Page 41 of An Unending Claim
“Tempting,” I crooned as my gaze slid up and down her naked body. “But if I warm you up myself, we won’t get to talk about what you’ve been hiding from me. Will we, Peyton Castile?”
She went completely still, then double-blinked, trying to mask her shock. “My name is Peyton Dyer,” she said in a straight, emotionless tone.
“But it hasn’t always been, has it?”
Peyton’s hands came up fast and she shoved with all of her might. When I didn’t move even an inch, she growled in frustration and scowled at me. “Actually, you son of a bitch, it has always been Peyton Dyer.Always.”
I faltered for a moment. Had I been wrong? Because while Peyton omitted and danced around things, she’d never outright lied to me.
While my attention was briefly diverted, Peyton’s claws sliced across my chest, causing me to take a step back, which gave her enough room to break from my hold and streak down the hall to the bedroom.
Sighing, I went after her at a sedate pace, in no rush since she had nowhere to go. I’d let her dress if that made her feel better. For now. If it came down to it, I had no problem dragging my answers out of her while she was naked and tied spreadeagle to the bed. I even stopped in the hallway bathroom to wipe up the small amount of blood that had seeped from the shallow wound on my chest.
When I twisted the knob, it didn’t surprise me to find it unlocked. It wouldn’t have kept me out, just ratcheted up my ire. Peyton yanked a sweatshirt over her head, then pulled it down over the top of her stretchy, black pants.
“I’m not going to chase you for answers anymore, Peyton,” I said as I leaned against the door jamb and watched her.
She padded across the carpet to the bathroom and grabbed her brush out of the vanity. “Is that what you’ve been doing?” Her hand squeezed the handle so tight her knuckles turned white while she dragged it through her hair. “So, if I tell you my every secret, you’ll just let me go without a fight? I figured that being related to the Castiles would be enough for you.”
I scoffed and crossed an ankle over the other. “First, I don’t know what the fuck ever gave you that ridiculous idea, baby. I think I’ve been pretty damn clear about my intention to convince you to stay. Second, I thought you said you weren’t a Castile?” I raised an eyebrow as her eyes flashed to mine in the mirror while she put her long, black tresses in a braid.
“That’s not what I said.”
I waited and when she didn’t continue, my jaw hardened. “I’m not in the mood for your double talk and fancy footwork to avoid telling me anything true and not lie in the process. So, if you aren’t going to stop being so motherfucking stubborn, perhaps I’ll go ask Xavier Castile how he fits into your life.”
Peyton gasped and whirled around to face me. For the first time, outside of when she orgasmed, her shutters fell completely and I saw a glimpse of the real Peyton. My heart sliced at the sight of all her pain, scarred over from years of living with it, and yet somehow still raw.
“If you tell that bastard one thing about me, you will never see me again, do you understand, Nathan? Never. Again.” She took a single step closer, and her expression hardened. Power exuded from her, as if she’d just stepped into the ring and was ready to flatten her opponent. “We both know you’ve done a deep dive into my life. I have the means to do it, and I already disappeared once. Don’t make the mistake of thinking I won’t do it again.”
Her emerald orbs flickered with fire and her body practically vibrated with her strength and conviction. It was hot as fuck and my wolf responded to the slow burn growing in my chest. He pushed against me and urged me to give in. But I tried again instead.
“Peyton, what is it that is still holding you back from me?” I asked tiredly. “Do you want to know more about my past? Shall I confess the worst things I’ve ever done? What will it take for you to trust me, to believe that I care for you, no matter who you really are or what you’ve done?”
A small, truly exhausted part of me wondered if things would always be hard between us. Maybe I’d been wrong and we wouldn’t develop a relationship like my parents’. But the bigger, louder parts of me shouted down the others. I might not know every detail of her life, but I knew her. I knew Peyton on a deeper level, and I reminded myself that in those moments when she let herself be free with me, I saw the beauty of her soul.
Peyton played with the end of her braid, then switched to twisting the ring on her thumb. “I don’t spook easily,” she stated softly. “There isn’t much that I’m afraid of. So it’s been really tough to swallow the fact that you scare me, Nathan King.”
“Why?” I asked as I straightened and moved into the room.
“Because I don’t seem to know who I am with you. I’ve spent my adult life keeping things simple, untethered. This”—she pointed back and forth between us—“whatever this is, it’s complicated and messy and I don’t like it. All tangled and twisted and everything I’ve never wanted.”
“Baby.” I shook my head and quickly crossed to where she was standing, then grasped her chin and slipped an arm around her waist. “This, you and me, it’s only complicated if you make it that way. Take everything else out of the equation and break us down to the barest, simplest form. Think like your panther, baby. When there is nothing but us. The burn, the draw, the instinct to be with and protect. It’s the simplest and purest thing you’ll ever experience.”
I bent my head and covered her mouth with mine. Her arms immediately curled around my neck and she went up on her toes to deepen the kiss. Her body relaxed, melting into me, and I felt her emotions, clear and undisguised. She’d done as I asked, letting everything go except what was between us. Her mind had opened and our connection was the strongest it had ever been.
Our passion didn’t dim, but it was almost languid, slow and easy. I worshipped her body from head to toe before entering her, then we built to a peak with a slow burn. I wanted Peyton to take the time to truly feel the connection between us, that it was more than just our fated bond. I wouldn’t let her lose herself in a hard fuck because lust wasn’t the only thing holding us together.
When she came, her eyes were glued to mine, the golden flecks swirling in her emerald pools. For the first time, I could see who Peyton really was because she’d completely dropped her walls. I didn’t know how long it would last, but that glimpse was enough for now. She came a second time and I followed her over the edge.
After recovering a little, I kissed her softly before pulling out and laying down beside her. She rolled over and scooted back against me. She’d done this a lot lately and I finally figured out that she was silently asking me to wrap myself around her.
“Do you see?” I whispered in her ear. “It’s not as complicated as you keep trying to make it out to be.”
“You don’t think it’s just our connection as true mates?”
Rather than point out that she’d just admitted we were true mates, I answered her question. “This is real, Peyton. There is not a single part of me that doesn’t know we belong to each other.” My hand fell to her stomach and I added, “That we all belong together.”
She was quiet for so long, if it hadn’t been for her shallow breaths, I would have suspected that she’d fallen asleep. But I let her think undisturbed, just holding her close so she couldn’t pull away—mentally or physically.