“Seriously. I never asked because it wasn’t my business, and it wouldn’t have changed a thing about how I feel about you, but you don’t know what it does to me to hear that you won’t have anyone to compare me to. You know that I’m a male shifter. Do you know what that means?”
A strange look flashed across her face. “Yeah. That you had no choice. You can’t have sex until you meet your mate.”
“That’s right. But that’s only biology. It just means that you’re the one woman who could give me pups, help me build a family. It didn’t mean I had to fall in love with you.” That she was his fated mate gave him a hand when it came to that, he couldn’t deny it, but there were a few rare cases where even fate wasn’t strong enough. “Do you know why I think about you naked 24/7?”
She huffed. “Because you’re a guy?”
“Well, yeah, but also because you’re the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever met. More than that, I like you. I could want you and that was it. Fine. Whatever. But I like you. Shit, I love you. Screw what my cock says. It’s not the smartest part of me. You’re my mate, not because I want to fuck you… and I do, just making that clear, I totally do… but because I can’t imagine having any other woman sitting next to me, even if all we do is watch cheesy sitcoms together.”
It was Evangeline’s turn to stay silent. She nibbled on her bottom lip—Maddox bit back a heated groan—before she said softly, “Because your instincts say so, right?”
Hell, no. “Because you’re Angie, and you’re mine.”
“No one’s ever called me Angie before,” she whispered.
He… he didn’t know that. She mentioned once that some of her friends called her Eva when they wanted to shorten her name but that she didn’t really like it all that much. Calling her Angie, it just slipped out.
“Do you mind?”
“I’ve always wanted to be an Angie. My mom hated it and it wasn’t worth the argument.” His mate looked up at him through the fringe of her dark eyelashes, her forest green eyes vibrant and stunning. “Angie Lewis. It’s got such a nice ring to it.”
Angie Wolfe sounded even better.
Evangeline grinned and that sealed it. Maddox vowed then and there that he would never use any other name when he was talking to her. And why not? It made sense that he’d have this to share with her.
He wanted to be her first in everything. The man who called her Angie, the man who became her lover, the man who became her mate forever and for always.
Maddox tapped his chest with their joined hands. “You’re not a Para, Angie, so you weren’t waiting to find your mate. But you were. I know you were. That’s why it never felt right for you. You were waiting for me. So, whenever you’re ready, I’ll be waiting for you. Then we’ll mate, and I’ll claim you, and then we’ll be bonded mates that no one will separate. I’m playing for keeps, babe, but you figured that out as soon as you caught onto me being a wolf and I told you that you were my mate. I’m just like my beast. Nothing will ever take you away from me. Only you have the power to do that.”
And that was true. Maddox was an alpha wolf shifter, with all of the power and the strength that came with it. When it came to his future, though, when it came to his forever… Evangeline held it in the palms of her delicate hands.
“I like the idea of being with you, too,” she said to his never-ending relief. “I’m not saying no. I’m not even saying later on. It’s just… what would that mean? Bonded mates… how is that different from what we have now?”
“We have a bond. It’s strong as hell already, but as soon as I bite you—as soon as I claim you—it will be damn near unbreakable.”
Evangeline paled. “Bite me? Did you just say bite me?”
“I know you’re mine. And I’m yours. But the claiming bite? Think of it as a kiss from my wolf, its way of showing the rest of the world that we’re in this together, you and me.”
She turned her head. “There’s not going back after that, is there?”
His wolf yelped inside of him. For her to even ask that… “No. But I’m hoping by now that you wouldn’t ever want to go anywhere else.”
“And you have to bite me to make it final.”
He gritted his teeth, barely managing to get the single word out: “Yes.”
Evangeline stayed quiet. She was silent so long that Maddox’s head started to spin. He needed to think of something to say, some way to convince her. It wasn’t about mating, not anymore. He could stay celibate for as long as he needed to if only she would stay—
“Okay. Okay, I can do that. But I want to be married first before you bite me. Maybe it’s old-fashioned—”
Relief was sudden and quick. Maddox was almost giddy with it… and that was his ultimate mistake.
“Married? That’s ridiculous,” he snorted. “What’s a piece of paper got to do with us being together forever? The claiming bite is more than enough. You don’t understand. You’ll learn.”
Sudden fury flashed in Evangeline’s eyes. “Will I?”
Uh oh. Maddox knew that tone. Evangeline didn’t get angry often, but when she did? Her temper was quick, her tone biting.