“Are you stalking me?” The words came out of my mouth before I could stop them. Oli looked taken aback for a second, but then this smirk grew across his face.
“If following my mate to make sure she’s protected is stalking”—he shrugged—“then yes, I am,” he said unapologetically.
I should have been shocked, horrified by his admission. But I felt the increase of desire. My panties were damp from how aroused I was, and I had no doubt my nipples were hard little points pressing against my shirt. There was no doubt he could see, smell ... feel my reaction to him.
I licked my lips and ran my hands up and down my pants, my palms sweaty, everything in me burning out of control like a raging forest fire. And the only person who could put it out was Oli.
“I don’t want to fight this,” I found myself saying, those words, that truth, shocking even me. I wanted to get to know Oli better, wanted to understand what all of this meant. “But I need to go slow. I need to get used to it all.” I took a step back when he opened the door.
He unfurled his big, muscular body from the driver’s seat. Craning my neck back to look into his face, I felt my breath catch. He was just so tall, so powerful. With broad shoulders and all hard, cut and defined muscles.
He made me feel fragile, as if I would snap in two in his grasp. He lifted his hands and I didn’t move away, I couldn’t. And when he cupped my cheeks, moving his thumbs along my skin, right under my eyes, his hold most definitely possessive, proprietary, I felt everything else fade away.
Nothing else mattered except us, this moment, being mated to this bear shifter.
“India.” He said my name low, husky. His gaze was locked on my lips, and I found myself looking up. It was as if he was reaching out and touching my mouth, running his thumb along the bottom swell.
I found myself parting my lips, inhaling deeply. I’d never wanted—desired—anyone or anything like I did Oli.
“You hold all the power. You call the shots. And if you need years, I will be here. I’m not going anywhere, India. I’m never going to leave you.”
Chapter Seven
India
The next night
This all seemed so mundane, sitting beside Oli at the movie theater, as if we were a regular couple going on a regular date. But how were we supposed to know each other, understand how the other one worked, if we didn’t do these ordinary things?
I glanced over at him and couldn’t help but smirk. He was just so big that he looked uncomfortable sitting in that little seat. He kept moving around, bending his long legs, then extending them.
His thighs were like tree trunks
, thick and powerful, unwavering. I shouldn’t have looked at his crotch, at the way his jeans bulged in that one spot, no doubt what he was packing was huge. My throat tightened as I envisioned exactly what he had hiding behind that denim.
He looked over at me and I quickly glanced away, feeling my cheeks heat at the fact that he could’ve caught me staring at him ... at that area of him. Thank goodness it was dark in the theater, the movie about to start.
I had a bucket of popcorn in my lap and I started shoveling kernels in my mouth, trying to deter from the fact that I was extremely worked up right now.
But who was I kidding? I’d been instantly worked up as soon as I’d seen Oli. And in fact, it had only grown.
Although I wasn’t looking at him any longer, I could feel his gaze on me, could see out of the peripheral of my vision that he still watched me. I was trying to act calm and collected, like I wasn’t extremely wet right now, my panties rubbing against the swollen folds of my pussy.
I picked up the cup of soda, the lemon lime flavor and bubbles doing nothing to help quench the thirst I had.
Only Oli could.
God, he kept looking at me, kept making me very aware that he was right there, sitting next to me, just a couple of inches away.
The lights dimmed even further and I did turn my head and glance at him then, our gazes clashing. My mouth parted slightly, my heart racing. All it would take was for me to lean in just an inch and our mouths would touch.
I’d finally know what it felt like to kiss him.
But I was too much of a wimp, reminding myself that going slow was the best option, right? Taking our time was the right thing to do, right?
But it didn’t matter how many times I said that, repeating it in my head like a mantra, I didn’t want to go slow. I didn’t want to take my time. I wanted Oli fast and furiously, wanted to know what it felt like to be mated to a shifter in all ways.
And the way he lowered his gaze to my mouth, and down further to my breasts, had my breath stalling in my lungs.