Chapter 143: Episode 143.
Nate immediately looked up at her.
Those blue eyes met his again, dazed and glowing, with her silver hair scattered wildly beneath her like moonlight spilled across dark sheets.
Beautiful.
God, she was beautiful.
His chest tightened painfully at the sight of her. He had never thought of himself as dumb until today. How had he had a hate bine in him towards her? How was that even possible?
Nate brushed her hair away from her face carefully before kissing her again, slower this time. He kissed her deep enough to make her melt into him completely, and curl her toes.
Aire could feel how careful he was trying to be despite the desire burning through him.
That tenderness affected her more than anything else.
She touched his cheek softly, her thumb brushing against his skin while their mouths moved together lazily now, unhurried and intimate.
Nate kissed her, wanting to stay there forever. He wanted nothing more, than to memorize the taste of her.
His hand slid to the small of her back, pulling her flushed body against him until a shaky breath left both of them at once.
The room felt unbearably warm.
Every little movement, every breath, and every kiss all felt dangerous.
Aire parted her lips when Nate kissed down her throat again, and he exhaled shakily at the sound she made for him. His forehead rested briefly against her collarbone as though he was trying to steady himself.
"You’re killing me," he muttered softly under his breath.
Aire smiled faintly, still breathless, and threaded her fingers through his hair again.
"You are mine to command," she whispered, her hand moving down to the back of his neck in slow circles. "and so is your body."
Nate lifted his head immediately. "You suprise me at every turn," he said with a small laugh. He didn’t expect those words to leave her lips so easily, given her silent exterior.
Nate kissed her deeper, his tounge finding every corners of ger mouth. He was losing the war inside himself.
Every breath that left him sounded rougher now, strained beneath the weight of instinct and restraint colliding violently beneath his skin. Aire could feel it in the way his hands trembled against her waist despite how carefully he touched her.
He was terrified of breaking something precious, or terrifyingly close to breaking himself.
Aire tilted her head back slightly when his mouth travelled down her throat again. His lips lingered there, warm and reverent, while his breathing grew heavier against her skin.
The bond between them pulsed alive now, wrapping tighter around her chest with every passing second. Aire could feel Nate’s emotions bleeding into hers in fragmented waves of need, devotion, possession, and beneath all of it, fear.
That made her eyes part open again.
"Nate," she whispered softly.
He stilled immediately at the sound of her voice.
Aire brushed her fingers through his dark hair slowly before guiding his face back toward hers. His now golden eyes met hers instantly, glowing faintly now beneath the dim light.
His wolf was close. Very close.
"You’re afraid," she murmured.
The words seemed to strike straight through him.
Nate shut his eyes briefly before resting his forehead against hers again. His breath fanned warmly across her lips.
"I’ve hurt you a thousand times," he admitted hoarsely. "I don’t trust myself around you anymore."
Aire’s chest tightened painfully at the honesty in his voice.
There was nothing cruel in him right now. He sounded like a man completely undone by the existence of his mate.
Her fingers softened against his cheek.
"You would never hurt me. Not again,"
Nate made a low sound in his throat at that. "You say that now," he whispered, aching.
Aire did not let him pull away.
She held his face there between her hands and kissed him again first, slow and certain, pouring every ounce of trust she felt towards him now into the kiss until his restraint visibly fractured beneath it.
A shudder left him, then his arms wrapped around her tightly, pulling her flush against him while he kissed her back with renewed hunger.
Aire felt her heart racing wildly as his hand slid down her thigh again, slowly this time, giving her enough time to stop him if she wanted.
She never did.
Instead, she parted them beneath him willingly. Her breathing turned uneven when Nate buried his face against her neck with a rough groan.
"Mine," he muttered against her skin before he could stop himself.
The possessiveness in his voice should have frightened her.
Instead, warmth spread through her chest.
Aire’s fingers tightened in his hair instinctively. "Yours," she whispered back before embarrassment could stop her.
Nate froze. He lifted his head slowly to stare at her like she had just destroyed what remained of his self-control.
The hunger in his eyes darkened instantly.
Aire’s breath caught.
His hand slid carefully along her thigh again, higher this time, while his gaze never left hers. He needed to watch her reactions, and needed to memorize every expression she made for him.
