Faith is mine. Those words have replayed over in my mind the entire plane ride to Florida. There’s never a rhyme or reason why things happen when they do with our kind. I’m just glad the signs appeared before she left for Randale’s pack. The thought of her going to him or any other wolf pissed me off. Deep down, I guess I always had the feeling she belonged to me. Looking at her, with her blonde hair blowing in the wind and the sun on her face, I know there’s no one as beautiful as her in the world.
We landed in Tampa and decided to drive the six-and-a-half-hour distance to Sugarloaf Key where we have a small beach house waiting for us. It’s in a private area with its own secluded beach. There will still be other houses close by, so we won’t be able to shift without risking the chance of someone seeing us. For the most part, we’ll be alone, which is all that matters.
Faith hasn’t been able to stop looking out the window since we left the mainland for the Keys. “I have never seen so much water in my life. It’s absolutely breathtaking.”
Sometimes I forget she hasn’t been able to travel the world and see things like the ocean or tropical islands. I love that I get to experience her firsts with her. “I was five years old the first time I saw the ocean. My parents couldn’t get me out of the water.”
Faith giggles. “Yeah, I figured you liked being in the water. You tossed me into your pool and tackled me into the lake.”
I wink at her. “And when we get to the house, we’ll swim in the ocean and watch the sunset.”
She grins. “I like that idea.”
Reaching over, I grab her hand and bring it to my lips. She welcomes every touch, and I can feel how happy it makes her to be close to me. If only the full moon were tonight. I’ve always been a patient man, but having to wait two weeks for her to be entirely mine is fucking torture.
We drive across another long bridge from Long Key to Duck Key. Faith stares out the window in awe. “There are so many bridges.”
I snort. “Just wait until I drive you across the seven-mile bridge. It’s coming up shortly.”
Her mouth gapes. “Wow. Seven miles? That’s a long bridge.”
“It is,” I agree. “You’re not scared to go across it, are you?”
She sticks her chin out. “I’m not afraid of anything.” I love how strong and determined she is. She’ll make a great female alpha for our pack. When we get to the seven-mile bridge, Faith takes out her phone to video it. Seeing how excited she is to see the Florida Keys, I can only imagine how she’ll feel when I take her all over the world.
Once we arrive at Sugarloaf Key, it doesn’t take long to get to the beach house. It’s a three-story light blue estate on a secluded stretch of the Atlantic Ocean. I grab our bags out of the trunk while Faith enters the passcode to get the key out of the lockbox. After we walk in, I set the bags on the living room floor, and we tour all of the rooms.
“Which bedroom do you want?” I ask, picking our bags back up.
Faith’s eyes twinkle. “Will you be staying in there with me?”
I’ve been trying not to overwhelm her with my need, but when she says stuff like that it’s hard to keep control. “If that’s what you want.”
She strolls up to me and presses her lips to mine. “It is.”
“Then I guess we’ll both take the master suite.” I carry our bags to the bedroom, and she follows me. “The sun will be set within the hour. Do you want to go for that swim?”
I set our bags down on the bed, and she opens hers up, pulling out a skimpy bikini with a mischievous grin on her face. She knows what she’s doing to me. “I do. It won’t take me long to get ready.”
She reaches for the hem of her shirt and starts to lift, but then my damn phone rings. I reach into my pocket for my phone where Cedric’s name is displayed on the screen. “It’s Cedric.”
Faith smiles. “Go. I’ll change and see you out there on the beach.”
“Okay,” I say, cursing Cedric under my breath as I walk out of the room. “What’s up, brother,” I answer.
“I should be asking you the same question. What’s going on? Micah tells me you and Faith ran away together.”
A chuckle escapes my lips. “You make it sound like we eloped.” Having a wedding isn’t something shifters do. When we bond on the full moon, that’s our ceremony.
“Seriously, Grayson. Was there any indication that Killian and his men found you? I think he’s moved on from here.”
“No. There’s been no sign of him.”
“Is Faith okay?”
“She’s fine,” I assure him. “She came here willingly with me. You know I would never force her to do anything she didn’t want to do.”
Cedric sighs. “I know. I trust you. I also know we’re friends, and you’ve never kept anything like this from me before. It has me wondering what’s truly going on.”
I can’t help but laugh. “You really are a nosy son of a bitch.”
“Well, it got me thinking. Either Faith was in danger, and you had to get out fast, or something else happened. Maybe you didn’t want to share her with the other wolves.”
