by Alyse Zaftig
If I could bottle a moment in time, this would be it. Walking through the forest with my mate, her presence soothing and calming my inner beast.
Halfway down the lane I turned, leading her off the beaten path and into the dense forest. Lush grass reached for our knees, branches swiping playfully at our arms and faces. Plucking one out of the air, I held it back for her, gesturing that she take the lead.
“I don’t know where I’m going.” But she brushed past me, branding me with her scent.
“You’ll know when you see it,” I forced out, curling my fingers into my palms and holding them there. No touching.
“Okay.” Her reply was a little dubious, but she moved forward.
Taking me at my word. Trusting me. Following me out into a dark, strange forest. A man she barely knew, one with questionable sanity, and a known liar. My feet ground to a halt, my legs refusing to carry me forward. Panic shot through me, circling around and around until I could barely breathe.
“Oh!” Her quiet gasp punched through the flurry of emotion that gripped me, breaking it’s hold.
Coming up behind her, I resisted the urge to slide an arm around her waist, to tug her back and tuck her against my chest.
She spun around, her face lit up with wonder. “It’s perfect!”
Looking over her shoulder I double checked that she was seeing the same thing I was. Yep. Long, barn-like building with a sagging roof and crumbling walls. “Perfect?”
Grabbing my shoulder, she tugged me forward with a strength that was astonishing for such a small package of gorgeousness. “For your school. I can just see it. We’d clear the front to have somewhere for the kids to play, obviously the roof would have to be fixed, but look at those huge double doors! And we could knock in some big windows, to give it some light. Can we go inside and have a look around?”
Her enthusiasm was infectious and I found myself grinning back at her. “Not unless you want to fall down some very big holes, the floor needs replacing too. Basically, it’s one long building at the moment, it was originally used as storage for farming equipment.”
She nodded, her grin still in place. “That’s why it looks like a barn.”
I reached up to where her hand still rested on my shoulder, sliding my fingers through hers in a gesture so natural, I didn’t realize what I’d done until it was too late. So I gave her hand a quick squeeze. “You said we.” Luckily, I managed to keep the longing out of my voice.
Her eyes widened, then narrowed so fast I almost had whiplash trying to keep up. “I can find you the money to finish this, I know I can.”
“Faye—”
“No. This time you’re going to shut up and hear me out.” She stuck out her bottom lip and locked eyes on me until I settled back into silence. “I’ve been allocating Astrid’s money to the estate and I have some left over that I couldn’t decide what to do with. I was thinking about funneling it back into the main house as I’ve noticed it could do with a little work, some repairs—”
“I don’t need—”
“And I haven’t finished!” Another glare.
My lips twitched, but I forced them back down into a straight line. “Please carry on.”
“Thank you. Right. As I was saying, I think I can carve out enough money to get this project started, though we’d have to ask the villagers to assist with manual labor. But if it’s for their children, I can’t see them minding helping out.”
I risked a breath, and when she didn’t bite my head off, I dared a complete sentence, “And the we part?”
“I’m the treasurer for the clan. I could stay and see the project to completion.” Her tone was light. Hopeful.
“Oh.” Disappointment crushed a hope I hadn’t admitted I’d been nurturing until right at that moment. That she’d stay for me, which was bullshit, because I hadn’t given her any reason to stay. And I didn’t want her to. If she stayed, there’d be love involved.
“Oh? Is that it?” She was doing that thing that women did, hiding a message within a question, one that—if a man valued his balls—he’d better answer. I’d had enough practice growing up with a sister, but I’d never perfected the translation.
“What do you want me to say?” Okay, I was going on the defensive. Not a good choice by the look of the clouds gathering across her face.
“Anything. Everything. Just not oh!” Her hand fell away from my shoulder. “If that’s all you’ve got to say then I’ll put the tick in the box and leave tomorrow.” Spinning on her heel, she marched past me, cursing at the forest and slapping branches out of the way. Though I was pretty sure they were recoiling from her in fright; nature battening down the hatches against the woman storming through their domain.
She was walking away from me. Storming off in a stroppy huff. And I didn’t have a clue what I’d done to set her off! I only knew that I couldn’t let her leave—didn’t want her to. I was a better man when she was around. “What do you want from me?” I roared, unable to hold back my frustration.
Spinning around, she brushed a twig out of her face, yanking at her hair when it refused to let go. “That’s just it, Mr. Bastian I’m-a-big-bad-alpha-with-a-million-problems-that-I-won’t-share Jewelcrest, you have no fucking idea, do you?”
The branch snapped back, nearly hitting her in the face, but she was long gone, running full pelt through the forest, the sound of her sobs tearing through the air and ripping out my heart.
Chapter 7
Bastian
Wind slashed my face as I thundered through the forest after her. My heartbeat echoed in my ears as loud as a brass band up close and personal, her ragged sobs tearing through me and puncturing my soul.
She was hurting, because of me.
Unacceptable.
Agreed. My dragon’s roar jerked me out of the blind panic, his timing impeccable as always.
Go away, I sent back. This doesn’t concern you.
Silence. He had gone again. He had turned his back on me once more.
