with her sprawled over his chest and limp as a noodle. He weakly smoothed a hand up her back. “Told you I’d hold out longer.”
“You came first,” she mumbled.
“No, you did.”
A lazy, derisive snort popped out of her. “Full of shit.”
“Yes, you are.” He flinched as her claw scraped his nipple. “Maybe we came at the same time.”
“Hmm. Maybe.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
On Sundays, Mila often woke to the feel of Dominic’s mouth exploring some very interesting places on her body. That particular Sunday morning, she woke to him snuggled into her side as she lay on her stomach, his fingers doodling patterns on her back. There was nothing seductive in his lazy, casual touch. And yet, there was so much greed and possessiveness. Even as the rough pads of his fingers lightly breezed over her, they clearly stated “Mine.”
Her cat arched into his touch, purring. She was remarkably cheery. As a rule, the feline didn’t do “cheery.”
Mila opened her eyes to find his own staring back at her, glinting with masculine contentment and . . . was that worry? She couldn’t quite tell. “Morning.”
“Morning.” He kissed her shoulder, tracing the bumps of her spine. “Did you know that you frown a lot in your sleep?”
She blinked. “Frown?”
“It’s almost like your default sleep-expression. My wolf finds it cute.” Dominic kissed her shoulder again, his mouth curving into a secret smile.
“You look rather self-satisfied.” She narrowed her eyes. “What? Why are you smirking? I feel like I’m missing something.”
He danced his tongue over the little cluster of freckles on her shoulder. “You’re wearing my scent. And I’m wearing yours. You know what that means.” Imprinting had started. Although Dominic worried a little that she might not be enthusiastic about it, he couldn’t help feeling just as smug as his wolf.
Now she was no longer just a woman he cared for, she was his mate. It didn’t matter to him that they wouldn’t be officially considered mates until the imprinting bond formed—he had no intention of letting her go. Any shifter she came across would instantly scent Dominic on her and understand she was taken. When the imprinting progressed, his scent would be permanently embedded in her skin.
Realizing he was right, Mila smiled. “No wonder my cat’s in a good mood. How do you feel about it?”
“Smug. Happy. Relieved. I didn’t let myself really see how much I wanted this until now. What about you?”
“Happy. Surprised. Annoyed that I didn’t sense it straightaway.” Her brow creased. “I thought it would make me feel more secure.”
“It doesn’t?”
She slid her fingers through his hair. “Trying to hold on to you would be like trying to hold on to the wind. All I can do is hope you’ll choose to stay.”
God, if he could kick his own ass for making her doubt him, he would. Dominic snuggled closer to her. “You don’t have to hold on, baby. You have me. I’m not going anywhere.”
“You say that now. And I believe you mean it, but—”
“Mila, I don’t have to tell you that I’ve known a lot of women in my time. None of them captured my attention the way you have. None of them made me want more than a bit of fun. I never dreamed about them. Never obsessed over them. Never marked them. Never cared for them. Imprinting is a huge deal for anyone, but it’s even bigger for someone like me.
“I want this. I want you as my mate. Fuck, if I could get away with it, I’d put a claiming mark on your neck right now even though we’re not fully imprinted yet, but I know you won’t go for that.” He cupped her nape. “Are you hearing me, Mila? There’s no danger of me walking away from you. None.”
Mila took a deep breath. “Okay.”
Relief whooshed through Dominic. Just “okay.” Just one word. But there was a wealth of acceptance and faith in it. She trusted his word on this, even though his eventful sexual past might have suggested that he wasn’t ready for commitment.
She’d never once thrown his past in his face. Never once judged, condemned, or bitched at him for it—not even when females tried their luck with him right in front of her. It would have been easy for her to take that out on him, to blame him for the hurt she’d felt at the time, but Mila never once had.
She couldn’t imagine how much it meant to Dominic that she hadn’t given up on him after he’d messed up and