Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 137004 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 685(@200wpm)___ 548(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137004 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 685(@200wpm)___ 548(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
“That’s different.”
“Why? Because it’s you?”
“Yes. No.” It was more yes than no, if he was honest with himself. Not that he was in any rush to tell Jaime that, though he suspected she already knew through their bond. Sometimes that link was a pain in his ass. “You have no sense of self-preservation, so is it really any wonder that I try to protect you?”
“But you didn’t try to protect me today. You tried to dominate me into doing what you wanted.
How is that fair? For a minute there, you were Beta, and I was just a packmate. Not Beta female, not your mate, just another pack member to whom you give orders.” His expression told her that now he got her point.
“That wasn’t what I was doing.” But it was. Maybe he hadn’t meant to undermine her and her ability to take care of herself, but he had. If she had gone all Beta female on his ass and tried to use that authority to boss him around or crush his opinions, it would have sincerely pissed him off. Unless it happened in the bedroom.
When he parked the car in the lot, Jaime turned to him. “Look, I know that this whole overprotectiveness thing is part of who you are and is so much worse now that we’re newly mated, but you can’t try to dominate me into doing what you want.”
“I’m sorry, okay.” He reached out and cupped her nape, rubbing it soothingly. “I believe we both agreed that I was going to fuck up a lot.” Pulling her to him, he gently meshed his lips with hers, relieved when she didn’t tense. “But I can’t apologize for wanting to protect you. I’ll always want to do that, and I’ll always try to, even when you don’t need me to.” Sighing, she relaxed into him. “I know. But I’ll still get pissy with you every time.”
“That’s okay. You’re hot when you’re mad.”
Growling, she shoved him away, ignoring his laugh, and hopped out of the SUV. He was at her side before she could progress more than three steps. Then, still laughing, he was kissing her, curling his arms around her. When she playfully struggled, he caged her wrists with his hands and backed her into the SUV, pinning her hands above her head. His cocky smirk made her growl.
“Now this looks familiar.”
“Yes, I remember that night when you used my lust to punish me.” He brushed his lips against hers. “No, baby, that wasn’t about punishing you. That was me losing control. I’d wanted you since the second you came here, wanted this mouth and this delectable body. The idea of you with another guy was torture, and I snapped.” Deciding to put him out of his misery, she said, “I wasn’t actually dating Shawn, you know.” He stilled. “What?”
“Well, I had years ago, and he wanted us to start things up again, but we didn’t actually do it.”
“Why didn’t you tell me that?”
“Because it was more fun to watch you hyperventilate.”
Smiling, he nipped her bottom lip. “I should spank you for that, but I’m too glad to know you hadn’t let him touch you again to care.” The again part had his mood souring a little. He saw by her expression that she’d sensed it.
“What is it?”
He let his forehead rest against hers. “I wish I’d known who you were to me sooner. That way no one else would ever have had you. Because of the way my brothers always treated me, I erected some pretty tough emotional barriers when I was a kid. Not so much to protect myself, but as a way of fighting back. Building those walls meant that the assholes could do whatever they liked, but they’d never break me, never hit me where it truly hurt. The hell of it is that if I hadn’t been so emotionally guarded, I might have been more open to you back then, might have recognized you for who you are to me.” He’d felt protective of her, intrigued by her, but he hadn’t ever considered that she might be his mate. “I’d have had you with me all this time. I’d have been the first and only person to ever touch or be inside you. Maybe I could have even protected you that night from those wolves.”
“Hey,” she said softly, “I didn’t realize either.”
“How could you have? My guardedness would have blocked you from sensing it. You might be a little walled off now, but you never were as a kid.”
“Did I give you permission to beat yourself up? Look, you’re not the only one who wishes we’d known back then. Just as you’d have been my first and only, I’d have been yours, which means you would never have half mated with Bitch Face and I wouldn’t be having homicidal urges. But…