Sadness floated toward him and the beating of her heart increased along with the pitch of her voice. That had to have been hard for Karla to live with. Pieces started to fit together. He understood why she’d been distant with him, but he wanted her to tell him.
“What do you think about us?” He continued petting her hair, loving the feel of the silk strands through his fingers.
“What do you mean?”
“You know how we are. I’m a shifter.” He kissed the top of her head and smiled at her sigh. “You’re my mate.”
She sat up in a rush. “You’ve never called me your mate. You said I was yours the night of the scenting ceremony, but you never said mate. I’d remember if you did.”
It amused him to see the shock in her eyes. As if he’d bite any other woman. “Mine is the same as me asking for your hand in marriage. Sweetheart, I bit you.”
“Not hard.” She frowned.
“Hard enough to make you mine.”
“I thought the bite would be deeper, harder?”
He laughed at her confusion. “No, I only marked you. That’s what the scenting ceremony is for.”
“But—but you didn’t say anything,” she insisted.
“No, I didn’t. Things got crazy after that. I wanted to spend time together, but I wanted you safe.” He pulled her back into his arms, missing the warmth of her curves over him. “The best way I can ensure your safety is to help Caleb rid of the rogues his uncle hired. They’ve been inundating the area of Caleb’s land and pushing into ours.”
“But—”
He worried when she continued to sound unsure. “Don’t you believe me?”
“It’s not that. I know how your kind works, Nate. I understand we’ve had this attraction going between us for a while. I won’t deny it. But how do we know this is something that’s even likely to work?”
“You have to trust your instincts, sweetheart.”
She was quiet for long moments. Long, nerve-wracking moments. “My instincts? Nate I’ll be honest with you,” her voice shook, “I haven’t ever been in a relationship that lasted very long. I’m not looking to put any man in a position where he feels he has to be with me. I don’t like pressuring anyone.”
“Who’s talking about pressure? I want to be with you.”
“It’s just that…you’ve been really busy lately.” He heard her swallow repeatedly. “You’ve been gone. I don’t want you to feel you have to stop what you would normally do to be with me.”
Sadness and fear seeped in waves of insecurity from her pores.
“I don’t have to stop anything. I have to adjust things. You’re my priority. You and our babies.” It became clear to him that she was trying to hide away behind her fears. To keep from taking the steps to be fully engaged in their relationship. His mother was right. She was afraid. But not of what her family’s past was. She was afraid of what could be between them. She was afraid of hope.
“You’re mine, Karla. Mine.”
“Only if you’re mine too,” she muttered half-asleep.
“That goes without saying, baby. I have one mate. And I want no other.”
He couldn’t understand it. Didn’t know how to fix it. Thoughts filled his mind as he held her until her even breathing told him she’d fallen asleep in his arms.
He was in the middle of running errands for his bar when he decided to invite Karla to his bar to get her involved in his business. He reached for his phone as he stepped out of his truck.
“Hi.” Her husky voice answered.
His chest constricted listening to her. She didn’t realize how much she meant to him, but he’d show her.
“Hi, beautiful. How are you?”
“Good. In the middle of a pop spelling quiz. Which will have a few words added to it if my kids don’t focus on their own papers instead of their neighbors,” she said in a tone meant for her students.
He smiled and rubbed a hand behind his neck. “Will you talk to me in that teacher voice later? You sound really sexy.”
“Nate!”
A chuckle burst free from his lips. “Okay, sorry. Bad Spot, right?”
She chortled. “Yes, bad Spot! What did you need?”
“I want you to come over to the bar sometime in the next few days. Just come by for a bit. Will you?”
There a drawn out silence before she sighed. “I guess I can stop by after dinner with the girls.”
“Great! I won’t keep you from your students. I’ll see you later, Ms. Alves.”
Her soft laughter tinkled through the line. “Later, Spot.”