“No, I didn’t,” I admit, my voice darker than I wanted. “I hated the thought.”
Cedric chuckles once. “That’s all I needed to hear. I think I know now.”
“Know what?”
“That she’s your mate.”
I should’ve known that out of everyone in my life, Cedric would be the one to figure it out. “Nothing ever gets by you.”
“Nope,” he laughs. “After Micah called, Laila and I put two and two together. She said it’s probably best you did disappear, and you most likely have a price on your head right now.”
“That’s what Faith said.”
“Well, I’m happy for you. Your life will never be the same. When you get back in town, we’ll celebrate.”
“Sounds good.” Faith turns the corner into the living room, dressed in her sexy black bikini. She struts past me to the patio door and smiles as she walks out. “Convel, I gotta go.”
We say our goodbyes, and I hurry into the bedroom to change out of my clothes. When I get out onto the beach, Faith is already swimming around in the water.
“The water is so warm.” She floats on her back with the mounds of her breasts sticking out of the water. My cock twitches and I groan.
“Where’s the stone?” I ask, hoping she has it on her body somewhere. I swim over to her, and she latches her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist.
Her smile widens when she feels how hard she’s made me. “It’s in my hand. There was nowhere else to put it.”
“As long as you have it on you.” There’s one question that’s been on my mind ever since Faith and I started to get close, but I’ve never asked her. I circle my arms around her and pull her in tight. “Have you ever been with a man before?”
She bites her lip. “No, but I’ve been ready for a long time.” Her legs grip me harder, and she gently thrusts her hips against me.
My hands slide down to her ass, loving the way her skin feels. “I don’t want to rush you.”
“You don’t have to worry about that. I’m ready for you to claim me.”
Hearing those words lights my body up like fire. The need to plunge into her and take her right there is so great I don’t even know if I can control myself. Faith’s eyes start to glow, and I know mine does the same.
“Faith,” I growl.
She digs her fingernails into my back. “Just kiss me.”
I kiss her hard, squeezing her ass and moving her up and down my cock. I may not be inside of her, but I know she’s close to a release. I can smell how turned on she is, and I fucking love it. Deepening the kiss, I slide my tongue against hers, savoring the taste of her lips. I move down to her neck, nipping her with my teeth, but not hard enough to draw blood. That’s what I want, though—her blood. I want to be able to see inside of her head and her into mine. It’s a connection so many of our kind dream of. There’s also another effect of sharing blood. When true mates drink the other's blood, they get thrust into a vision of their future. It’s one way they get to see what awaits them.
“Can I taste you, Faith? I want to be inside of you, to see our future.”
I nip the tender spot behind her ear, and she moans. “Yes. I want to taste you too.”
Pulling back, I stare into her glowing, heat-filled blue eyes. Every time I touch her, the fire grows between us. “Then do it,” I growl, pressing my lips roughly to hers. “Take what you want.”
She sinks her teeth into my lip and sucks it greedily. The second she tastes the first drop of my blood, the connection opens in our minds. “Oh, my God,” she breathes, tilting her head back. I slide my lips down her neck and sink my teeth into her skin. She tastes like berries and sunshine. I don’t know how else to describe it other than euphoric.
The world begins to fade away, and another scene takes place. Faith and I are in bed, making love. It feels as if I’m really there. With her legs spread wide, I’m pushing into her as I suck her nipples. Her screams of enjoyment spur me on even more. She orgasms and holds me tight, just as I release into her. We kiss and then I’m thrown out of the vision with my cock feeling as if it’s getting ready to explode.
“Tate?” Faith whispers in my mind.
“I’m here. The link is open.” We can now hear each other’s thoughts and communicate silently. We can also block the other out if we want.
Breathing hard, I hold onto Faith and she’s gasping for air. “Holy shit, that was intense.”
“Yes, it was.”
She pulls back and stares into my eyes. “It reminds me of the dream I had of us the other night.”
This is news to me. “Oh yeah? Just like that?”
“Yes,” she murmurs, kissing me gently. “It was a good dream.”
“I tell you what. We have a lot going on right now. As much as I want to carry you inside and make love to you all night, I don’t want to rush things with you.”
Her smile widens. “Such a gentleman. Okay, I agree. You’ll still sleep in the bed with me, right?”
I snort. “You know it. I’m not letting you out of my arms.”
“Good,” she says. “Then after tonight, I can’t promise I’ll be able to keep my hands to myself.”
I can’t promise I’ll be able to do the same either.