Page 28 of Bite the Power
His enhanced shifter vision caught every detail—the way the silk clung to her full breasts, the graceful line of her throat, and the slight flush that crept up her neck as she realized what he could see. His arousal was immediate and fierce, tightening his jeans uncomfortably as his bear rumbled with approval.
"Kaidan?" Her voice came out slightly breathless, and he caught the subtle shift in her scent—the sweet spike of desire that told him she was just as affected by their proximity as he was. "What are you doing here so late?"
"I need to talk to you." His voice came out husky, and he cleared his throat. "May I come in for a minute?"
She hesitated, her teeth catching her lower lip in a gesture that made him want to lean down and capture that mouth with his own. But then she stepped back, opening the door wider.
"Of course."
She led him to the sitting area, her bare feet silent against the polished stone. The nightgown swayed with each step, and Kaidan had to clench his jaw to keep from reaching out andpulling her against him. She settled onto one end of the plush sofa, tucking her legs beneath her, and he took the other end—close enough to catch her scent but not so close that he'd lose what remained of his self-control.
"I need to explain myself," he said, leaning forward. "About why I've been acting..."
"Overprotective? Possessive? Like you know some big secret about me that everyone else is in on?" Her green eyes sparkled with a mixture of curiosity and challenge that made his bear puff with pride. His mate was no wilting flower.
"All of that." He ran his large hand through his thick blonde hair, searching for the right words. "From the moment we met three days ago, I knew something about you. Something important."
"What kind of something?"
"In the shifter world, there's a concept called fated mates." He watched her face carefully, looking for signs of fear or rejection. "It's like..."
"A soulmate?" she offered, her head tilting with scientific curiosity.
"More intense than that. Much more." His hands flexed against his thighs as he tried to find words adequate to explain the cosmic force that had rearranged his entire world. "When a polar bear shifter finds his fated mate, he knows immediately. The moment he scents her, touches her—there's this recognition that goes deeper than conscious thought. She's the one he can't live without, the one who completes him, makes him whole."
Tessa's eyes widened, and he could practically see her brilliant mind processing the implications. "That does sound intense. And pretty significant."
Kaidan's heart hammered as he prepared to lay his cards on the table. "Tessa, you're my fated mate."
The words hung in the air between them like a bridge neither of them had crossed yet. For a terrifying moment, he thought she might bolt—might demand he take her back to the research station immediately.
Instead, her face lit up with the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen.
"Well, that explains a lot," she said, her voice soft with wonder. "I've been trying to understand this magnetic pull I feel around you. I can't stop thinking about that moment we shook hands—it was like touching a live wire."
Relief flooded through him so powerfully that his hands shook. "You felt it too?"
"I've never felt anything like this with any other man in my life," she admitted, her cheeks flushing pink. "It's honestly a bit terrifying."
"I've never felt this for anyone either," he confessed softly. "And I'm equally terrified. The fact that you're human and my people are so fearful of humans is making everything more complicated."
Tessa leaned closer, close enough that he could see the gold flecks in her green eyes. "I don't want to make your life more complicated. You're a king—that has to be hard enough already."
"But I want you." The words tore from his throat with raw honesty. "I need you in my life, Tessa. I don't care how complicated it gets."
Something shifted in her expression—vulnerability giving way to determination, scientific caution melting into feminine want. "Kaidan..."
Like a dam breaking under impossible pressure, they moved toward each other with desperate hunger. His hands tangled in her dark hair as her fingers gripped the front of his sweater, and then his mouth was on hers and the world simply stopped.
The kiss was everything—fire and ice, desperate need and perfect completion. Her lips were soft and warm beneath his, parting on a sigh that made his bear roar with triumph. She tasted like honey and home, like everything he'd been searching for without knowing it.
Kaidan barely registered the distance from the sofa to the bed—one moment they were tangled in each other's arms, the next he was cradling Tessa against his chest as he carried her to the massive guest bed. Her breath hitched when he laid her down, her dark hair fanning across the pillows like spilled ink. Moonlight gilded every curve of her bare skin as he tugged the nightgown over her head, revealing the masterpiece beneath.
Mine.
The possessive growl vibrated in his chest as he drank her in—the swell of her breasts, the dip of her waist, and the generous flare of her hips. His cock strained against his jeans, demanding attention, but he ignored it. She deserved worship first.
"Tell me this is okay," he murmured, dragging his fingers down her throat.
