Cate traced her fingers along the back of his hand. “Yes, it does. I can’t...”
“Can’t what?” He brushed his fingers over her cheek.
Cate looked up at him, her fingers finding their way up his neck, tracing lines down his jaw. Lightly brushing across his lips.
Her eyes sparkled, and the way she looked at him... A startling feeling built inside of his chest, one he’d never felt in all his thirty-one years. His heartbeat quickened from the realization of what it was he felt.
Love.
It was crazy to think a woman he’d just met could have this effect on him.
A woman who the Diviner had recognized.
A woman who was somehow meant for him.
His mate.
The spirit inside of him longed to soothe her, to make her feel cherished, loved.
Worshipped.
It was a most surprising feeling.
Gunner had never been in love. Not the true kind, the kind sanctioned by the Diviner, the kind where he and his wolf knew it belonged to a mate.
Not like this.
Cate stared back at him as if she contemplated her words very carefully. In her eyes, he could see the pain, her struggle.
What asshole is responsible for that?He wondered.
“Sit down, Gunner,” she said solidly.
The moment of vulnerability had passed, and suddenly everything was different.
Instead of bristling against the command or irking her with a sarcastic response, Gunner simply obeyed as he sat against the tree on the soft earth, surrounded by a circle of salt, herbs, flowers, and sigils. He looked up at the goddess and awaited her instruction once more.