Page 44 of Rebel's Fairytale

He shrugged. “The same way I can shift into a wolf. Magic.”

She dropped the blanket and lifted her hands to fix her bun. It ended up crooked when he pulled on it during her blow job. He made his gaze stay on her face rather than drop to the expanse of her legs on display, because he didn’t think getting a hard-on while having that conversation was going to help anything.

“Let me get this straight.” She dropped her hands and folded her arms over her chest as she began to pace again.

Not wanting her to trip, he bent down and grabbed the blanket from the middle of the floor.

“Your wolf has declared me your mate. You and your wolf have decided it’s me. So, what? I don’t have any say in this?”

Rebel swallowed hard, terrified they were about to scare her away. He didn’t want to tell her she had an out if she wanted it, but he needed to. “No, Ruby, it’s not like that. You haveallthe say. Nothing happens until you approve of it. If you say you don’t want us, then we don’t get our mate. We aren’t forcing anything on you.I’mnot forcing anything on you. If you tell me to leave, I leave.”

He saw her eyebrow pull together. “So… this… attraction between us… is that just your wolf?”

“What?” It was his turn to look at her like she’d lost her mind. “Sweetie, no. Without my wolf, I’d still want to fuck you every chance I got. Without my wolf, I’d still think you are the sweetest, most beautiful woman I ever saw. Without him, I’d still be totally in love with you and your brain. The pull between us is because we are two grown adults who have amazing fucking chemistry.”

She stopped and turned to face him. “Is there a time limit on this stuff?”

He didn’t blame her for not reacting to his declaration. He hadn’t planned on confessing all of that when he started speaking. It just came out. It made sense that she had too much else to process from their conversation to be able to even acknowledge his words of love.

“There’s no time limit,” he told her.

She narrowed her gaze on him. “If your wolf is pushing you, what does that feel like?”

He looked away from her gaze, dropping his to the floor between them. “Don’t worry about that.”

“Oh no. You don’t get to do that. Out with it, Rebel.” He saw her feet enter his view, followed by her shins, then her thighs. She gripped his beard and made him look at her. “What does it feel like?”

Gazing into the eyes he loved to the depths of his soul, Rebel took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “It feels like an itch you can’t seem to scratch.”

“So… annoying as hell?”

“That pretty much covers it.”

She huffed out a breath and shrugged. “Then, I guess I have some stuff to think about.”

“I’m sorry,” he practically whispered, hating that he added so much more stress to her already very full plate.

“For wanting to spend your life with me? That seems like an odd thing to be apologizing for.”

Rebel couldn’t help it. He chuckled and pressed his lips to hers. Laying his forehead against hers, he asked, “You want me to go?”

She shook her head. “I just… I need to think all of this through. Is there anything else with this mate stuff that I should know about?”

Rebel sighed and wrapped his arms around her. Holding her close, he answered, “Not really. With the club, there’s an extra layer, but—“

She pulled her head back and looked up at him with narrowed eyes. “Out with it, Rebel.”

Trying really hard not to comment on how fucking beautiful she was when she was angry or bossy, Rebel shifted his gaze over her shoulder. “Well… Once we claim a woman with the club, she is our Ol’ Lady. You would be my property, but I’d be yours, too. And before you yell at me, it’s just a term. I don’t think of you as a thing, and neither would my brothers.”

Ruby rolled her eyes. “I’ve read motorcycle club romance, Rebel. I know that much.”

“You’d get a cut like mine that would sayProperty of Rebel…and my mating mark.”

“And what would you get?”

Rebel gave her a kiss on the lips, soft and sweet, trying not to get his hopes up. “I would get your name on my body, most likely my neck, and something else involving your Ol’ Lady name somewhere on my body. That would probably be your choice.”

When Ruby smiled up at him, he knew he was swaying her a little in his direction.

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