Moon Severed (Mirror Lake Wolves Book 3) Page 7

  His lips brushed against mine in a soft, seductive way that called to the deepest, darkest places inside of me, bringing them to light before I could pull away. Everything about the kiss felt right. Everything about it felt real.

  There was power in Eli’s lips, a passion unlike anything I’d ever felt before.

  My body responded to the feel of his lips by erasing the space between us. I melted against him. When his tongue skimmed my bottom lip, tempting me to open wider, I obeyed. My fingertips snaked across the chiseled muscles that made up his abs, marveling in the hard planes and crevices. A moan escaped his lips, fueling my sudden desire to be closer to him. One of his hands trailed down the side of my neck and then over my shoulder. His fingertips brushed along my collarbone, and I wanted them to continue in their journey along my body.

  His fingers didn’t listen to my desires.

  Eli pulled away and pressed his forehead against mine. I listened to the sound of our heavy breathing mingling together as I struggled to figure out what the hell had just happened. My mind scolded me for giving into him, for allowing him to get so close while all my body did was crave more.

  “This, us…it’s not complicated,” Eli whispered against my parted lips. “It’s easy. It’s the way it’s supposed to be, Mina. Why do you keep fighting it?”

  My head spun. My heart raced until it was about to explode right out of my chest. Even so, an answer formed along the tip of my tongue that held more truth than even I could handle.

  “Because you only call to one side of me,” I whispered. “You only call to my wolf.”

  Eli pulled back to look me in the eyes. “Give me a chance,” he said as his fingers came up to trail along my collarbone again. When I didn’t brush his touch away, his lips found their way to my neck. He kissed and sucked at my delicate skin. “I can call to your human side, too. Let me show you,” he breathed against my skin.

  Eli kissed along my jaw as one of his hands slipped beneath the sweater of his I was wearing, and the thin fabric of my shirt, inching its way up my abdomen.

  “I can call to both sides of you, Mina, if only you’ll let me try,” Eli insisted before his tongue invaded my mouth in a desperate and primal way I found intoxicating.

  I allowed myself to become lost in the taste of his kiss and the feel of his touch. Nothing else seemed to exist beyond those two senses. My fingertips ran through Eli’s hair, and I fought against the desire to hold his face in place. All I wanted was his lips to remain pressed against mine.

  There was no denying Eli was able to call to both sides of me. I had been a fool for thinking otherwise.

  Eli gripped the edge of the sweater I’d borrowed from him and lifted it over my head, breaking our kiss barely long enough for me to take it off. The thin T-shirt I had been wearing was next to go. Eli’s heated stare took in every newly visible piece of me as I sat before him, naked from the waist up. While Eli had seen me naked before, it had never been in an intimate situation such as this.

  This moment felt different. It was sensual and right in a way I couldn’t explain. A part of me had known it would feel this way to be with Eli, though. It was small, but it grew with every tender touch across my skin and each stroke of his lips against mine. This, whatever it was between us, was larger than I was. I understood that now, same as I understood I wasn’t willing to fight against it anymore. I wanted Eli. My wolf wanted Eli.

  And now was the moment when we were finally going to allow ourselves to have him.

  I slipped my hand beneath his waistband and felt how desperately he wanted me as well. A low rumble of a moan erupted from somewhere deep inside his chest. It amplified everything I was feeling and had me wanting to hear him make the sound again.

  Eli nipped at my bottom lip, sending shivers of excitement coursing through me. I released my hold on him and pulled at his athletic shorts. They needed to come off. Now. Apparently, Eli had the same thought about the remainder of my clothing. In seconds, we were both naked. His hardness pressed against me as his mouth continued to work over mine.

  “I told you I could call to both sides of you, Mina,” Eli whispered as he kissed along my jaw and then down the side of my neck. His tongue snaked out to skim across my collarbone and down to my breast. A gasp escaped me. Who knew something like this could feel so good? “I knew you felt the chemistry between us. It’s always been there, pulsing beneath the surface, waiting for one of us to give in and set it free. It’s free tonight. Let’s see where it takes us. Do you want to?”

