Page 46 of Shifters' Fated Summer
The high reminded me of venom,but without the numbness. I felt everything, the sheets against my skin, his hot breath as he kissed my stomach and chest, working up to my lips. The smell and taste of sex.
Luca sank down beside me and ran his hand over my ribs tenderly before he pulled me close.
“Both of us. I mean that,” he vowed. All I could do was nod and blink away the tears in my eyes.
I leaned into him, my head on his chest. The slow rise and fall was comforting. His nails ran over my scalp as one hand brushed through my hair.
“How are you feeling now?” he asked after a long silence.
“Amazing, as long as I don’t start thinking about things.”
“Things?” he repeated. “Like the idea you’re stuck with us?”
Frowning, I propped myself up on my elbow and peered at his expression. Luca sighed, unbothered by my scrutiny. Relaxed, eyes half-closed, lips still wet and flushed, he was stunning.
I could trust him. He would take care of me.
“Honestly, when the bond happened, I was devastated. I thought I would be rejected and I’d have to leave, or he would claim me and either way I wouldn’t have you.”
Even now, with Luca’s skin against mine, I ached for Cade so deeply in my bones that it made me sick. My heart yearned for Luca, but my body wanted my fated mate.
“Lucky for you, there’s a third option. You get both of us. Him and I stay bonded, and you bond with me too.”
“Just like that?” was all I could manage to say.
“Yes. Once you and Cade figure out your shit, I get both of you. All three of us together, for real.”
Luca grinned. Those outrageous dimples framed his beautiful smile.
“One big happy family.”
Swallowing, I dragged my lip through my teeth, considering. “So, let’s say the three of us make things work. But then you meet your fated mate. That would destroy everything. I don’t know if I could handle that.”
Luca’s smile melted away, and my eyes burned as tears started to form.
“That’s not going to happen,” he said softly.
“It could,” I argued.
He scoffed, lifting a tattooed arm to rake his fingers through his curls. “No, because I already did.”
Shock lanced through me, and a second later, I felt concern echoed back - Cade’s concern. Screw him. I hoped he was sitting downstairs worrying.
Luca stared at the ceiling, his eyes glittering. “I was sixteen. Young, I know, but once you shift it can happen any time. She was a bit older and from a rival pack. My parents were negotiating selling some of their territory, and I shook hands with their daughter and bam, a fated mate bond. Her parents were horrified. They pulled her away so quickly.”
My throat tightened, and I settled my hand on hisbicep, gently squeezing.
“They let me talk to her on the phone. I begged her to give me a chance. But she said she already had a boyfriend, and she hated me. She told me she wished I was dead.”
“That’s horrible.”
“Yeah,” he said with a laugh.
“I mean, even if I hated Cade, I would never say anything like that. I can’t imagine.”
His head turned toward me, his gaze softening as he brushed stray hair off my face. “You have a wonderful heart.”
“So she’s out there with someone else?” I asked, needing to hear the whole story.