Meters in front of me, Faye lurched back onto the main path, turning up the lane and heading to the main house.
Putting on a burst of speed, I reached out for her, plucking her off her feet and crushing her against my chest.
Her legs kicked out, small fists beating at my chest, her ragged war cry of a squeal splitting my ears.
“Calm down!”
“Put me down!” We both spoke at once.
Her brown eyes flashed with fury, red-rimmed and wide, cheeks damp and blotchy. Leaves christened her lustrous brown curls, tangled and wild from her mad dash through the forest.
“If I put you down you’ve got to promise not to run.” A reasonable request.
“Why? So you can think of another excuse?”
“Excuse for what?”
Her hands hit my chest with a force that would have sent me reeling, if I was human, and if she wasn’t already clasped in my arms. “Us!” she shouted, her face close enough to my own that I could pick out the tiny gold flecks in her irises, the swirl as her pupils dilated into orbs, soaking up the fading light as night set in to stay.
I loosened my hold, letting her slide down my body, but I didn’t release my hold on her hips. “Us?”
Rolling her bottom lip between her teeth, her eyes darted away, blinking furiously as she took a deep breath. “You’re enough to make a woman think she’s going crazy, Bastian.”
“Me?”
“Master of mixed messages. You want me, so you kiss me. Then you don’t want me, and you stay away. Which is it?” She shivered under my hands, whether it was from the cool bite to the air, or my touch, who knew. I took advantage anyway, circling my thumbs up and under her top, chasing the goosebumps away.
“You’ve got it all wrong, sweetheart,” I finally offered. “Whether I want you or not, that’s not what you should be thinking about. You shouldn’t want me. I’m broken. I can’t shift. I’m worthless as a man.” Why she was even considering it…
“I can’t shift; I�
�m human. Does that make me worthless?”
I cursed under my breath, shaking my head vigorously as I searched for the right words. “No, but—” I needn’t have bothered as she cut me off anyway.
“Think very carefully about what you’re going to say next, Mr.,” she cautioned, giving me her equivalent of a tough look, but barely rating above a kitten.
A chuckle broke free, low and soft. “I love it that you’re full of life, sassing me back, not taking my bullshit.” I dragged her a little closer, the lump inside my chest thawing at the confusion in her eyes. “And it’s hot as fuck,” I added on a growl.
She tilted her head back to look up at me. “Don’t try and sweet talk me.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s confusing. Only say it if you mean it.”
“You should walk away.”
“Why? I like it here.” She laughed at the way my mouth dropped open, adding, “I like the scenery.”
I cocked my head, considering her. My fingers spread around her waist, dragging her a little closer, until our hips almost bumped. “Do you, now?”
“Yep. It’s pretty.”
“Minx.” Our hips touched, or rather my hips bumped against her soft stomach. The damn woman was tiny.
“Jaded asshole,” she shot back, but it lacked any real heat. Or rather, any heat that wasn’t of the sinful kind.
“What am I going to do about you?” I mused, resisting the urge to stroke my chin for effect because it would mean letting go of her. “What can I do to convince you that this isn’t a choice you want to make?”
“So, I have a choice then?”
“That depends. Do you like me?”
She pulled a face. “Really? You want me to say it?”
“Okay. Let me do one better: do you love me?” I held my breath, waiting for her answer. She was my true mate, we were made for one another, but it didn’t mean we had to fall in love. She was human. This might be a passing fancy for her, an infatuation, a way to scratch a particular itch.
“You really went for it, didn’t you?”
“I need you to answer me, Faye.”
“Why? So you can laugh at the poor, silly human woman who’s fallen for the big, powerful shifter?”
“You’ve got it all wrong. I’m not a big, powerful shifter. Without my dragon, I’m as human as you.”
She snorted, telling me exactly what she thought of that. “Hardly. You’ve still got the super strength, sonic hearing, x-ray vision, and a metabolism that means you can eat anything you want and not gain an ounce.”
“Something tells me it’s the metabolism that you’re the most jealous of?”
“Of course! What woman wouldn’t dream of being able to eat all the carbs she wanted without worrying.”
This time my curses were directed at her idiot of an ex-husband. How could she possibly think of herself as anything but perfect? “But, sweetheart, you don’t have to worry about a thing. You are the most delectable and exquisite woman I’ve ever laid eyes on. You have an amazing figure; what I wouldn’t give to kiss and lick every inch of your curves, to fill my hands and feast on you. I won’t have you lying about yourself like this,” I growled.
“But—”
“I have x-ray vision, remember?” I added with a wink. “And I’ve been watching you for days, believe me when I say I have memorized every inch of creamy skin you’ve exposed, and every dip and sway of your body that you’ve ruthlessly hidden away under your jeans and sexy skirts and blouses.”
“I think I have. I might.” Her words tumbled out. Her face turned a funny shade of red, her eyes squinting as if she wasn’t sure whether to keep them open, or close them tight.
It was my turn to look confused. “Have what?”
“Love,” she squeaked out past lips glued into a straight line.
“You…?” Holding her at arms length, I examined her face.
She squirmed under my assessment, chewing away at that damned lip again. “Yep. I didn’t mean to. I didn’t even think I had.”
