Page 24 of Fractured Mates
I shouldn’t do what I’m about to, but I need to know. I need to know if I’m reading her correctly and even myself. Or if I’ve completely fucked up by taking this job.
With the pizza still between us, I push it down toward her stomach, wrap a hand around her neck, not missing the zap of energy from the contact as I wait one full second for her to knee me in the balls. When she doesn’t, my mouth crashes down on her lips and I kiss her.
My tongue pushes forward, and she doesn’t shove me away, but she does bite me. Though, I’m not sure if it’s her way of defending herself or trying to mark me. The latter surprisingly has a primal need rising within me that even my wolf can’t deny.
Soon, she’s pushing up onto her toes, moving closer to me, and I don’t worry about the possibility of her not wanting this as much as I do any longer.
I tangle my fingers with her wet strands, tasting every corner of her mouth as I inch nearer. With my free hand, I start to pull the food from between us, and her grip on the cardboard loosens, but only long enough for her left nipple to brush against my chest, sending a rush of lust coursing through me.
“No,” she growls, but she still doesn’t back away.
I take this to mean she still wants me to kiss her, but also requires her shield to stay in place.
Her nails dig into my forearm above the pizza, and there’s a rumble in her chest that has my wolf finally awakening.
His piqued curiosity isn’t something that he can deny any longer, causing a growl to escape from me as well, but the moment is cut much shorter than I hoped it would be.
Sophie rips her mouth away from mine and finally shoves me away. “What the fuck was that?”
“If you don’t know what that was, then?—”
She cuts me off, throwing one hand in the air. “Gods, you’re the most infuriating man I’ve ever met.”
Her comment has me smirking, but she doesn’t see the action as she turns for the bathroom and slams the door behind her, still holding her now-possibly-ruined dinner.
Maybe I shouldn’t have done that, given our current states of dress—or lack thereof—but I needed to know and now I do.
Sophie feels the same attraction that I do, and mine wasn’t just fabricated by a shitty, emotional day. It had been something I was willing to consider, given where my thoughts had been when I was at the gravesite earlier and the brief conversations between me and my wolf.
I’ve never heard of second chance mates, and maybe this isn’t that, but my pull toward this woman is more than surface level. I confirmed that when the first zap of energy sparked between us and the several others that came after.
Now, I just need to figure out if I’m going to be patient enough for her to get over herself and see what happens. Or if this is still the bad idea I was willing to consider it might be before I kissed that untrusting, stubborn woman.
Chapter Ten
Sophie
The tips of my fingers press over my swollen lips, and for the first time that I can remember in my life, I’ve completely forgotten about food.
Kyler kissed me. Like, really fucking kissed me. Marked and owned my mouth like it’d been made for him, and I didn’t stop him. Even when I had multiple opportunities to do so.
I told you that you wanted him, my wolf says, and I picture her smug, wolfy eyes staring at me.
This is too complicated, I say, feeling defeated but having no clue over what, exactly. I came here to find closure. Not…whatever he is.
That’s life. There will always be obstacles and you have to decide which ones are worth tackling, she replies sincerely before ruining the moment by adding, And tackling that man might be the best thing we ever do.
With a groan, I let my head drop back against the wall as I slide to the floor, dropping my food as I do. Son of a bitch. And I’m naked. Not only was I letting Kyler ravage me, I had been two seconds away from accidentally tripping and landing on his dick.
Okay, maybe things didn’t come that close, but he isn’t really dressed—or at least he wasn’t—and if I hadn’t found my strength…
I cannot think about that. The images those thoughts provoke aren’t good for my mental state.
Instead, I reach for the pizza box just a couple of feet from me and open the lid. My lower lip turns down when I see the greasy pie has been mangled. Still, that doesn’t stop me from taking two pieces, turning them into a meat pizza sandwich, and refocusing my thoughts.
Well, food first. I need to get my priorities straight.
The now-lukewarm slices don’t taste nearly as good as I wish, but I chew slowly, savoring them as if they’re that burger I had at the diner just the other day.