Kidnapped by My Mate - part 2

First part here: Kidnapped by My Mate

A Wolf's Comfort

Pillow Barrier

Scent of a Soul Mate

Pain of Separation

Heart's Rebellion

Strength of Our Bond

Shower of Confessions

Dance of Trust

One More Day in Paris

Overpriced Wine

Parisian Picnic

Glimpse of Vulnerability

Romance in the City of Lights

Deception in the Bookstore

A Mother's Secret

A Wolf's Comfort

BELLE

The wolf approached me slowly, maintaining intense eye contact. I stared back at him, trying to control my shaky breathing.

He stopped directly in front of my face and let out a puff of air.

I flinched. More tears ran down my face.

Grayson whimpered. His wet nose touched mine. Then his tongue ran up my cheek and moved to the other one to do the same.

I realized then that he was licking up my tears--but I couldn't tell if he meant it to be comforting or if he was deciding whether he wanted to eat me.

I flinched again in disgust. I didn't want his saliva all over my face.

Grayson whimpered again. He moved back a bit and I felt something tugging on my shirt, and I looked down to see Grayson pulling on it with his teeth.

"Wh-what?" I asked.

He continued to pull on my shirt, slightly yanking me forward.

I looked at him, confused. "What do you want?"

I wasn't sure if he could understand me, but then he jerked his head toward the bed and barked loudly.

"The bed?" I asked.

He gestured with his snout again in confirmation.

Why would he want me to go to the bed? And more importantly, what did he want to do with me once I got there?

"Why?" I whispered.

He didn't respond. He just latched back on to my T-shirt with his mouth and continued to tug, this time with more force.

I was yanked forward a bit, and I gasped. "Okay, okay."

I rose from my spot on the floor slowly, never taking my eyes off the wolf in front of me. He moved with me, watching my every movement. Once I was on my feet, I realized just how big he truly was. Even when I was standing, he was taller than me, as big as a horse.

I approached the bed on shaky legs, noticing that Grayson stayed close, his fur brushing up against me, almost as if he expected me to fall at any moment.

I slowly sat down and took in a deep breath.

I looked back at the wolf and gave him a questioning look that said, "What now?"

Grayson came to stand in front of me. He pressed his nose against my chest and nuzzled me.

"I—what?" I lost my balance and ended up on my back, staring at the ceiling. I blinked.

I felt the bed shake violently, and realized that Grayson was coming to lie down next to me.

I watched warily as he got comfortable. He lay down and put his head on his paws, then whimpered.

"What?" I asked.

He closed his eyes and then made a growling noise that sounded suspiciously like a snore. He opened his eyes again and looked at me.

"You want to go to sleep?"

He barked. He moved forward and touched my arm with his nose. Then he looked at me and barked again.

"You want me to sleep?" I was beyond confused at this point.

Why did he want me to go to sleep? What good would that do?

Grayson barked yet again and nodded his big wolf's head quickly. He stared at me as though he expected me to fall asleep right then and there, but I didn't.

I mean, how could I?

He really was a beautiful animal-terrifying, but beautiful.

He was solid black to match his eyes, and strong.

I looked away. I should not be admiring a monster. My gaze returned to the ceiling as the tears continued to flow. I had calmed down a bit, but still my body shook.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Grayson put his head back on his paws as he let out a huff. I could feel his eyes on me, which was unsettling. So Grayson could turn into a wolf.

I'd been kidnapped by a werewolf who claimed I belonged to him. One with absolutely no self-control.

This was fan-fucking-tastic!

It explained a lot, though. It explained his color-changing eyes, his insanely huge muscles, and his strength.

I also assumed it had something to do with why Kyle called him "Alpha."

The word alpha had to do with wolves, right? Or did it only relate to the Greek alphabet?

I still wasn't sure why I was being called "Luna" though. Or why I had been kidnapped.

Or what he was planning on doing with me.

We lay like that for an hour and a half, with my mind racing and him watching me, until eventually my adrenaline ran out and my body stopped shaking. The tears on my cheeks had finally dried, too. I looked at Grayson, and he lifted his head at the movement.

"Can I get up now?"

He shook his head.

"Why not?"

He only put his head back on his paws and closed his eyes.

Well, that didn't give me an answer. And if he was going to take a nap, then there was nothing stopping me from getting up.

I slowly propped myself up into a sitting position. Grayson didn't like that at all. He stood and placed one of his enormous paws on my shoulder, putting enough pressure on it that I was forced to lie back down.

Now I huffed.

"You know I will not be able to sleep, right? So why do I just have to lie here?"

Grayson just lay back down, resuming the position that he'd been in before.

I stared up at the ceiling and sighed. I could feel his eyes roaming my body. "I'm for sure not going to be able to sleep with you staring at me."

I looked at him only to see that his eyes were now closed.

Well, that's better than nothing.

Another excruciatingly long hour passed like this. My confusion only grew. What was he waiting for? Did he just want me to stay like this forever?

I'd finally had enough. I didn't care how big he was or about the fact that he could rip me to shreds. I couldn't just lie there anymore.

I jerked my body into a sitting position and quickly began scooting toward the end of the bed, hoping to get there before Grayson could stop me.

I'd barely made it far when he pounced on me, putting his paws on either side of my body and growling.

"I can't just lie there anymore! I need to move!" I yelled at him.

He growled and pressed his nose to my chest.

He forced me back down, so I was lying again. I tried fighting him, but it was no use. He was like a million times stronger than me.

I huffed out my annoyance.

I thought he would move away once I was back down, but he didn't.

Instead, he lowered so that he was lying on top of me, with his stomach pressing into mine, his legs supporting his weight on either side of me, and his head between my breasts-making sure I couldn't go anywhere.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

I squirmed a bit, trying to get him to move. He just put more weight on me, completely immobilizing me. Even my arms were stuck underneath him. I couldn't move at all.

This was going to be a long day.

Pillow Barrier

BELLE

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was that I had fallen asleep. After all the protesting I'd done, insisting to the wolf that I wasn't going to fall asleep, I had. The second thing I noticed was that I was wrapped around another human's body—a male human.

And he was running his hand up and down my back in a soothing manner.

"Grayson?"

He kissed my head. "Yeah, beautiful, it's me."

I noticed that I was holding on to his body like a koala to a tree.

I quickly untangled myself from him and sat up a little, feeling my face heat up.

I looked at him. Did I dream the whole thing?

"You're human again?"

He smiled a bit.

"Yeah. After you fell asleep, my wolf gave me back control, and I shifted back."

"I didn't mean to fall asleep," I muttered, angry that I had lost yet another battle with Grayson.

He tucked a piece of hair behind my ear.

"I know you didn't. You were being stubborn. But thank goodness you did because my wolf would not give me back control until you fell asleep.

"He was extremely worried about you. It was either force you to sleep or complete the mating process, but I convinced him you needed sleep."

At the word mating, I realized something.

"Grayson, if I look down will you be wearing pants?" I wasn't sure if when you shifted, you would still have clothes on.

He smiled widely. "Curious about that, are you? Why don't you check, baby?"

I gaped at him. "Ew, no!" I grabbed a pillow and shoved it in his face. "You're disgusting!"

He laughed loudly and lifted the sheet from his body. I was afraid to look, but was thankful when I saw boxers covering him.

"Someday you won't feel that way," he said. "Someday you'll be looking all you want. In fact, you'll be doing a lot more than just looking." He smirked.

My mouth fell open in shock at his words.

"Ugh, you're so gross!" I yelled. "Is that all you can think about? Sex?"

He ran a hand through his hair and shrugged, still smiling widely. God, he was beautiful.

"Yeah, basically. If we were a normal couple, we would ve had sex multiple times by now."

That took me aback. "If we were a normal couple? A normal couple?" I asked angrily. "We're not a couple at all!

You forced this on me! I don't even want to be here!"

He sighed and sat up. He brought a hand up and cupped my cheek, running his thumb over my cheekbone.

"I'm sorry, Belle. I know how confused and overwhelmed you must be. I promise this wasn't how it was supposed to go. God, if we hadn't met on a plane, this whole mess could have been avoided."

"Why would that have made any difference?"

"I could have courted you the proper way, asked you out, and marked you when you were ready.

"But the turbulence happened, and that asshole who stared at your boobs also needed to face the consequences. Marking you was the only thing that would keep me from ripping his head off."

