Page 28 of Falling for Ash
Ours.
Mate.
Bite.
“Hey, you alright?” Ash’s concerned voice brought her eyes flashing up to his dark ones.
She’d never seen eyes like that. Not brown or gray, more like slate. Yes! That was it! His eyes glittered like slate, then they turned completely black. She wondered if that was always true when his emotions were heightened.
Did he see in black and white when they got like that?
Questions, so many questions raced through her mind, and feelings. But fear was not one of them. Never that.
“Red,” he said.
“What?”
“When I am very emotional, I see red,” he explained.
“You know, I have the distinct impression we are reading each other’s minds sometimes,” she whispered.”
“Perhaps. It happens when mates bond.”
“Mates? You started saying something yesterday,” she began, but he was already kissing her and ending the kiss far too soon.
Once more, she growled deep in her chest. This time she welcomed the rush of power that came with it, refusing to give in to the dizzying wave of lightheadedness and the twinge of pain. Darn it. She hated not feeling well.
“What is that? Why does that keep happening?” she asked and stood up.
“That is your Wolf, my sweet. She is gaining presence. Soon you will experience your first Change. It will hurt, Gabriella,” he told her, frowning as he spoke.
“Hurt?”
“Yes, and I am sorry that I cannot help with that.”
Gabby’s eyes bulged out of her head.
How the heck was she supposed to do that in one of the most crowded cities in the world?
Would someone see her?
Was she dangerous?
Would it hurt very badly?
For the first time since meeting him, panic threatened to overwhelm her. But it left just as quickly as it came when he placed both hands on her shoulders, encouraging her gaze to meet his.
“You will be safe, Gabriella. I swear it.”
She looked down, turning into him for comfort. Her vision was suddenly blurry with tears. His words soothed her. Yes, he was, for all intents and purposes, a stranger, but she felt closer to him than anyone else in the world.
Gabriella was drawn to him in ways she could not express with words. She felt she could trust him. And yes, silly as it might be, she believed his words. Ash would protect her. She knew it deep inside her heart.
Mine.
“What time is it?” she asked, trying for a calm she did not feel.
“Time is irrelevant here, but on Earth it is noon,” he replied.
