Page 65 of Moonlight and Mischief
“Alpha, may I come?” Marigold asks, her voice timid. Heath nods.
Protectiveness surges in me. If she’s coming, I need her by my side. But only Slate and Hazel know about us, and Hazel isn’t exactly supportive. As if feeling my tension, Marigold glances up and meets my gaze.
Once Heath dismisses us, I follow her out of the room. I’m done pretending to be indifferent to her when we are around the rest of our pack. Taking her arm, I lean in. “I missed you this morning. You looked stunning walking into that meeting and saying my name.” At least I keep my voice low.
She runs her tongue over her lips but stays quiet.
Once inside our cabin, she halts, posture rigid. Her breath is shallow and her hands clench and unclench. I wrap my arms around her, waiting until she’s ready to tell me.
Slowly she relaxes. “I didn’t realize how serious this was. This could turn into a battle and people are going to get hurt. And I don’t think Nyx will do what it takes to stop it.” She spirals. “And I’m over here pretending you’re some hookup. Like it means nothing to me. That’s the furthest thing from the truth.”
My muscles go taut, like I’m afraid to move and spook her.
She draws a slow breath. “Unless you’re going to decide you’re done with me, I don’t see this ending. Because I don’t want to live without you.”
“I don’t either. I’ll never be done with you,” I say, the words tumbling out before my brain catches up.
“What’s wrong with me?” she says with a laugh. “We were supposed to be friends. Now I can’t function without touching you. You’re all I think about.”
Every word is what I’ve been dreaming of.
Her back hits the door as I crowd into her space. I press a hand on either side of her head so she’s trapped. “We could never have just been friends.” Her mouth opens in surprise, but I can’t stop. “I’ve been trying to resist you since I arrived. You’re my sun. You’re what I see when I close my eyes. You’ve worked your way into my soul.”
Her eyes glow a glorious shade of warm blue and her expression is hungry. All the things I’ve been imagining doing to her flood my thoughts at once.
She’s faster than I am. Hands grabbing my shoulders, she jumps on me and wraps her legs around my waist. I’m lost in her kisses. They’re urgent and needy and everything I’ve always wanted. Fire burns across my skin, maybe coming from her touch, or maybe from inside of me. I’m consumed.
Every sense falls away except her skin on mine and the sound of her breathing, the little noises she makes. Her fingers tug at my hair and her thighs tighten as I push her back into the door. I can’t get close enough.
My heart races and I can feel her’s doing the same. Every inch of skin is soft and warm as my hands rove across the swell of her breasts and down her ribs. Finally I grip her ass and pull us away from the door. She clings to me, her mouth moving to the side of myneck, her tongue licking behind my ear and then her teeth nipping my ear lobe.
As I stride toward my bedroom, she whispers, “Just to be completely clear, I’m all in. I want to see where this can go.”
Gently, I lay her down across my comforter and lean over her, my hands resting on either side of her head. “Good to know I’m not alone in this. That you feel the same.”
Her eyes meet mine for a moment. The only movement is our chests rising and falling in a chaotic rhythm. Neither of us are willing to break the spell.
Slowly, her hand comes up and brushes the hair from my eyes. Gentle fingertips skim down my cheek and jaw. I turn to kiss her palm, and her eyes flutter closed. Taking her hand, my mouth closes over her pulse point, and then down the tender, pale skin of her inner arm. Her scent is warm and sweet, like sunshine and wildflowers.
“If you told me a month ago that we would be here, doing this, I would have never believed you,” she murmurs.
“I would have,” I say, grinning as her hands pull my shirt up to expose my torso. She licks her lips as her hands trail over the ridges of my abdomen muscles. I’ve never been so grateful for athletic shifter genetics. “Like what you see?”
Her teeth sink into her bottom lip. “You don’t needmeto tell you how gorgeous you are.”
“It couldn’t hurt.”
She rolls her eyes. “You smug asshole.”
“But I’myoursmug asshole.” My low laugh rumbles out of me as I lower over her. “For example, you are stunning.”
She is. Her tan skin is flushed, her constellation of freckles standing out. Brightness sparkles in her lit eyes, her lips parted as a slow smile spreads across her heart-shaped face. That wavy reddish-blonde hair spreads around her in a halo. She looks like a goddess. And she’s mine.
The quilt bunches under her hands as she squirms. I could stay here with her forever like this. Well, maybe not exactly like this. I want to touch and taste all of her. Right now.
Her hands ease my shirt up and I tug it over my head, tossing it away. She lets out an appreciative hum. I bury my smile in the smooth skin of her stomach, pressing kisses across her hips to below her belly button. Quiet giggles tighten her muscles under my lips. My hands move to her hips, loving her shiver as I hold her down.
Delicately, my teeth pull her waistband down, exposing more bare skin. Maybe I forget to breathe, because I’m dizzy. Spiraling. Or perhaps it's the sparks of electricity coming off her fingers cutting grooves through my hair. Nails scratching my scalp.
