"I want to finish it," he whispered, a husky edge to his voice, "but I don't know how to without hurting you."
He wrapped his other arm around her waist before lifting his right hand to stroke her cheek from her ear down slowly to her chin. His soft caress felt like the strumming of an electric guitar. The vibrations wavered through her hot flesh and into her core.
"Trust me," he reiterated. "I want to find it."
Her stomach clenched as a physical ache twisted within.
"And I want you to understand everything before I finish it," he said as he lowered his face and pressed his forehead to hers. "You deserve to know beforehand what you're getting into because once we complete the matebond, there's no going back. It will change everything."
"What more is there to know?"
It was hard to form the words. She wanted his lips on hers. His hot, naked body against hers. If she were a virgin, she might be nervous about having sex with Stone, but no. She knew what she was missing and it was driving her crazy. Her body was screaming for his as she pressed every curve against him.
"Besides the origins, histories, and spirituality of lycans, and a few details of my past," he said, "the main things are for you to accept my other form, and for me to find a way to complete the bond without risking your life."
He grazed his lips over hers but pulled away when she moved forward to grasp them. She moaned in protest to his withdrawal.
The hand that caressed her cheek slipped back behind her head and tangled in her hair, pulling gently to tilt her head up. Her eyes met his and she could see the lingering hunger behind his controlled expression.
"You remember at the garden, I explained about Adelaide's mark?"
"Yes." How could she forget?
"You remember I told you that it was most common to bite the shoulder when soulmates mate for the first time?"
"Yes."
"It's a two-step process to complete the matebond. Sex and marking. Both are necessary to complete it," he said. "Listen to me carefully."
"Okay," she said breathlessly.
It was hard to breathe. The intensity of his desire was burning through her that, coupled with her own, she wasn't sure she'd be able to wrap her head around whatever he was saying. If it weren't for his gaze holding hers so intently, she might have gotten lost in her fantasies of his lips on her body. Somehow though, she felt grounded and connected, even though her body was on fire with desire.
"There have been several instances where I wanted to sink my teeth into you and claim you without you knowing, but I stopped myself. You deserve to know how dangerous it is for me to do this.
"Even though you are my soulmate, a lycan's bite is like poison to humans. It's where the werewolf lore of olden times comes from. When a human gets bitten by a lycan, they're cursed to undergo a slow and excruciating death that can take a few years. They go mad by the end. They become bloodthirsty, ruthless killing machines every full moon with no control over it."
She shivered as his thumb trailed across her cheek again and held her chin.
"Tell me, how can I do that to you?"
She swallowed.
He closed his eyes, breaking the hold he had on her, and inhaled forcefully. "I can't. Not only do I risk your life by the simple act of mating with you and getting you pregnant, but I could do that to you as well. The two go hand-in-hand, nearly impossible to prevent the marking when my seed spills into you and our souls connect. We lose all control then."
YOU ARE READING
Heart of Stone (Parts I & II)
Werewolf[COMPLETE] Some bonds can't be broken, even in death. -- He couldn't endure another heartbreak. "Accepting her would be a mistake," he said. "She's a human. I can't afford to have her blood on my hands." Gwen looked away, and he knew she saw the ima...
