It wasn’t until her thighs hit the mattress and she tensed under my hands that I realized I might have pushed things too far, too fast.
We broke the kiss, and I stroked her cheek with my thumb as I studied her expression. Soft, reddened lips, flushed cheeks, pupils blown wide. She was into it, but there was a little crease between her eyebrows that I knew meant she was thinking something that had her hesitating.
“What is it?” I murmured, pressing a kiss to that line between her eyebrows.
“I- I-” she faltered, chest and cheeks flushing brighter red. “I don’t want to take things too fast. Physically.” She blurted the last word as if it tasted bad.
“That’s okay. We don’t ever have to do anything you don’t want. Just because we’ve both agreed we want to pursue the bond doesn’t mean we have to jump into bed.” I smiled, doing my best to keep things light and casual, even though my dick was pulsing to be set free just from that one taste of her. Her lips were addictive, and I knew that once I tasted the rest of her, I’d be hooked for life.
“No, I don’t want you to take it the wrong way. I want to kiss you. It’s just…” She bit her bottom lip roughly, and I could smell her sudden distress in her scent.
“Hey, now. Whatever it is, you can tell me. After the stunt I just pulled, and you forgave me, I won’t judge. Ever. That’s a promise.”
It felt right too. Perhaps the very first thing I’d gotten right since finding out she wore my marks. Mate marks, which I desperately wanted to see now that we’d taken the plunge. But that was definitely a step too far if just kissing had made her nervous. I could wait. It would just make it all the sweeter when she was ready.
“I’m a virgin.”
I blinked at her, the words sinking in slowly through my formerly ordered thoughts. “You’re a virgin.”
“Yes.” She nodded, gnawing that lip as if I was about to freak out again. Which, to be fair, she had every right to be nervous about.
I needed to get my shit together so that my sweet little hellcat didn’t have to look like she was tiptoeing through a minefield whenever she had to tell me something. That started now, no matter how fucking shocked I was at the news.
“Okay. Thank you for telling me.”
“You’re… Welcome?” I could hear the question in the words, and I cast around quickly for something else appropriate to say. But for all my usual political polish, I was completely unprepared for this bomb.
It was no wonder she radiated innocence at every turn. She was innocent. Part of me, the caveman part, was really fucking thrilled that nobody before me had ever touched her. The other part-perhaps the saner part-was appalled.
Not because there was anything wrong with being a virgin, but because it brought all those feelings of being too dirty for her back to the surface. I’d been with so many women, I literally couldn’t count. And here she was, untouched at twenty-four.
It made me regret the faceless blur of women I’d previously slept with. Though surely she didn’t expect me to be a monk at my age. But this wasn’t about me right now. It was about Olivia. The thought grounded me, bringing me back to what she needed. My regrets could wait.
“So, we’ll take things slow. At your pace.” I cupped her cheek, noting that some of the tension left her at my words. Emboldened that I was on the right track, I continued. “Anything you want to try, anything you want to know, you can just ask.”
She nodded, eyes wide at the possibilities. “But what if you don’t enjoy it because I don’t know what I’m doing?” Her expression seemed to crumple, tears building along her lower lids. My wolf did not fucking like it. “I’ve had boyfriends in the past, but nothing serious, and I don’t… I know you’ve been with more experienced women. I don’t want you to be disappointed that your mate is so-” She gestured down at herself, as if there was any damn thing wrong with her beautiful body, right as the tears began to fall.
“Whoa, now. Hold on.” I hugged her tight, then sat on the bed so I could hold her in my lap and stroke her back. “First of all, inexperience isn’t a deficit. It’s just a starting point. We can learn what you like together.”
I paused until she nodded.
“Second of all, I could never be disappointed in you, hellcat. You’re so much more than I deserve. You’re fucking gorgeous and so kind. Even to me when I’m being an asshole and don’t deserve a bombshell like you.”
She chuckled, and the sound lit me up from the inside out as she finally got brave enough to meet my gaze again. “You’re a really handsome asshole.”
I snorted at her unexpected honesty. “Why, thank you. You’re a perfect, kind, gorgeous woman who I can’t wait to explore. From the tip of your head,” I placed a kiss on her silky-soft hair, taking a deep drag of her alluring scent as I did so. “All the way to your toes.” I kissed her forehead, then her nose, then her cheeks, before lifting her hand and kissing the back of her knuckles.
She caught her breath, staring at me as if I’d just rocked her world with the most innocent of touches.
“Does that sound good?”
“It sounds incredible. If you’re sure you’re not disappointed. That I’m not better. Older, more experienced?”
I shook my head, making eye contact so she’d hear me. “You can’t be better than perfect. There’s not a single thing I would change about you. If I could change anything, I would rewind the years I wasted without you, so I could have known you when I was younger.”
She blushed, and I was starting to figure out that a beautiful bonus about my mate being a redhead would be reading every single emotion right on her skin. There was a deep flush working up her neck from the conversation, and I liked it a little too much. Reading her was becoming an obsession.
“Do you think we could just snuggle and talk for a while?”
“Absolutely. We’ve got all night.”Olivia
Lucien leaned back against the headboard, taking me with him and settling me across his lap so I could see the waves. I felt so safe with him, so secure, in a way I hadn’t felt since I was a very little girl. Which was absurd, given all that had happened since I’d met the wolves of Pack Blackwater. Absolutely absurd.
But here we were, warm and comfortable on a tiny Greek island, staring out at a beautiful sea in a gorgeous little guest room. Safe. Even if it was only temporary. And we’d taken a very big step today, acknowledging that we were going to work on our bond. On purpose.
Granted, he hadn’t said the words, but the kiss had left no doubts in my mind. He wanted me as much as I wanted him, even though he’d been pushing me away. Even though he wasn’t ready to say it. That was okay.
I leaned my head back against his shoulder, enjoying his slow strokes on my arm, and thought about what I wanted to know.
Everything, actually. But we had to start somewhere more accessible. Hmm. Nothing to do with his work that had led to the-still very emotionally painful-scar. So, something from before.
“Would you tell me about your family?”
The hand stroking my arm stopped. It restarted quickly, but it was too late, because I’d clocked the stutter. I looked up at Lucien, leaning back so I could see his face.
“Everything all right?” I asked, keeping my tone gentle, the same voice I used with little wolf pups with boo-boos who came into my clinic.
More Kickass Werewolf Reads
Dive into our collection of free werewolf romance novels—where fierce Alphas, daring heroines, and heart-stopping twists await. Every story burns with forbidden desire, loyalty, and destiny. Don’t wait—here’s a world where love bites hard and nothing is stronger than the call of the mate.
Leave a Reply