His Innocent Mate: Unforgiven Country Book One

by Marie, Jordan

  “Nothing to be sorry about,” he says in his gravelly, growly voice. It is the same one that gave me goosebumps back in the day. Looks like that still holds true. “I’m glad you’re back in Unforgiven. I’m glad you’re back in my life.”

  And just like that, my feelings for Wyatt come rushing back to the surface, so strong that I actually gasp from them.

  And just like that, I am his.

  4

  Wyatt

  Kendra’s body softens and relaxes against me. We stand like that for a few minutes. I breathe in her scent and allow the beast in me to relax.

  I’ve missed you Kendi.

  I don’t give voice to those four words, but inside I’m screaming them.

  “I’ve missed you too, Wyatt. So much,” she whispers.

  My body stiffens when she echoes my thoughts.

  For a minute, I let my guard down and forgot that she could hear my thoughts and feel my emotions. I keep a block in place, not wanting her to read too deeply, but maybe it’s for the best I let her in a little … especially if she’s going to be living here.

  “You’re the one that left,” I tell her, and there’s no way to keep the bitterness out of my voice.

  “I couldn’t stay, Wyatt. I thought leaving would be for the best.”

  I lift her face up with my thumb and finger under her chin so her gaze locks with mine. I look deeply into her eyes, and there’s so much emotion there it makes my chest hurt and my wolf roar in hunger.

  “No one asked you to leave, Kendi. I sure as hell didn’t.”

  “I couldn’t stay, Wyatt. Surely you see that.”

  “I don’t see that at all. Unforgiven is your home—just like it’s mine. You don’t belong in the city, Kendi. I’m surprised you didn’t wither up and die there.”

  “That would have happened if I stayed here and…” She trails off, trying to pull her face away from mine, but I don’t let her. I keep our gazes connected.

  “Explain,” I command.

  “Stop that,” she growls back, her voice loud and strong.

  It surprises me. And my packmates and other shifters in the bar notice too—I can feel their eyes on me. I hate to do it, but I’m not about to back down—even with Kendra. I stiffen my spine, allow my wolf to leak out in my voice, and let her feel my power. It emanates around us, vibrating through me. I can hear the beta wolves in my pack whining in my head.

  “Tell me, Kendi,” I order.

  “Stop that!” she growls, shocking me even more.

  “Stop what?” I ask through my surprise.

  “Stop ordering me to do your will like I’m one of your packmates. I’m not.”

  “You don’t think I know that?”

  “Well, apparently not. If you did, then you would know why I left Unforgiven,” she says, and she yanks free of my hold, turning and stomping away.

  I watch her go. She’s pissed and I don’t think I’ve ever seen her look more beautiful—even with her damn hair gone. I follow her, because I don’t think I have a choice. My wolf is tearing against my chest, demanding out, wanting to change and claim his woman. Kendra has no idea how much she’s teasing him right now. She has no idea the trouble she’s getting us all into.

  “Are you running away already?” I ask as I make it outside to her. She stops, turning to look at me and there are tears in her eyes. They hurt me to see them. I never liked it when Kendra cried before—I like it even less now.

  “You’re such an asshole. Why did I hope things had changed? Why do I even care?” she mutters.

  “Hope what had changed? You’re going to have to start making sense sooner or later, Kendra.”

  “I loved you!” she cries out, the sound painful, the words making my wolf howl.

  Perspiration breaks out over my body, dotting my forehead as my wolf tears against the restraints I’m keeping on him. Christ, I need to shift so much that it’s physically painful to keep from it.

  “Then why did you leave?”

  “Did you expect me to stay and watch you mate with one of your own kind, Wyatt? Did you think I could watch as you bonded with another woman? Did you think I could watch that?”

  “That’s why you left?” I ask and if I was shocked by the way she stood up to me before, I’m even more shocked now. Kendra loved me? She left because she didn’t want to see me mated?

  Christ.

