Page 99 of Starting a New Life

My wolf preened, more willing to take these compliments as fact than I was. Nix had a distorted view of me, tinted by the mate bond.

“You can believe me,” he said, his face hovering inches over mine, lips tilted into a gentle smile.

“I believe you see me that way,” I said.

Nix snorted, and something glinted in his eyes. The next moment, a short burst of pain went through my body, from my nipple right into my dick. I yelped, looking at my mate in betrayal as he grinned at me with so much mischief, it was hard to believe he was usually so meek and afraid.

“Hey!” I complained, rubbing my nipple.

“Sorry.” However, he did not sound sorry, and when I checked our bond, I found that he didn’t feel sorry either. I raised my eyebrows at him, and Nix giggled. “Okay, I’m not really sorry. This ‘I believe that’s the way you feel, but it’s not the truth’ thing is bullshit. But it’s okay. I’ll have plenty of time to show you how I—and your pack—see you.”

Plenty of time. More like…

“We have a lifetime,” I whispered, the feeling hitting me like a sledgehammer. We were mated. I had him for the rest of my life.

“A lifetime,” he agreed, leaning in to press another kiss to my lips. “Forever.”

Chapter 21

Nix

Warmth surrounded me completely. Warmth and the scent of the forest. Like a very warm and very soft tree lying next to me, its heavy branches wrapped around me.

I didn’t want to open my eyes, just wanted to float a little longer, bask in the warmth and softness before it’d be inevitably ripped away by reality.

However, a deep, raspy chuckle started an earthquake that forced me to open my eyes and…

Oh.

Ohh.

The tree was Gray, the branches his thick, muscular arms, and the earthquake was his chest shaking from laughter.

He smiled at me, eyes radiating warmth.

“Good morning,” he said, his smile widening, spreading into a grin as he leaned in to press his lips to mine. Just for a moment. A short, sweet kiss. Lips against lips, and then they were gone. I chased after them, catching them for another, longer kiss that sent small sparks through my body.

“Morning,” I whispered against his mouth, my own lips tilting into a smile as yesterday’s memories slowly crept in. We’d mated.

Holy shit.

I’d actually done it.

I smiled and stared at the man who was my mate, studying his every feature as if I hadn’t been doing just that for the past few weeks.

There were still new things to learn. The softness in his eyes when he looked at me, the way his eyes lit up when our gazes met. The way his nostrils flared when I grinned at him and leaned in to…

I hummed against his lips as I let my eyes fall shut and just felt. His body against mine, his heart beating steadily but quickly. His tongue licking over my bottom lip before he sucked it into his mouth and gently bit down. The shock that jolted through my whole body as the faintest bit of pain mixed with pleasure. My cock rapidly thickened beneath the comforter, rubbing against Gray’s hip. Gray’s own erection pushed against the leg I had thrown across his body. He pulled me on top of him.

“You sore, sweetheart?” Gray asked, his fingers trailing down my spine and over my ass cheeks.

I scrunched up my nose. There was a slight sting when Gray parted my cheeks to dip a finger into my crack. Immediately, his finger was gone, and I sighed, opening my eyes.

“You remember that I can heal myself, right?” I asked, but found myself hesitating to actually do it.

I kind of liked the sting. It was proof of what we did.

And yeah, one could argue that the bite mark that sat at my nape was sufficient evidence, but this sting… it was private. Just for me.