Unlikely Mates
Chapter 9

Kira

We’ve been at the cabin for ten days, and my nerves are on edge. Every time I turn around, Rowan is right there, in my personal space. Back at home, with the Katu Pack, I share a house with Talia. We each have our own room, and there’s more than enough space.

Here, it’s too small. One bedroom with a bed that I use, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a small lounge with a lumpy couch Rowan sleeps on. He takes up all the space with his big-a*ss muscled self. I didn’t think this through before we came here. I didn’t know the cabin was this small, but it’s too late now. There are only a couple of days left before I can leave and return home.

Being enclosed with Rowan is messing with my mind. His scent has permeated into every nook and cranny. The words he said to me the other day play on repeat in my mind.

This morning, I woke up hot and bothered after dreaming about him f*****g me over the kitchen table. It doesn’t help matters that he sleeps shirtless or that I can see his er*ection through the shorts he wears.

This leads to where I am now, skinny dipping in the lake a half-mile from the cabin. My skin feels hot and clammy like it was stretched too small. I just need to cool down. The water caresses my skin, cooling me down and making me feel more like I’m in control of my body.

After swimming in circles for a while, I head back toward the dock where I left my towel and clothes. I instantly regret the decision to str!p na*ked when Rowan comes into view, already holding my towel out for me.

“Couldn’t you just stay at the cabin?” I ask from down in the water.

“Nope.” He grins at me. “We’re supposed to be spending time together.”

He’s right, and it grates on my nerves. What’s even worse is that every time he grins at me like that, my lady bits get all tingly and I consider jumping on him. I don’t want to be attracted to him, even though he is clearly attracted to me. A smile crosses my face as a devilish thought rolls into my mind. If he wants to spend time with me, so be it.

“Fine.” I try to sound put out as I reach my hand out toward him.

Confusion crosses his too handsome face before he bends down and grasps my hand to pull me out of the water and onto the dock.

“Jesus,” he mutters before handing me my towel and trying and failing to discreetly adjust his raging er*ection.

“What would you like for breakfast?” I ask as bend down to pick up my clothes.

“You,” Rowan says before pulling me back against his hard chest.

I try to pull away, but his grip on my h**s only tightens. “What are you doing?” I ask. My voice sounds hoarse and lvsty to my own ears.

“I don’t know yet, but I do know I have reached my breaking point,” Rowan says in my ear before svcking the lobe into his mouth.

“Rowan.” I wanted to chastise him, but his name sounds more like a m0an.

“I can’t f*****g do this,” he says after releasing my earlobe. “Your scent has invaded my senses. You’re all I think about ever since I found out you were my mate.”

“But I’m not your mate.” I try to fight back with my words.

“You. Are. My. Mate.” He enunciates every word slowly. “I smelled your arousal this morning. Did you dream of me, Kira?”

I shake my head, incapable of lying to him but not wanting him to know the truth.

“Liar,” he whispers in my ear before twisting my n!pple harshly.

My knees buckle beneath my weight, the intense pleasure-pain combo too much for my lvst-addled brain to manage. So much for me pushing his buttons.

Rowan

F**k. She is utter perfection. Her tattooed skin is on display in the early morning sunlight, water slipping down her skin. She was driving me insane in the little cabin, those cut-off shorts and tight tank tops enough to push me to the brink of madness. But this? Seeing her out here in nature, na*ked as the day she was born? It’s my breaking point.

When I twist her n!pple harshly, her knees give out, but I catch her easily. My Kira can’t hide from me anymore. We are going to have this out, and one way or another, I’m claiming my mate today.

Lowering us both to the dock, I lay her down beneath me. As I sit on my haunches, I take in my fill of her. Small, pert br*easts, flat stomach, and a clean-shaven pvssy. Her tattoos are the perfect accentuation for her natural beauty. She doesn’t cover up or try to hide from me as I take in my fill of her.

“Rowan.” Kira sounds nervous.

“F**k.” I scrub a hand down my face.

“Can you let me up?” she asks quietly.

“No.” I take her hands in one of mine and pin them to the dock. “For ten days I have been patient, but not anymore. I know you feel the pull between us.”

“The pull doesn’t matter,” she says, looking into my eyes. “I can’t be with you. I can’t stay with the Zwart Pack. There is too much hurt still inside me.”

I close my eyes, taking a deep breath. I knew it might come down to this. “Then we don’t live with the Zwart Pack,” I say. “I don’t need to be the alpha. Silas can do it. You and I can go wherever you want, even to your wolves.”

“What?” Kira gasps. “You can’t be serious!”

“Why not?” I ask as I stare at her. “I know they hurt you, we all did, and if you can’t accept that people change, that’s fine. But I am your mate, and I only want to be with you. If that means leaving the Zwart Pack, then that’s what I will do.”

A tear tracks down her cheek, but I don’t move to wipe it away.

“Rowan, being Alpha is part of who you are. You can’t just give that up,” she says sadly.

“For you? For my mate? I will give up anything. Everything,” I reply vehemently. “This is all I’ve ever wanted since I can remember. You are all I have ever wanted. I’m not giving you up.”

Before she can try to argue any further, I fuse my l!ps to hers. I k!ss her with all the passion my body holds, trying to let her feel how much I want her. I drag my free hand down her body, from her shoulder to her br*east, and then to her h*p where I use my leverage to pull her tightly against me. My big frame is nestled between her slender th!ghs, my c0ck at the apex of her se*x.

Kira makes a mewling sound deep in her throat, her leg wrapping around my h*p to pull me closer to her. Pulling away, I stare down at her, watching her closely as I speak.

“Let me mate you, keep you,” I say. “I want to be there for you no matter what, making sure you’re never sad again. I want to be the one to make sure no one ever hurts you again. For the rest of my life, I want to make up for not protecting you sooner.”

Kira stares at me, not saying a word. Fear races through my veins that she may say no. I don’t know what I’ll do if she doesn’t want me, but I won’t let her go.

“Rowan,” she whispers, pulling me back to the present. “Please don’t break my heart.”