  “I shouldn’t have come back,” she mutters. “And I really shouldn’t have come here tonight.”

  “Why did you?”

  “I wanted to see you,” she answers honestly, but she does it shaking her head no. “I did it because I’m an idiot. Let’s just forget all of this, Wyatt. You go on with your life and I’ll see to my grandmother. Then I’ll get the hell out of Unforgiven and you’ll never hear from me again.”

  My wolf is so close to the surface I can feel my teeth elongate. It takes all of my control to hold him back. I know the shift has started, though. I can feel it. I know that when she looks at me, she can see the bright golden color of my eyes, signaling my wolf is close.

  “You’re not leaving me again, Kendi.”

  The words are a growl, more animal than human. I don’t know what my next step is. I’m not sure I care. If I have to give up leading my pack so I can have my mate, then by God, I will. All I know right now is that I have to kiss her. I reach out and yank her roughly to me. Then my mouth slams down on hers with a bruising force. I take over her mouth, infusing my frustration, the years of emptiness I’ve endured, and the feelings I have for her in every second of our punishing kiss.

  I’m never letting Kendra go again.

  Never.

  5

  Kendra

  The kiss is powerful, strong, and I’m left gasping for air when he pulls back. I can see his wolf is right at the surface, his eyes flashing yellow, his canines elongated. I feel my heart pounding hard, painfully. Can he see it pressing against my ribs, can he see my pulse beating fast beneath my ear?

  Can he smell how nervous, excited, and aroused I am?

  “Wyatt?” I whisper, not sure what to do or say in this moment. I was just bitching him out, about to say fuck it, take care of my grandmother, and leave him and Unforgiven behind, even though I don’t want to.

  “Say it again,” he says gruffly, his wolf so close he’s bleeding through Wyatt’s voice.

  Seeing his animal right there, his need to shift, the power pouring off of him, makes me so wet I can barely stand, my knees are that weak. My panties are rubbing against my folds, the arousal so intense I can hardly take in a breath.

  “Say what?” I realize I have my hands on his biceps, my nails digging into his flesh. I go to pull them away when I hear the low warning growl leave him.

  “Keep them there.”

  God, his voice is so rough, so distorted from his wolf.

  “What are we doing?” I whisper.

  “What we should have done years ago.” He looks at my lips and I can’t help but lick them, feeling them tingle from the kiss. “Isn’t that right?”

  I swallow, not sure if I can actually say those words even though I feel them to my very core.

  “We should have done this years ago, Wyatt?” I bounce the question back at him, looking into his face, his mouth still so close to mine. I want him to kiss me again, but things are moving so fast, my mind a whirl. I’ve wanted this for so long, yet when it’s right here in front of me all I can think about is all the what ifs.

  How will his pack react?

  Will Wyatt be with me until he finds his mate?

  And then what?

  I’ll be left standing here with a broken heart.

  “What are we really doing here?”

  “Well,” he says deeply. “I’m going after something I really want.” He becomes serious, and then this low growl leaves him.

  It is then there is no doubt in my mind that being with Wyatt will be the start of something intense, powerful, and will have him going deeper than I ever thought p
ossible.

  I can see the flash of his animal behind his eyes, the way his pupils dilate, and the fact this energy moves out of him like a blast of frigid air.

  He steps closer to me, his chest touching mine as I gaze up at him. My heart pounds, my breathing picks up as I inhale his scent, so wild and untamed—exactly what I want, what I’ve always wanted.

  The wolf shifter I’ve loved for longer than I want to even admit is standing before me offering me my fantasy.

  “This attraction, this connection we have, whatever you want to call it … it’s fucking real, Kendi.” He lifts his hand and smooths his finger over my bottom lip. I shiver in response. “And all you have to do is give yourself over to me fully. Be mine, baby.”

  “Be yours,” I whisper.

  He makes another low, animalistic sound again. “Be ours.”

  I know he’s talking about his wolf, and I feel myself becoming wetter.

