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“Okay. You got to admit, that was hot,” Dawn whispers to her friend.
Lilly stares at him open-mouthed, her eyes wide. “Fuck me,” she says before she turns and bolts.
Chapter fourteen
Lilly’spantherscreamsmine,as she rushes to the trail leading back to her vehicle. Her heart pounds in her chest.A mate. Her panther claws at her to turn around and go back.No fucking way. You can calm your tits.
Branches and brush scrape at her as she hurries along the path.
“Lilly! Wait up,” Gage’s deep voice calls out from behind her.
She whirls around and almost smacks her face in his well-defined chest.Damn, he’s fast.But that doesn’t matter. She is shaking with anger. “Did you fucking know?” she hurls at him.
Gage opens his mouth to speak, then closes it again, rubbing his jaw. “I realized when you shifted at the cabin,” he murmurs.
“Why didn’t you say something?” she growls.
Gage drops his head and splays his hands out beside him. “I didn’t say anything because you had just been through hell. I wanted to give you time to heal.”
His answer deflates her anger. Needing a minute, she plucks a leaf off a nearby tree and studies it. “No, I suppose it’s not something you blurt out at a time like that.Butyou could’ve said something last night after the ceremony. Wait. You fucking lied to me that night,” she says with fervour.
Gage’s eyes widen. “How the hell did I lie to you?”
She pokes a finger onto his muscled pec. “You said at the table that you hadn’t found your mate.”
“No, what I said was that I hadn’t found my mate at aceremony.”
“Are you really going to stand there and split hairs?” She knows her eyes are changing with her growing temper and her panther is creeping closer to the surface.
Gage lets out a grunt and rubs the back of his neck. “What was I supposed to say? ‘Hey Lilly, sorry you just went through hell, and we just buried your friends, but oh yeah, I’m your mate’? Not exactly the best timing.”
He rakes his hands through his hair and begins to pace.
He’s not wrong. Her panther emotes to her.I don’t need your logic right now,Lilly shoots back. Her anger is resurfacing. She's overwhelmed and on edge because of the lack of control over yet another thing in her life.
Gage opens his mouth to speak, but Lilly holds up a hand.
“I can’t do this right now,” she snaps, shaking her head.
“We’re going to have to discuss it sometime. It’s not like a faucet you can turn off and on. Ignoring it won’t make us being mates go away,” he says sardonically, crossing his arms over his chest.
Lilly matches his stance, and tilts her head to the side. “No shit, Captain Obvious.”
A slight smirk curls the corner of his full lips. “Is this our first lovers' quarrel?”
She lets out an exasperated sigh and rolls her eyes. “We’d have to be lovers first.”
Lightening fast, Gage reaches out and hauls her to his chest. The hardness of his length presses into her abdomen. She shivers when he growls in her ear, “That can be arranged.”
Lilly wraps her arms around him and savours the press of their bodies, her clit throbbing as she draws in his masculine scent. A hint of sandalwood, fresh-cut grass, and sunshine. Closing her eyes, she allows herself to get lost in his embrace, a sense of peace washing over her. She leans into him, and he begins stroking her back. With a sigh, she relaxes against him.
After a minute, he angles backward so they are looking into each other’s eyes. Gage’s gaze is intense, but he blinks, leaning in and kissing her forehead. “I’m yours. I’ll be whatever you need me to be, whenever you’re ready.”
She gives him a squeeze and then steps back, staring at the ground. He lifts her chin, and she squeezes her eyes shut to stop the rush of tears that threaten to escape. Placing her hand on his chest, she says thickly, “I need–I need to go." The surge of emotions takes her by surprise, and her need to be alone and process her feelings is strong.
As she turns and walks to her car, his light footfalls follow on the path behind her. Opening her door, Lilly’s not surprised that Gage is still behind her.
“Can I check on you later?” he asks.