"You have no idea what that does to me," he said quietly.
Aire’s pulse fluttered harder.
She barely managed another breath when Nate suddenly kissed downward again, slower now, reverent enough to make her chest ache.
He kissed her throat. Her collarbone. Her stomach. Every touch lingered like worship instead of desire alone.
Aire’s fingers tangled helplessly in the sheets beneath her as she watched him. She watched the terrifyingly powerful man kneeling before her like devotion itself had taken shape.
"Nate..."
He looked up immediately at the sound of her voice.
The sight of him there nearly stole the breath from her lungs entirely.
His dark hair was dishevelled from her hands. His gold eyes burned intensely beneath lowered lashes. His mouth was swollen from her kisses.
He looks ruined. Ruined by her, and she loved it.
The realization made heat crawl violently up her throat.
Nate’s hands slid gently along her legs before settling beneath her thigh carefully, almost asking permission without words.
Aire’s breath shook, but she nodded.
That tiny movement alone fixed his whole world.
Nate exhaled slowly before pressing a lingering kiss against the inside of her thigh first.
The kiss was tender enough to make her heart ache. He placed another, and another.
Each kiss was slower than the last while his grip on her tightened slightly. His instinct visibly surfaced more with every passing second.
Aire could feel the shift in the air around him now.
Nate lifted his gaze to hers one final time.
His voice came out rough. He was barely himself now, as his wolf had almost taken every control.
"If I mark you," he said carefully, "there is no undoing it."
A strange ache bloomed inside her chest at those words. She felt a sense of belonging towards him, and loved it.
Aire swallowed before reaching for him again. She brushed her trembling fingers through his hair.
"I know."
Nate shut his eyes briefly. Then, he turned his face into her hand and kissed her palm softly and reverently.
When he looked back at her again, there was no hesitation left in him anymore.
Aire’s heartbeat stumbled violently when he lowered his head once more.
His mouth pressed against the sensitive skin of her inner thigh first, warm enough to make her shiver beneath him. Nate’s grip tightened instinctively when she reacted, his breathing roughening against her skin.
Then, his teeth sank into her skin.
Aire gasped sharply.
The bite burned sharply for one impossible second before warmth spread through her entire body, settling somewhere deep inside her soul.
The feeling stole the breath from her lungs.
It was not pain. Not entirely. It felt like something snapping into place inside her chest after being missing her entire life.
Aire arched helplessly with a broken sound while heat flooded through every vein in her body. Emotion crashed into her so hard she could barely separate what belonged to her and what belonged to him anymore.
Nate.
She could feel him.
God, she could actually feel him in. She felt his possessiveness, and his relief. She also felt his overwhelming devotion threatening to drown him alive.
Aire’s eyes burned unexpectedly.
Nate pulled back slowly, breathing heavily as the mark settled against her skin. His forehead rested shakily against her thigh for a brief moment. The force of the bond had nearly brought him to his knees.
"Aire..." he whispered hoarsely.
The sound of her name through the bond shattered her completely. Tears blurred her vision before she even realized they had formed.
Nate looked up immediately at the sight of them, alarm flashing across his face.
"Did I hurt you?"
Aire shook her head quickly.
"No," she whispered emotionally. "No, I just..."
Words failed her.
How could she explain this?
How could she explain the terrifying certainty blooming inside her chest now?
The feeling of finally finding the place her soul had been searching for all along. Better, or worse still, with Nate. The man she least expected to be her mate.
Nate stared at her. He was equally wrecked by it.
Then slowly, and carefully, he climbed back over her and gathered her against his chest.
Aire melted into him instantly.
Their bond pulsed warmly between them now, quieter than before but infinitely deeper. She could feel the steady rhythm of his heart beneath her cheek.
She could also feel the way his arms tightened around her every few seconds. He still could not fully believe this was a reality.
"Mine." he said inwardly in High Danish, but to Aire’s suprise, she heard him. She heard High Danish without having a wold of her own.
Aire shut her eyes tightly in awe. She couldn’t believe it, but it was real.
"Mate," she whispered back without thinking.
Nate inhaled sharply against her hair. Then he buried his face into her neck and held her even closer.