  “I want you,” he says, his gaze on my lips. “My wolf wants you.”

  I find myself closing my eyes as pleasure washes through me. What I feel right now is so powerful, I feel it coat me like thick honey.

  I sway slightly at the fact this powerful, massive male wants me. But is it enough to have him in my bed and not in my life permanently?

  “My mate,” he growls out.

  One word that means so much to a shifter.

  I feel my eyes widen as he says that, and then his lips are back on mine. He pulls back only long enough to run his mouth along my jawline, and finally stops by the shell of my ear. “That’s right, Kendi. My mate. Mine. And I know the mating pull is there for you as well, because I can smell your need.” He inhales deeply, this rough sound leaving him, the vibrations moving through my body.

  The fact he scents my arousal turns me on so damn much.

  “Kendra,” he whispers gruffly.

  I close my eyes at the way he says my name. “You never said anything,” I finally find the strength to say.

  “A regret I’ll live with for the rest of my life.” He pulls back, his mouth close to mine again, his gaze locked on mine. “I could sense how much you needed your freedom, but I also knew, deep down, that you’d be back. And if not, then I’d find you, Kendi. I’d find you and make you see that you are mine.” His hands gently cup the sides of my neck, his thumbs moving back and forth in a claiming way. “And I waited for you, this whole time. I waited until you came back to me because that’s all I could do, Kendi.”

  I can’t breathe as his words slam into me.

  “But you’re my mate, and I’m not about to just let that go. I’m not about to let you go again.”

  It was as if everything had come together now, full-circle.

  I swallow as I feel his erection press against my stomach. Even through the material of his jeans, I can feel how big and thick he is. He’s got a lockdown on his emotions, so reading him is hard, something that I desperately wish I could do in this moment.

  “Tell me what you want and I’ll give it to you, mate.”

  Our breathing mingles, his mouth so close to mine that if I lean up just an inch we will be kissing once more.

  “I want you,” I whisper.

  6

  Wyatt

  Her admission soothes the savage in me like nothing else can. Her words even manage to calm my wolf. I still have to claim her though. I’m not letting her get away from me. I can’t. It’s gone on too long now. I pick her up in my arms, intent on finding my truck and getting her back to my place. Because before this night is over, Kendi will belong to me completely.

  “What are you doing?” she gasps, still holding on to me so tightly that I can feel her nails biting into me. I fucking love it. I wonder if she’ll use those nails on me while I’m fucking her hard, while I’m deep inside of her. I find myself hoping like hell she will.

  “I’m taking you home. I can’t wait any longer, Kendi. I’m claiming you tonight.”

  “But what about your pack—”

  “To hell with my pack. You’re mine and I’m claiming you.”

  “It’ll cause issues between—”

  “You know how this works, Kendi. I’ve never made a secret about my life as a shifter. You’re my mate. Do you honestly think I could let you go now?”

  “You did before,” she says matter-of-factly.

  “Because I felt I had to. You might be my mate, but you’re human, Kendi. There could be someone else out there you could love—someone you could be happier with. I gave you freedom to do that.”

  “I’ve never wanted anyone but you, Wyatt. The thought of another man trying to touch me makes me physically ill. I’ve always belonged to you … always.”

  Her words please me and my wolf. “You have two choices right now, Kendi. Just two.”

  “Choices?”

  “You can accept all of this and pray I make it back to my place in time to claim your virginity in a bed like you deserve—”

  “Or?” she prompts almost breathlessly and my wolf growls. The sound doesn’t escape but I hear it in my mind and from the tremble that runs through Kendra, I know she hears it too.

  “Or I take you around the back of the building and fuck you raw, right here and now. There will be nothing tender about the way I do it,” I warn her, hoping to get across just how much she needs to listen, to let me get her out of here.

  “I don’t want you to wait,” she says softly, stopping me in my tracks.

