Trusted Bond

muscular chest.
    ―You‘re all I need.‖
    ―Turn around,‖ he ordered gruffly.
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    I closed my eyes and did as he instructed, the water running all over
    me as he soaped my back, ran his hands down my ass, my thighs, to my
    feet.
    ―Face me.‖
    I did, and my back was shoved up against the cold tiles as he pinned
    me there, staring down at me, his eyes full of need.
    ―I missed you,‖ he said, his voice cracking.
    And I was going to say something, but I forgot what that could be
    when he bent and took possession of my lips with his hot mouth. I was
    excited, exhilarated, and calm and relaxed all at the same time. I reached
    up, burying my fingers in his wet, heavy hair, loving the hard, bruising
    kiss that was more bite than anything else. When he lifted me, I wrapped
    my legs around his waist, my arms around his neck as he encircled me,
    crushing me to his chest.
    ―God,‖ he groaned, his face down in my shoulder. ―Jin….‖
    ―I know,‖ I soothed him. ―Same here.‖
    He sighed deeply as he held me, content to have me close, savoring
    the feel of my bare skin plastered to his. ―Hold tight.‖
    ―You mean don‘t let go.‖ I smiled into his hair, as his face was
    buried in the side of my neck. His mouth opened on my collarbone, and he
    sucked hard.
    ―Yeah, don‘t let go. Don‘t ever let go.‖
    And I wouldn‘t, because the man was mine.

    168

    Mary Calmes

    Chapter 13

    I WASN‘T sure what I had expected when Logan and I finally emerged
    from the shower, but us just talking was a revelation. That it could just be
    filling him in, explaining what had happened without the drama of tears
    and a big gut-wrenching cathartic scene felt so much more than right. I
    just wanted my life back. I wanted to be me, Jin, the guy who worried
    about laundry and bills and putting gas in the car and when the best time
    would be to talk about kids with the guy I wanted to have them with. I
    needed my time with my mate to be like coming home, and that was
    exactly how he made it.
    He asked questions, but he didn‘t press. He listened intently when I
    answered, but he waited while I formed my thoughts. In turn, because I
    was unhurried and he didn‘t judge me, I was able to relate my whole
    journey, and I calmed even more because I was talking to him like I
    normally did, going over the events of my day.
    He had carried me from the shower and put me in his lap as he
    gently towel-dried my hair. Once that was done, he tenderly brushed it. I
    closed my eyes, loving the feel of the tug of the bristles, the slide over my
    scalp, his hands on me.
    ―I love to do this,‖ he confessed, pressing a kiss to the spot where
    my neck and shoulder met. ―I love it when you let me.‖
    ―I‘m not an invalid.‖
    ―I know that.‖
    I leaned my head back. ―Forgive me.‖
    ―For what?‖
    ―Being stubborn and—‖ My throat closed up.
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    ―All that fight you‘ve got in you, that kept you alive while we were
    apart,‖ he said, his voice hoarse. ―And besides, I like you giving me crap.
    Arguing with you is some of the most fun I have.‖
    I nodded, and his lips sealed over mine. I wanted him, desired him,
    and had to absolutely drown myself in him. When his tongue slid over the
    seam of my lips, I parted them instantly. His mouth slanted down over
    mine, and he buried his tongue in my throat. My arms wrapped around his
    neck as he hugged me tight, pressing me against his heart.
    ―Oh, I wish,‖ he groaned, the agony and wanting there in his voice.
    ―Why not?‖ I breathed the question against his mouth.
    ―Because we have to appear in the hall before the priest,‖ he told me.
    My eyes drifted open and I saw the dark-gold eyes looking at me like
    I was everything. I felt my stomach twist.
    ―You have to change and come sit beside me and finally be
    presented as my mate and my reah,‖ he said, kissing me softly, quickly. ―I
    want everyone to see who you belong to.‖
    ―The semel-aten said that if you couldn‘t assure my safety that he—‖
    ―Love,‖ he stopped me, his fingers sliding through my hair, ―we both
    know that any threat of his is just that, a threat and nothing else. No one
    can take you away from me but the priest and only at your request.‖
    And logically I knew that but everything had been so strange for so
    long and I was so close to being able to go home that I was scared for no
    reason and paranoid.
    ―The bond is sacred, everyone knows