Page 56 of Rejected Mate

"That's for tonight."

He nearly tipped over his feet and caught himself. "What the hell? You run twice a day?"

“I know. It's a crazy idea with everything that’s going on, but I thought we could do the half marathon together, then the full one next year." I breezed past him a few feet, then jogged backward, looking at him. "I know we might not survive facing my father…the town, but I can't think of the negative. I have to believe there will be a future for us, even if I'm wrong." And all the nerves came rushing forward again and my stomach clamped up.

"You're fucking kidding." He huffed. Sweat glistened off his forehead and for a moment the flash of him buried deep within me stole my breath away. "A fucking marathon?"

Why wasn't he getting this? My steps slowed and I spun around, blinking back tears. "I-I just thought it was something you and I could do together. Something the two of us could share. Something to look forward to besides dying in SmallHeath." Guess I should've known better. Husk and I had a contentious relationship even during the best of times. The night we made love must have been a fluke. Something that I gave into in the heat of passion that didn't really mean anything.

More often than not, we often clashed, both over his gruff personality and my stubbornness. But I knew I needed to find a way to connect with him anyway. Why did it have to be so hard?

He grabbed my arm, causing me to slam into his chest. I pushed against him, gritting my teeth to keep from sobbing, my chin quivering. "Fagua, I had no idea."

His words didn't help the dagger that twisted in my heart. I didn't want his pity or his compliance bought by guilt and my tears.

"I'm always fucking things up, aren't I?" He traced my tear with his thumb.

I shake my head, my throat tightening because this was my fault as well. "No," I whispered. "I'm sorry."

"Fagua." He shook his head and his voice softened. "Fagua."

I tried to push away from him but he held on tighter. And then, he ran his hand up under my shirt and traced along the hem of my jogging pants. His touch sent shivers down my spine and I closed my eyes, leaning into his touch, wanting him to stay, wanting to feel him inside of me again.

"I don't want you to feel like you need to run with me just because you mated me." I pushed the words out.

"I'm not." He grunted.

I stared at him and was about to protest that he didn't even like me or at least it felt that way. But no, it was time for me to give in. To compromise. I had to. I bit my lip, trying to will the tears away. His eyes crinkled at the corners and my breath caught in my throat that we might make it. We might connect and bond like we were supposed to.

I nodded and tried to ignore the fact that he really didn't want to do a marathon with me.

"All right. How many marathons together are we talking about? Three--" he managed before my mouth crushed against his.

I gripped his broad shoulders, panting against him before I pulled back, my heart racing as I studied him. For the first time, we were together and on the same page. "Husk, I really want to do this with you." I didn't need to add that we might not be alive. It was something we could look forward to doing.

Husk swallowed, his eyes shining with what I thought might be hope for half a second. Then he spun around, flipping me back and down onto the track, his hips settling between my thighs and he cupped my ass. "We're going to win this fucking marathon, you need to run all out. Leave me in the dust."

"What about you?" I lean against him, his groin pushing into my backside. "We need to make you lighter on your feet." I wasn't serious, just didn't want him to stop touching me.

"Oh, all you have to do is wave this sexy ass in front of me and I'll run everyone over to get to you."

"Stop," I shook my head, wiping at my stupid tears. "You don't have to do this. It was a stupid idea."

His hands gripped my hips tightly. "I was wrong, Fagua." The words sounded like they were hard for him to say. "I didn't know what this meant to you and that's my fault." He sighed, tucking his arms around me in a backward hug, my head fitting beneath his chin as he rested his head on me. "Sometimes I feel like we're strangers. Other times like you get me when no one else outside of Winter and Sky do."

"I want to do this." His admission reassured me. But what did it say about me that I needed him to admit he was wrong? That his apology meant more than all the other times we tried to force this bonding? But I still wasn't ready to give him my heart. He'd burned me too many times and I needed to heal, I needed time. Even if we might not have any.

He groaned and I felt him shift against me. "What about a non-stop sex marathon? Because I have to admit that sounds pretty freaking appealing."

My pulse raced. Husk was sexy and strong and something under the surface about him appealed to me. Besides, I needed to try. I wanted to try and make us work out.

A shiver slipped through me. "That's good."

He laughed and I could feel his heart beating against my back. He ran his hands down over my hips and then up, he lifted my shirt and pressed his hands over my abdomen, his thumbs sliding down and into the waistband of my shorts.

"Hey, this isn't fair." I glanced over my shoulder up at him. His smile was crooked and I could almost forget the past.

He pushed the shirt up over my breasts and cupped them gently in his hands. "Mmmm...that's better."

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