  “Kendi, you don’t know what you’re inviting,” I warn her, holding my body tight against the need to howl out in frustration … but also in pleasure because she wants to give herself over to me.

  “I do. I don’t want soft and gentle, Wyatt. If I’m truly your mate, then claim me like you would a mate. I don’t want you to think I’m weak and not worthy of your wolf,” she responds, her fingers curling in my hair as her gaze centers on me.

  “You are not weak,” I growl.

  “I know,” she says.

  “I’m the one who is not worthy of you, Kendi. It’s not the other way around.”

  “Wyatt, please…”

  “I’m an animal at my core, Kendra,” I snarl, letting my wolf bleed through and using her full name so she gets the importance of what I’m saying. “That’s what you’ll be letting between your legs. That’s what you’ll be claiming and tying yourself to for life. I don’t have the same set of rules that your people follow. I have my own and they’re harsh and ruthless. I’m not some nice guy who will always be able to pamper you and treat you like a queen. I’m dirty, react on gut instinct and I don’t give a damn about what society expects, Kendra. I never will. You need to know that.”

  “Then why are you worrying about it now?”

  “What?” I ask, confused.

  “Stop worrying about what you should do, or how you should handle me, Wyatt. I love you. I’ve loved you since the beginning. You’ve never tried to hide your wolf from me before. Don’t start now. Treat me like you would if I was a shifter like you.”

  She doesn’t know what she’s asking, what she’s inviting me to do. I can’t claim her like I would a she-wolf. Because even if she is strong in her own right, compared to a female wolf, she’s fragile, vulnerable. I don’t want to hurt her inadvertently. Even now, there’s a part of me that mourns that our wolves won’t run together. I can’t let her know that. I don’t want to hurt her and instinctively I know it would. Still, if she wants me to claim her now, then fuck it all, that’s what I’m going to do. I’ve been without her too long and I don’t want to take the chance on waiting—even if just for another hour.

  I immediately change my direction, heading back toward the bar. I walk around behind the building and help Kendra to the ground.

  Truth is, she deserves a hell of a lot more than I am giving her, than I ever will. Fuck, I’m about to claim my mate against a brick wall of a bar. But I can’t control myself, and the scent of her need and arousal spurs me on and tells me she’s right here with me.

 
; “Wyatt?”

  “You wanted this, Kendi, now you’ll take it,” I growl, my wolf bleeding over into my words. “Turn around,” I order.

  Her gaze moves over me, and she swallows nervously. I zero in on the movement of her tender throat, the beast in me howling, finding the delicate features irresistible, demanding I conquer her. Kendra nods once and then turns around, giving me her back.

  “Now what?” she asks, her voice surprisingly strong.

  “Lose the skirt,” I growl, already undoing my jeans. “You want to be fucked by the animal who will own you, that’s what you’re going to get.”

  I’m being an asshole, giving her time to back out. I don’t know why I feel this need to try and protect her from me, but I do. Kendra surprises me, though. She doesn’t call a halt to any of this. I can’t even sense fear in her.

  She pushes her skirt down and everything in me rises violently, my need like a living entity.

  “Then give it to me, Wyatt. Give me you,” she orders, and there’s not a doubt in my mind that she is demanding it. My wolf growls in victory, and my eyes shift to animal as my wolf rises up. Suddenly she becomes crystal clear in the pale moonlight. Hell, even my nails have elongated to the point that they could claw her tender skin.

  How in the fuck am I going to claim her and not hurt her?

  I pray that fate hasn’t damned the both of us. Still, the wolf is too close to claiming what he wants and without thought I rip the shirt and bra from her body.

  “Don’t want anything in my way.”

  My words are raw, barely human, and I can’t be sure they even make sense. All I know is that when I claim her, I’m going to bite into her neck as I unload my cum deep inside of her. She’ll have my scent inside of her and my mark outside of her. Fuck, eventually I’m going to come all over her body, rubbing it into her skin so she smells of me—so everyone will know she belongs to me.