Chapter 48

• I can feel the warmth of my cheeks intensify under his piercing gaze, the heat spreading as he leans in closer. My vision blurs slightly, the world narrowing until all I can focus on is the scant millimeters between us. His breath fans across my lips, a whisper of warmth that makes me acutely aware of just how little it would take—just a slight movement, the barest tilt of my chin—for my mouth to meet his.
• “But my body is not the only thing I have to offer my mate,” he murmurs, his voice low and smooth, sending shivers down my spine. His fingers trail from my chin to the back of my neck, cradling it with a tenderness that feels almost foreign coming from him. “It might please you to know,” he continues, his lips brushing against mine as he speaks, “that you are the first woman I have ever kissed.”
• His golden eyes lock onto mine, searching, waiting for something I can’t bring myself to give—an answer, a sign, anything. And then, before I can process it, he closes the distance between us.