Saving the Beast(29)

Overwhelmed by all the emotions and sensations he’d brought to life within her, she couldn’t answer him immediately.

“Diane.” He turned toward her, shifting them until she lay flat again and he rose over her. “I hurt you!” he exclaimed, wiping a thumb across her cheek and coming away with moisture.

Tears. She hadn’t even realized she was shedding them.

“I’m fine,” she said, rubbing trembling fingers over her face. “I’ve never felt anything like that before.”

“You’re not the type of woman men fuck.”

“Why the hell not?” she demanded, getting angry. “What’s wrong with me?”

He chuckled. “I didn’t mean it in a bad way.” He ran the backs of his fingers down her cheek. “You’re the type of woman a man makes love to.”

She shook her head. “Only you.”

He smiled then her words seemed to sink in. “I wasn’t… You weren’t…” He swallowed, seemingly unable to finish either question.

She nodded her head. “You’re the only man I’ve ever been with, Zane.”

“Jesus! And I took you like the animal I am. I should have made love to you,” he whispered with remorse.

“You did,” she replied. “With your mouth,” she added.

He shook his head.

“Then you fucked me,” she said. “And I enjoyed every moment of it. I like the animal you are. I like it very much. So much so that I’m anticipating you doing it again.”

“I think I can manage that,” he vowed, rolling them until she was beneath him again. “After.”

“After what?”

“We make love,” he answered. “I think the beast is sated enough I can manage to hold myself in check.”

“What if I don’t want you to?” Diane asked.

“I want to,” he said softly. He reached down between them, bringing his cock once more to her opening. This time he entered slow and easy, gliding into her sheath and stilling when he was deep within her. “I wanted to seduce you. To take my time and win you over.”

“You did.” She sighed as he pulled back again until just the crown remained inside. “I’m seduced. I’m won over.”

“How did you know?” he asked.

“That I was your mate?”

He nodded.

“I didn’t.”

“What?” He stilled inside her again. “Why would you come after me if you weren’t sure? My beast is primal. He, no we, could kill anyone who isn’t our mate right now. Why would you chance that? Don’t you know what it would do to me if I hurt you?”

“Because I’d rather cease to exist than to keep living in a world where I can’t see you,” she whispered. “I didn’t realize how much you did mean to me until you were no longer there.”

“I tried to protect you.”

“By staying away from me? Why?”

“My life isn’t an easy one.”

“I’m already so immersed in your world that I fail to see the significance of trying to protect me,” Diane told him.

“You weren’t mated before. Everything will change, now. Even now a link is growing between us, one that will allow us to know where the other is, to know how the other is feeling.”

“I want that. Why would you try to keep me from that?”

“Because if anything happens to me, you’ll be left alone. Mates only love once in their lifetime. Once we bond, there will never be another for either of us, even if death separates us. But that wouldn’t occur if I could keep from mating you. If I kept myself away from you then you could love many times.”

“Wrong,” she countered. “I could have had sex maybe, but I’d never know what it was like to be with a man like you.”

He growled at her words and thrust harder into her, making them both moan.

“It doesn’t matter now. I’m here, and we’re mated. There’s no going back,” Diane whispered.

“There’s no going back ever,” he agreed and bent to her mouth.

His kiss was gentle, offering instead of taking. A soft caress of lips followed by teasing flicks of his tongue against hers. Their hands met, fingers lacing and landing beside her head. He broke the kiss and traced her face with soft butterfly caresses. He made love to her as if she were the only woman in the world, as if she were his whole world. It brought fresh tears to her eyes as she realized again that she’d almost lost him.

“What’s this?” Zane asked, tasting her tears with his lips.

“I almost lost you,” she said.

“Diane.” He sighed and brushed her lips with his. “Do you know how hard it was to stay away from you?”