Page 75 of Stubborn as a Shadow

Sensations swamped me. His mouth on mine. My damp skin. The heat of his hands on my hips as he tugged my body flush to his. The length of his erection against mine.

It was all so... ugh... one word couldn't describe what I was feeling. It was breathtaking and astounding and beautiful and spectacular and… every other synonym in the thesaurus for mind-blowingly marvelous.

When I groaned, he broke the kiss.No! I chased his mouth with mine, but the look in his eyes made me pause.

“Tell me you want this, Morgan,” he said in a gruff voice. His fingers dug into my hips, like he was scared I’d bolt. But this was exactly where I wanted to be. “Tell me you wantme. Like this. Right now. I know you don’t have much experience, and I refuseto take advantage of you. But I’ve been thinking about this from the moment I saw you.”

“Really? But you stopped last night...”

“I knew if we did anything more, I’d want it all. I don’t know how to control myself around you.” He looked pained by his admission.

My heart leaped like a show jumping champion. “I’m in. I mean, yes. Please. Everything. I mean, with you. I want you too.”

"You need to know..." He closed his eyes for a long moment, and my heart plummeted. That fickle organ was bouncing around all over the place. It really, really wasn't supposed to do that. When he opened his eyes again, they were completely black, a sign his magic was close. “There is a risk. If we do this…”

He didn’t finish his thought. It dangled there between us.

“If we do this…” I repeated his words, hoping to prompt him into continuing. When he still didn’t say anything, I offered him a few suggestions. “We’ll have amazing sex? We’ll get sweaty? There'll be a wet spot on the blankets?”

He swallowed audibly and opened his eyes. I couldn’t see his irises through his shadows, but I knew he was staring right into mine. And now my heart was leaping around again. The silly thing. “It’s possible you’re my mate. And if you are?—”

“Mate?” I blurted out, interrupting him. “As in fated mate?”

“Yeah.” He croaked out the single syllable.

“Okay… And? Does that mean your dick won’t work?” I knew that wasn't it, but I needed him to explain why he was so worried, which meant I needed to get him to talk to me.

“No.” His mouth twitched, and I knew I’d almost gotten him to smile.

I shrugged. “Then I don’t see what the problem is.”

“When fated mates have sex, there is a risk of being joined. Magically.”

“Wouldn’t we already be joined?” I waggled my eyebrows at him.

He scratched his chin. “I’m not explaining this very well.”

“Will you hurt me? Will I hurt you?”

“No.”

“Okay, then. I’m in.” I straightened and placed my hand over my heart. “I, Morgan Rupert Russell, do hereby accept the consequences of having sexy times with Nelson.”

“This is serious.”

“Oh. I’m serious. I want this. You. Everything. You said you’ve been thinking about this, well so have I. Look at me.” I pointed down to where my extremely hard dick was straining against the fabric of my underwear. “Even after all this talking, I’m still ready to blow. This is all because of you.”

“You’re ridiculous, you know that?” He shook his head, but he didn’t seem irritated by the idea. “What if you’re stuck with me after this? What if something happens, and we end up tied together?”

That’d be a hell of a way to lose my virginity. Was that the supernatural version of getting pregnant the first time you had sex? Interestingly, the idea didn’t scare me. Was I just that horny? I didn’t think so.

Something about being with Nelson felt right. Destined, maybe. Which was all the confirmation I needed that Nelson’s concerns weren't unfounded. In fact, the more I thought about it, about how I’d been reacting to him since we met, the more I thought he might be on to something.

Wow. I had a mate. That wasamazing. Didn’t Nelson agree? “Would you hate that? Being joined with me like that?”

“No,” he said quickly.

“Me neither. Now how about we get started? Then I’ll still be ridiculous, but you’ll be inside me. That sounds fantastic, am I right?” I tugged on his hand, pulling him closer to the bed. “Ican imagine it now. Me all hot and tight and you all big and…” I waved my hand through the air. “You know…”