Mitch’s hand roamed over her body, his lips moving to hers in a kiss like none she’d ever experienced before. It was scorching hot, full of a passion that she wasn’t sure she could handle. She was the least skilled She-Wolf in the Pack when it came to the bedroom department and she started to panic . . . her hands tangling in his shirt to push him away.
“Wait!” she tore her lips from his, her flushed face burning when she realized how her body was reacting to his touch. Her entire body aflame . . . and her panties were . . . well, more than a little wet.
“What?” Mitch looked at her, confused and breathless. “Is something wrong, sweetheart?”
“Oh stop, please don’t call me that.” Cyndi tried to step back but he held her firmly, refusing to release her.
“Why? What’s up, Cyndi? Tell me, baby. I’ll try and help with whatever’s going on, but you need to tell me what’s wrong.”
His voice was laced with concern, his eyes filled with worry as he fixed those amazingly gorgeous orbs onto hers. Damn! Why did he need to be so reasonable?
“I’m . . . scared and nervous . . . and, shit, this is all weird and too fast.” Cyndi’s head fell forward onto his chest, tears filling her eyes as emotion overwhelmed her.
She had never felt so out of control and at the same time so attracted to a guy. She couldn’t deny how hot he was, but that wasn’t it. It went far deeper than that. It was inside her, so intensely that she could barely think . . . and that wasn’t her. She was the sensible one, the girl who always thought things through before acting. The one who studied her socks off instead of going to Silvers, the one who hardly dated, who’d had sex once . . . and then she’d only done it to get it over and done with so she was no longer a freaking virgin.
Yet, here she was losing control with a stranger. She couldn’t fathom what the hell was going on and she just couldn’t deal with it. It just wasn’t her. It wasn’t who she was.
“I can’t explain . . . but this isn’t me. It’s not who I am,” she tried to tell this man, this stranger . . . her soul-mate. “I don’t do this. I don’t do any of this.”
Mitch’s arms tightened around her, a hand slowly rubbing circles on her back, calming her. “I’m sorry. I’m moving too fast for you, baby. It’s my beast. He’s desperate to complete our mating and I am too, but that’s no excuse for rushing you.”
“I’m not used to this,” Cyndi admitted softly. “I usually stay home and study while Connie and everyone else go out. I’m not your typical She-Wolf, Mitch, and I’m not experienced either, so I’m sorry if you’re expecting some hot girl in your bed. If you are then you’re going to be disappointed.”
His chest moved beneath her, a soft rumble escaping as he held her tighter. “I won’t be disappointed, my beauty. I swear to you, I’ll never be disappointed with you. In fact, your words have just made me hard as steel and I think I’ll need to put some ice down my jeans soon or I’ll get blue balls.”
Cyndi’s head popped back, noticing his eyes dark and hooded. “Really? Oh, I don’t mean about, you know the ice. I mean you’re not upset that I’m not like most She-Wolves?”
“Hell, no.” Mitch cocked his head to the side. “I don’t mean to be indelicate, but are you a virgin? I need to know that, baby. I don’t want to hurt you in any way.”
Cyndi’s face flushed for what seemed the hundredth time. “Well, not exactly. A few years ago I thought I should ‘try it’ and see what all the fuss was about. I had a quick, and I emphasize the quick part, roll with a guy, but it was over almost before it began and that’s what put me off altogether. It wasn’t fun, or pleasurable in any way and I didn’t see what all the fuss what about. I’ve only had some dates with kisses and stuff since then. I’ve just never been interested in that whole scene. As I said, I’ve been too busy studying to be a Healer and watching everyone else carrying on just makes me cringe. I’ve never seen the point . . . until now.”
“I see.” Mitch placed his forehead gently on hers, sighing softly. “I’m so sorry for rushing you. I made assumptions that I shouldn’t have and that’s on me. I’ll slow it down, sweetheart. You tell me whenever you want me to take it down a notch . . . okay? It’ll be difficult for me because, as I said, I desperately want to make you mine, but I respect that you’re not comfortable with the speed of all this.”
“Really? You’re not angry with me?” Cyndi could still feel his rock hard length pressing against her.
“Angry? Why would I be angry with you? Hell, I’m angry at myself for not reading you better. I was too filled with the mating lust to realize you were uneasy with the situation.” Mitch gave her a squeeze. “Sorry about that, Cougars are hot blooded at the best of times but add in the mating call and we have blinders on . . . one thought running through our addled brain. If you get my meaning.”
