Now he was in front of her, towering, dominant.
He looked down at her face, his gaze roaming from her parted lips to the soft dip in her neck, where her pulse was visibly racing. "Is that why you can barely look me in the eyes?"
Kade didn't touch her. Not yet.
But it felt like he was.
"You shouldn't say things like that."
"Why not?"
"Forget it, Mr. Kade."
"Have you?...forgotten?" he asked. "I don't think you have. I don't think you forgot how good it felt…Which makes me wonder," he added, he was so close she could feel the heat of his body down her spine, "why you said yes to another man while your head is still trapped with the memory of me."
"Please," May whispered. "I need to get dinner ready."
"Why did you say yes?"
"Because I love him. Is that a good enough answer?!"
Her face became flushed, eyes glistening. Her chest rose and fell in short, erratic breaths. Mark was safe, routine, sanity. It was about choosing a man who didn't haunt her in her sleep then leave her aching in the middle of the night.
"You don't," Kade said simply, ruthlessly. "You think you do, but you don't."
"How would you know?" she snapped, furious at the audacity.
"Because you are mine!" Kade growled.
The words exploded from him. His eyes glowed gold, wild and flickering.
May gasped and stumbled back, hitting the edge of the counter. Her heartbeat thundered. "What are you talking about? How can I be yours? I haven't seen you in a year. You left without saying goodbye. And—what's that going on with your eyes?" she cried.
"Fuck it," he hissed under his breath.
He grabbed her face firmly, and crushed his lips to hers.
It was a kiss born of fire. It was possession. A mark. A claim.
She tried to push him away at first—but her body didn't listen.
Because his mouth remembered the way she liked to be kissed. His tongue moved with sinful familiarity. And when his hand slid to the nape of her neck and tilted her head just so—she melted. Just like before.
He hadn't meant to let his wolf surface but the bond had flared without his permission.
And now that his lips were over hers, there was no going back.
Because even if she didn't know what it meant to be a mate, her body did.
Her soul did.
And ignorance, in this case, was torture.
May whimpered into his mouth, a sound that set every nerve in his body alight. He deepened the kiss, his other hand sliding down to her waist.
He felt her body trembling against him with need, recognition.
And the wolf inside him howled.
She clung to him because her body remembered the truth before her mind could catch up. Her fingers fisted the fabric of his shirt as though letting go would cause her to collapse.
She gave him everything she could in that kiss—her anger, her confusion, her helpless longing.
It wasn't fair of him to show up now, to rip apart the fragile life she'd constructed with someone else. It wasn't fair to kiss her like he'd never left—when he couldn't promise her anything real. He was here, yet still so far from reachable.
Just as much as she was powerless against the bond, he was even more of a failed case.
The sound of the front door opening and closing was the only thing strong enough to jerk them both apart.
They stumbled backward, chests heaving, lips swollen, faces flushed. The spell broke—but only in movement. Not in the eyes. Never in the eyes.
They stood there, still shackled by the tension crackling between them, staring at each other as if blinking would erase everything that had just happened.
Footsteps approached, paired with the uneven roll of tiny wheels.
Miss Nelly's voice floated down the hallway in between soft giggles and babbled baby chatter.
When she crossed the threshold with Adelita in her walker, the tension between the two adults was impossible to miss. Her laughter faded as her eyes swept over them, instantly catching the red flush on May's cheeks, the way Kade's fists were still clenched at his sides, the magnetic tether still stretching between their bodies.
This is a problem, Nelly thought grimly.
"May," she said gently, though there was an edge of command in her voice. "Could you take Adelita for a shower? She smells like icing and cookies."
"Yes, Miss Nelly," May replied. She didn't dare meet Kade's eyes this time.
She rushed forward, scooping the toddler from the walker. Adelita gave a happy squeal and patted May's cheek, oblivious to the storm she was being carried away from.
"Make a decision now, Kade."
Nelly turned to face him fully, eyes hard. "Make a decision now because I will not allow you come here and upend that girl's life. Reject her and leave—or claim her and stay. You cannot be in between. She just said yes to a good man."
Kade's jaw flexed. A muscle in his cheek ticked.
"I cannot do either."
The words came out quiet, but they were heavy enough to shatter the room.
Nelly stared at him, her lips pressed into a thin line.
"Kade," she said. "May has been through hell and back. She carries scars that she cannot speak about." Her fingers twitched. "All I want for her is to be happy."
She stepped closer. "I know you are capable of giving her that. I know what you're like. If you let yourself, you'd fight an entire city for her, wouldn't you? You'd burn the forest down if anyone touched her. And still…she deserves more than half your heart."
Kade stared down at the table, fingers digging into the edge.
Nelly wasn't finished.
"Werewolves are mated to humans a lot of times. It's the way the Moon goddess keeps the balance. You're not the first. You won't be the last."
Kade lifted his head, eyes glowing faintly gold now. The beast was close. Close enough to taste his conflict.