there’s power in what he is, who he is, and in that kiss I feel the rawness of it, the untamed, unknown. I’m captured in the moment. Wanting more, but not sure what. Just knowing I need it. Needhim.
He jerks away from my mouth and takes my nipple between his teeth, sucks, flicks it with his tongue so I am writhing, moaning. I love the way this man kisses me, touches me, knows just what I want even when I don't. It's like we're one. Like we've done this a thousand times before, and at the same time, that it's new and perfect in every way.
I let my hand drift lower, between us, to squeeze his cock. He’s hot and hard and long. Despite all logic, I want him inside me. And the second that thought enters my mind, I can't think about anything else. That's exactly what I need, what we both need.
When I hike my leg over his hip, he growls down at me, “Tell me you’re my mate.”
“What?” I’m beyond words. Beyond thoughts. I’m cloaked in confusion. Dizziness. And I want him. I’m so hot for him I can’t even think. “What?” I don’t even know if I spoke aloud the first time, or just thought I had, so I say it again.
“Say it, Ann. Say I’m your mate.”
I grind my hips against his. “Please.”
“Say it, Ann.” His voice is desperate, filled with a husky desire that only increases my desire.
And I know... I know I can just say the words. I can speak them, and he will fuck me, and it will be glorious. Divine, even. A memory that will keep us both warm even on the coldest nights.
But I can’t say the words. I just don’t know.
"Just... forget about that right now," I say, panting each word, stroking his cock through his pants, reminding him of what we could have.
“Rayne can be your mate.” His voice is laced with a desperation that mirrors the one in my soul. “But is it possible that we are, too?”
I want to say yes. I want it so bad. But it’s wrong. I can’t because I just don’t know. "Dusk, don't. Please, don't ask me this right now."
To my shock, he pulls back, hard. Turning away from me so fast that my shaky legs almost give out from under me.
I don’t know when my shirt went askew or how. I know nothing except that I’m bereft without his touch. Every breath is hard and shallow, every beat of my heart labored.
“I'm sorry.” These are the only words I can speak.
And I don’t have time to speak another. I barely have time to straighten my clothes before the elder Auero is standing at the entrance to the cave.
He’s old, although I can’t say how many years he has under his belt. His hair and mustache are equally white and he stands with a hunched back and eyes pointed at me. He’s the kind of character who would be equally welcomed in Mordor or Hogwarts.
