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His actions force me to drop my hold on her before I move too fast and scare her away. I nod again toward the trail, and we start walking.
Just when I think she’s going to ignore my camping question, she starts to speak, her voice hesitant at first. “I’ve never been camping before. It wasn’t something any of the foster families did when I was growing up.”
“Foster families?” Tilly already told me as much, but I would do anything right now to keep hearing her talk.
It sooths not only the beast inside of me, but the tornado of doubt that I would ever find my mate. The longer we’re strolling down the path as Elodie tells me about her childhood, the less pronounced the ache in my chest becomes.
I’m hopeful that being near me has the same effect on her.
I listen to her intently, soaking up everything she says without even a hint of shame. When she starts to ask me questions about myself, I readily answer. My wolf is bounding happily in my head at our mate showing interest in us.
When we’ve gone far enough, I reach out and grab her wrist again, this time pulling slightly so she turns toward me. Her gray eyes are swirling with heat and need. The way she’s begging me without saying a word snaps the last of my control.
With one arm hooked around her waist, I pull her against my chest and bury my fingers in her hair at the nape of her neck. As much as I want to slam my mouth down to hers and devour her, I need to take a gentler approach.
I press my lips to hers softly, but the moment I do, my wolf howls not only for me to hear, but my entire pack. I have no idea how he’s able to open up a link to them, but it’s there and vibrating through me along with the curious voices of members of my pack. I send them assurances quickly and then get back to kissing my mate.
Her mouth is sweet, but the earthiness with a hint of floral from the hibiscus makes it addicting, instead of sickly. I could kiss her forever.
And I desperately want to.
“When we claim her, you’ll be able to kiss her forever,” my wolf reminds me.
I pull back from our kiss slowly, wanting to savor every second of it and committing it to memory. I want more kisses from her, but first I need to earn back her trust. I don’t want her to look at me and think of the women who follow me around or the cold way I treated her until I got my head out of my ass.
Better late than never.
Our chests are heaving as panting breaths saw in and out of our lungs. “I want you so bad, Elodie,” I grumble, “but we should be getting back.”
Elodie reaches up and touches the tips of her fingers to her kiss-swollen lips before nodding absently. She looks about a million miles away and replaying our kiss in her head. It would explain the goofy, and adorable, smile tilting up her lips as we walk back the way we came.
Tonight isn’t the right time to claim my mate, but it’ll have to happen soon. I can’t wait much longer now that I’ve accepted her into my heart. Maybe Tristan got it right.
The Moon Goddess doesn’t make mistakes.
CHAPTER 9
ELODIE
I’m not entirely sure how to react to the complete change that Crew has undergone since our walk in the woods yesterday and he kissed me. Is he treating me better because he wants to get into my pants? I’m not that kind of girl, even though it’ll take all my self-control to resist him because I’ve never wanted to be with a man more than I want to be with him.
He’s not the only one who was changed by our kiss. Something unlocked inside of me when he kissed me. I feel on edge in a way I’ve never felt before and it’s more than just hormones. It’s a need that is like a separate entity inside of my soul. I’m afraid that the only person who can satisfy my need is Crew.
Maybe Crew is simply the kind of person who needs a little time to warm up to a new person. I gnaw on my bottom lip as I think about that, but it doesn’t exactly ring true. I’m sure he can exude confidence and charm when he wants to.
For whatever reason, when he met me, he simply didn’t want to be that guy.
His behavior at breakfast was eye opening. He was the man I thought I would meet—affable, smiling, curious, and fun with a serious edge. The way he talked with Tilly about her life and school made my heart melt because it was obvious how much they love each other from such a small interaction. There’s not a doubt in my mind that he listened to every word his sister said.
Even though he could have continued treating me like an outsider, Crew made a point to include me in the conversation. He asked me questions about school, what I’m studying, and what my hopes for after graduation are.
That last one was hard to answer because I’m not entirely sure what my next steps are after graduation. Of course, getting a job is at the top of the to-do list, but having the freedom to move anywhere is both amazing and debilitating. I’ve never had somewhere to call home, and I desperately want that.
What if I move somewhere and it’s not the right fit?
I’ve never felt more centered than I do at Tilly’s house, which doesn’t make any sense and certainly doesn’t help me figure out what I’m going to do after graduation. It’s not like I can move here. Right?
When one of the women who I had seen following Crew around sauntered up to the table, her hips swinging and her outfit showing a little too much skin to be proper breakfast attire no matter where you are, I averted my eyes and tried not to cringe. She was already laying it on thick and hadn’t even said a word.
