Page 47 of Alpha Hunt
“Hey. How was your day?” He smiles at me as if everything’s just peachy.
Because…why wouldn’t it be? I’m the one who just lost my mind over nothing at all. It shouldn’t make me mad at him.
“I was worried about you.” My eyebrows pull together. I have a headache that feels like a tight band is pulling across my temples.
“Worried?” Edirn looks sincerely confused.
“I didn’t know where you were when I woke up.”
“I went to see Barrett. We discussed it yesterday.” He drops his shirt on the bench near a duffel bag and reaches for a towel. Golden skin moves over muscle.
Stop ogling him, woman!
“I know. But I didn’t realize you’d be leaving so early. And we never got a chance to talk. After last night…” I stop speaking.
“Last night?” He cocks his head.
He can’t be serious. “Are you really going to try to act like last night never happened?” I stalk toward him, stopping a foot away, a hand on my hip.
When he doesn’t answer immediately, I think he’s not going to…until he does. “Last night happened, Casey.” He’s so calm in the way he says it that I want to throw my hands in the air.
So I do. I even wave them wildly. “Then why aren’t you saying anything about it? We had a freaking moment, Edirn!” I half-yell, frustration finally winning out.
The door to the changing room opens sharply. “Hey, Stone, I—” Tarkin barges into the room. We both turn to stare at him. “Oh. Oops…” He starts to back out. “My bad.” He closes the door behind him carefully. “Don’t go in there,” I hear him say to someone outside.
I turn back to Edirn. “What was that about? Last night, I mean.”
“What did you want it to be about, Casey?”
“I wanted it to be—” I stop because I have no idea. I continue, “You kissed me!” I heave a breath. “You touched me!” I poke a finger in his chest. It’s rock-hard. Silk over steel. “You did that, and then you…you…” I want to say, “You stopped when I didn’t want to,” but I don’t get a chance.
An arm bands around my waist, and he pulls me against his chest. My breath rushes out as his head descends without warning.
My head is spinning as Edirn’s lips crash against mine, his kiss searing me with its raw intensity. It’s like a lightning bolt has struck me, setting every nerve alight. I gasp into his mouth, my fingers tangling in his hair, pulling him closer. He tastes like mint and something purely Edirn, a flavor I’m quickly becoming addicted to.
His hands are everywhere, skimming down my sides, pulling me flush against him. I can feel every hard plane of his body pressed against mine, and it’s making me dizzy with want. I never knew a kiss could feel like this, like I’m being consumed from the inside out.
As we break apart, both panting, I lean forward and rest my forehead against his chest. Relief washes over me, so strong it nearly brings me to my knees. He’s here. He’s safe. The worry that had been gnawing at me all day dissipates, replaced by a warmth that spreads from my heart outward.
“There was nothing to worry about,” he says as if he knows what I’m thinking. He tilts my chin up with a fingertip. “I was fine out there. I’m always fine out there.”
“You weren’t…once. When they got you, you weren’t fine. What if they get you again?” And why the hell am I fixating on this? He’s a big boy, dammit.
A very big boy.
“They won’t get me. That time was…different.”
I look up at him, my eyes searching his. “I was so worried about you,” I whisper, my voice raw.
He brushes a strand of hair from my face, his touch gentle. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
I shake my head, pressing closer to him. “Just…don’t do it again, okay? I don’t think my heart can take it.”
He chuckles, the sound rumbling through his chest. “I’ll do my best.”
Standing here, wrapped in his arms, I feel something click into place. It’s like a puzzle piece I didn’t even know was missing has finally been found. Is this what it feels like to have a mate? This sense of completeness, of rightness? For the first time since the mate hunt, I feel like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. In his arms, the world makes sense again.
I tilt my head back and look into his face.