she let go of his sac and ignored his protests as she slipped her fingers under the end of his pants and traced over his mating brand. His body went rigid and he gave a hoarse shout as his seed shot into her mouth. She gladly took what he had to offer and continued sucking until the throbbing stopped.
Afterwards, they flopped onto the mats, panting. He wiped the sweat from her forehead and kissed her gently, reverently. “People are going to be afraid to come to the training room now.”
She went up on her elbows and gazed at him. “Good, I’m beginning to understand the benefits of working out. Just sayin’,” she teased, winking at him.
He gave her that half-smile that twisted her heart. “Your workout has just begun. Time to get completely naked.” She laughed realizing she still had her bra on and he still had his pants around his ankles and boots on.
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
Shae glared at Gerrick through narrowed eyes as they stood in their room. They’d made love in the training room before going upstairs for rounds three and four. “There was no need to ask for a meeting,” she snapped at him.
When Shae had gone to take a shower he’d texted Evzen and Zander and asked to meet with the males about the possibility of Shae being the reincarnation of Evanna. Shae may not want to know, but Gerrick sure as hell did. He was well aware that she was nothing like the female he’d loved so long ago and that was actually what he loved about Shae, but his logical mind needed to understand how this new mating had happened.
That longing to have Evanna back had been replaced with a burning desire for Shae, and wasn’t that a punch to the gut. When Shae’s hurt reverberated through their bond he knew he should tell her, but he’d always had a problem finding the right words. “Red, this isn’t about me wanting you to be Evanna. I simply need to know if it’s possible. Don’t you want to know why you have her memories?”
Shae evaded his reach and stormed out the door. “You want to know because you want her back. I told you, you either love me or I’m leaving.”
He had no doubt that she would do it, too. “Look, I can’t forget about her because she meant something to me, but trust me when I say I have no confusion about the difference between the two of you. I would never want you to be anything but the strong, stubborn, female who challenges me at every turn. What we share is explosive and something I’ve never experienced. And, look at me, I’m hard for you even as we stand here arguing.”
He felt some of the hurt bleed from her before she threw him a wry smile over her shoulder. “Explosive is one way to look at it. Will you feel differently if you find out I’m not her?”
He understood she was worried about him rejecting her, but that was impossible. “Regardless of what we find out, you are my Fated Mate. Shae, I love you. I didn’t know it before. Hell, I wouldn’t even consider it, but I don’t ever want you to doubt the way I feel about you. I want you to hear this now before we talk to Zander and Evzen so you know the voracity of my feelings for you.”
He stopped her at the foot of the stairs and grabbed her face between his palms. “Did you hear me?”
“Yeah, but you said you couldn’t love me. You only love me because you think I could be her.”
He’d inadvertently hurt her in his attempt to shield himself and wanted to kick his own ass. “Feel it through our bond and know that I love you, Shae Mitchell. Not because you may be the reincarnation of Evanna, but because you are you. Your words woke me up and you were right. I was placing a wall between us and I’m not going to lose you to my own stupidity. There is enough there with the demons, we don’t need me adding to it.”
“There’s too much in my head with the demons and Evanna’s memories and our mating bond. It feels like a circus.” She was trusting him with her vulnerability and looking to him for help. The tables had turned on him, he thought, as he waited for her to tell him how she felt about him. He wasn’t able to