  I knew where this moment was going, same as I knew what it would mean once we were done. A pang of fear slipped through my gut, but it wasn’t strong enough for me to stop what we were about to do.

  “Yes. I want to,” I breathed as his lips found their way to mine again.

  I took charge of the kiss, giving into all of the passion and fiery sensation I felt from our connection but had pushed away for so long.

  This was the moment to let go, the moment to give in. This was the moment to become one with Eli Vargas.

  I closed my eyes as Eli positioned himself above me, allowing myself to focus on the two sensations that had brought us to this moment—taste and touch. As he entered me, my entire world broke apart at the seams only to be stitched together again by his tender kisses and sweet whispered nothings against my flushed skin. Eli held me in his arms strongly, lovingly, as he proceeded to brush his soul against mine. He tapped into both of my sides—human and wolf—tethering each piece of himself to me.

  Warmth built through me.

  It pulsed through my limbs and made everything I felt blissful. The entire moment became something beautiful. My lips curved into a small smile as ecstasy enveloped me. Eli was leaving his mark on my soul, on my wolf, and I was doing the same to him.

  The two of us were imprinting.

  After this moment, nothing would ever be the same between us. It would be right. It would be beautiful. But it would never be the same.

  I pressed my lips against his and moved them in a slow, loving way that mimicked how he’d kissed me seconds before. Our breath mingled and our skin continued to touch in places it never had. The warmth I felt building reached its peak, causing my limbs and muscles to feel languid. Eli had worked his way into every cell of my being. There wasn’t a single part of me that his reach didn’t touch.

  It even trumped the places where I thought Alec would always remain.

  I realized then that Alec had been a distraction. From Eli. From the looming full moon. From my fear of never becoming moon kissed. From not having been able to help Glenn like I thought I should.

  Alec had been a distraction from my other life—my pack life.

  I knew this with a certainty. Even if it did make me seem cruel. He’d never been the one for me; it had always been Eli that I belonged with.

  8

  Sunlight irritated my eyes. I rolled around in bed until I found a dark spot. All I wanted to do was sleep, but I couldn’t find a comfortable position. Irritation pulsed through me as I sat up in bed.

  Oh shit. This wasn’t my bed. Where was I?

  I glanced around, taking in the sparse decor and dirty clothes tossed all over. This was Eli’s bedroom. I was still in his trailer. Memories of last night came rushing back. Eli and me. Skin against skin. Hot kisses and tender touches. Our souls connecting.

  Us imprinting with one another.

  Eli was mine, and I was now his. Forever.

  Delicious tingles slipped up and down my spine as everything about our beautiful moment together flooded my senses…until I remembered Alec.

  I had to let him know about Eli and me. He needed to be told today. It was cruel of me to continue stringing him along. Maybe it always had been, but I’d found reasons to make it all seem okay. Good enough reasons for me to believe them.

  Now, there wasn’t a single reason. Alec deserved to know about Eli and me. I owed him that much.

  I smoothed a hand over my face. Where was Eli? And how
did I end up in his bed? The bits and pieces I remembered from last night didn’t involve a bed. They involved a comfy couch I’d never be able to look at the same way again.

  I glanced around Eli’s room. The sheets were crumpled beside me as though someone had left them recently. Had he gotten up to use the restroom or for a sip of water? What was I supposed to do? Stay where I was until he came back?

  I pulled my knees up to my chin as I thought about the only other time I’d been in his room. I remembered wondering then what it would be like to sleep with Eli, but I’d been quick to push the thought away. My lips quirked into a smile because it seemed silly to push any thoughts of Eli away now.

  A noise captured my attention. I silenced my racing thoughts as I focused on the sound and moved to the edge of the bed. Eli was close. I could feel him. His presence was strong, and the magnetic pull I’d felt toward him had intensified tenfold since last night. He was a part of me now.

