He noticed Lillian’s smile grow wider. “Yep. It’s just you two. We all figured that you could use some one-on-one time. Especially once you both disappeared for over two hours.”
“That’s really not necess…” Emma started but was quickly silenced by Lillian.
“No worries. We get it. I was just cleaning up the mess. I’ll see you later. Emma, it was wonderful meeting you.”
Liam’s sister backed toward the door and winked at Liam before exiting.
He looked at Emma, who was staring at the door with a horrified expression on her face.
Her face turned toward him. “Did they think we were off having sex in the woods?” Her face made Liam laugh more than anything.
“Yes. Well, probably only my sister, honestly. She was the one who told me about the agency and knows about it in more detail than my mother. Plus, she has a one-track mind, anyway.”
Emma’s mouth fell open. “You think your mother thinks that too?”
“Emma, it really is okay. We are both adults here. If they had an issue with you or this, they would have never left us alone.”
He suddenly felt like he had heavily insinuated that they needed to go have sex. Panic set in as he tried to recover. “I just mean that they may think that, but that doesn’t mean we have to. Just that they aren’t shy about…” He wasn’t sure where he was going with this.
Emma seemed to have sensed him struggling. She smiled. “I get it. You don’t need to explain.”
He looked at Emma in the waning light and was lost in her beauty again. It seemed to keep happening more and more.
She was simply gorgeous. The kind of beauty that women put makeup on to achieve, the natural look, but Emma already had it.
Liam wanted to scoop her up and never let her go. His bear was telling him to bury himself inside her and create a whole new clan made with the best parts of him and her.
“What are you thinking?” she asked after his silence was longer than intended.
He smiled and walked up to her, grabbing her hand.
He knew that he couldn’t, shouldn’t, tell her about her being his mate. She had been very open about how limited her knowledge was about shifters.
This was only their second day together. He didn’t want to scare her away. He wanted to woo her and love her. In return, have her love him back for what he was, not just for the fact that they would have a child together.
He wanted to be her everything, and he would do all he could to be the best he could be, not only for their future child or children but because it was what she brought out in him. And she deserved nothing less.
If he couldn’t tell her about being fated mates, then he would settle for the feelings she would understand and hope that it wasn’t too bold.
“Just that I was dreading sharing you with others once we got back, but it looks like fate was on my side. I like having our time together.”
He purposely held her brown-eyed gaze with his own, letting her see his truth.
There was no denying that he wanted her. He just wanted her to desire him just as much.
It was there. Not only could he see it, but he could feel heat radiating off of her the longer he looked at her. His bear was growling in appreciation of her beauty.
“I can take you home if you’d like.” He kept his voice low and quiet, encouraging Emma to subconsciously lean in closer to him.
Her eyes grew dreamy as she breathed her reply. “That’s okay. I’m in no rush, and I drove, remember?”
Liam knew it was the right moment to kiss her. Her perfect bow lips called to him, slightly pouting as if his attention was all that they desired.
He placed his hand on the back of her neck and pulled her closer to him. He leaned down to meet her lips with his own.
Everything seemed to stand still in anticipation of their first kiss.
When Liam brushed her lips, the pulsating of his own body was deafening. It coursed through every one of his nerves as if he were being transformed. His bear hummed happily in delight. It almost felt like a shift coming on, but Liam knew better.