Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
They were moving. For a moment, she thought he was backing her up, but then she realized it was her. She was backing him up. She couldn’t get close enough to him. She wanted more. More of his taste, more pressure. More of things she didn’t understand.
If she wasn’t wearing this stupid dress, she would climb up him. Until just now, she’d thought this dress was the prettiest thing ever, but suddenly it was nothing but a hinderance, keeping her from scaling her mate’s body.
Apparently he didn’t find her dress to be quite such an imposition because he bent his knees, cupped her butt, and lifted her off the floor.
She moaned as she wrapped her arms around his neck and held on, plastering her body as close to his as possible. She wished she could wrap her legs around him, but that wasn’t in the cards, not with the dress and layers of shifts blocking her.
Hayes tucked one forearm under her bottom and smoothed the other hand up under her hair to grip her neck before finally breaking their connection.
He growled. Or maybe it was her. Both she supposed, but his tone was deeper and louder and drowning hers out. “Rylee…” His voice was filled with reverence. He licked his wet lips. “We have to get out of here.”
“Yes.”
“Most Alphas give their new mate a potion so they can sleep on the way up the mountain.”
Rylee frowned. “Why?”
“So they aren’t scared during the journey.”
Her eyes widened. “I’m not scared.”
He blew out a breath. “Good because I don’t want you to sleep for hours after we arrive.”
She didn’t want that either. “Let’s go. Why are we still here?”
He chuckled. “Sassy girl. I love it.”
Chapter Three
Hayes wasted no time carrying his mate up the mountain. It was no hardship. In fact, he presumed it was actually easier for him to carry her without knocking her out. She wasn’t dead weight. She held on to him the entire time.
His sweet mate also didn’t show signs of being scared or panicking. Mostly she ignored the rush of trees going by them and stared at his face, her small hands stroking his neck and cheeks the entire time.
Fuck, her scent. It was driving him mad. She smelled like sex. There was no fear lacing it, either. Just need and lust. He’d scented her wet pussy even before the ceremony was over. His own cock had grown hard when she’d swayed into him before his father was finished speaking.
This was not how anyone had described the mating. He’d heard his friends joking about how powerful their bond would be, but no one had told him it would be damn near impossible to get his mate up the mountain and into his house before he claimed her.
The stories from his father, other elders, and his friends had all included a warning that he needed to be patient, that his mate wouldn’t understand her feelings and would need to process them. He’d been advised to keep his cock in his pants until she was ready. That could be hours or days. Pressuring her to take him into her body before she was prepared wasn’t a good idea.
And yet, she’d practically climbed him like a little monkey. He suspected she would have ground her sweet pussy against him if she’d been able to spread her legs. The ceremonial dress had hindered her.
He loved the sound of her voice and didn’t mind a bit when she started regaling him with questions. “Is it always like this?”
He knew exactly what she meant. “No, Baby girl. I don’t think so.”
When he glanced at her furrowed brow, he wanted to stroke the wrinkles away with his thumbs. He wouldn’t, though. He needed to hold on to her with both hands. She would never trust him if he lost his footing and dropped her.
It was hard enough to focus on both her and where he was stepping, especially combined with the urge to strip her dress off and fuck her on the forest floor.
He wouldn’t do something like that, of course. But that didn’t mean the urge wasn’t there, consuming him. Perhaps it wouldn’t be as powerful if she weren’t obviously feeling the same way.
Why was his mate so overwhelmingly engrossed with him? This was not something anyone he’d known had ever described. She wasn’t scared or in any way panicked.
“How long until we get to your house?” she asked.
“Not much longer, Little one. And it’s our house.”
She smiled, her smile lighting up the mountain. “What happens when we arrive?”
“Whatever we want, Rylee. There are no rules. I’ll show you around the house. I have dinner in the oven for us when we get hungry.”
Her brow furrowed again. “And then?”
He chuckled. “Baby girl, are you asking me when we’re going to have sex?”
Her cheeks turned a dark pink, and she bit her lip.