His hand brushed over the bite mark on my neck, and I could only assume that he was talking about when he'd bit me in the airplane bathroom. Shivers ran down my spine.

"You're only a human... You're so, so vulnerable, and I could see that you had gone through so much. So my wolf forced me to do it. "I had to protect you. I guess I could have just let you go once the plane landed.

"But I knew you needed to be near me. The pain of being apart would have been unbearable, especially right after I'd marked you. I had to take you with me. I'm sorry."

He looked truly and genuinely apologetic, and for that I was grateful. But it didn't make it okay.

"I need answers," I said. "I've never been so confused in my life."

He nodded. "I know. Ask away. I will tell you anything."

I let my shoulders sag in relief. It surprised me he was being so compliant.

"Um..." Where do I even begin?

As I sat beside him, I felt his hand on my leg, starting to rub up and down.

My body relaxed a bit. I leaned toward him. His other hand went to my waist and squeezed.

Our bodies were gravitating toward each other, becoming closer and closer by the second.

"No!" I suddenly snapped out of it. I pushed his hands away from me. "No, you can't touch me. I can't think when you touch me."

I grabbed one of the pillows and put it between us, then placed more pillows atop and around it.

"What are you doing?" Grayson asked.

"This is my side of the bed," I said, pointing to where I was sitting. Then I pointed at Grayson's side.

"That is your side of the bed. You stay on your side, I'll stay on my side. Then I think I'll be able to get through this."

"You think a pillow barrier will keep me from you?"

I shook my head.

"Well, if your touch didn't turn me into a pool of melted goo, then we wouldn't have this problem!"

I yelled. When I saw him trying to contain his laughter I sighed.

"Just please stay on your side, okay?"

He raised his hands in surrender. "Whatever you say."

"Okay," I said. "Okay, so you're a werewolf."

Scent of a Soul Mate

BELLE

"Okay, so you're a werewolf."

Grayson raised an eyebrow. "Caught that, did you?"

I glared at him. "How?" I asked.

"How what?"

"How are you a werewolf?"

He leaned back, thinking about it for a second.

"Well, it's complicated. We're not sure. I was born like this. I got my wolf when I hit puberty. You don't become a werewolf or anything," he sighed. "We know that our ancestors must've had something to do with wolves, but we're not sure exactly what that was, or how our kind came to be. We can only assume that it had something to do with magic."

"Magic?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, some sort of ritual to strengthen our ancestors or something like that." He shrugged.

"So are...other things real?"

He gave me a questioning look. "Other things?"

"Yeah, like witches and wizards, or fairies or vampires?"

His eyes darkened a bit.

"Yes, all real. But we all keep to ourselves.

Our species don't exactly... get along. Vampires and werewolves have been at war for centuries."

I paused for a second. "What about the Easter Bunny?"

Grayson stared at me for a second. He tried to contain it, but he eventually broke out in laughter.

"I tell you about a war between werewolves and vampires, and you associate that with the Easter Bunny?"

I looked down at my hands. He was right. I probably sounded like I was five years old.

I felt fingers slide under my chin and lift my head up. My eyes connected with Grayson's.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I didn't mean it that way. That's a very valid question after all you have gone through over the last couple of days. No, the Easter Bunny is not real.

Nor are the Tooth Fairy or Santa Claus." He smiled. "I'm sorry if that ruins your childhood."

I did feel a tad bit disappointed, but tried not to let it show. I grabbed his hand that was still under my chin and moved it away. I pointed to where he was sitting.

"Your side," I reminded him.

He grumbled something quietly under his breath but followed my orders, not looking happy about it.

I took a deep breath, preparing myself for the next question I was about to ask.

"Why am I here? What do you want from me?"

He sighed. "Belle.." He leaned forward, and I could tell that he desperately wanted to touch me.

He glared down at the pillows before looking at me once more. "You're my mate."

"Yeah, you've mentioned that. But what does that mean?" I said stubbornly.

He looked hesitant to tell me as he fidgeted where he sat.

"It means that we're meant to be together. We're meant to be a couple and love each other. We're soulmates."

I stared at him for a few seconds. I didn't think I comprehended what he'd said. "I'm sorry?"

Grayson stared deep into my eyes and I felt as if he could see straight into my soul. "We're soulmates," he repeated.

"What do you mean? That doesn't make any sense."

"I know, but let me try to explain. Wolves usually mate for life. Mating for life is especially true for werewolves. Every werewolf has what we like to call a 'mate,' someone they are destined to be with forever."

"Like... Like you mean" -I hesitated with my next word —"romantically?"

He smiled. "You're adorable."

I blushed deeply, and he chuckled.

"Yes, I mean romantically. Like husbands and wives in human terms. Just more like husband and wife at first sight because we know we're meant to be together right away."

"I-I.." I didn't know how to respond. "And you think I'm your mate?"

His expression intensified. "I don't think you're my mate, I know."

I scooched away from him and his eyes narrowed. I was feeling extremely conflicted. It was like half of me wanted to jump into his arms and never leave, and the other half wanted to run for the hills.

Could it be that he was just making this all up?

"How do you know?" I asked.

"Well, it starts with a scent. You scent your mate when you first come near them. It's supposed to be the most amazing thing you've ever smelled in your entire life?"

He leaned forward, breathing in deeply.

"I smelled you when I stepped onto that plane, and I knew you were mine."

"That's how you knew?" I asked skeptically. "Because I smelled good?"

He nodded. "There are other things too. Like when we touch. There are sparks."

I looked away. He was talking about the small fireworks that traveled throughout my body whenever he touched me. I'd felt them. And the feeling terrified me because that meant at least one thing he was saying had to be true.

"Belle," Grayson said, "I know you know what I'm talking about. You've felt the sparks, haven't you?"

I licked my lips. "Um...I don't, I don't know..."

He held up his hand. "Touch me."

I looked at him skeptically. "I already told you, I'm not—"

"I will not do anything, Belle," Grayson interrupted. "Just touch my hand."

His voice brooked no argument, so I slowly lifted my hand and placed it gently against his.

Tingles immediately appeared in my hand, traveling up my arm and down to my toes. I gasped.

"You feel them?" he asked as he threaded our fingers together.

I nodded, amazed at how good the sparks felt. As crazy as it sounded, there was something definitely magical about his touch, and what he was telling me kind of made sense.

He smiled widely as he looked at our intertwined fingers.

His smile took my breath away.

"It's our bond traveling between us. You can tell that our bond is strong based on how intense the sparks are. And by your reaction to when I touch you."

His smile turned into a smirk.

I immediately dropped my hand from his. "My reaction to your touch? I have no reaction to your touch!"

He raised an eyebrow. "Wasn't it you who said only minutes ago that you couldn't think when I touched you?"

My cheeks turned bright red. I did say that, didn't I?

Grayson laughed. "It's okay, gorgeous. I feel the same way about your touch."

My eyes snapped up to meet his. "You do?"

His eyes softened.

"Of course I do. In fact, I know that my feelings are even stronger toward you than yours are toward me. I'm an alpha, so my instinct is to protect you, love you, and provide for you."

I blinked at him. "An alpha?"

"You know how wolves travel in packs?" he said.

I nodded.

"Well, there is also a leader of the pack. It's always the strongest wolf that takes over the pack, the

'alpha? I am the alpha of my pack."

I shifted my weight. "You're the strongest wolf of your pack?" I asked.

"Yes. And my pack is probably the strongest in the world.

I took over as alpha when I was sixteen years old, after fighting the original alpha and winning.

"But I and the people around me knew that I would probably become alpha at an early age based on the size of my wolf and my fighting and leadership skills."

I was a little intimidated by his power and strength. I'd already felt like he could squash me like a bug, but now that I knew he was superhumanly powerful, I felt even more scared of him.

Grayson sighed. "You have nothing to worry about, beautiful. I would never hurt you. My wolf

would never allow it."

I still wasn't sure if I trusted him. "So that's why Kyle kept calling you Alpha?"

Grayson nodded. "Yes. It is a term of respect."

"And why was he calling me 'Luna'?"

"That's because you are the mate to the alpha, and the name for that is luna. He wouldn't ever call you anything else?'

"So it's like calling someone 'king' or 'queen?' It's to show someone's hierarchy?" I asked.

