“I know what the necklace meant tae me, so I can only imagine how special it is tae ye.”
I nodded but was too choked up to speak.
He sat back but still stayed close enough that I could smell the wild, spicy scent that always clung to him. He smelled faintly of the outside, of the forest and fresh air and lingering sunshine.
And the longer we looked at each other, the more my body started to heat all over again. I cupped each side of his scruff-covered cheeks, staring into his blue eyes. “It means the world to me. You mean everything to me.” Now it was his turn to have his breath catching.
We didn’t say anything for so long, both of us just watching each other, the heat in the room growing until I felt beads of perspiration dotting my temples and in between my breasts.
I expected that crushing weight of fear and uncertainty to claim me, but with each passing second all I felt was my growing need for my mate. And if I felt this kind of intensity, I could only imagine what a virile, powerful Lycan male was experiencing being close to his mate.
“Touch me, Odhran.” My voice was breathy, those three words barely audible. And I saw how they affected him. His body visibly tensed, his eyes became hooded, his mouth slightly clenched, and his canines elongated.
I grew even wetter.
He reached out and took hold of the end of my hair. I hadn’t taken out the braid he’d put in last night, and for a second, he just rubbed the strands between his fingers.
Touch me.
He started undoing my braid, and I felt my breathing increase. God, why is it so hot?
When my hair was loose, he started sifting his fingers through the dark waves before bringing up the heavy fall to his face. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, this very sexy, clearly aroused rumble leaving him.
My inner muscles clenched, and I tightened my thighs on impulse. I’d never felt so intensely that all rational thought left me.
I was very aware of my breathing having changed, my chest rising and falling faster and harder. I was also aware that his was, as well. He was so close now, inching his way toward me, only a fraction of space separating his lips from mine.
I could practically taste him on my tongue, the memory of how good his flavor was, how warm and soft his tongue was as it moved against mine, replaying in my head over and over again until a soft, very needy moan left me.
“My sweet girl,” he groaned. And then he said something gruff in Gaelic and it lit my body on fire.
He could’ve read me a shopping list in his native tongue and I was pretty sure I would’ve gone over the edge with pleasure from that alone.
“I donna want tae move too fast.” His eyes were open now but he still held my hair by his face, intermittently taking deep drags of the scent.
His pupils were so dilated now, the black almost ate up all of the blue, his eyes hooded, his very male scent filling my head and making me feel as if I had drunk too much.
“It’s not too fast right now.” I didn’t know what I was consenting to. A little? A lot? Everything?
He slid his hands down my arms, his fingers barely brushing the bare skin. I felt so dizzy despite the fact I was sitting down, my body feeling foreign, as if it weren’t my own, as if I had no control over anything, but in the best of ways.
But this was a kind of wild recklessness. The kind that didn’t make me question if there was fear or pain. Because I knew there wouldn’t be. I knew Odhran would only make me feel good, make this feel right.
“Kiss me.” I breathed those two words, and he groaned once more before he captured my mouth with his. He placed his hand on my cheek and slowly moved up to cup the back of my head. I tangled my hand in his hair and pulled him closer.
The feel of his tongue stroking over my lips, gently probing the seam as if asking permission, had me instantly opening for him. I met his tongue with mine, moved it against his, feeling my entire body ignite in the most consuming way. We kissed each other harder.
We kissed for so long that time had no meaning, everything else fading away so all I felt, smelled, heard was my mate.
His lips on mine.
His taste in my mouth.
His touch on my skin.
His groans in my ears.
I didn’t know how long we’d been kissing but I found myself at the edge of the seat, my legs spread and Odhran nestled between them. He had one hand still buried at the back of my head, his fingers tangled in my hair, his other one curled around my waist, his touch light.