  “I know you’re awake,” Eli shouted. Was he in the kitchen? “I can hear you wiggling around in the bed. Come to the kitchen and eat. I made us breakfast.”

  I arched a brow. Eli had cooked?

  “I’m coming,” I said as I slipped out of bed. It was then I realized I was still naked. While I’d love to walk into Eli’s kitchen in my birthday suit and surprise the hell out of him, he didn’t have mini-blinds on his windows. There was no way I wanted to give Mr. Russell a show this morning.

  “Hearing you say those words will never grow old,” Eli called out to me. I didn’t have to see his face to know a grin was hanging on it.

  “I’m sure,” I said as I scanned his bedroom floor, searching for my clothes.

  They weren’t in here. All I saw were Eli’s discarded dirty clothes. He wasn’t kidding when he said he’d had an aversion to laundry lately. From the piles scattered across his floor, I wondered if he knew how to use a washer and dryer.

  A folded T-shirt on top of his dresser caught my eye. I wasn’t sure if he’d set it out for me or if it was the last clean article of clothing he owned, but I picked it up and slipped it on. Eli’s scent—masculine and musky with a hint of woods—floated to my nose, sending a sense of comfort to wash over me. I was home again.

  The thought jolted me. When had Eli become home?

  My guess was last night, but as I thought about it, I realized somewhere deep inside there had always been a piece of him that made me think of home. Last night had only made it come to full bloom.

  I left his bedroom and started down the hall. The scent of something peppery lingered heavily in the air. He definitely wasn’t cooking macaroni and cheese for breakfast.

  “What are you cooking?” I asked as I stepped into the open living room and kitchen area. When I reached him, I wrapped my arms around his waist and pressed my face against his bare skin. The only thing he had on were the athletic shorts I remembered from last night. I placed a kiss to his skin and then glanced over his shoulder to see what he was cooking. A piece of bread with an egg sunny side up sizzled in the hot pan. “What’s that?”

  “An egg in a basket,” Eli said. “Haven’t you ever had one before?”

  “No, I can’t say that I have.” I released my grip on him and moved to lean against the counter. “Do you have any juice?”

  “I have coffee,” Eli said as he placed a kiss to my temple. My heart pounded in a needful rhythm wanting more of his lips on me.

  “I don’t drink coffee,” I admitted. “I’ve never been able to get over the taste. It’s always bitter. No matter how much sugar or cream I dump in it.”

  “I’ll have to remember that.” He flipped the piece of bread with the egg nestled inside over. “I’ll get juice for the next time you spend the night.”

  “Who said there’d be a next time?” I asked as I shifted to face him fully. His arm snaked out, and he pulled me into him.

  “Me.” His lips brushed against mine, causing my knees to grow weak. I pulled away, breaking our kiss all too soon because all I could think about was how horrible my morning breath probably was. Eli trailed his lips along the side of my neck, unfazed by my reluctance to kiss him first thing in the morning. “And your body. It’s definitely telling me there will be a next time.”

  Damn him.

  “Are you ready for a repeat of last night?” he asked. His voice had grown low and husky. Sexy.

  I opened my mouth to say yes, but my stomach grumbled painfully loud.

  “Umm, I think I need breakfast first,” I said as my lips curved into a slight smile.

  “Which is why I got up to make you something.” He released me and went back to his abandoned pan.

  “How did I end up in your bed last night?” I asked as I hoisted myself on the counter beside where he was cooking. “I don’t remember walking back there at all. The last thing I remember was the couch.” It was amazing how the words could come out of my mouth without my cheeks heating from the topic of conversation.

  “I carried you,” he said with a shrug of his shoulder as though it wasn’t a big deal. “I wanted to make sure you were comfortable while you slept.”

  “Aw, that was sweet of you.”

  “I know.” He grinned. “Did you sleep well?”

  “I did.” In fact, it was the most peaceful sleep I’d had in forever.

  “I did too.” He reached into the cabinet beside the stove and grabbed two paper plates. “All right, breakfast is done if you want to grab a fork.”