He smiled and nodded, "Yes, that's exactly what it's like. You are my queen."

I tried to ignore the intense look in his eyes and how badly my instincts were telling me to touch him, but it was getting harder and harder. The bite mark on my neck was hurting.

It reminded me of another question I had: "Why did you bite me?"

He ran his hand through his hair. "Yes, I knew that would come up." He sighed. "A male wolf will bite his female to show all other wolves that she belongs to him. The bigger the mark, the higher the ranking of the female's mate. Your mark is large," he said proudly, eyeing the mark on my neck.

I rolled my eyes. "Cocky much?" I whispered under my breath.

When I looked back up, Grayson's face was directly in front of mine. I could feel his breath on my cheeks. I gasped.

"What was that, mate?"

I shook my head. "N-nothing," I stuttered.

"Hmm. Another thing you should know about werewolves, love..." Grayson's eyes searched mine.

"We have amazing hearing."

His lips were so close to mine. If I moved forward, my lips would meet his.

I leaned toward him, seeking out the warmth of his mouth on mine as if by instinct. But right before we could kiss, Grayson moved away.

He looked at me smugly.

"Sorry, I forgot to stay on my side of the bed." He leaned back on his arms. "Plus, I'm not kissing you until you ask me to, remember?"

I glared at him. I didn't like this game he was forcing me to play.

He laughed at my attempt to look angry. "Ask me to kiss you, and your problem will be solved."

I scoffed. As if I would ever do that. "Absolutely not!"

He shrugged. "Your loss, sweetheart."

I shifted uncomfortably and hardened my gaze. "So you bit me as a way to claim your property?"

His gaze roamed up and down my body slowly, and he smirked.

"Yes. You were already mine, but the mark just solidified that fact and let others around us know of it as well."

I swallowed hard. I took in a deep breath, preparing myself for my next question.

"Are you ever going to let me go?"

Pain of Separation

BELLE

Grayson's eyes darkened the second the words left my tongue, and I immediately moved back, worried that he would turn into a wolf again.

He watched me closely. When he saw me moving away from him he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When his eyes opened again, they were back to their normal color.

"Belle," he breathed out. "You don't know it now because I'm with you, but if I were to, for some odd reason, let you go, you would somehow find your way back to me."

I shook my head, ready to disagree and argue, but he kept talking.

"Do you remember how it felt when I was away from you yesterday? How you almost fainted and were in immense pain?"

I winced at the memory, but I nodded my head glumly.

"Now imagine that pain intensified by ten. You were only downstairs, a floor away from me, when that happened. I don't even want to think about what would happen if you were even farther away. Plus, your instincts would tell you to come back to me if I didn't get to you first. Eventually you would. The mate bond would force you to."

My heart started beating faster.

"Will I always feel that pain when I'm away from you?"

I saw Grayson clench and unclench his fists. I wasn't sure if it was anger or something else.

"No. It will eventually stop. Our bodies will slowly adapt to being away from each other. But we will always crave each other's presence."

My shoulders slumped. "So I will never go home?" Tears pooled in my eyes.

Grayson swore under his breath as he watched me. His expression told me all that I needed to know. He would not let me go. He intended on keeping me close to him forever.

I cried harder at this realization.

Grayson glared down at the pillows between us. "Screw this," he said.

He came toward me, knocking away the pillows in his path.

I held up my hand, stopping him in his tracks. "No! No, stop, please, I just—I just, I can't," I sobbed.

Grayson groaned. "Belle, please let me touch you. Please, it is killing my wolf to see you like this. It is my job as your mate to take care of you."

I looked at him. I had finally reached my breaking point.

"Don't call me that! I am not your... your mate! It is not your job to do anything for me!" I screamed. I was hysterical. I couldn't control it anymore. It was all too much for me.

"Belle," I heard Grayson growl. He stood, running a hand through his hair with a look of agony on his face. "I just... fuck!" he yelled and threw a punch at the wall.

The entire room shook; his fist left behind a giant hole.

I jumped back and sobbed harder. How had I gotten myself into this mess? I hugged my knees to myself, letting all of my emotions free.

My stomach churned, and I felt like I was about to puke.

I tried to ignore it, but the throbbing right where Grayson had bitten me was getting to be almost unbearable. Grayson crouched down by the bed next to me. He seemed to be calmer, but his eyes were still pitch black, which scared me even more.

"It's your mark isn't it, baby? I know you must be in a lot of pain. Please, please let me make you feel better."

I watched him closely as tears continued to rush down my face.

He lifted his hand slowly and brought it close to my face so it was almost touching my cheek.

I wanted so badly to just let it happen, to let him touch me and to feel the sparks running through my body. I leaned toward him a bit. I wanted to jump into his arms and hold on to him for dear life.

The truth was that I didn't only want him to touch me because I wanted the pain to stop.

I wanted to touch him, too, because I wanted the look of agony to leave his face.

I wanted to comfort him...because I liked him.

I liked my kidnapper. How is this even possible?

I snapped back.

No, I couldn't let this happen. I wasn't going to lie down and give up because he'd told me some crazy story.

That might have been his world, but it wasn't mine. I couldn't give in to this 'mate bond.

I hurried to the other side of the bed.

"Please just leave, Grayson," I sobbed. "I just want to be alone." Small hiccups left my mouth.

He didn't move. "No," he snapped. "I am not leaving you."

I felt defeated. I covered my face with my hands and sobbed as I whispered, "Please, just leave.

Please, just leave. Please, just leave. " I repeated it over and over again.

I heard more swear words leave his mouth, and, a few seconds later, I heard footsteps leave the room.

And that's when the pain really started.

Heart's Rebellion

BELLE

The days that followed were complete hell. I had no clue how long I stayed in that room, writhing in pain thanks to the stupid bite mark Grayson had put on my neck. I spent most of my time lying in bed, screaming and shaking as I drifted in and out of consciousness from the pain. I lost count of how many times I got sick.

I kept having to run between the en suite bathroom and the bed every time my stomach churned. I knew at this point I was only throwing up bile.

Finally I gave up on trying to make it back to the bed and instead just slept on the bathroom floor. I would wake, screaming, as wave after wave of immense, throbbing agony shot through my body.

Kyle came into the room a few times with food, begging me to let Grayson come in.

After he'd left me, I'd heard Grayson tearing up the living room downstairs, smashing things and arguing with Kyle. It was so loud, I could only imagine what the gorgeous hotel room looked like now.

This only made me feel better about my decision to keep

Grayson away.

He had no control of his anger, and I wanted him nowhere near me. A few times I felt him outside my door. My pain would improve just the smallest bit. He would stay there for hours. Sometimes I would hear his wolf whimpering.

It made my heart ache a bit, but I did my best to ignore it.

Every time Kyle asked to let Grayson in, I would just repeat over and over again that I didn't want him anywhere near me. I would get through this on my own.

Grayson had said that eventually the pain would stop. Once that happened, I could finally get out of here. I just had to fight through it.

For days the pain only worsened until I was an unmoving mess on the floor.

I couldn't eat; I couldn't sleep; I couldn't do anything.

And what's even worse was that my only thoughts were of Grayson. No matter how hard I tried to stop it, my mind would go back to him.

I could no longer sense if he was outside my door.

I couldn't feel anything but pain.

I wondered if he was out there or if he had completely forgotten about me and was doing something else to fill his time. The thought made me sad.

I thought about his hair, his eyes, his chin, his mouth. I thought about his smile and how it felt to have his arms around me.

I thought about my undeniable attraction to him and how he made me feel safeso much more than he scared me. He somehow made me feel like I wasn't alone.

He was so gentle with me, as if I was a glass object about to break. He'd told me he would always take care of me. He'd shown me nothing but kindness since I'd met him, and yet I had still turned him away.

I mean, he'd kidnapped me. He'd almost killed a man.

He was huge and strong and could undoubtedly break me like a toothpick. And, oh yeah, he could turn into a rabid wolf at any moment.

Can't forget about that.

But despite all of this, I still craved being next to him and feeling his skin against mine.

I wanted to kiss him again—and hold his hand and caress his hair.

I wondered how he was feeling right now.

