Page 55 of Choosing the Rejected Mate

“Still okay?”he asks.

I roll my eyes, because feelings are easier when disguised as irritation.“If you ask me that every time we share oxygen, I’m going to start charging.”

“And it will be worth it.”

“You don’t even know my rates.”

“I fixed your mixer.I’m rich in emotional credit.”

“That is not a currency.”

“It is in this relationship.”

The word sticks against something inside me I’m unwilling to name right now.He calls it a relationship.Not a bond or a claim or even fate.

A relationship.

I stare at him, and Daniel goes still beneath my gaze.“Too much?”

“No.”My voice comes out softer than intended.“Just ...new.”

His hand flattens gently against my side.“We can call it something else.”

“Like what?”

“Hostile bakery negotiations.”

I laugh, and the tension breaks.“That somehow seems accurate.”

His smile is sleepy and crooked.“Good morning, Holly.”

Oh.The simple words hit too deep.I hate that.And I hate that I like it.I also hate that the first thing I want to do is kiss him.So I do, because apparently I’m a woman of terrible decisions now.

Daniel groans when my mouth touches his, his hand tightening on my waist.The kiss is slow at first, sleep-warm and soft, but heat stirs quickly beneath it.He rolls toward me, careful even half-awake, letting me decide how close he gets.

I pull him closer, his thigh slides between mine, and my breath catches.

“Holly,” he murmurs against my mouth.

“I know,” I whisper.

His smile brushes my lips.“That phrase still worries me.”

“It should.”

His laugh turns into a groan when I press against him.He’s hard against my hip, thick and hot through the thin fabric of his boxers, and my body answers so fast I would be embarrassed if he was anyone else.

Right now, I have chosen to become shameless as part of my healing journey, and I’m finding it very,verytherapeutic.

Daniel’s mouth trails to my jaw, then my throat, carefully avoiding the place where a claiming mark will one day sit if I let it.When I let it.The thought does not scare me as much as it should.

And that scares me.

His lips pause against my skin.“You tensed.”

I close my eyes.“I thought about the claim.”

He pulls back immediately, expression serious.“Am I going too fast?”