Alyssa had other ideas. She leaned back. “Okay, but, there is still that little problem of me having another mate. I know what I felt. As much as everyone keeps glancing at me sorrowfully, the poor girl who mistakenly believes she scented her mate, you are all wrong. What happens when this other wolf comes forward? Hell, what happens if he doesn’t? Do we just tiptoe around on eggshells our whole life?”
Michael sat back and gave her the space she needed.
He took a deep breath. “We’ll deal with it when and if it happens.”
“No.” She spoke sharply and abruptly. “That’s the problem. We have to deal with it now. You made yourself perfectly clear that you weren’t willing to share me. How is that fair to him?” She shivered. Her body shook so violently the entire bed moved.
She had a point, damn it. He’d not considered that perspective. Suddenly he realized how wise his father was to insist Michael talk things over with Alyssa.
“You’re right. I’ve made you worry about that eventuality, and I take the blame for that. Being with two people has never been a dream of mine, not even two women. I’ve not even experimented in that area, as I know some of my brothers did in their youth. However, it would be unrealistic for me to insist you are mine and mine alone considering the track record of my family. It must be one of those strange things that hit the men of my generation or something.
“Secretly, I must’ve been hoping it would pass me over, but if you truly believe there’s another mate out there for you, then you’re probably right.”
“Oh.” He’d shocked her. Her mouth hung open.
“Have you been thinking about this being a ménage, babe?”
“No. No.” She shook her head, her cheeks reddening again. “God. I can’t even ponder the idea of having one mate, let alone two. It’s completely out of my comfort zone.”
“One? Or two?” he teased, grinning at her.
“Both.” She swatted him playfully, and he grabbed her hand on reflex.
Michael tugged her fingers up to his mouth and kissed each one, barely a brush of his lips on her knuckles. Alyssa stiffened and sucked in a breath. When he reached her pointer, he sucked the digit into his mouth and released it with a pop. The affect was just as he’d suspected. Alyssa’s arousal shot sky high. He could smell her sweet cream even through her jeans.
When she tried to pull her hand back, he didn’t release it. Instead, he set her palm on his thigh and held it there.
“If I promise to consider this eventuality and alter my way of thinking, will you do something for me?”
“Probably…” she teased.
“Let me kiss you. Right now. Long and slow and deep. Not coming up for air anytime soon,” he pleaded. Nearly begged.
Alyssa smiled, a coy twist of her lips that made him even harder. “All you had to do was ask and—”
Michael didn’t let her finish. The affirmation rang in the air, and he took advantage before she changed her mind.
Letting his legs unfold from the uncomfortable position he feared being stuck in for life, Michael rose up on his knees and leaned forward to devour his mate’s sweet mouth and lips. He pressed forward until Alyssa fell flat on her back, her head landing on his pillow, and her legs popping out of their pretzel.
Angling his head, Michael took possession of his mate’s mouth. It wasn’t the soft, gentle, sweet kiss of two days ago that had mirrored the one from two years ago. No. This kiss was demanding and insistent. He needed to taste her, and he swept inside her with his tongue to reach every corner of her mouth and lips. He even sucked her tongue into his own mouth, swallowing the moan that escaped her as he did.
God, the woman was going to be the death of him. She had no idea what her tiny little noises and wiggling did to him. His body landed half over her. He let one knee fall between her thighs and pushed back and forth in a subtle request for her to open her legs for him. At least he hoped it was subtle. He didn’t want to scare her, but he needed her so bad it hurt.
His cock pulsed against her thigh as her legs fell open.
She grasped his biceps and held on as though afraid she might fall through the center of the earth if she let go.
When he finally let her breathe, it wasn’t to pull back. Michael nibbled a path across her cheek until he reached her ear. He grazed the lobe with his tongue and let his exhale go straight into the canal.
Alyssa shook beneath him, the faintest of sounds slipping out of her mouth.
Backtracking the same path, he kissed his way across her face to torture the other ear in the same fashion. His sexy mate tipped her head and arched her neck to give him better access. She most likely didn’t realize her actions, and he wasn’t about to tell her. He just took advantage and continued across her neck until he reached her shoulder.