God, he had looked so heartbroken when I'd begged him to leave me alone. I wondered if he really felt that way or if it was all an act. He could just be a kidnapper playing mind games with his victim. But what if I was really his mate and had sent him away feeling awful after he'd poured his heart out to me?

My heart tightened.

I reminded myself that I didn't know if he was telling the truth about the whole mate thing.

But I guess he had turned into a wolf in front of my very eyes.

So he for sure wasn't lying about being a werewolf. Which was a little terrifying to think about, but his wolf hadn't hurt me. So he probably wasn't lying about me being his mate.

And deep down, I secretly hoped he was telling the truth, because, number one, it would mean that I was actually safe with my kidnapper. I mean, the guy had said that we were soul mates.

There was no way he'd actually hurt me.

Number two, it would explain why I was so blatantly attracted to him without even knowing him, and would provide a simple explanation for all the embarrassing fantasies that had been playing in my head since I'd met him.

And, number three, I mean... Have you seen the guy?

He was freaking gorgeous. And kind, and charming, and protective, and the first person to make me feel anything other than sadness in so long.

Oh God. Why did I make him leave again?

Why was I pushing away the first good thing to happen to me after my dad died?

I felt myself moving before I even comprehended what I was doing.

I practically sprinted to the door and flung it open.

I was a girl on a mission.

I didn't know where Grayson was, but I decided I wouldn't stop looking until I found him.

When I walked out into the hallway though, my eyes immediately connected with his. I sucked in a deep breath.

He was sitting up against the wall at the end of the long corridor, his knees bent.

He looked exhausted.

His beard had grown out and there were large bags under his eyes. My heart broke at the sight of him. His eyes widened when he saw me, and he slowly stood, as if he was afraid to scare me away.

I hesitantly took one step toward him and then another, and then I was practically sprinting toward him. He met me halfway, and I flung my arms around his neck.

And everything was suddenly okay.

Strength of Our Bond

BELLE

Sweet relief from the pain that I had dealt with for the past several days came crashing into my body, and flet out a sob.

Grayson wrapped his arms tightly around my middle and then shifted them to beneath my butt so he could lift me.

I wrapped my legs around his waist and clung to him for what felt like dear life.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered into my hair. "God, I'm so sorry."

I nodded my head to show that I understood, and pressed myself closer to him.

"I'm sorry too," I whispered into his neck.

He squeezed me gently. No more words were needed.

We stayed like that for a few minutes, just holding each other and breathing each other in.

It was pure bliss, and I never wanted it to end.

But then Grayson moved. I panicked. Was he going to put me down? Was he going to leave me again? He must have sensed my panic because he ran a hand soothingly up and down my back as he walked.

"Shh," he said. "I've got you."

He carried me past the room I'd spent the last few days in and into the room next to it.

Without letting go of me, he closed the door and then made his way over to the bed.

He laid us down so we were both on our sides facing each other with our bodies entwined.

Our foreheads touched, and for a while, we just stared into each other's eyes.

Our breathing became in sync and everything felt so... right.

After some time I brought my hand up to touch the dark bags under his eyes.

"When was the last time you slept?" I asked him.

He shrugged his shoulders a bit. "About the last time you did."

I furrowed my brow. "T've slept a lot over the last few days."

He pulled me closer, tightening his hold on me.

"No, you've passed out. And never for more than a few minutes. There's a difference between passing out and sleeping."

"How did you know I passed out?"

"Because I felt it. I felt everything you went through."

"You did?" I asked, surprised.

He nodded slowly and ran a thumb over my cheekbone.

"Our bond is stronger than the average werewolf couple.

I'm not sure why. I can feel your strongest emotions.

Usually that doesn't happen until after you've completed the mating process."

I shuddered when he reached a hand under my shirt and ran it up and down my back.

"Do I even want to know what the mating process is?"

He smiled slightly.

"I'm probably not the best person to tell you. But I promise you'll enjoy every second of it. You'll be begging me not to stop."

His eyes drifted between us, roaming over my body. He licked his lips hungrily.

I scoffed and shoved at his shoulder lightly. He growled playfully and squeezed me tighter to him.

His teeth nipped at my ear.

"S-so, um," I stuttered when he leaned back to look at me.

"The mating process, It, uh, has to do with, um" —1 cleared my throat a bit-"that?"

Grayson's eyes glittered with amusement. "Do you mean sex, mate?"

My cheeks blushed a dark red. I nodded my head.

Grayson licked his lips and smirked.

"Yes. It has to do with lots and lots of sex."

His voice was deeper than usual, and I noticed that his eyes were slowly becoming darker the more we talked about the topic. I shifted uncomfortably thinking about Grayson and me having sex. He noticed that I was moving farther away from him, and he immediately pulled me closer.

"Nuh-uh, you are not getting away from me. I don't care how nervous sex makes you."

I looked anywhere but his eyes. He didn't know it, but I had never had sex before. I just hadn't had the time for boys when my dad got sick.

The thought of having sex for the first time with someone who seemed as experienced as Grayson made my stomach turn into knots.

Grayson's hand went under my chin, and he lifted my head until my eyes met his.

"You have nothing to worry about, beautiful. Nothing will happen until you are one hundred percent ready and comfortable, Even then, I will take care of you. I'll always take care of you."

I relaxed a bit, even though the idea still made me nervous.

Hearing his words, I wanted to melt into a puddle. He pressed his forehead against mine again, and we stayed like that for a while. It was interesting to stare into his swirling black eyes. It was almost as if they were sucking me in..

I found myself reaching up and cupping his face. I ran a thumb under his eyes.

"That's your wolf?" I asked quietly.

Grayson placed his hand over mine and turned his head to kiss my palm gently. "Yes."

"Are you going to turn into a wolf now?"

"No, don't worry about that. He's just watching you. I mean, he's always watching through my eyes. He's just more present now because we're so close to you."

I continued to stare into his eyes as the black swirled around like a mist in his irises.

It was mesmerizing.

"What is he doing right now?"

"He's worrying about you. He doesn't enjoy seeing you so sad. He also continues to remind me of the fact that you haven't eaten or slept in days. He's mad at me for not taking care of you?"

"He can talk to you?"

Grayson shook his head. "No. He doesn't speak. He is a wolf, after all. But somehow we just understand each other.

We are the same being. My wolf is me just as much as 1 am him."

"Huh," I breathed out, intrigued by everything that Grayson was saying. It was all so interesting.

"He likes that you're curious about him. He enjoys having your attention."

"He does?"

"Yeah, you make him really happy." He tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. "You make us both really happy."

I wasn't sure how to respond, so I just stayed quiet.

"Belle," Grayson said, "I need you to know how sorry 1 am for all that you have been through since you met me. I know how scary and overwhelming this whole thing has been for you."

He squeezed my waist. "And what's even worse is that I'm the cause of all of your distress. It kills me to see you so upset. I wish I could've done all of this differently. It was just the circumstances in which we met that made all of this so hard. Just please know that it was never supposed to be this way. I am so unbelievably sorry."

He looked so pained-like he might break down at any moment.

I leaned into him more. Then I paused for a moment.

What am I doing?

I realized that I was seeking to comfort him.

The more time I spent with Grayson, the less scared I felt.

In fact, I was actually starting to trust him. As strange as it sounded, trusting him felt natural. It felt easy.

Just like being in his arms.

And standing there, so close to Grayson, there was nothing I wanted more than to just be with him.

"I'm sorry too," I whispered.

He scrunched his eyebrows together. "Why are you sorry?"

I sighed. "I never gave you a chance. I was afraid and refused to listen. Even after you were so sweet to me, I refused to listen."

Grayson smiled slightly. "As happy as I am to hear you say that, you had every right to be afraid. I can't imagine being in your shoes."

His thumb began to trace circles around my hip bone as he held me by the waist. I inched closer to him.

"You were right," I said.

He raised an eyebrow. "About what?"

I looked deeply into his eyes. "I found my way back to you."

His smile widened until it took over his entire face. He said nothing, just pulled me closer, placing his forehead against mine. He gently rubbed noses with me and hummed out his contentment.

I breathed him in and basked in how it felt to be in his arms.

"Grayson?" I asked after a few minutes.

He lifted an eyebrow in response as his hands continued to dance across my skin.

"Can, um, can we try something?"

He paused for a moment. "What do you want to try, baby?"

I took a deep breath and looked deep into his eyes. They were so intense as he waited for me to speak.

