Page 94 of The Enemy to the Living
“What are you—They said you’d woken up, but Maurice needed to check on you. You’re alone? Are you supposed to be? Are you okay?”
His scent tells me something else. Something I already knew because I can feel the bond, but I’m glad to have the certainty of it now.
Asher is my mate.
I lift my head and look him in the face. “Yeah, I’m alone. I’m fine. Maurice said I’m healing.”
“Even though…” Asher frowns. He places one hand in the centre of my chest. “Your wolf?”
I can’t help my giddy smile. “I shifted.”
Asher’s eyes widen. His breath stutters out of him, and then he grabs me by the back of the neck and kisses me hard. I kiss him back, of course. I wrap my arms around him, groaning at the feeling of his hard body pressing against mine. I wasn’t in a place for this before, but now…
Fuck, I want him.
So does my wolf. So does the bond. It flares brightly between us, and Asher tears his mouth away with a gasp.
“Quinn…”
“Do you want it?” I pant. I think I can still walk away, though even the very thought of that has my wolf digging his claws in.
“I—You’re so young, you—”
“Do you want it?”
Asher stops and looks at me.Reallylooks at me, like he did when we were in bed before. His expression softens, panic easing off.
“Yeah. Yes, I do.”
I drag him back against me—not that he’s managed to step back all that far—and devour his mouth again. Asher lets out a laugh against my lips, and then his hands tangle in my hair as his tongue slides alongside mine.
We stay there, out on the pavement, for far too long. Eventually, Asher pulls away, and I growl at the way his lips are red and swollen.
“Inside,” he breathes. “Let’s take this inside.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Asher
WhateverexhaustionIfeltbefore is gone. Quinn clings to my hand, pressing up against my back as we walk down the narrow alley and head towards the stairs that lead up to my flat. My blessing beats in time with my heart, reaching out for the faint silvery magic of Quinn’s wolf.
He’s mine.Allmine. And he’s whole and healed, for the most part, because I know there is not a chance that his pack have let him out of their collective sight without being certain of that.
Quinn crashes into my back as I reach the door, lips trailing down the side of my throat. I fumble my keys out of my pocket. He pushes a hand under my T-shirt and presses up against me more firmly.
“Should we slow this down?” I ask as I put the key in the lock.
“No.” Quinn pauses, lifting his head. “Do you want to?”
I grin. “No.”
“Good.” He bites me—only gently—and my knees go weak. Fuck. Never mind our age difference. He already has most of the measure of me, and I can’t wait for him to get the rest.
We stumble inside and Quinn kicks the door shut as he shoves me up against the wall next to it. Something catches my notice before he kisses me again—something is different in here—but I don’t have a chance to worry about it. Quinn rolls his hips against mine, hands desperate, fingers digging in, and I’m just as lost to him as he is to me. I drag his head back, and when he whines, I scrape my teeth down his jaw, making him shiver.
“A-Asher,” he says, voice shaking. “I need…”
“I know. I’ve got you.” I kiss down his throat roughly, and he reaches for my belt. I grab his wrists, trying to slow him down. I have a bed. We’re not doing this for the first time standing next to my front door.
