Tarnished(34)

On the flip side, his cock was achingly hard again. Would she mind if he took her again so soon? She’d been entranced the first time. Would she look like that every time?

Hmm. How to wake her up.

Deciding to surprise her, he grasped her wrists and pulled them over her head while he lowered his body onto hers and leaned his face down to take her lips.

When she bolted awake, her reaction was unexpected.

She shrieked and struggled against him with all her might.

He released his grip and leaned back, surprised to have frightened her so badly. “Kenz, it’s me. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” You dumb ass. It’s not like she wakes up every day from a deep sleep with a man poised above her.

Kenzie scrambled off the bed and stood naked beside it before she even realized where she was. Her eyes were wide, and her gaze roamed the room. The moment she caught up with her circumstances was as obvious as day is to night. Her eyes widened further, and she grabbed for the comforter to cover her nudity. Her chest heaved as she did so.

It all happened so fast.

Drake sat up and then stood next to her, reaching for her.

“Don’t,” she muttered. She turned and fled the room, dragging the deep blue comforter behind her.

Drake ran his hands through his hair. Well, that didn’t go as planned. He grabbed his shorts from the ground and stepped into them. Seconds later, he padded down the hall.

Mackenzie sat curled up on the couch in a fetal position. Her head lay tucked low, her face almost covered with the blanket. The only sign she was even awake was the rapid rise and fall of her body as she breathed.

“I’m so sorry, baby. I wasn’t thinking. It was a dumb idea.”

She didn’t move. He inched toward her and sat at her feet.

“Talk to me.”

Moments passed. Just when he thought she’d never say a word, she muttered, “It’s not your fault. It’s me.”

He chuckled. “Sounds like one of those break-up speeches where the girl says ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ just before she dumps the poor bastard.”

He stopped laughing when she didn’t respond. Fear clenched at his gut. What had he done?

Her breathing steadied while his life flashed before his eyes as though he were about to die a horrible death. He didn’t take his gaze off her.

Minutes passed again. Had she fallen asleep? He sat very still, afraid to do anything. He didn’t dare touch her, and he couldn’t bring himself to move.

Finally, as his heart squeezed to the point of pain, she spoke again. “It happened four years ago … at the gathering.” She paused.

He held his breath. What happened? Would she finally tell him whatever made her so skittish? He waited. It was her story to tell in her way on her timeframe.

“I hated even then the entire concept of matings. It seemed like arranged marriages to me. I was only nineteen…” She swallowed so hard he could hear her. Her face was buried under the blanket. He ached to hold her.

“I didn’t realize how it would be … this thing … between us. It seemed like randy teenagers just used their hormones as an excuse to … fuck.”

It was true. Until a wolf met his own mate, it could look that way. The feeling—the connection—to another being that knocked shifters off their feet and left them staggering was unimaginable before that precise moment.

“I was scared and not ready, so I snuck away from the singles meeting the first evening and ducked into a dark, quiet room to think and be alone. Hide.”

He smiled, picturing his skittish mate in her late teens sneaking away to escape the mayhem. But his face felt tight. He knew his brow was furrowed as he waited for the anvil to crash.

“It was a den of some sort I fled to. I sat curled in a chair in the corner. It was situated at a diagonal, so I could see the room but also stare out the window at the night sky and watch the stars twinkle. I was so peaceful. Happy.” Her last word faded as he imagined her sensation of pleasure had at that same moment in history.

He held his own breath as he waited to hear what happened next. Please God. His hands were sweating, and he wiped them on his shorts, trying not to move any more than necessary and risk breaking her train of thought with his presence.

“I didn’t see who came in, and I never want to know. A deep male voice filled the room as the door closed with a bang. I flinched, but I was too stunned to speak, and before I knew it, the scene unfolded so fast I’d missed my opportunity. I sat in a tiny ball in that armchair, and no one was ever aware of my unintentional eavesdropping.” Her breathing hitched as she spoke.

His did too. Whatever she was about to say was going to change his world and hers. He hated this pivotal moment in their lives more than he’d ever hated anything. Although he was certain he was about to hate one fucked-up wolf even more.