Page 22 of Fated to the Wolf Cowboy (Cowboys of Collier #1)

Tricia

I was surprised by how good it felt to share everything with him. It hadn’t been easy, and I got emotional a few times, but it was somehow therapeutic. It helped that he didn’t seem to judge me at all. I didn’t even think he minded that I was a witch. It boggled my mind.

Shortly after I was done telling my story, Jessie stopped by with dinner. It didn’t matter what it was because I was starving and just grateful for food. But it was delicious, too.

We moved to the card table they had setup for us to eat dinner.

Jessie didn’t seem phased that I was a witch either. She had said her best friend was a witch as well. Did that mean there were more of us here in Collier?

I had always thought that to be safe I would have to relocate to Westin Pack. Was it possible there were other Packs just as accepting?

I’d never even considered that as an option.

Could I stay here in Collier with Brady? Would they allow that now that people knew about me?

It was almost too much to hope for.

After dinner we cleaned up together and it was the most normal thing I’d ever done. It didn’t even feel real, more like I was living life on some fake television show or something. It was the kind of meal that real people had, or at least seem to, yet I had never truly experienced.

“All done. It’s a lot later than I thought. We should get to bed,” Brady said, yet something in his tone seemed to hesitate.

“What’s wrong?”

“There’s only one bed. But don’t worry. I can rig up something with those camp chairs or just sleep on the floor.”

“Or we could just share it. That thing is huge.”

It may have been a blowup mattress, but the thing was a king sized bed. I was certain the two of us could easily fit on it.

“You’re sure? I don’t want to make you uncomfortable or anything.”

“Then don’t. I unloaded a lot on you today, so I get it if you want some space to unpack it all. But don’t sleep on the floor for my sake.”

“Okay,” he said, shooting me one of those killer dimpled grins.

“Okay.”

Why did he have to talk about it? Why couldn’t we have just gone to bed? Now I was self-conscious and a little anxious. It wasn’t like I’d ever done anything like this before.

I’m not sure it would come as a surprise to him after everything I told him, but I was still very much a virgin. Hell, he was my first kiss.

By the time I was old enough to think about it and understand that others my age were doing it, I was already well aware I was different. And I knew that different meant bad. The Raglan was already a threat and the first of their experiments were beginning to surface. That had made me paranoid.

I knew to lay low. Maybe that was just a survival instinct, but I was convinced it was a good one and why I was still alive today.

Brady let me lay down first and then he joined me—sort of.

He chose to stay as far away from me as the bed would allow. It seemed weird to me for a man who had asked me to stay and live with him.

Maybe I had freaked him out more than he was letting on.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this? With me and the whole witch thing?”

He rolled over and the mattress dipped pulling us both towards the center and sailing me straight into his arms.

I expected him to pull away, but he didn’t.

Instead, he rolled to his back and tucked me into his side.

His arm wrapped around me and held me to him.

I was stiff at first, but then I relaxed, nuzzling against his chest. His scent was so strong around me, making every nerve in my body heightened while also relaxing all my muscles.

It was an odd sensation making me feel a bit like I needed to shift.

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“Tricia, you’re my mate. I don’t care that you’re also a witch. Now that I know who my mate is without question, I can assume there will be no further incidents like the Clementine one.”

I giggled. “You really thought a horse might be your mate?”

“You really talked to said horse?”

“Touché.”

He kissed the top of my head, sending electric pulses down my body.

I was pretty sure it was meant to be benign, but that wasn’t how my body reacted.

Just because I was innocent in some ways didn’t mean I’d never experimented with my body before. I knew what made me feel good and I was excited to discover how much better that could get with a partner. I had a feeling Brady would be one hell of a partner, too.

“You’re safe here, Tricia. I’m not going to let anything happen to you. You’re far too important to me.”

It wasn’t exactly an announcement of love, but given the short and conflicting time we’d known each other, this felt like something important.

My hand had remained uncharacteristically still pressed against the hard planes of his lower abdomen. I flexed my fingers, testing his reaction. There was none.

I took that as encouragement to continue.

This time my hand moved a little lower.

He sucked in a sharp breath.

I trailed a fingertip across each hard line, much more obvious this time.

Brady grabbed my wrist and stopped me.

Before disappointment and rejection could register, he spoke in a slightly deeper voice.

“Don’t, because if you keep touching me like that, my resolve to behave and do right by you will snap.”

We were both still fully clothed, but his shirt had started to ride up a little.

When he let go of my wrist, I let my hand slide right up under the hem.

He cursed under his breath, but he didn’t stop me, at least not immediately.

A moment later I was on my back with Brady hovering over me and my arms pinned above my head.

“Is this what you want?”

I licked my lips and nodded.

“Am I who you want?”

“The only one I want,” I softly told him.

He stared at me for a minute with wild eyes. I imagined he was puzzling out his options before lowering his head and capturing my lower lip as he lightly nipped at it.

I was already growing wet and ready to beg for more and he hadn’t even fully kissed me yet.

“Tell me you want this.”

“I want this.”

“Tell me you want me.”

“Brady,” I said breathlessly. “I want you, and I desperately need you.”

“You’re safe with me. You’ll always be safe with me.”

I didn’t need those words but after all I’d shared it felt like he needed to say them.

“I know,” I whispered as his mouth captured mine in a toe-curling kiss.

He finally freed my arms he had pinned above me, and I set to work quickly relieving him of his shirt.

“Mmm,” I said appreciatively when he pulled back long enough to pull it over his head.

He was cut to perfection, exactly as I’d dreamed he’d be.

My hands openly explored every inch of his chest and back. If he wasn’t keeping my mouth and tongue busy with his, I’d have licked and kissed my way across his body.

His breathing was growing heavy when he broke our kiss. In record time he had my shirt off and was working on my bra.

“I’ve been dreaming of these tits since the first time I laid eyes on you in that bar.” He cupped one in his large hand and smiled. “A perfect fit. Exactly as I imagined.”

I considered some snarky response, but then his thumb lightly brushed my nipple and my brain short wired.

“So perfect,” he praised dipping his mouth to replace his thumb as his other hand began toying with my other breast while he nipped and licked, flicking his tongue against my hard peak in a way that had me clinging to him, unable to find my voice to cry out.

It was almost too much. My head was spinning with pleasure. It had never been this good when touching myself.

He moaned appreciatively while all I could manage was a few mindless mews.

“Oh my God. Oh my God,” I cried out, as his hand slipped under the band of my jeans.

“Mmm. You’re so wet for me.”

My hands erratically reached for his pants.

He chuckled at my enthusiasm, but didn’t tease me for long. In a crazed mess of flailing limbs, we both managed to undress before he repositioned himself over me.

I’d shared the darkest parts of myself with this man and he still wanted me.

A single tear slid down my cheek as he pressed inside me.

He groaned in pleasure. “You’re so tight. It’s like heaven.”

I jerked my hips upwards forcing him into me as much as humanly possible. It took me a moment to adjust to his size and he seemed to realize I needed it. Waiting on my lead, he hovered frozen above me.

I kissed him, my hands resumed their exploration, and he came back to life as he began to move within me.

Never could I have prepared myself for this moment. It was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before.

“Mine,” I growled.

His whole body shuddered as he moved faster and faster until I couldn’t take it a second longer.

I cried out his name as the biggest orgasm of my life overtook me and pulled him right along.

With shallow breathes, he let go and collapsed onto my chest.

The only thing that could have made our night better was if he had marked me, claiming me as his forever.

That hadn’t happened, but at the rate we were moving, I didn’t think it would take him long.