"Um... I, um, well, can we...?"

He took my hand in his and threaded our fingers together.

He gave them a gentle squeeze, telling me to go on.

"Never mind," I blurted out.

"Well, that will not do," Grayson said. He moved in, so that his face was hovering just inches over mine. He placed a hand on my waist. "Tell me."

I shook my head, "No. It's not important."

His hand drifted under my shirt. I tried to stop him but he said, "Are you ticklish, gorgeous?"

I gaped at him. Was he planning on tickling me? "I'm not ticklish at all," I said quickly.

He leaned down until his lips were brushing up against my ear. "I can sense your lie, baby," he whispered. "Just tell me what you were going to say and I won't do anything."

"Seriously, it doesn't matter! I promise!"

"Yeah, I don't believe you," he stated.

He moved his fingers against my skin in a way that left me laughing hysterically. I squirmed and grabbed at his hands, but he just kept tickling me without mercy.

"Stop!" I yelled out between laughs. "Grayson, stop!"

"Just tell me what you were going to say and I'll stop!"

"No, no!" I laughed. "T'm not going to tell you!" I tried pushing him off of me, but he really wasn't budging.

He laughed along with me.

"Just tell me!" He began tickling me with extra force, and I almost peed my pants from laughing so hard.

"Okay, okay!" I finally gave in. "I was going to ask you to kiss me!"

Grayson immediately stopped and leaned back.

I slapped a hand over my mouth. I could not believe I'd just said that.

"What?" Grayson asked in shock.

I couldn't even look at him. I was mortified.

"Well, I, um, I didn't mean I, you know, wanted you to kiss"

Grayson immediately stopped and leaned back.

I slapped a hand over my mouth. I could not believe I'd just said that.

"What?" Grayson asked in shock.

I couldn't even look at him. I was mortified.

"Well, I, um, I didn't mean I, you know, wanted you to kiss me, I just, um—"

Grayson's face was suddenly directly in front of mine.

"Thank God," he whispered

And then he kissed me.

Shower of Confessions

BELLE

Grayson's lips moved against mine, soft like silk. A content grumble escaped his throat as he moved so that he was between my legs. He ran his hands up and down my sides, leaving intense sparks traveling throughout my body.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, letting my fingers tangle into his hair. He reached his hands under my shirt and raised it up.

I instantly pulled away and grabbed his hands to make him stop. "I-I'm sorry," I said.

He moved back as well and looked at me. He smiled slightly and then rubbed his nose against mine. "It's perfectly okay, beautiful. I'm in no rush."

I let out a sigh of relief and settled back into the bed.

"Thank you," I whispered.

Grayson smiled and lay down next to me. He moved me so we were facing each other again, and wrapped his arms tightly around me. He nuzzled his face into my neck.

"I'm so glad you're feeling better. It physically hurt me to know how much pain you were in and to know that it was all my fault."

I nodded. I grabbed his hand and played with his fingers.

I followed the lines of his palm gently with my nails, and smiled when he shivered and tugged me closer to him.

"It wasn't all your fault." I pressed my face into his chest, feeling my cheeks turn bright red at my words. I couldn't believe that I was saying any of this. "I was being stubborn.

I was just scared. But..."

He cupped my cheeks in his hands, turning my face to look at him. "But..?" He urged me to continue.

I sighed as I stared into his gorgeous green eyes. I squirmed nervously. "But...I-I think I kind of like you?"

His eyes flashed black for a second as an enormous smile broke out on his face. "Do you now?"

That was not the response I was looking for. I'd hoped that he would reciprocate my feelings, not make fun of them. I buried my face into his neck and groaned.

"Hey, hey, hey," he said, laughing. He rubbed my back.

"Belle, look at me." I shook my head. "Belle, baby, look at me." He squeezed my side slightly.

I slowly lifted my head from his neck and looked at him.

He smiled and put his hand beneath my chin, then lifted my face and placed his lips against mine.

He moved his lips slowly and gently, letting his actions speak for him. I could feel his passion within the kiss-lust, and... love? I moaned softly.

He pulled away and looked at me once again. "1 am so unbelievably happy to hear you say that, Belle. And trust me, the feeling is more than mutual."

I took in a deep breath and nodded nervously. "Okay," I heard myself say.

Okay? Okay? Is that seriously how you just responded, Belle? Ugh.

Grayson chuckled. "Okay."

Before I could come up with a better response, he put his face in my neck, trailing open-mouthed kisses up and down it. And I mean open-mouthed kisses with his tongue. I shivered and gasped.

I licked my lips. "Grayson?" I asked shakily.

"Mmm?" he murmured, never taking his lips from my throat.

"Um..." I cleared my throat. He was being extremely distracting. "Can I ask you something?"

"Mmm...," he repeated. His lips were now on my jaw.

I smiled a bit. "Are you going to stop kissing me so I can talk?" I shoved his shoulders slightly.

He smiled against my skin and kissed all the way over to my ear. He placed a kiss on my earlobe and then whispered,

"Baby girl, if it were up to me, I would never stop kissing you,"

Something in my stomach tightened. I squirmed in his arms.

He groaned loudly.

"God, I can smell you and you smell so..." He paused. He placed his forehead against mine, and I noticed his eyes were black again. "So good," he finished.

He kissed me once again, this time with more force. I breathed out in contentment and pressed my body against his. He lifted himself so he was above me and between my legs.

He grabbed the sides of my thighs and moved them until my legs were wrapped around his waist. Our bodies moved in sync, almost like we were magnets pulling and pushing against each other. Grayson had my mind spinning and my entire being tingling like never before.

And then, suddenly, his lips weren't on mine anymore.

I whimpered and tried to hang on to his body and bring it back down to mine, but he sat up and ran a hand through his hair as he watched me.

I gave him a questioning look.

I'm sure I looked like a complete mess—my hair greasy and tangled from not having a shower or a good brushing in days, bags under my eyes, my chest heaving.

He swore softly, looking at me with his intense black eyes.

"This is becoming painful."

I shrank in on myself at his comment.

I knew he thought I looked disgusting. He could probably smell all the sweat and vomit that had come from my body over the last few days, especially with his enhanced wolfy smelling powers.

"Oh," I whispered. I sat up and moved until my back was against the headboard. "Sorry, I haven't taken a shower in a little while."

He laughed loudly, something that was starting to become music to my ears. It felt like all was right in the world as long as Grayson kept laughing. He moved toward me slowly and grabbed my ankles. He tugged my body toward him with enough strength to have me lying back down on the bed. I let out a short shriek of surprise.

He moved back on top of me and placed his hands on either side of my head.

"That is not what I meant, my sweet, sweet Belle. You could not smell bad to me even if you were covered in garbage," he said. "What I meant is that it is becoming almost painful not to ravish you right here, right now. You are making it difficult."

His words were so intense, matching the intensity in his eyes. He brushed his thumb over my lips.

Wait, is he talking about sex? Does he want to have sex with me? Oh God, I think that's what he means. Oh God. Oh God. Oh God

"Oh," I said. "I'm sorry."

He smiled, "You have nothing to be sorry about. I have self-control. I'll just need to take a couple of cold showers.I'll manage."

I nodded slowly and swallowed. He plopped down next to me and groaned. "You are going to be the death of me; Belle." He looked at me, then wrapped an arm around my waist. "Why don't you tell me what you wanted to ask?"

"Oh, um," I laughed a bit, thankful for the change in topic.

"I was actually going to ask if I could take a shower. I feel really disgusting."

Grayson made a face. "But then I have to let you out of my arms," he grumbled.

I laughed. "Yes. I'm sorry." I removed his arm from around me. "But, seriously, it needs to happen. I haven't taken a shower since before coming to Paris."

Grayson groaned. "Okay, okay. But please make it quick. I don't know how long I will make it before I have to break the door down. And my wolf really wants you to sleep."

"I promise I'll make it quick," I agreed. I didn't want to be away from him either.

I scooched toward the end of the bed.

I paused for a moment before standing up. I took in a breath of confidence and quickly made my way back toward Grayson. I placed a fast kiss on his cheek and moved away from him before he could see my face turn red.

Grayson growled deep within his chest.

"You are not making this easy, Belle."

I smiled as I stood, proud of the effect I had on him. I felt very accomplished.

