Page 42 of Choosing the Rejected Mate
A laugh escapes me.
Daniel blinks.“What?”
“You sneezed.”
His mouth falls open slightly.“During a sacred wolf run, this is what you’re focusing on?”
“It was a delicate little sneeze.”
“It was not delicate.”
“It was adorable.”
His eyes narrow.“Take that back.”
“No.”
“Holly.”
“Daniel.”
He moves faster than I expect, closing the distance between us.
I squeal and try to scramble away, but he catches me around the waist and pulls me down into the grass with him.He’s careful even now, twisting so he takes the impact, but I land half across his chest, laughing like I have lost my mind.
His arms come around me, and the laughter fades, just like that.
My naked body presses against his.Breast to chest.Thigh to thigh.His cock is hard against my hip, thick and unmistakable, and heat flashes through me so sharply I gasp.
Daniel goes still beneath me.“Holly,” he says, voice strained.“Tell me to let go.”
I should.I know I should.Instead, I lift my head and look at him.His hair is mussed from the shift.Grass clings to one shoulder.His eyes are dark, hungry, and so careful it makes something inside me ache.
“I don’t want you to let go,” I whisper.
His fingers flex against my back.“Then tell me what you do want.”
My heart slams against my ribs and the old fear rises.Not because of Daniel.Because wanting is dangerous.Wanting gives someone a weapon.Wanting means there’s something to lose.
But Daniel waits.Breathing hard.Hands steady.Wolf quiet, and waiting for me.
I lean down and kiss him.
He groans against my mouth, and the sound rolls through me like thunder.His hand slides into my hair, not gripping, just holding, and the other stays firm at my waist.I kiss him harder, tasting night air and heat and the wild edge of his restraint.
He rolls us slowly, giving me time to protest, but I don’t.
The grass is cool beneath my back.Daniel’s body is warm above mine, heavy but not crushing.One of his thighs slides between mine, and the pressure makes me whimper into his mouth.
“Fuck, Holly,” he breathes, pulling back just enough to look at me.“You’re so damn beautiful like this.”
My cheeks heat, and of course he sees it.
His thumb strokes along my jaw.“Don’t hide from that.Not from me.”
I swallow.My eyes sting, because apparently I’m the kind of woman who can survive rejection but might be undone by praise in a moonlit clearing.
“You say too many things,” I whisper.
