“I’m s-satisfied,” Mary stammered.
“You sure?”
Mary didn’t struggle to respond this time, more confident when she answered, “I’m sure.”
“Good. Since that’s settled,” Diskant rose and wrapped an arm around Ava’s waist, “we’ll leave you two alone. I’m going to take this little minx up on her offer to make things worth my while. Make yourselves at home.” The desire in his face faded as he glanced down at Ava, met his mate’s gaze and then looked at Mary. “You’re more than our guest,” he informed her, ever the Alpha, firm yet gentle, “you’re family. If anyone gives you trouble, come to me. They’ll never bother you again. You have my word.”
Before she could reply Diskant swung Ava up in his arms, stomped toward the door and called over his shoulder, “You’d best move Mary into your room, Emory. I’ll get a new door installed tomorrow.”
Ava’s shrills of laughter and Diskant’s chuckles faded as the mated pair vanished around the corner. Emory heard the pair’s bedroom door down the hall rattle open and close with a snick. Mary lifted her chin and met his gaze. He knew then that he was neck deep in the shit. Ava’s lighthearted attempt to corral Diskant and gain Mary’s trust had worked, but it had also done something he was certain his Omega’s female didn’t intend. As Mary had watched the couple together—their mutual attraction and affection obvious—a spark of arousal had struck Emory’s nose.
Mary’s arousal to be precise, and the scent wasn’t fading.
Fuck.
He wanted to do the right thing but he was only capable of so much. The beast inside was pushing him to take things further, to give her the first mark. Once done she couldn’t tell him no. Hell, she wouldn’t want to tell him no. She’d experience the same fever in her veins, the same desire to mate. Nothing would alleviate the burn aside from the final bloodbonding phase. Once she passed that crucial step in their pairing, she’d never be able to leave him.
Never.
“Are you afraid of me, Mary?” Damn the wolf for making the question so gruff, for taking away his reason. They had to talk. They did not need to take things into the other bedroom, where they would be completely alone. His fingers trembled as the wolf within howled at Mary’s nearness, demanding he run his tongue along her throat, taste her tender skin for the first time and strip the clothes from her body.
He’d waited too long, damn it, and pushed the animal inside further than it would go. Christ, he was weaker than he’d thought. The urge to plant her ass up in the air, fuck her from behind and pin her in place with his teeth was almost more than he could stand.
“No,” she breathed, resting her palms against his chest.
“Are you certain?” He had to know, had to hear her say it. “You ran from me before. I need to know that you understand who I am—what I am.”
“I’m not scared of you.” She opened her little hands and spread her fingers across his pectoral muscles. Her lids lowered and her brown eyes became cloudy. “I know who you are,” she continued and pressed the tips of her fingers into his chest, “and what you are.”
“Who am I then?”
“You’re the man who walked me to class and carried my books.” A crease formed between her eyebrows and her breath caught. She dropped her gaze and stared at her hands. “You’re the man who opened doors, pulled out my chairs and acted like an utter gentleman.”
Now for the hard question, the one he wasn’t sure he wanted the answer to. “What am I, angel eyes?”
“A man.” She spoke so softly that even with his superior hearing he had to strain to hear.
“Are you sure about that?”
“You might be able to change into something else but when it comes down to it you’re a man. I’ve seen you. I know what kind of person you are.”
“Is that a good thing?”
“It’s a good thing,” she replied, nodding. “There are men who have no excuse for their actions but they hurt people just the same. They do horrible things. Evil things.”
He stroked her hair, indulging in his desire to touch her. “What kinds of evil things, sweetheart?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” she replied in a lifeless monotone. “I was so stupid, so ignorant.”
“Who told you that?” he snapped, livid at the insults and only God knew what else his mate had received from her relatives. It wasn’t any wonder she’d risked her life by running. “Your family? Your uncle?”
“Told me what?” she whispered and peered up at him with her large, doelike eyes.
“That you’re stupid and ignorant.”
“No one had to tell me.” She ducked her head, avoiding his gaze. “No one had to. I realized it not long after…” Her soft inhalation was smooth but her rough exhalation revealed her nervousness. “After what happened, after you were gone,” she murmured, “I knew I’d made a mistake.”
A mistake.
Hope was a bastard emotion, something Emory didn’t want to give life if he didn’t absolutely have to. Unfortunately the fucking sensation washed over him, cocooning his heart in warmth.
“What mistake?”
“Running away,” she finally confessed, trembling as she did. “Treating you like I did.”
“What you did is understandable.” He willed himself not to push her too hard or ask for too much. “You were in shock and learning what I was couldn’t have been easy.”
“It wasn’t, but after I had all the facts I knew I had been wrong about a lot of things.” She paused and asked, “How did you find me?”
His stomach knotted. How in the hell did he answer that question without scaring her? If he mentioned her family, she might ask what had happened to them. He didn’t want to be the man pulling the short straw and revealing everyone she’d left behind—with the exception of her bastard uncle—were dead.
“After I discovered you weren’t at your uncle’s farm, I did some research. I remembered our conversation about your parents and the trip you said you had to make to Florida to retrieve the savings your parents had left for you. It wasn’t hard to track you down once I had a general location. I had a member of the pack work his mojo and put a trace on your attorney’s phone once we figured out who he was. The call you made to him a couple of days ago gave me your location.”
“Another notch on my wall of stupid,” she muttered.
“You are not stupid.” He didn’t mean to sound so angry but it was impossible to be nurturing and supportive when his mate seemed determined to put herself down. “You’re one of the most intelligent people I know.”
When she lifted her head and their gazes met, he knew she’d face her fear of him or she’d run because of it. There was no way to contain the feral portion of him—not now. He knew his eyes were glowing, that his canines, although high in his gums, were now pointed in an unnatural way. She took in the changes, starting with his eyes before lowering her focus to his mouth. He waited, holding his breath, hoping against fucking hope that she’d end his torment.
Seconds ticked by like hours, so slowly he thought he’d go mad. Then Mary brought her hands to his shoulders and rose to her tiptoes. She frowned, shifted her feet, and her fingers tickled the back of his neck when she brought her right hand around and applied pressure, urging him to lower his head.
“Come here.”
He obliged, lowering his chin as he wrapped his hands around her waist. “How’s this?”
Her reply came in the form of physical contact—a cock-rocking kiss that set him on his heels. The moment her lips brushed his he was a goner. His mate had come to him without pressure, without fear and without restraint. She’d made the decision on her own, without any outside influence, and now waited for him to make the next move.