"I know," I said.

He growled again, and I laughed. I made my way over to the bathroom door happily. But right before I entered, I looked back at Grayson.

He was still lying on the bed with one arm behind his head.

He was watching me with this content, lazy look on his face, as if he didn't have a single care in the world.

He raised an eyebrow when I didn't go into the bathroom.

"What is it?"

I shifted my weight slightly, playing with the hem of my shirt. "I-" Should I say this? Probably not.

"I don't think I'm ready to be away from you."

I immediately looked down, not wanting to meet his gaze.

I heard him stand and come toward me. When he was standing in front of me, he placed his fingers beneath my chin and raised my head so I was looking at him.

His eyes were the darkest I had ever seen them.

"Then let's go take a shower."

Dance of Trust

BELLE

Grayson placed his hand on the small of my back and pushed me toward the bathroom.

"Grayson, no! That is not what I meant! We are not taking a shower together!"

Grayson said nothing as he walked to the shower and turned it on. He came back to me and placed his hands on either side of my face.

"We can keep our underwear on if that would make you more comfortable."

He reached down to play with the hem of my shirt, never taking his eyes from mine.

I shoved his hand away.

"No! I am not taking a shower with you!"

He wrapped his arms around me and gently brought me close to his body. He leaned down and placed a kiss on my ear.

"Just let me take care of you. Please."

My heart melted a bit. I sucked in a breath.

"I—well, I—" I sighed, feeling defeated. "I can't think of any excuses. But I'm keeping my underwear on and you are too!"

He smiled widely and placed a quick kiss on my lips. Then, without looking away from me, he lifted my shirt over my head and pushed my leggings down to the floor.

I stepped out of them, now wearing only my bra and panties, then looked at Grayson. I felt vulnerable as his eyes roamed my body.

I could feel the familiar sparks everywhere they went.

I tried to stay confident and to stand tall, but the longer I stood there with him just staring at my body, the more insecure I felt. What if he didn't like the way I looked?

I wrapped my arms around my stomach and slumped my shoulders. It was so not fair that I was standing in front of him basically naked while he was still fully clothed.

"Hey, hey, hey. None of that." He grabbed my hands and placed them back at my sides, holding them there. "Never with me, Belle. You hear me? Never with me."

His thumbs brushed over my hands. I nodded, still feeling incredibly small standing in front of him. He kissed my forehead and then rested his chin on top of my head.

"Do you even know how beautiful you are, Belle?" he whispered.

I didn't respond. I didn't know how to.

"How the hell did I get so damn lucky?"

An intense blush crept up my neck. I was sure that I looked like a tomato.

Grayson chuckled lowly. "I don't think I'll ever get sick of that innocent blush of yours."

This only made me blush more.

I took a step away from him and nervously tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "Can we please just shower now?" I asked.

Grayson laughed. "Those words coming out of your mouth are like music to my ears."

I rolled my eyes and shoved his shoulder. "Just get undressed already!"

"Oh, those words are even better." Grayson wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

I groaned. "Okay, that's it! You can leave. I'm taking a shower on my own." I shoved past him, trying to make my way to the shower.

He grabbed my wrist and tugged me back into his chest.

"Okay, okay," he said. "No more jokes, I promise."

I narrowed my eyes. "One more and you're out."

He raised his hands in surrender. He then slowly brought his hands down to the tie of his sweatpants and pulled at the strings. My eyes widened and I immediately turned around.

"Belle," Grayson said through a laugh. "You can look if you want. My body is yours just as much as your body is mine.

Look all you want."

I waved a hand dismissively without turning around.

"That's okay," I said nervously.

The truth was, I really did want to look, but the fact that all I wanted to do was turn around and run my eyes over his delicious abs scared the crap out of me. The intense attraction I was feeling toward him was beginning to overwhelm me. Things needed to slow down between us a lot.

I was thinking this right before I was about to hop into the shower with him... Oops?

I felt his hands gently run down the sides of my rib cage in one soft, gentle motion.

A shiver went down my spine. Then I felt his hot breath on the back of my neck.

"Your loss," he whispered into my ear.

I gasped when I felt him bend down and kiss the mark on my neck. I closed my eyes and instinctively leaned back into him, not even fully aware of my own movements.

He wrapped his arms around my middle and gave me a squeeze.

"Belle?" he asked, his face still buried in my neck.

"Mmm?" I said breathlessly.

"Are you going to go into the shower?"

"Oh," I laughed nervously. I took a step forward, putting some distance between us. "Yeah."

I walked to the shower and leaned in to turn it on, holding my hand in the water to test the temperature before stepping in. The hot water felt wonderful, and I groaned as my tight muscles loosened.

I heard Grayson move toward me.

"Wait," I said before he entered the shower.

I turned to look at him. I kept my gaze above his neck, refusing to let my eyes run down his delicious body like they wanted to. He raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"This feels weird," I said.

"What does?"

I let out an annoyed huff.

"Stay there," I said.

I closed the sliding door of the shower, which, thankfully, you couldn't see through.

Then I took a deep breath...

I lifted my hands to my back and undid the clasp of my bra, then slowly slid my panties down my legs. I knew Grayson was watching me through the glass and that he could see an outline of my body because there was intense growling coming from outside the shower.

I took my bra and underwear and threw them over the door so they hung there, dripping wet.

I looked at Grayson through the glass. The outline of his body was heaving, and I could hear his deep, raking breaths.

"Well?" I asked. My voice was shaking a bit, but I tried to make it sound confident. "Are you coming?"

A groan came from the other side of the glass.

"Dear Moon Goddess, give me strength," he whispered under his breath.

There was the sound of movement and then I watched the glass slowly slide open as Grayson entered the shower.

I didn't look down, but I knew that he was naked too. I gulped.

Before his eyes could glide over my body, I grabbed his chin and forced him to meet my gaze.

"Keep your eyes up here, got it? One peek and you're out."

He nodded his head and growled, his eyes darkening more and more with each passing second.

I watched his eyes warily. "Are you going to turn into a wolf?"

He chuckled darkly. "There's no way my wolf would take control while you're standing wet and naked in front of me." He rested his hands on my waist, never breaking eye contact. "Plus, I would never allow it."

I swallowed.

"Turn around, baby," he whispered. "Let me take care of you."

He turned me by my waist and then gently pressed my back into his body.

I gasped when I made contact with his, you know, um, thing, and he let out an ear-shattering growl.

I tried to take a step forward, but he tightened his hold on me and let out a warning growl. I froze when he reached for the shampoo.

"I can wash myself."

"No. It is customary in werewolf culture for mates to bathe each other. My wolf desperately wants to clean you and care for you. Just let it happen."

I breathed out and nodded. "Okay."

I noticed that he grabbed the men's shampoo instead of the hotel's.

"You should use the hotel shampoo instead. I don't want to smell like a guy," I said.

"No," Grayson said sharply. "I want you smelling like me as much as possible. This is the shampoo I use."

I nodded again, not really having the energy to argue with him.

He squirted some shampoo into his hand and brought his fingers up to my hair. He worked the shampoo all throughout my hair, kneading his fingers into my skull.

I moaned loudly as all the tension left my body.

I leaned into his touch and closed my eyes in absolute bliss.

He moved me to rinse out the shampoo and then repeated the process with conditioner. Then he grabbed a bar of soap and lathered up my body.

He massaged the soap into every inch of my body. I slapped his hands away whenever he tried to touch any area that would be considered a little too personal.

He'd just chuckle and playfully nip at my ear or neck and then move on to another part of my body. When he was done, he eased me under the water and washed away all the soap.

I turned and looked into his pitch-black eyes. He touched my cheek gently.

"You have no clue how badly I want to kiss you right now."

I shifted my weight. "After I clean you," I said, reaching for the shampoo.

"You don't have to do that. I will probably need a cold shower after this, anyway." His voice was deep, much huskier than normal.

I shook my head, trying not to let his words affect me too much.

I grabbed the shampoo and squeezed some into my palm, rubbing it into a lather.

I wanted to do for Grayson what he'd done for me.

I reached up and massaged the shampoo in his hair.

Grayson growled out his approval and gripped my waist tightly. His height was making it hard to do a good job.

"You're too tall," I grumbled. "Bend down."

He smirked. "My pleasure."

