Untamed (Rejected Mate Academy #1) - E. M. Moore Page 0,74
his parents’ house again. He peers over at me with a soft smile. “I want to show you something.”
My heart jumps into my throat. “Okay....”
He hops out of the truck, and I meet him around front. He frowns at my shoes. “You’ll want to leave them here.” Without giving me a chance to take them off, he picks me up and sits me on the hood. Prying the shoes off, he drops them onto the front seat of the truck through the open window and then helps me down again. Instead of going into the house, he takes me around the rear. A fountain trickles in the distance, a blue light making the water glow.
We follow a stone path, and Jonah picks up the pace. I have to hurry to keep up with him, and when we enter the woods, my heart hammers. The moon filters through the canopy of leaves above us, lighting the path as it curves. A single light shines in the distance, and when we get close enough to make it out, my heart starts careening. It’s not all of my own emotions either. It’s Jonah’s, too.
He brings us to a stop in front of a small, stone cottage. “My parents and I built this house for me to live in after graduation. We knew I would want my own space, and honestly, I wasn’t expecting to mate with someone so soon. Somehow, I think you might be the only person who would love this place as much as me.”
I gawk at it. The single story house looks straight out of a fairy tale. Hundred-year-old trees surround it in an ethereal barricade. Even though the stone construction is new, everything is situated so perfectly that the structure becomes one with the forest. Huge, flat stones lead to a sunshine yellow door. Ornate sconces frame the entryway and match the window trim for a quaint yet dreamy style. “This is your house?”
He squeezes my hand. “I was kind of hoping it would be ours when you get out of Greystone.”
Before I can react, Jonah scoops me up in his arms. “Not the dress,” I protest. “Mrs. Graves will kill me.”
He chuckles low in his throat. “Mrs. Graves will consider it a job well done for what I have planned for you, Kinsey Walker.”
Molten heat flows toward my core. He nudges the door open, and I spot the same earthy tones and embellishments as outside. Rustic, wood trim lines the doorways and the mantle over the fireplace in the small living room. A quick glimpse inside the kitchen boasts a farmhouse sink with white cabinets and bronze finishes. Jonah’s house definitely has a cozy cottage feel. Nothing like the two houses I was in today, and I’m absolutely fine with that.
“Tour later,” he tells me. “I really want to show you the bedroom.”
He moves straight down the hall and turns right into a large room. Kicking the door shut behind us, he sets me on my feet. I have to steady myself in the wake of the turn of events tonight took. I went from scared to death to reeling. He’s thought about moving me in here. I could be back in Lunar, next to my parents, with my pack.
He yanks me toward him, and my hands land on his chest. I peer up at his heated eyes. “You haven’t let me answer,” I say coyly. He waits for my response as he glances from my lips to my eyes. Reaching up, he unclasps the clip in my hair, and my long waves pool over my shoulders. A smile pulls my lips apart before I even say anything.
He growls. “This is not the time to joke with me about Nathan.”
Fuck. He knows me too well. “Fine. I guess I’ll just have to accept your offer.” I jump into his arms, and a ripping sound meets my ears when I suddenly get way more room in the skirt.
“That was you,” he mumbles before claiming my lips.
His hands are everywhere, kneading my ass, slipping up over my spine, and finally in my hair. When he’s finished exploring, he lowers the zipper on the dress. He moves inside, caressing the bare skin of my back, moaning when he realizes I’m not wearing a bra. I pull away, but he keeps moving forward. I have to press against his chest to create space between us. Our breaths mix. “Jonah, this is perfect. The house. You. Everything.”