Mate (Bride, #2)

by Ali Hazelwood

I make tea. He makes me add several spoonfuls of sugar, and we drink it on the back porch, sitting on the steps, long after the sun has set. From the same mug. His lips touch the same water molecules as mine.

His stare feels like a kiss. More than any kiss I’ve experienced ever did. “You’re really a nuisance, aren’t you?”

I eat most of one, then talk him into a bite by holding what’s left to his face and pouting. His mouth brushes my fingertips, and the memory of it imprints against the pad of my thumb. The scrape of his teeth. An impression of heat.

It’s getting late, and the ocean breeze has me shivering, but I don’t want to go inside. I’m afraid that it’ll be over, two doors and a hallway between us,

I’d have thought a piece of information like this one couldn’t be waterboarded out of me, but here I am. Giving it out for free.

And we must be some kind of perfect, perpetual motion machine—it’s that easy, the way my body slides against his as I straddle his lap. His hands lift to hover around my waist, then fall back to his side, fisted. There is a slight strain on my inner thighs as they open around his hips. His torso is longer than mine, and we’re just about eye to eye. Breath to breath.

“You can keep me forever,” I mumble into his throat, and his cock twitches under me.

“Is this okay? I’m making a mess of you, and—” “Do more of it.” I obey, rolling slowly, savoring every little bump.

His hand travels up my spine. Cups my nape. Our lips are closer than ever, but never meet.

“It’s okay. I know how hard this is. I’m going to take care of you, okay?”

“I’m going to make you come, however many times you need. And then I’m going elsewhere to make myself come.”

I want you to tell me what you need, and I want the privilege of giving it to you. I want you to use me.” A kiss on my collarbone.

The first orgasm hits me so hard, I dig my nails into his shoulders. Koen drags it even longer, wrings as much out of it as he possibly can without even touching me, just little slides of his hips where I need them the most. I tremble in his arms and let him take me apart as he tells me how beautiful I am, how good, how lost he is.

But he has better control than that. He urges me softly, patiently. Tells me to take what I want. His voice is hot against my cheek.

But…Koen. There is very little that I wouldn’t do for you, if you were to ask me.”

I should introduce Saul to Misery. Maybe meeting someone with the same terrible taste in music is the mirror she needs to rethink some life choices.

This ain’t my first rodeo—and by rodeo, of course, I mean kidnapping.

Her tone is so perfectly sensible, I briefly feel guilty about acting rudely. Then I remember that I’ve been abducted and swear that if I make it out of this alive, I’ll go back to therapy and divest myself from my people-pleasing tendencies.

“Why was she with the cul—excuse me, this totally legitimate social club?”

Lost girl to lost girl, I cannot help wondering whether she felt alone. Overwhelmed. Scared.

There is no smart when it comes to falling in love. Haven’t you learned that?”

But…I understand that our beliefs can appear unorthodox.” I don’t point out that the clinical phrase would be nuttier than banana bread.

Would you like some tea, Alpha?” “That would be lovely. Chai, two sugars.” “Nele? Do we have…No? No chai, unfortunately. Can we offer you anything else?” Koen sits back. “Lady, fuck you and your tea.”

I thrash around a little, mostly for show, but this is cathartic. I’ve never had a family to disappoint before, and it’s a bit of a power trip. Lots of fun. I don’t understand what Misery has been going on about.

Not on my fucking watch, Auntie.

“Um, so. Koen was, um, mad.” “Ah.” “You have been de-aunted, I fear.” “How tragic,” I say, not giving a single fuck.

Can I just say—I’ve had a lot of time to consider recent revelations, and I’m not at all surprised that you come from a long line of cult leaders. You’ve talked me into so much weird shit through the years, and I always wondered why I kept falling for it.”

You hit your head hard when you slammed into Irene. Basically, you are responsible for the worst of your own injuries. Way to show agency.” She holds up her hand. With a sigh, I high-five her.

Today I had to drink fridge blood, and it’s like going from gourmet peanut butter to diarrhea.”

Also, Sparkles says hi.” I glance at Misery, who slowly shakes her head. He doesn’t, she mouths at me. He cannot talk.

Ana blinks at her. “Are you trying to get rid of me so you can have a grown-up conversation with Serena?” “See? I told Lowe that you’re too smart to fall for this crap.” Misery rolls her eyes.

“I’m going to rip Serena a new one.” “What does that mean?” “You know how right now she only has one butthole? I’m going to—”

“Wow. She learned to pronounce your name.” “It’s tragic,” she says mournfully. “Every day I do my best to delay her cognitive development and keep her a child forever, and that’s how she repays me.” “My condolences.”

Listen, you’ve seen me stuff my bra with math homework. I’ve seen you with your eyebrows shaved. There’s no dignity left between us. We’ve been with each other at our worst—”

But I love him so much. Almost as much as he loves me.” I laugh, and some gross snot comes out.

I don’t care if we’re close geographically. I just want to feel like I know what’s going on with your life.”

So you have—so you have feelings. Big deal.”

“Such a fucking nuisance.” I wonder why it took me until this very moment to realize that it’s been his way of saying I love you all along.

Or maybe you’re actually a nuisance? 🧐😂

Koen can’t imagine ever finding his time spent with her anything less than thrilling.

She makes him buy her a TV and forces him to watch stupid Human movies she grew up with, and it’s just not plausible, that the twins came back from camp having switched places and the parents did not immediately figure it out from their scents.

Koen keeps expecting to see betrayal in the beast’s eyes, but he seems genuinely happy to have been domesticated and bedazzled. Koen can relate.

It doesn’t help, that he doesn’t hear from her more often while he’s gone. He refuses to become the kind of person who sends little heart emoji texts every ten minutes, but by God, can’t Serena shoulder the burden of being the needy one? Can’t she blow up his fucking phone?

Koen chucks his phone at Lowe and is proud of how squarely he hits his mouth.

You’re not the center of the fucking world. She is.

“Can you,” she says between kisses, “never”—kiss—“leave again?” Kiss. “Like, ever?” Kiss.

he doesn’t really trust the world to treat her right if he’s not around. She’s simply too beautiful.

How deep her little teeth got. The sharp blades of her canines. It even hurt a little. Okay, not really, but he felt her seize the inside of his soul.