Page 117 of Daisy

"Gunner..."

"My instincts took over." He won't look at me. Even though we're still locked together by his knot. "I lost control. Took what I wanted without asking. You trusted me and I..."

"Stop." I frame his face with my hands. Force him to look at me. "Look at me."

When his eyes meet mine, I see the devastation there. The self-loathing. Through the bond, I can feel how much he hates himself right now. How terrified he is that he's violated my trust.

"I'm not angry," I tell him firmly, my voice breaking with emotion. "Gunner, look at me. Really look at me."

"You should be angry. I stole your choice. Marked you without?—"

"You didn't steal anything." I press closer, tears sliding down my cheeks as I let him feel every ounce of my certainty through the bond. "This feels right. It feels perfect. It feels like everything I never knew I was missing."

"But I should have asked..." His voice cracks. "You trusted me and I lost control like some?—"

"I would have said yes," I interrupt, my hands cupping his face. "If you had asked me, Gunner. If you had looked me in the eyes and asked if I wanted to be bonded to you forever, I would have said yes."

He looks at me, shaking his head like he can't quite believe it. "Daisy..."

"Can you feel me through the bond?" I press closer, letting everything I feel flood through our connection. "Because yes.A hundred times yes. A thousand times yes. I wanted this. I wanted you. I still want you."

"Not just yes. I would have begged you to do it." Fresh tears spill over. "Because I love you. God, I love you so much it terrifies me. Because I trust you with my heart, my body, my soul. Because this..." I touch the mark, and pleasure mixed with pure rightness shoots through both of us. "This feels like coming home to a place I never knew existed."

The bond pulses between us, stronger now. Warm and right and permanent. I can feel his emotions like they're my own—his wonder at the connection, his relief that I'm not angry, his overwhelming, desperate love.

"I love you too," he whispers, his voice thick with tears. "So much it scares me. So much I can't breathe without you."

"Good scared or bad scared?"

"Good scared. The kind that makes you want to be better. The kind that makes you want to deserve what you've been given." His hands shake as he touches my face. "You're everything, Daisy. Everything I never thought I could have."

Through the bond, I can feel the truth of his words. Feel how much he loves me. How desperately he wants to protect me. How grateful he is, not just that I chose him, but that somehow, impossibly, I love him back.

We stay like that for long moments, locked together, learning the new reality of being bonded. Learning how it feels to be two people who are also somehow one.

The bond pulses between us. Strong and right and ours.

His fingers trace gentle patterns across my cheekbone, so tender it makes my eyes flutter closed. He kisses the tip of my nose, soft and sweet, before pulling back to study my face.

"Are you okay?" he whispers, concern flooding through the bond. "Comfortable?"

I shift slightly to test, and the movement sends pleasure through both of us. His knot is still thick inside me, stretching me full, and every small movement creates the most incredible friction. I gasp at the sensation.

"Oh," I breathe, feeling myself grow slick again in response. "That's... wow."

"Careful, sweetheart," he says, his voice strained. "If you keep moving like that..."

I can feel the pleasure building in him through our bond, and it makes me clench around him involuntarily. We both groan.

"How long until the knot goes down?" I ask, trying to stay still but loving the way he fills me so completely.

"Twenty to thirty minutes," he says, brushing my hair back from my face. "But if you keep moving, might be longer."

The thought makes heat pool in my belly again. "Is that bad?"

"Not bad," he murmurs, leaning down to kiss me softly. "I love you. I could stay like this forever if you wanted."

"I love you too," I whisper against his lips. "So much."