Soul Bonded - By Meghan Malone Page 0,20

He held out his arms and looked into her eyes. “Come here.”

She surprised herself by stepping into his embrace without hesitation. He curled his powerful arms around her back and pulled her close enough to feel his heartbeat thumping in rhythm with her own. Within seconds, exquisite heat spread throughout her body, starting at her chest and flowing into the tips of her extremities. Katie gasped and nearly pulled away, but Rafe kept her close.

“It’s okay,” he murmured. “It’s normal. Let it happen.” He rubbed a hand up and down her spine, as though comforting a child. “I’ve got you. Just hold on to me.”

Katie clung to Rafe tightly, overwhelmed when the warmth that flowed from his body to hers bloomed into an intense rush of emotion. There was so much to process that she couldn’t separate everything she was feeling—love, safety, devotion, protectiveness, peace. The rhythm of his breathing shifted to match hers, making her feel as though his body was merely an extension of her own. She buried her face in his neck, overwhelmed by the all-consuming joy of being in his arms. His scent surrounded her, drawing out a low, needy moan that made her blush. Despite her embarrassment—despite everything that had happened tonight—she had to fight the urge to raise up on her tiptoes and kiss Rafe on the mouth.

Instead, she cried out in shock when sensation returned to her calves in the form of burning, throbbing pain. Rafe released her, wiping away her tears with his thumbs. “Your wounds?”

Katie nodded dumbly. Now that their embrace was over, the surreality of the entire situation hit her hard. Not only the existence of werewolves, but Rafe calling her his bond-mate and her body’s incredible reaction to his touch. Hell, her soul’s reaction to his mere presence. Trembling, she placed her hand on Rafe’s warm cheek and looked deep into his tender green eyes. “Rafe—“

He shook his head and took her hand. “Let’s go to the bathroom so I can clean your wounds. We’ll talk about it there.” His shoulders slumped almost imperceptibly as he led her down the hallway. “I’ll explain everything.”

CHAPTER TEN

Katie winced as Rafe guided her more gravely injured leg beneath a stream of warm water from the bathtub’s faucet. He poured some anti-bacterial soap into the wound and carefully but thoroughly washed it. The soap and water stung like a bitch, and despite his careful touch, she had to restrain herself from lashing out. “Fuck.”

Rafe raised an eyebrow. “I’m sorry. I really am trying to be gentle.”

“I know you are.” She brought her other foot up onto the edge of the tub and rested her cheek on her knee, not caring that Rafe could see her panties. Maybe it was foolish, but she no longer feared him. On the contrary, an unexpected thrill crawled up her spine when his gaze slid to the space between her legs. Beyond a discreet flaring of his nostrils, he betrayed no reaction. She watched calmly as he turned his attention back to her leg, flushing out her wound with a tenderness she never would have expected from a man of Rafe’s size and strength.

“It’s good that you were wearing so many layers. This could’ve been much worse.”

“Believe me, I know.” She tried not to think about the way those two werewolves had talked about her—like she was a piece of meat to be violated and then eaten. A couple of bite wounds were nothing compared to what could have happened. If this was her worst souvenir from tonight, she considered herself lucky. The thought triggered a sudden, horrifying memory of werewolf lore drawn mostly from films and television. Nausea rolled over her. “He bit me. Does that mean…” She swallowed, certain she would be sick. “Am I a werewolf now?”

Rafe surprised her by laughing. He shot her an easygoing grin, so handsome it took the sting out of his amusement. “No, it doesn’t work like that. You have to be born this way.”

“Oh.” Katie considered that as her heart rate slowed. Then she realized how her disgust might have come across. “No offense intended. I’m sure it’s not like being a werewolf is the worst thing in the world.”

He snorted. “I appreciate you saying so.”

“It’s just that I—“

Rafe shook his head. “You don’t have to apologize. I understand.”

She joined in his examination of her deeper wound. Even if it didn’t turn her into a werewolf, the bite was going to leave a scar. The entire attack would no