The Wolf's Surrender - By Kendra Leigh Castle Page 0,69

even one night.”

“You’re offering to initiate me,” Mia said.

Jenner shifted and ran a hand through his hair, finally showing some of his agitation. He blew out a breath, then said, “Yeah. And after that, we can maybe, you know...see where it goes. There were some good reasons I told you I wasn’t the right guy to choose for your initiation, or for anything. I don’t know how much I’ve got to give. I can’t promise you anything. But I can tell you that what you’re feeling, what I’m feeling, means we’d be good together. And...I’d like to give it a shot. I know what you said about wanting to take off soon, but...I’d like it if you stayed a little while. Maybe give it a try with the Blackpaw. With me.”

Mia looked at him standing there, looking every inch the fierce, protective werewolf he was, and felt her heart clench painfully, then release. He was taking a big chance, one she’d never expected him to take.

She wasn’t the only one who was learning to take risks, she supposed.

And she knew that before long, she would have to take a few more. Jenner couldn’t stay in the dark about her gifts. She needed to find a way to tell him. Soon.

“Will Bane accept this?” she asked, hating that it was even a question. But this wasn’t her world, and she didn’t want Jenner to suffer on her behalf.

Jenner nodded. “Yeah. He, ah...wasn’t exactly surprised. There are going to be ruffled feathers, but you made your position on choosing pretty clear.” She saw a hint of his smile. “He only asks that we wait a couple of days. Until the night before the full moon. He’s worried that if we close you off to Gaines, he’ll just go and find someone else. Unseelie blood is rare, but...”

Mia nodded, relieved. She had a little time to figure out how to tell Jenner everything she needed to...hopefully in a way that wouldn’t ruin everything. Even though it was selfish, she wanted to enjoy him right now, in this moment. She’d never had anyone, not really. It couldn’t be wrong to want to enjoy a few hours of it, no matter what came after.

“So,” Jenner said softly. “What do you think?”

Mia saw the way his Adam’s apple moved and knew just how twisted up he was over this. She wanted to wrap her arms around his neck and reassure him, to feel all that wonderful warmth and strength and know it was hers...even if it was just for now.

“Yes” was all she said.

She immediately found herself crushed against Jenner’s chest, his mouth on hers. Her head was full of him, every inch of her skin feeling like it was shooting off sparks. She opened her mouth for him, moaning as his tongue swept inside. Jenner lifted her up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. She could feel how hard he was for her, and she arched, gasping, into all of that delicious heat.

It was an unpleasant shock to feel herself lowered quickly back to the ground, though Jenner wrapped his arms around her and tucked her head beneath his chin. It was some small consolation that she could feel his heart pounding just as quickly as hers was.

“I promised myself we were going to take it slow this time,” Jenner said, his deep voice husky.

Mia laughed. “Nothing about this is slow,” she said.

“Okay. Mostly I promised myself I wouldn’t tear your clothes off in the middle of this field if you said yes.” He looked down at her. “Let me take you home, Mia.”

She nodded, then she put her hand back in his and held on tight, hoping she wasn’t taking this step only to be forced to let go.

Chapter 16

By the next night, Mia had almost forgotten about the watching eyes out in the darkness.

No matter how intense her connection to Jenner seemed, the fact remained that she was only just beginning to learn about his life. And to her delight, he’d begun to show it to her. She’d gotten to see the garage he owned, enjoying the way he prowled around the cars like a restless animal. It was his territory, and she found she liked watching him on it.

It surprised her that the gruff werewolf was still tentative with her in some ways, as though he was afraid she would somehow find him lacking. How could he possibly know just how little he had to be afraid of? There didn’t