He lowered to his knees so that his face was right in front of my stomach.

Well, that is not what I wanted him to do. I'd thought he was just going to bend down so I had better access to his hair.

"You're not keeping your eyes where I told you to keep them," I said. The steam in here must've been messing with my brain because I definitely wasn't thinking straight.

"I'm aware," he said, not moving an inch. I huffed.

As weird as it may have seemed, I wasn't angry or embarrassed about being in a shower with Grayson. Being so close to him just felt natural-like second nature.

He placed his hands on my hips as I continued to massage the shampoo into his hair. Groaning softly, he rested his forehead on my stomach.

He gripped my hips harder when I used my nails to scratch around his scalp.

I grabbed the detachable showerhead and held it over his hair to rinse out all the shampoo. As I was about to put the conditioner in his hair, he started kissing around my belly button.

I shoved his face away a bit.

"Stop," I laughed out as he playfully rubbed his nose around my stomach. "You're being very distracting."

"I'm aware," he said again and continued kissing me.

I huffed in annoyance but went back to conditioning his hair.

When I was finally done, I took a step away from him. He growled.

"Stand up so I can wash the rest of your body," I said.

He did as I said but grabbed my hand gently before I could start putting soap on his body.

"As much as I would love to have your soapy little fingers running up and down my body, I don't think my wolf or I can take any more of this sweet torture. Not without doing something that we might regret."

"Oh," I said. I looked away from him, unable to meet his heated gaze. "Okay."

He gave me a gentle peck on the lips and then turned off the shower.

He stepped out before me and came back with a towel wrapped tightly around his waist and another in his hand.

I stood there covering all of my important bits as he approached me with a gentle expression. He wrapped the towel around my shoulders.

His hand came up and brushed my wet hair out of my face.

"Well, that was the best shower I've ever had," he said.

I laughed. "Of course you would say that. I'm sure you say that to all the girls you bring into the shower with you."

I felt my shoulders hunch at my words. I didn't like the idea of him being with other girls.

"No. Only with you."

I met his eyes. He smiled.

"How about we get dressed, get some food, rest, and then go tour around Paris? Have you ever been here before?"

I shook my head. "Not since I was little and only for about a day. I didn't see anything."

He smiled widely. "Well, I'm going to give you the best Paris experience ever."

One More Day in Paris

BELLE

After our steamy shower, Grayson dressed me in one of his shirts and a pair of his sweatpants even after I had told him I could wear my own clothes.

He ignored my request, saying something about feeling better with me in his clothes.

Then he stood for several minutes, and told me he was debating with his wolf over whether we should eat first or sleep. I wanted to go to sleep, so I was happy when Grayson brought me to the bed.

But to be honest, I probably would have gone to sleep whether or not he'd told me I could.

I tried to keep my distance from him while we were sleeping, but he wasn't having any of that.

When we lay down, he grabbed me by my waist and pulled me to him so I was lying on his chest. His arms wrapped around me tightly, and our legs tangled together.

It was by far the best sleep of my life. Not that I would tell him that. He doesn't need a bigger ego.

I woke up to the feeling of Grayson playing with my hair as I lay on his chest. My entire body was buzzing with electricity and contentment.

I thought about a few days ago when I'd first met him and how absolutely terrified I'd been.

I'd had every right to be terrified. And I didn't regret pushing Grayson away, although it had hurt both of us more than I could ever imagine.

It had given me time to think. It had given me time to really come to terms with our bond and the connection that we had. There was no way that I could deny the bond between us now.

I was one hundred percent certain that Grayson was my mate, and that I was his. I was done denying it.

I tilted my head up at him and smiled, "Good morning."

He smiled down at me and kissed my forehead.

"Actually, good afternoon. It's about 4 p.m. in Paris right now."

4 p.m.? How is that possible?

I sat up and looked out the window. Sure enough, it was dark outside. "Oh my gosh. How long did we sleep?"

He shrugged, turning over on his side. "Not sure. I'm just glad you got some rest. My wolf was getting ready to sit on you again."

He reached up and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear.

I laughed again, thinking about the last time he did that: he'd almost flattened my lungs.

"Well, I'm glad he didn't."

Grayson sat up and wrapped his arms around me again..

"Come here. I'm not ready to let you out of my arms yet."

He lay back down and brought me with him.

I giggled. On plain instinct, I reached up and kissed his lips.

When I moved away, my eyes widened as I realized what I had just done.

"I did not mean to do that."

Grayson growled and tugged me closer when I tried to move away.

"Trust me, mate, I did not mind at all. You can kiss me anytime you want."

I rolled my eyes. "You would say that. You just like kissing me because I'm your so-called mate."

"Even if you weren't my mate, baby girl, I would still be extremely attracted to you. People only mate when they'd make a good couple even without the bond. The bond just makes it easier for us to come together and know that we are meant for each other at first sight. It speeds the process along."

His eyes darkened a bit. "Plus, it makes sex ten times better."

I gasped and tried to shove him away, but his arms were like steel traps. "Is your mind always in the gutter?"

He smirked. "Baby, you are on top of me, straddling me, wearing my clothes. How could my mind not be in the gutter?"

I didn't know what to say, but thankfully my stomach responded for me. It let out a loud rumble. I blushed.

Grayson laughed. "C'mon, let's get some food in you."

As we walked downstairs, he kept one hand on my back, making sure that some part of him was always touching me.

I'd never thought I would say this, but I was glad that he maintained physical contact with me.

The thought of being in pain again—the pain that I felt when he wasn't nearby—terrified me.

Kyle was already in the kitchen when we walked in. He smiled at me and wiggled his eyebrows. "Well, it's good to see that you're feeling better, Lu—"

"Don't talk to her until she's eaten," Grayson snapped, completely interrupting Kyle.

I gaped at him, but he just kept pushing me toward the table, where a bunch of breakfast food was laid out, even though it was closer to dinner.

I stopped in my tracks and turned to look at Grayson.

"Excuse me, he can talk to me if he wants to. You need to stop bossing people around."

I noticed that Grayson's eyes were black again. I knew then that I probably shouldn't mess with him. Without saying a word, he scooped me up in his arms, bridal style, and carried me to the table.

He sat down, keeping me in his lap.

"No," he said. "Food!" He shoved a plate in front of me and nodded toward it, signaling for me to take some.

When I squirmed in his lap, he tightened his arms around me and growled loudly in my ear. I winced. Clearly, Grayson wasn't in an arguing mood.

I gave Kyle an apologetic look, which he returned with a shrug and a smile that said he dealt with this sort of thing all the time.

Grayson grabbed my chin gently and moved my head so I was looking at him. "Don't pay attention to Kyle. Eat."

I rolled my eyes. "Bossy much?"

Grayson squeezed my hips in warning, and I smiled cheekily as I reached for some food

I could feel his hot breath on my ear as I ate, and it just made me squirm in his lap even more.

"Tomorrow we'll eat at the best restaurant in Paris."

I looked back at him as I took a big bite of a croissant. "So you've been here before?"

He nodded, then grabbed my wrist and brought the croissant in my hand to his mouth, taking a giant bite out of it.

"Hey!" I said and pulled the croissant back. "Get your own croissant!"

He smirked. "But it tastes so much better coming from your hand."

I heard a gagging noise coming from behind us and looked over to see Kyle pretending to throw up.

Grayson growled lowly. "Watch it," he said. "You weren't any better when you met Elijah."

I raised my eyebrows. "You've met your mate?"

Kyle nodded and smiled dreamily. "Yeah, about two years ago. His name is Elijah."

My heart melted a bit at Kyle's expression. It made me happy to see him happy. I wondered if Grayson felt, or ever would feel, the same way about me.

Or if I would ever feel that way about Grayson.

Grayson placed his chin on my shoulder and poured himself some coffee. "To answer your question, Kyle and I come to Paris once a year for the annual Alpha Conference.

"Kyle is my gamma, my third in command, so he accompanies me. My beta, or second in command, Adalee, stays back with the pack. She watches over things while we're away.

"Paris has the biggest werewolf community in the world, so it makes sense that most alphas from around the world meet here." He smiled a bit.

"It's probably why everyone says that people from Paris have the reputation of being so mean."

I laughed. "That's actually hilarious." I started picking at some fruit, then paused. "How long are you guys staying?"

