Page 106 of Mated
Chapter 45
Tanner
Nisha’s warmth is soft against my side. With her hand in mine and her head pressed to my shoulder, I could damn near fall asleep in the fucking little swing. It’s been a long fucking time since I was this calm. This … sated. At ease.
Inside the house, Lydia is visible as she finishes tidying up the last few things in the kitchen. No matter how many times I offered to help, she would have none of it. And I’m starting to understand where my kitten gets her stubborn streak.
My kitten.
My gut flips and grows warm.
Despite the shower and all the fresh air, my scent is still all over Nisha. But I want to mark her again anyway. To fill her body over and over.
It’s territorial and dangerous. Not to mention all kinds of fucked up.
Nisha isn’t property. She isn’t a possession. But I want topossessher. I want to make her mine in every damn way I know how.
It’s been fucking days and I’m already contemplating asking her to come to Lock Lake. To come meet Markus and Raina. To see where we work and train.
I want to show her my life. I want her to be a fucking part of it.
But I can’t.
Not yet.
“You’re quiet,” she murmurs, her breath warm over my chest.
I run my thumb over her knuckles and listen to her heartbeat skip. My lips curve. “Thinking. I guess.”
“About?”
“Little of this. Little of that.”
She rolls her head back and peers up at me. “Anything bad? Because I don’t know about you, but it’s pretty fucking hard for me to have bad thoughts right now.”
I kiss the end of her nose and her cheeks turn rosy.
Fuck.
I shift on the swing. “Nothing negative. No. Just …” I fall silent.
How the hell am I supposed to say this?
She pulls back, her little hand gripping mine. “T? Your scent is weird.”
A low groan threatens to spill from me. I pull my hand free and grip her cheek, and she leans into the touch. “I need to tell you something. But I don’t know where to start.”
Her mouth mottles. “This was too much, wasn’t it? Too fast? Bringing you here?” She moves back on the swing and I can damn near see her open expression cloud and close down.
My fucking heart leaps into my ribs. “No, kitten. It’s not that.”
Double fuck.
I grip her hands again, and though she doesn’t pull back, her pulse is wild in my ears.
“Woman, what do you think I’m going to tell you?” I ask as gentle as I can. But her damn worry is fucking feeding mine. And I don’t like her pulling away. At all.
She bites her lush bottom lip. “I don’t know, T. I don’t know if you’re fixing to bail or …”
