“Never,” he promised.
When the sun began to rise and his mate started squirming restlessly, Costin debated whether he should let her go and give her some space or keep holding her. To be completely honest, he was sick of space between them. He wanted her to crowd him. He stayed right where he was. Her legs had tangled with his sometime in the night, and half of her body was laying across him. It would take a thousand wolves to move him from that spot in that moment. He didn’t even think his wolf would obey an Alpha command to move. He pulled her tighter against him and rubbed his hands down her back and up again. He wanted to touch so much more of her, and he wanted it to be skin on skin, but he wouldn’t push her to be intimate with him now. He didn’t want to scare her. However, he wasn’t going to allow her to push him away any longer.
“Costin?” Sally’s tired voice broke through his thoughts.
He tensed as she started to pull away from him. “No, Sally, I’m not letting go.” His voice was firm, and his wolf was pushing forward, eager to help him make her understand.
“You shouldn’t touch me,” she said, not raising her head to look at him but looking down in a submissive manner. “You can’t.”
“Yes, I can.” He cut her off. “I am your mate. I love you. I am not going to hurt you. I am not ever going to stop wanting you. I cannot let you go, not even if you believe that’s the best thing for us. I cannot continue to let you push me away. I’m done, Sally mine.” He placed a finger under her chin and forced her head up until he could see her eyes. “Listen to me and listen good. We are going to get through this, but we are going to do it together. You are no longer going to withhold your touch from me or keep me from touching you. We need that touch. My wolf is desperate for your skin to be in contact with mine. You are going to talk to me and let me back in.” He gently tapped her forehead. “The monster who hurt you is dead, and if we let this tear us apart, they win.” He repeated Decebel’s words and felt with more conviction that his Alpha was right.
“Tell me again.” Sally said the words she’d said to him their first night back from Ocean Side. She’d allowed him to make love to her, and then he’d told her over and over how much he loved her and how much she meant to him. Costin had said he would tell her all day, every day, if that was what she needed.
“I love you. You are mine. You are precious. You are beautiful inside and out. I need you desperately. Every part of me, from my physical body to my soul, is aching for you.”
A sob broke loose from her as the tears that had been gathering in her eyes began to fall. “Again,” she said.
He felt her mind open, and the bond between them was complete again. He reached for the intimacy of speaking to her through their bond instead of saying it out loud. “I love you, Sally.” His voice was even deeper as he spoke into her mind. “You are a treasure I don’t deserve, but I’m too selfish to give you up. You give my life so much meaning and light. Even now your light is reaching into me to keep my darkness at bay. You are mine. Say it.” He growled.
“I am yours,” she said through her tears.
“Again,” he said.
“I am yours.”
“You’re damn right you are,” he said before leaning his head down and pressing his lips to hers. He wanted to take the kiss deeper, to push her onto her back and blanket her body with his own. But he could feel she was conceding, and he didn’t want to push too hard.
Her cheeks were flushed when he pulled back, and her lips swollen from the force of his kiss.
“You want me?” she asked.
Costin didn’t answer. He simply sent her his thoughts. He made it perfectly clear through the images in his mind that he wanted her in every way.
She blushed and ducked her head, pressing it into his chest. But he didn’t relent, despite her embarrassment. Costin continued to assault her mind with memories of their time together and desires that he wanted to fulfill with her and her alone. She needed to understand nothing had changed the way he saw her. Nothing that had happened had caused him to lose his need or want of her. He could feel her insecurities, and most of it stemmed from her fear that he would be disgusted by her.
“I’m not going to stop until you no longer doubt me,” he said quietly.
Her eyes widened. “You can’t go around putting those thoughts in my head all day.”
He smiled, and it felt so damn good. “Is that a challenge, Sally mine?”
She shook her head. “No, no, you idiot, of course I know you can, but I mean you can’t because I’ll look like a freaking tomato all day.”
“No one will know what I have running through that beautiful head of yours, unless you tell them.”
“Where is this coming from?” she asked him. “You’ve been quiet for the past few days. I know you’ve been giving me my space.”
“That wasn’t working, so I’m trying a new tactic. It’s called seduce my mate until she’s a puddle at my feet, begging for my touch.” He knew his face must have been plastered with smugness because she was giving him an irritated look. He’d take it. It was better than her looking at him like he was her past and not welcome in her future.
“I didn’t mean to make you feel that way,” she said softly, picking up on his thoughts. “Something is wrong with me, Costin. I’m scared—no, I’m terrified of losing you.”
He shook his head. “Not possible. The world will break apart until all that is left are tiny particles before I would leave you.”
She stared up into his eyes, and he knew she was searching for even a tiny lie in his words. She would find none. Decebel would let Jen strip in a room full of single males before Costin would let go of his mate.
“Can I tell him you thought that?” she asked with a small smile.
“You can do whatever you want if it will put a smile on your face,” he said in all seriousness.
Before she could respond, there was a loud pounding on their door and then Jen’s voice. “Wake up! Y’all need to pack and then spend some time with your son before you go to the airport. If you’re late and miss your flight I’m going to be ticked.”
“Um, Costin, what is she talking about?”
He was as confused as his mate. “I have no clue.”
“DON’T MAKE ME COME IN THERE! Oh, and I have your kid. I kidnapped him earlier when Thia woke me up. Y’all need to think about some sort of security if you sleep so deep that I can steal your son,” Jen yelled.
Sally started to bury her head in his chest but then redirected for the pillow. Costin wasn’t having it. He moved her shoulders so that her forehead landed on his sternum. “You lean on me, Sally. Got it? From here on out, you lean on me.”
She nodded after a few heartbeats. “You. I lean on you,” she repeated.