She couldn’t help the cheeky smirk that broke across her face as she raised an eyebrow. “I do. Your meaning is pressing into me as we speak.”
“Sorry.” Mitch shrugged. “But you’re so beautiful, my sexy little Healer. I can’t help the way my body responds to you.”
“Could we just sit and talk for a bit? I know nothing about you and I’ve never kissed anyone that I didn’t know before . . . this is a first for me,” Cyndi admitted sheepishly.
“Sure.” Mitch stepped back, adjusting himself as he led her back to the sofa. “I might need that ice soon though . . . or a cold shower.”
Cyndi giggled, her hand flying to her mouth as he sat down, pulling her onto his lap. “I said we could talk.” He smirked. “But I prefer you here.”
She wouldn’t admit it to him, not yet anyway, but she liked where she was too.
“I’ll start.” Mitch got comfortable, holding her against him, her head on his shoulder and arms wrapped around her as he proceeded to tell her everything about him.
When he told her about his fall from the ravine she thought her heart would stop beating, her breath caught in her throat, and her Wolf howling in protest in her head. She turned toward him, her hands holding his shirt in a death grip until he explained that Jonson found him and took him back to the Pack where he’d been healed. He went on to tell of his life within the Jonson’s Pack, and his quick rise to the Alpha’s side as Beta. Pride at his accomplishment blooming in her chest as she listened to his deep baritone voice, and that wasn’t the half of it. It was at that point she had to fish her phone out and put it on silent . . . Connie was texting her every few minutes and driving her insane, but her friend would just have to wait because she was busy with her own personal life. For once.
She realized that the longer she sat on his lap, inhaling his musky aroma, that it settled her Wolf who now lay inside her, quiet and peaceful. Mitch’s scent appeared to have ingrained itself inside her, body and soul, and that was just . . . strange. Nice, for sure, calming her, certainly, but she had no idea why. Was it because they were mates? Probably. From all she’d heard about soul-mates she could only imagine that this was the beginning of their souls joining.
She had to admit it was beautiful. Now all she had to do was get over the other part . . . the emotions that came with it. The all-encompassing passion that took her breath away . . . and scared the hell out of her.
“Okay, I think that’s about everything, unless you want to know my deepest, darkest secret . . . the one that nobody else alive knows.”
Cyndi sat up, nodding excitedly. “Of course I do . . . what is it?”
Mitch looked all around conspiratorially, as if he expected someone to be eavesdropping, his voice barely a whisper as he leaned forward. “If you tell another living soul I’ll deny this, baby. I’ll swear it on my heart that it’s a lie . . . I’ve watched every episode of Game of Thrones . . . three times. I’m hooked on it.”
“No!” She slapped his hard chest, laughing. “Me too, but I beat you. I’ve seen it at least four times. Jon Snow is just so swoon worthy! It’s the best series ever, but I’ve got to watch it on my own because Connie isn’t into it like me. She says it’s too bloodthirsty and she got lost with all the plot twists after season one.”
“Jon Snow, huh?” Mitch tilted his head. “I have to admit I’m partial to Daenerys, that time when she walked out of the flames stark naked . . .”
A growl rumbled out of Cyndi’s throat . . . full of possessive jealousy and she wasn’t sure who was more surprised. Her or Mitch. His grin quickly followed by his mouth covering hers cooled the rage that had suddenly erupted inside her. His tongue played with hers, teasing and tasting as his lips sent her synapses to explode in a cascade of sensation overload. A kiss . . . a mere kiss and her skin was on fire, tingling with a wondrous phenomena that she had no name for.
Her fingers found their way into his shaggy blond hair, holding him tightly in place and leaving him nowhere to go. The thought of his mouth deserting hers was not an option. One of his hands slipped down her side, cupping her breast, his fingers gently caressing her already taut nipple. “Shit!” She groaned at his touch, her head falling back and immediately Mitch’s lips sought her throat, licking and nibbling her skin sending a whole new host of sensations to course through her body.
Each and every touch stirred new desires inside her, as if Mitch brought her body out of a deep sleep. His hands, his fingers, his presence bringing her to life for the first time . . . a spark ran through her very soul . . . an enlightenment, a gift, and she knew . . . she understood what he was.