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Shit, I hadn’t raised a finger about the wedding.
My heart skipped a beat. “How’s the planning going?”
She sighed. “Mom backed off a while back, but she’s been good about the invitations and stuff.”
“What’s the date you want?”
“Does it matter? The ritual can be done any time. Raven said she’d do it this weekend if we wanted.”
I paused, keeping her from resuming our walk by holding tight to her hand. “So, you want to go through with it? You really want to get married?”
The face she gave me was one of terror and shock. “What?”
“We can drag out the engagement as long as it benefits you.”
“There you go talking about benefits again.”
It hurt to unwind my fingers from her, but I needed the space. “Isn’t that what this is about?”
“But it’s for you too.”
“Yes, it’s for me.”
She rubbed the mark on her neck. People hadn’t commented on it, but they were definitely looking. Any time some guy was checking her out at the market or in town, they backed off as soon as they saw the scar tissue. I was right to bite her. I was right about her being protected by that bite, being respected.
But I was wrong about how it would make me feel.
“Well, if you don’t want a wedding and a honeymoon, I can—”
My barking laugh startled her. “Hold on, you planned the honeymoon too?”
“Sure, I figured we could go to the beach.”
“The beach,” I repeated blandly. “Is that your idea of romance?”
She glared at me. “If you’re such an expert, then where wouldyougo for your honeymoon?”
If anything could get Sadie to give her control to me, it was the way my gaze sharpened along with my smile. I stepped toward her, stroked her throat, and watched her resolute defiance melt like ice cream on a hot sidewalk. That alone made it worth realizing how much I would lose without her by my side.
I had to drag it out. I had to make it last a little bit longer. “We can have the honeymoon of our lives in the next town.”
“In the next town?” Ah, she was still trying to be strong. That was cute.
I narrowed my eyes, watching her weaken under my touch. “It’s practice. We don’t have to get married for real. We can just practice.”
“Like we’re playing house.”
“Correct.”
She shivered—and that reaction rushed my wolf to the forefront. I backed her into the tall rows of sunflowers, keeping us out of reach from prying eyes. I let my fingers do the talking. I ran my thumb over her main artery. I bowed toward her to tease a kiss on her lips, delighting in the shuddering moan she released when I didn’t quite close the kiss.
She trembled, and in her wonderful subtle submission I found the truth behind her inquiry. She was self-conscious about the choice she had made. She thought the beach was romantic, but my slight opposition had almost completely changed her mind. Was she that attached to me?
“Andres,” she whimpered as her eyelids stammered shut. “Will you…?”
The request wasrightthere. I knew what she was going to ask. Something happened to us these past few weeks where I started just knowing things about Sadie. Knowing her preferences, knowing her needs, knowing exactly how to handle her body and when to do it.
I’d been so wrapped up in the gym and the playground that I had completely missed the main thing we both needed—touch.
