Page 68 of Choosing the Rejected Mate

Her breath catches before she leans into my touch.“I want you to claim me, Daniel.Tonight.Under the moon.After we run.”

My control shudders.“Holly.”

“I’m not saying it because of Cole.Or Rowan.Or because I’m scared they’ll take me back.”Her hands slide to my chest.“I’m saying it because last night I chose you.Today you stood beside me.And tonight, I want my wolf to choose yours too.”

My throat tightens.There are a hundred filthy things my body wants.A hundred possessive things my wolf wants.But my heart, that inconvenient thing I thought I trained out of making demands, only wants to kneel.

I press my forehead to hers.“Then tonight is yours.”

Her eyes shine.“Ours.”

The word goes through me like a vow.Ours.Not mine or hers, but ours.

I kiss her once.Soft and careful, a promise, not a spark.Then I step back, because if I don’t, I will end up taking her on the bakery floor while Patricia judges us from the corner.

Holly clears her throat.“I should close up.”

“Probably.”

“And shower.”

“Okay.”

“And maybe panic a little.”

“That’s also okay.”

Her eyes narrow.“You’re very agreeable.”

“I’m trying to keep my wolf from doing laps around the building.”

“That excited?”

I look at her.Really look.The flour, the tired eyes, and the stubborn tilt of her chin.The woman who built a life from ash and sugar and sheer refusal to stay down.

“That honored,” I say.

Her mouth trembles before she points at me.“Stop being emotionally devastating while I’m holding a cash drawer.”

“I’ll try.”

“You won’t.”

“No.”

She shakes her head, but the smile she gives me is real, and I carry that smile with me while I help her close.

****

By the time night settlesfully over town, the bakery is locked, the lights are off, and Holly stands beside me at the edge of the old mill trail wearing her robe and a pair of boots that look like they have personally survived three wars.

The moon hangs full and silver above the trees, the same moon that once gave her a mate who broke her.Tonight, she stands beneath it with me.Not broken or owned but ready.

I can smell her nerves, but I can also smell her desire.They twine together, sharp and sweet, and it takes every ounce of control I possess to keep still.

Holly looks at the woods.“This feels bigger than last time.”

“It is.”