“Then … how?” Wonder colored my words. How could she?
“Do I know?” At my mute nod, she continued, “I know you don’t want me to, you’ve made that pretty damn clear, and I definitely didn’t want to. Nope. No more men for me, not after my lousy, waste of a space ex-husband. But … there you were. You needed me, but you didn’t want me. You lied, but you didn’t do it to hurt me. You showed me you cared, while pushing me away with your words. So, I closed my ears and listened to what you were really saying. I—I can’t help my heart, Bastian.” Her voice, so strong through her speech, trembled at the last hurdle, giving away the utter terror she must be feeling bearing her soul like this.
Not knowing if I felt the same.
Not knowing if I would reject her, or ravage her.
Not even knowing that she was my true mate.
She accepted me for what I was—half the man I used to be. She didn’t expect anything more than for me to be the best version of myself that I possibly could be. Fuck that, she demanded it from me.
And it was enough for her.
Could it be enough for me?
Faye
I didn’t know what the hell had possessed me to blurt everything out, but it had felt right. Something deep down inside had calmly informed me that I had to trust my instincts, that if I didn’t take this leap of faith, I’d regret it forever. But it was the kind of blind faith that had my stomach churning and pulse racing as I hovered on the ledge I’d neatly deposited myself on, waiting for him to either drag me back to safety, or push me over to fall into an oblivion of loneliness and heartbreak.
I’d given him all the power. He had the power to break me with one single word.
But I’d needed him to know: that he was deserving of love, that he could be loved.
That he wasn’t lost and alone anymore, unless he wanted to be.
Words stuck in my throat, clinging to my tongue. I’d said enough, it was his turn, but he wasn’t saying anything either. He was just looking at me with a face wiped clean of any hint at what he was feeling. His fingers tightened around my shoulders, his mouth parted and his lips went soft. Silver flickered in his eyes, swirling and shining in the dark, glowing with an otherworldly light that mesmerized me.
The night air clung to me, the almost blindness it provided cushioning me from the real world around me.
The silence dragged on, taunting me.
Foolish! I lowered my eyes, unwilling to watch his face soften as he searched for the words to let me down gently. Because he would be gentle. Considerate. That was the kind of man he was, not this facade he showed the world.
“I shouldn’t—”
“Then don’t,” I forced out past the lump in my throat.
“Because you deserve so much more. But I do.”
My head jerked up. “You do?” It came out a whisper, a hope floating through the air.
“I tried not to. I was never meant for love, sweetheart.”
What was he saying? My pulse sped up, skipping erratically.
“I lost the gamble, and you’re the one that’s going to have to live with the consequences.”
“I don’t care about what you did before, don’t you see—”
He cut me off with a wry smile, “Not that gamble.”
“Oh.” My head spun, trying to keep up.
“I gambled with my heart, even though I didn’t know the stakes, didn’t even know I was playing, and you won, sweetheart.” He searched my face, intensity burning in his eyes. “It’s not too late for you to reset the game, if you really want to.”
I leaned forward, pulled by the flicker of vulnerability. “Why would I want to do that?”
“Like I said, there are consequences.” He lifted one shoulder in a half shrug, his dark hair falling down into his eyes.
“And those are?”
“Me. As your mate. Forever.”
A shiver ran down my spine at the thought of spending my days
with this man. At being able to touch and kiss him whenever I wanted to, him touching and kissing me, taking me to bed and exploring together. “Mate? I thought shifters only mated their…”
“True mates? Yep.”
My mouth fell open, lips flapping in the wind. “Me? Us?”
“You. I suspected the moment I saw you, and I knew for certain the second our lips met. You’re mine and I’m yours.”
“You didn’t say anything!” And that hurt, like a punch to the stomach. He’d removed me from the decision making process entirely.
“I was trying to save you from me.” He spoke slowly, as though explaining the laws of quantum physics to a kindergartener.
“I don’t need saving! Asshole,” I added under my breath.
“Correct answer.” His mouth crashed down on mine, his one hand sliding around my waist and yanking me up against his hard chest, and his other hand smoothing across my cheek and trailing down along my jaw. His warm breath heated my skin, firm lips nibbling and smoothing across mine, coaxing and entreating, daring me to answer. His skin was rough with days old stubble that prickled my lips and chin. His strong arms held me, surrounding me and anchoring me to the here and now. Air crashed in and out of my lungs, sensations trickling out through my limbs, dancing across my skin, and tingling with every stifled groan and sharp intake of breath. His or mine, I didn’t know. I began where he ended, and he in turn.
Lust bubbled up in my stomach, sweet and hot and oh so tempting. A gentle press against his chest and he pulled away, but not too far, enough that I could speak, but not miss him. This close his features blurred, his eyes the only thing still clear and sharp. “What does this mean?” I asked, tempering the urge to drag him back down and finish what he’d started.
“You only have to say yes.”
“Then what?”
His voice dropped to a low, throaty growl, “Then … we mate.”
Chapter 8
Bastian
I was flying higher than I’d ever flown as a dragon, soaring through the clouds, high on joy and love.
