Shaw (Alpha Geek #6) - Milly Taiden Page 0,43

Just a tiny kiss. Just so that I can remember what it’s like.”

She scooted closer to him on the large log, and she placed her head on his broad shoulder. It wasn’t a kiss, but it was something. A small gesture that he understood. She wasn’t there yet, but there was hope that she could be someday soon.

“The fire smells so much better now that I’m a shifter,” he said conversationally.

Poppy said nothing, her eyes glued to the fire. She was so close to his heart; she must have heard the way it was beating for her. Only for her.

“Shaw?” she asked softly.

“Yes, Poppy?” he answered, letting his hand go up to play with the tips of her long hair.

“I want to kiss you, too.”

She sounded unsure and shaky. Shaw should have taken a step back and taken his time, but her confession had been all of the green light he needed. He palmed one of her warm, soft cheeks and guided his mouth to hers. He kissed her, his lips devouring hers. It was so much more than a kiss.

It was redemption.

Chapter Twenty

Poppy

From the very second they had shifted and frolicked in the forest together, Poppy had known she was done for. There was no way to resist her mate. Not when they were in such close quarters, and not when he was trying so hard to build back her trust. Shaw was being vulnerable, a trait that so very few male shifters let themselves show. He was still new to this, and he forgot to be the macho man, who took up all of the space and didn’t let her have a thought for herself.

It was a change of pace from the rest of her life.

It was nice, really. And she had to admit that Shaw, no matter what he had done and why, was nothing like her uncle and cousins.

That was why she had decided to tell him that she wanted to kiss him. It was the only thing that made sense to her at that moment. She had wanted nothing more than to feel his lips on hers again, to lose herself in the way he made her feel.

The embrace lasted, each reluctant to end it.

“Hey,” Poppy whispered. Her voice was heavy with all of the things she was feeling for Shaw.

“Hey,” he repeated. His eyes were a few shades darker as he brought her closer to him.

He closed his arms around her waist and held her close to him. She wasn’t too sure how she had come to straddling him on the log seat, but she was. She could feel his heart beating impossibly fast right next to hers. With a gentle hand, he pushed her hair back and dropped a soft kiss against her neck.

“Poppy,” he murmured her name, asking for permission.

All she could do was nod.

“No, love. That’s not good enough for me. I want you to tell me that you want me.” His voice was rough, and he was expressing a deep emotional need with those words. He didn’t just want to know that she wanted him as much as he wanted her. He wanted to feel needed, to feel wanted.

Poppy remembered all of the things Shaw had said about his past. He had never felt valued or particularly needed by his previous lovers. He had also had a hell of a time trying to fit in. He had always been made to feel unloved and unwanted by his peers. It wasn’t up to her to erase all of that past hurt. It was as much a part of him as his maddening curls. Poppy was a nurse, she was a caretaker by nature, and it made her heart soar to know she could take care of him, that she could do something to ease the pain of years of rejection and feeling bad about himself. After all, she understood that on a deeper level than she could care to admit. She had also spent all of her life hiding her true self from her family. It wasn’t the same as decades of bullying, but the hurt was similar enough to establish a profound connection between two mates.

She couldn’t change his past or hers. She couldn’t erase the ugliness that had transpired since the attack, but what she could do was make sure their first time together mattered.

That it meant something.

They wouldn’t mate in the full sense of the word just yet. It was a bit too soon for that. There were