Page 31 of Savage Games

My wolf growls in my head.He wants to see all of her.Although he wants to do more than simply see…

Maybe I should be ashamed, to be unabashedly admiring my mate, standing here without her express permission to enter, but I’m entranced by her beauty and too obsessed with every dip and curve to even avert my gaze.

But she knows I’m here.If she wanted me to leave, she would have said so.

She turns just enough that her eyes flick to mine.It’s only a fraction of a second, just a glance, but it’s long enough.

Guilt.

Fuck.

It’s worse than if she were angry for some unwitting slight on my part.

I step in closer, drawn to her in a way that feels inevitable, unstoppable.The second I do, the intensifying scent of her wraps around me, pulling my willpower taut like a frayed wire.

She’s enjoying my perusal of her, sensing my attraction, and wanting me to come to her.It’s hard to hide how I feel about her, the front of my trousers tenting with the erection I’m longing to do something with.

Her gaze flashes to it before she quickly looks away again, swallowing hard.

“You’re avoiding me, mate.”I step closer, not caring that the spray from the water is splashing my clothes.Getting wet is the least of my concerns.“Tell me what I did wrong, and I’ll fix it.”

“No.Nothing.”She shakes her head as if she can dispel whatever the hell is crackling between us, the tension, the magic of the bond, this undeniable lust.“This isn’t about you, Wyatt.”

My teeth clench.“Yeah?Could’ve fooled me.”

I feel her eagerness to reassure me that this isn’t a rejection of me, even if it’s hard not to take her standoffish demeanour personally.Her words gut me.If it’s not about me, then why won’t she talk to me?We’re mates.

Doesn’t she know that I’d go to the ends of the earth to help her?Whatever burden she’s bearing is mine to share.

“Because it feels very much like you’re avoiding me,” I continue, inching closer.

She closes her eyes for half a second before reaching out to turn off the water, preparing to flee again.My wolf is wild with frustration, and even my human side is at the end of its patience.We need answers.We need her.

I step forward on instinct, my chest to her back, and catch her hand before she can shut off the shower.Not to trap her, but to get her to look at me.I loom over her, my chest pressed to her bare back, and she freezes, both of us acutely aware of the tiniest movement, the very presence of the other.

Our breathing syncs as we stand here, the bond pulling us together so hard it’s physically painful to resist.

The water cascades around us, soaking my clothes, plastering them to my skin.I don't care.All I care about is her.The slight trembling of her body against mine, the racing of her pulse beneath my fingers, and the shaky exhale that escapes her when my chest presses firm against her back.

Reaching out, I sweep her hair over her shoulder so I can look at her bare neck, letting my breath touch where her mating mark will go someday.

“We are mates, Naomi.Whatever the problem is, we’ll face it together.Even if the problem is me.”

Wobbling on her feet a little, she sways back, her luscious ass brushing against the fly of my pants, causing me to growl with raw lust so strong that I’m scared I won’t be able to control it.

“You’re mine,” I continue on, words ragged and demanding.“And I’m offended that you’re not willing to let me in.Even if it’s just to lend a listening ear.”

Naomi groans and tips her head back, letting her head rest against my chest.

“If you’re having doubts about us, you can talk to me.”

As she holds her breath, working up the courage to speak, I wait, but when she lets it out with a tortured groan, I fill the silence for her.

“I know I’m not exactly a catch on paper.Living as a rogue since I was a teen, practically homeless, with no wealth to offer or a fancy home.At least, not yet.But I’ll work every day to be the best mate I can be.”

The words pour out of me, more vulnerable than I've allowed myself to be in years.

There's something about her that breaks through all my defenses, that makes me want to lay myself bare."I know I come with baggage.Scars.But everything I am, everything I have, it's yours, Naomi.If you'll have me."

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