Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 29324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 147(@200wpm)___ 117(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 147(@200wpm)___ 117(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
“If you make the wrong choice though …” He leaves the rest unsaid and sighs like he’s disappointed. Fucking hell, I know this isn’t the last I’ll hear from the Elder pain in my ass. I hang up and toss the phone, half tempted to break it, but I know Kael is full of shit. The old bastard loves to rattle cages, but he’s all bark and no bite. If he tries to fuck with me or my mate, he’ll find out exactly why I run this settlement and he doesn’t. I don’t give a damn about his threats. Tonight is about Ella and making sure she never doubts how badly I want her.
I concentrate on my real mission: winning my mate. I do a final sweep through the house, checking every damn detail until it’s perfect. My heart pounds harder the closer it gets to seven o’clock. My cock is already half hard just thinking about getting Ella alone. I picture her walking through my door, those hips swaying, lips parted, eyes hungry. I’ll make damn sure she never forgets this night.
I end up on the couch, elbows on my knees, phone in my hand, rereading the last message from Ella about seven hundred times. Don’t screw it up. I tell myself I’ll kill thirty minutes watching a tactics video, but my brain can’t focus. I keep picturing her instead. Those eyes. That mouth. That attitude that makes my tusks ache.
By the time six-thirty rolls around, I’ve basically worn a path in the tile. I check the fucking clock again, like it’s going to change just because I glare at it harder. Thirty more minutes. My beast rages, demanding action, but I force the fucker back into its cage and focus on the task at hand: dinner.
I double-check the menu, every ingredient lined up like I’m prepping for a siege. Steak, potatoes, roasted mushrooms, and that honey-apple tart from the market because humans like dessert. I prep the steaks, pounding the damn things flat even though they’re already perfect. The kitchen smells like heaven, all seared meat and garlic and fresh herbs.
The place is set, house clean, and food ready. Now I just have to survive the next half hour without losing my shit. The last thirty minutes crawl by like a fucking eternity. I keep checking the window, my beast pacing inside me, claws dragging at my ribs. It’s stupid, how bad I want this. Want her. My mate.
When the doorbell finally rings, I nearly rip the handle off getting there. She stands on the other side, hair glowing like flames under the porch light, lips parted and cheeks flushed. She smells like lemon and sex and everything I’ve ever fucking wanted. My cock goes rock hard instantly.
I open the door, and she barely gets out a “Hi,” before I grab her by the waist and pull her to me. Our mouths crash together, hungry and desperate. Her lips are soft and perfect, tongue sliding against mine as my tusks tingle at the contact. She moans into my mouth, and it damn near undoes me. Fuck, I want her.
She clings to my shoulders, nails biting into my shirt. I shove her against the door, taking her mouth like it’s mine to own. My inner beast rages, clawing at the inside of my skull, demanding I throw her down and fuck her until she can’t remember her own goddamn name. I press my body against hers, feeling her soft tits flatten against my chest, her nipples already hard and begging for my tongue. My hands roam her curves, squeezing her ass, grinding my cock against her hips so she knows exactly what she’s doing to me.
She moans my name, voice dark and needy, and her fingers dig into my arms like she wants to leave permanent marks. Fuck, I hope she does. I want every inch of her branded with me.
I break the kiss just long enough to catch her plump lower lip between my teeth, tugging until she whimpers. "You have no idea what you do to me, Ella." My voice scrapes out like boulders tumbling down a mountainside, vibrating through my chest where her soft curves press against me. "I've been obsessed with you ever since you nearly plowed me over with that goddamn stroller. Haven't had a moment's peace since."
She looks up, those forest-green eyes wild and hungry, pupils blown so wide they've nearly swallowed the color. A flush spreads across her cheeks. "Show me," she breathes against my mouth, her fingernails digging crescents into my shoulders.
This better not be a fucking dream the universe cooked up to torture me, or some mirage that'll vanish when I blink. I wouldn’t survive it.
Chapter 6
Ella
I came here expecting a nice, quiet dinner with Oren, but the universe had other plans for me. I see stars when Oren kisses me. Not the sappy, cartoon kind, but the real thing—a blackout burst behind my eyelids that makes my bones hum. I don’t know if it’s adrenaline or pheromones or some ancient magic flipping every switch in my body at once, but holy hell, I know this: Oren Arch is my fated mate.