“No!”
Grady snarled. “You want my brother?”
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Chapter Fifteen
Grady took a deep breath. His body was rock hard, he was that tense, and he turned slowly in her arms. Mika had to ease her grip on his waist to allow it and then tried to release him completely when they faced each other but Grady’s hands gripped her hips, stopping her from putting distance between them.
Grady’s teeth clenched. “You tried to throw me out of your house for suggesting I let Erik touch you so my animal side would smell another man on you and stop clamoring to mate with you. I did that to protect you. I didn’t want anyone else to touch you but, even more, I didn’t want to risk losing control and possibly kill you. Now you’re going to let my brother touch you? You want him as a mate? What happened to you saying you didn’t fuck other men?” He snarled and his eye color blackened.
“Grady,” Anton grabbed his shoulders. “Let her go before you hurt her. Calm down. I didn’t mean it. I was trying to make you jealous and it worked. She had no idea I was going to grab her or say that shit. She doesn’t want me, brother.” Jerking his head around, Grady growled at his brother. “Get out and leave us alone.” His nose extended and the shape of his eyes changed.
“Not until you calm the hell down.”
“I said get out. I want to talk to Mika and no one is going to stop me this time.
Leave. I’d never hurt her. I’ll calm the hell down when we’re alone.” Anton hesitated, looking uncertain. He finally nodded. “I’m not going far though.” He shot a meaningful look at Mika. “I’ll be in the living room and then I’ll drive you to the airport when your talk is over.” He inched around them and left the bedroom.
Grady closed his eyes and his body trembled. He seemed to be fighting both sides of his nature as he fought to get control of his body. His breathing finally slowed and his features changed back to human. Black eyes snapped open and they were directed right at Mika.
“I got to thinking after I bit you. I’m sorry I freaked out and left you here alone, babe. I’m always hurting you when I don’t mean to, aren’t I? I was sure that the mating took and I had to be realistic with myself for the first time in forever, after I calmed down. It’s not that I don’t want a human mate because I have something against humans or hate that part of me. I don’t. I’m afraid to take a human mate.” She inched back and he released her. She cleared her throat since it wanted to close up on her with emotion. He was opening up to her and she wasn’t sure where he was going with this but the fact that he’d come to talk to her had to mean something.
“Why are you afraid?”
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“My mother was human and she didn’t want me, Mika. When she tracked my father down she couldn’t get rid of me fast enough. Mated werewolves have chemistry going that keeps them dependent on each other but that usually doesn’t happen when we mate with humans. What if you change your mind about wanting to be with me after we have children? What if you leave us the way my mother left me? Your chemistry is different. A werewolf mate would get addicted to my scent and always need me as much as I get addicted to her and need her. You probably won’t do that.
Mates are for life but you could leave me at any time.” He paused. “It would destroy me to lose you or to one day see the kind of pain I’ve suffered on the faces of our children if you left them as well.”
Mika stared at him in shock. She didn’t know what to say. Grady didn’t have that problem.
“If you were a werewolf you would have known that I had no intention of touching Megan, you wouldn’t have run off to leave me in heat, and I wouldn’t have had to call my family to help me find you before you were gone. It pissed me off, made me so damn angry that I had been right all along, and I thought you were my mate, abandoning me, which was my worst fear. That’s why I was so out of control when I reached my father’s house. I didn’t mean to scare you but I was going crazy inside. You didn’t give me a chance to explain anything but instead just ran from me.”
“I thought you were going to kill me and that she was the one you wanted, Grady.
She’s the woman you had to cancel your plans with. She’s the one you originally planned to go through your heat with.”
He frowned. “I explained that. I was afraid when I told Megan that I took a mate that she’d try to challenge you. You’re human, you’d lose, and I was telling Yon if she tried to do that, I’d kill her to make sure she didn’t try to claim me.”
“It would have solved all your problems if that were the case and the mating had taken, Grady.”He took a step closer to her, looking scary and angry. “You think I’d let that happen? That I’d allow anyone to hurt you?”
She glanced around her bedroom and then arched an eyebrow at him. “You obviously didn’t want to be mated to me and felt pretty damn strongly about it. Look around you.”
He did and then his gaze locked on her again. “I never wanted to risk making a human woman the center of my world again because the one human that I did left me on a doorstep and never looked back once. I was seeing that in my future when I did this, terrified that one day you’d abandon me and our children, the pain it would cause us, and I know the grief firsthand.”
“I’m not her,” Mika said softly. “I could never do that.”
“You already tried to leave me but I realize it was my fault.” He leaned against an exposed wood stud. “I’m sorry I hurt you and I’m sorry that I was too afraid to show 130
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you how much you mean to me. The closer we got and the more I wanted you, the harder I fought it. I know I was somewhat of an ass at times.”
“I understand,” she said softly. “Thanks for explaining it to me.” She shook her head, a small, sad smile playing at her lips. “And you were a first-rate asshole at times.
Don’t be modest.”
A quick grin flashed on his handsome features. “Don’t ever leave me, babe.” The air in her lungs froze and then she pushed it out. She couldn’t look away from him. “What?”
He hesitated. “When I calmed down after biting you I came to terms that you were my mate. I didn’t hate it, babe. I actually was relieved that I didn’t have to fight my feelings anymore. I’m still terrified that I’m going to lose you since we won’t bond the way I need us to but I’d rather take the chance than just let you walk away from me.” He hesitated. “I’m disappointed the mating didn’t take and if my damn brother hadn’t stuck his snout in it today, I was going to spend the next few days convincing you that I can make you happy.” He paused. “I was going to bite you in bed but it wouldn’t have been an accident this time.”
Her mouth dropped open and then she slammed it closed. Grady pushed away from the wall, staring down at her, and his hands reached for her. Mika took a step back, tripped on something that hit the back of her heel, but she never fell. Grady had her in his arms in a heartbeat, sweeping her up, holding her tightly to his chest so their mouths were inches apart.
“I’ll never cheat on you, never shut you out again, and I’ll make it all up to you. Just don’t leave me, Mika. I don’t want to live without you.” He paused. “You’re in my blood and I want to be in yours.”
She couldn’t look away from his sincere gaze as her hands wound around his neck.
“I―”
“Give me a chance, babe. I miss you, I miss us, and I want it the way it was.” She chewed on her lip, her gaze locked with his. She loved him.
“I’m not letting you go,” he whispered. “I already think of you as my mate.”
“But you want a mate with a tail and fur. One you can―” His mouth came down on hers, cutting off her words. His tongue invaded, sliding across hers, his passion igniting instantly. They had chemistry, she knew that, and so did he. She moaned into his mouth and he pulled back, breathing hard, his gaze locking with hers again.
“I’d rather risk losing you later than watch you walk away for me forever. I love you, babe. I fought it, I was set to not mate you no matter how much my two sides battled but both of them want you. I want you.”
“Grady…” She paused, studying his eyes. “I love you too but I don’t want to get hurt either.”
He smiled. “I might have to hurt you once but after that, no more.” 131
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He turned his attention to the floor, stepping over broken furniture and bed stuffing as he carried her down the hallway to the spare bedroom. He kicked the door closed behind them and then eased her down on the bed.
“What do you mean you might have to hurt me once?” She frowned as he backed away.
Grady tore his shirt up over his head, tossing it to the floor while he toed off his boots, just kicking them away. “I’m going to bite you. You didn’t feel it last time so I’m confident I can distract you enough this time as well but I’m not going to jerk my teeth away quickly the way I did before. I’m going to make damn sure the mating takes this time. Get undressed.”