Page 68 of Shattered

No. Aurora was nothing like Holly. He couldn’t compare the two of them. The only way they’d been alike was Abby being Aurora’s niece, as Holly was Hayden’s aunt. After that, nothing was the same. Aurora had the misfortune of following behind Holly. Guilt ate at Mackenzie. He didn’t even like putting them side by side.

Fuck, I don’t think I can do this again.

Aurora stretched in her sleep. Her soft scent licked across his senses, awakening the wolf. Mackenzie tucked her close to his body. His dick swelled, becoming impossibly hard. When they’d settled into bed the night before, he made her a promise. Nothing would happen without her consent.

Now, this close to her, his heart pounded. His mouth watered as the smell of her arousal wrapped him in a comforting blanket. It was a drug he craved and detested at the same time. It made him want to forget about his pledges and take what was his. He curled his lip in disgust. She deserved better than him. She deserved more.

Aurora stirred in her sleep, rubbing her butt against his groin. A spark of pleasure shot through him, and Mackenzie tightened his hold. Shit, if she knew what she was doing to him, she didn’t acknowledge it.

“Aurora,” he murmured.

“Mac?” She stretched, wiggling again.

“You’re going to be the death of me.” He ran his hand under her shirt and palmed her breast. The soft, supple skin was a stark contrast to his calloused hands. He ran his thumb over her nipple and enjoyed how the peak hardened, responding to his touch. “We shouldn’t be doing this. Not yet. Not so soon after—”

“My first time?” She rolled, facing him. “Mac, I’m not sure what I want.”

“Then we don’t have to do anything,” he replied. “Although, it is nice waking up remembering everything I did the night before.”

She chuckled. “I bet.” Aurora scooted forward, her mouth was inches from his, and he froze. “Can you answer one question for me?”

He studied her features. They were neutral, almost too passive for his liking, but he didn’t say a word. If she wanted answers, he’d give as many as she needed, even though he knew he shouldn’t push the situation. “Sure. Whatever it is, I’ll answer.”

She took a deep breath and let it out slow. “What does a sixty-six-year-old man want with a twenty-something girl?”

He blinked, caught off guard by her question. It wasn’t where he thought she’d go, for sure, nonetheless he expected it at some point. No, he expected something more along the lines of sex. Or, perhaps it’d been because that was all he could think about at the moment.Idiot,he chided himself. “Well, wolves aren’t like normal humans. My body and my mind, even with all the trauma, aren’t the equivalent of my birth age. My physical age is more of a thirty-year-old, and as it stands, my age progression will slow as will yours.” He was rambling. “Danielle is better at these things. Anyway, the point is, I don’t see myself as an old man. Oh sure, in the beginning after Rapier found me, I did—”

Aurora placed her finger to his lips. “You’re all over the place, old man.”

He growled. “I’m not old.”

Her eyes twinkled with mischief. “You still haven’t answered the question.”

“My wolf knows who you are,” he replied. “It’s a spark of knowledge, and age doesn’t mean anything.”

“What if I was a child?” she pressed.

“I would have waited until you were old enough,” he replied. “Did you ever hear the story of how Hayden and Nico got together?”

She shook her head.

Mackenzie tucked her closer to him. “Hayden was fourteen when she met an eighteen-year-old Nico. He’d been brought into the Sheriff’s Department because of some mischief, if you believe Hayden’s story, but Nico’s been undercover more times than I can count, even before he officially joined the Sheriff’s Department. Anyway, Kalkin always wanted everything to look as good as possible—especially when it came to arrests. Nico knew the minute she walked in the door of the Sheriff’s Department, she was his, but she was too young. So, they started slow, made mistakes—huge ones—some I thought would destroy Hayden—however, they overcame it all.”

“But, don’t you feel skeeved out? You’re mature. You should have someone who’s had a lifetime of experiences. Or at least know what they’re doing, in bed or whatever.”

“Skeeved? No.” He shook his head. “Experience is relative. Someone can have a lifetime of everything, but no substance.” Mackenzie placed his hand on her hip. “If you’re worried about being a virgin or about not satisfying me, you’ve got another think coming. You were perfect. Still are.”

A tinge of pink crawled across her cheeks exposing the freckles he hadn’t realized she’d had until then. “Well... sure. But you’ve had women in your past.”

“Correct. In my past; and, no offense, they fucked me over.”

“How do you know I won’t?” Her gaze lowered as she tucked her bottom lip between her teeth, a nervous habit he noticed when he first met her.

“I don’t.” He sighed. “I didn’t know they would either until it was too late.”

“So, you could be stepping into the same shit pile as before, only with me this time.” Her statement had merit.

“I could. You could be jumping into a bigger one with me,” he added. “It’s why I’m hesitant about starting anything too intimate with you.”

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