be here left. And here we are, standing on this precipice, waiting to find out if fate brought us together for a reason other than friendship.”
“If we fall, we fall together.”
I nod.
Whit brings one hand to my hip, careful to keep it over my jeans. The other he lifts and hovers near my neck. Every single nerve ending in my body is on high alert, anticipating the touch. Whit’s caress. His fingers, his hand on my body.
I start to tremble, unable to keep this moment from fully affecting me. I’ve been alone for so long. Yes, I have the pack now, but it’s not the same. Neither are the bodies of the others I lost myself in for so many years. Meaningless faces I forgot as soon as they left my presence. But Whit, he’s stayed with me every day since I first saw him. And here we are, about to change everything between us yet again.
This is more than words. More than our feelings. If he touches me and sparks form, it’s fate telling us who we are to one another. And there’s no denying fate.
Whit’s fingers gently stroke over the hair on the back of my head. I moan at the touch. He trails those fingers down the back of my neck and my intuition is confirmed as electricity rises in the wake of his touch. We’re mates.
My body relaxes as he grips the nape of my neck, drawing my eyes to his as I was about to close them. It’s like I can finally be myself in front of someone. I can let go and trust him to take care of me. The last time that happened was when my parents were alive. Since their deaths, I haven’t allowed anyone to handle things for me. Everything I’ve done has been under my control because I needed it. Demanded it to keep order in my life. Even when I’m with the team, I know I can leave if I want. No one is holding me there.
Whit presses his bare chest to mine. Everywhere he touches are more sparks until they all collide and simmer to a steady hum. “You’re mine, Camden Raines,” he says in an even voice. It betrays the shaking of his other hand as he works it up my side. “Do you hear me? For all of eternity. You and me. I’m not letting you go.”
I drop my forehead to his. “I’m not an easy male to be around.”
“You think I don’t know that? You try to hide who you are, but I see you. I’ve always seen you.”
“You were right all along. We’re fated.”
He shakes his head slightly. “I didn’t know. I was a male hoping for something more, never thinking it could be serious. Not until very recently, at least. You were a fantasy, Cam. Untouchable, especially by someone like me.”
“I’m nothing special, but I can’t deny the way your words make me feel.”
“Tell me,” he whispers.
With Whit, I’ve allowed him to see a side of me no one else has. This vulnerable part where I have far more insecurities than I like. Where I’m not nearly good enough for the male standing in front of me. But I’ll strive to be better. To be worthy of him.
“Cherished. Cared for. That I matter to someone again.” Each word I speak breaks the wall around my heart that I built when my parents were killed and Caiden disappeared. The fortified structure I put there to never allow anyone to hurt me again.
Somewhere along the line, I gave Whit that power. Instead of hurting me as my brother did, Whit is trying to save me. I didn’t know I was drowning until now. Whit is the fresh air I need as I breach the surface. He’s the one reaching out, telling me to hold on. That he’ll never let me go.
“I do care about you so much, Cam. And you matter, not just to me but to everyone in the pack. Fate, I can’t believe we’re here like this. I can’t believe I finally get to touch you.”
“Please,” I beg.
14
Whitlock
How do I savor every moment, touch Camden the way he deserves, when I’ve never had my hands on another male like this? I don’t know what I’m doing but the way he’s looking at me, with trust and his heart so visible, I don’t think I can do this wrong.
The plea on his lips is my undoing. I move the hand I have on his