  I slipped off the counter and stepped to the silverware drawer to grab us each one. Eli handed me a plate, and I handed him a fork before hoisting myself back up onto the counter to eat. The entire exchange of silverware and food seemed incredibly domesticated, yet it felt normal to be having breakfast with him in his place.

  It was amazing how things could change so quickly. If someone had told me a month ago I would be wearing only a T-shirt while sitting on Eli Vargas’s kitchen counter, eating breakfast with him, I would’ve told them to go home because they were drunk.

  “When are you going to get a dining room table?” I asked as I debated how to eat the egg thing he’d made.

  “Probably not for a while,” Eli said. I watched as he stabbed his fork into the center of the yolk, busting it. He cut the corner of the bread off and then dipped it in the yoke. “You could always sit on the couch if you wanted.”

  “No way. That couch is not for eating on.”

  “And why is that? You don’t like to mix pleasure with food?” He arched a brow.

  “No. It’s just too pretty,” I said as I mimicked what he’d done with his yolk and bread. “I wouldn’t want it to get dirty. I can be a messy eater.” As I said this, a drop of yolk dripped from my fork and landed on the front of his shirt I was wearing.

  “I can see that.” He chuckled. “I’ll try to get us a table, then.”

  Us? Had he really said us with the implication we were living together? Or had he meant for when I came over to eat with him again?

  “Don’t look so scared. I’m not asking you to move in with me…yet.” He grinned. “But you have to know it will come eventually. You’ll get tired of sleeping alone at your Gran’s, and you’ll be begging me for a key to my place.”

  I glared at him. He was so sure of himself it was almost comical. “You really think that’s what will happen?”

  “Oh, I’m positive.” He winked.

  “Want to make a bet?”

  “I’m not really the betting type of guy, but in this situation, I might be.” He licked his lips, and it was all I could do to not lean forward and kiss him. “Give me the details of the bet.”

  I thought for a second before answering, trying to come up with something good. Nothing fantastic came to mind, so I went with the first thing I thought of instead. “Okay, if you ask me to move in first, I get to repaint this place in colors of my choice.”

  “Okay,” he said with a slight nod. “What if you ask me first if you can move in?”

  “Umm, don’t you thi
nk you should get to decide what you get? I don’t think you understand how this works,” I said with a chuckle.

  “Oh, I understand. I just thought you wanted to be the one setting both wagers.”

  “Nope, fair is fair. I set mine, now you set yours.”

  “All right, if you ask me if you can move in before I ask you, then I get tomato soup and grilled cheese at least once a week made by you…naked.”

  Of course, he would turn this into something sexual. He was a guy, after all.

  While I wasn’t big on cooking, I thought I could handle his wager. “Deal.”

  I held my hand out so we could shake on it.

  Eli gripped my hand in his. “I think I like this betting thing, especially when it involves you.”

  “Don’t look so smug. You haven’t won anything yet.”

  “Yet being the operative word.” He winked as he let go of my hand and picked up his fork again.

  We finished our breakfast in silence, but it was a comfortable silence. I imagined Eli was thinking of his betting terms. I was sure it was obvious I was thinking of mine.

  In my head, I was repainting the walls of his trailer, searching for a color that might fit with his beautiful gray couch.

  “I should get going.” I tossed my paper plate in the trash and my fork in the sink once I’d finished my egg in a basket, which happened to be delicious. It was such a simple breakfast, but so good. “I’m sure Gran is wondering where I’m at. Gracie, too.”

  “They won’t care you’ve been away once you tell them you were with me.” A smug sense of satisfaction dripped from his words.

  “You’re probably right, but I still need to head home.”

  Eli tossed his paper plate in the trash and started for the sink. After he chucked his fork in it, he reached for me. His arms wrapped around my waist as he pulled me close. I licked my lips in anticipation of his kiss, knowing one was coming.

  “I wish you’d stay, but I understand,” he said.

  “Is this you wishing I’d move in?”