Kyle spoke this time: "We were only supposed to stay for two days." He glared at Grayson. "But someone has been forcing us to stay."

"He's just grouchy because he's never been away from his mate for more than five minutes," Grayson said.

"Damn right I'm grouchy! How would you like to be away from Belle for two weeks?"

Grayson growled at his words and hugged me to his chest.

"Mmm, that's what I thought," Kyle mumbled.

"Wait, two weeks? No, no, no!" I pushed myself away from Grayson and stood.

"I was only supposed to be in Paris for five days! I have a job I have to get back to! I have friends who will be worried about me!"

"Belle, come here," Grayson said. He held his arms open, still sitting down, motioning for me to sit back in his lap.

"C'mon, it will help you calm down —you know it will."

I looked at him warily. His arms opened wide like that, welcoming me, were so tempting that I couldn't help but give in. I practically jumped into his arms and buried my face into his neck, absorbing all the comfort he could give.

"I need to go home," I whispered.

"I know. And you will. I'll be bringing you home soon, I promise. But we're going to have one more night in Paris, and you're going to enjoy being here without worrying about when you're going home."

I lifted my face out of his neck.

"Grayson, I have a job to get to. I have rent to pay. I need to go home now," I said in somewhat of a panic.

Grayson ran his hand up and down my back in a comforting way.

"I will take care of everything. I have a lot of power you don't know about. Any problem you might have when we get back will be taken care of. I promise."

"What do you mean? How could you possibly—"

"Just trust me, beautiful. I will take care of you. You have nothing to worry about. One more day in Paris, that's all I'm asking. I want to make you fall in love with this city tomorrow."

I took a deep breath as I looked into his eyes that seemed so sincere.

I had responsibilities that I needed to get back to. I was providing for myself—I had no one else to do that for me. I had to keep a roof over my own head now that my dad was gone.

But I couldn't help but trust Grayson's words.

I sighed. "Okay. One more day. But the day after tomorrow, I need to be on a plane back home.

”

Grayson smiled. "Good. Now eat some more." He turned me in his lap so I was facing the table again. I rolled my eyes at his bossiness but did as I was told.

"So where are you guys from then?" I asked around the delicious pastry in my mouth.

"Minnesota," Grayson said as he sipped his coffee. "The northern part, deep in the woods."

"I'm from Minnesota too!" I said.

Grayson nodded. "I figured that since we were both at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Airport. What part of Minnesota?"

I opened my mouth to tell him, but stopped myself. What if I eventually changed my mind and decided I wanted to get away? Then I would definitely regret telling him.

I was really from Minneapolis, but I decided I couldn't tell him that.

"Winona," I said, blurting out the first city that came to mind. "It's in the south."

Grayson narrowed his eyes but nodded. Could he tell that I was lying?

"So we're about four or five hours away from each other," he determined.

I looked away and continued to eat my food nervously.

"Yeah, I guess so."

The hand on my hip tightened as if Grayson wanted to question me, but he didn't say anything further.

I continued to eat my food in awkward silence.

Kyle eventually sat down and ate with us once Grayson decided that I probably wouldn't be able to finish the insane amount of food on the table.

Once I was officially done, I leaned back into Grayson's chest and rubbed my full stomach in contentment.

Grayson's chest rumbled behind me, and he bent to kiss the top of my head.

"Are you ready for a night in Paris?"

Overpriced Wine

BELLE

"So where are we going?" I asked Grayson when we stepped out the doors of the hotel lobby.

"Well, first we need a cab," Grayson said. He walked in the direction of the street and hailed a taxi with ease.

"Wait, why don't we just walk? It's a really nice night," I said as a cab pulled up.

Grayson opened the taxi door for me. "We are on a tight schedule, love." He motioned me in.

Not seeing the point of arguing, I got into the car, and Grayson followed behind me. He had a plan.

The driver said something to us in French, which I assumed was him asking where we were going. Astounding me, Grayson gave him the location in what sounded like perfect French.

"You speak French?" I asked him, shocked.

"I speak multiple languages," he replied, as if it were no big deal. "It is normal for an alpha to learn to speak in different tongues. It makes it easier to communicate with other packs around the world."

I nodded and fidgeted with my seatbelt as the car pulled away from the curb. How the hell could one person be so perfect?

He was good-looking, strong, kind, and smart. What on earth does he possibly see in me?

Before I could buckle my seatbelt, Grayson wrapped a strong arm around my shoulders and tugged my body over to his, nuzzling my hair.

"You'll sit here. I'm not ready to be away from you yet."

"I was literally less than a foot away from you."

Grayson shrugged. "Too far."

I decided not to argue, instead settling contentedly into his rumbling chest and watching the beautiful streets of Paris pass by. As we made our way to our destination, the driver kept glancing at us through the rearview mirror any chance he got.

I squirmed in discomfort.

I wasn't sure why he was watching us, but he seemed to be extremely interested in all that we were doing. Grayson was too busy playing with my hair and rubbing my leg to notice. But he immediately stiffened when he saw my discomfort, following my gaze to the driver.

His eyes narrowed and he let out a booming growl that made me wince.

The driver sucked in a sharp breath and quickly looked away, keeping his eyes glued to the road for the rest of the ride. Once we got out of the taxi, I turned to Grayson and poked his chest.

"You need to stop growling at people."

Grayson wrapped an arm around my shoulder and led me down the street. He huffed. "I should be the only man looking at you."

"Was that really why he was looking at us?"

He sighed. "No. As beautiful as you are, I'm sure he was just curious about the girl on the alpha's arm. He was probably wondering if you were my mate. It would be a big deal if it got out that I had found my mate."

"He was a werewolf?" I asked in shock.

"Yes. Like I said before, Paris has one of the biggest werewolf populations in the world."

"Yeah, I'm still trying to wrap my head around that. That's crazy. And he knew who you were?"

Grayson grinned. "Not to brag or anything, but your mate is kind of a big deal in the werewolf world."

I rolled my eyes. "It seems like he's humble too."

He growled playfully in my ear, nipping at it gently. I laughed. He stopped in front of a fancy liquor store and opened the door for me. I gave him a skeptical look as I walked inside.

The store was fillef from floor to celline with cuptomized wooden cabinets featuring countles varieties of wine .It was the very definition of elegance. Everything was pristine.

I felt a little out of place in my jeans, sweater, and coat that I had bought for ten dollars at a thrift store. My eyes widened as I noticed the price of the bottle nearest to me. It was seven hundred dollars.

I looked at Grayson. "What are you up to?"

He just winked and grabbed my hand as he pulled me through the store, completely ignoring my question. He walked up to a man dressed in a suit who was setting up a display on a table. The man looked up at us and smiled as we approached.

He said something in French, to which Grayson replied in English: "Y'd like your best bottle of wine," as he brought me close to his side.

The man just smiled and nodded, unfazed and disappeared through a door.

"The best bottle of wine?" I asked Grayson. "Won't that cost a lot?"

Grayson shrugged. "It's nothing I can't handle, I promise."

I turned to him. "You're planning on spending hundreds of dollars on a bottle of wine?"

"Thousands probably," he said nonchalantly.

My jaw dropped to the floor. "Thousands?"

Grayson smiled, putting his hands on my waist. "It's really not a big deal. I've spent much more than that before."

"Yes, but have you ever spent that much on a bottle of wine?" Before he could answer, the man came back holding two bottles of wine. "These are the two that I would recommend, sir. This one comes from—"

"We'll take the one that is cheaper," I immediately interrupted.

The man looked a little taken aback, but covered his shock quickly. "Of course, miss." He brought forward one of the bottles.

"This is going to be the cheaper one at eight thousand American dollars."

"What?" I gasped.

"We'll take it," Grayson said.

I turned to him. "You are not buying that."

Grayson raised an eyebrow and gave me an amused smile. "And why not?"

I looked at the man standing in front of us. "Would you excuse us for a moment?"

The man nodded, "Of course."

I grabbed Grayson's arm and tugged him to the front of the shop.

"I'm not letting you buy that," I stated.

"Belle, you deserve only the best. And I'm going to give that to you. Starting with the best wine that money can buy."

"I don't even like wine, Grayson. There are so many better things you can do with that money."

He raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"

"Like donating it. Having it serve some sort of real purpose other than paying for a bottle of overpriced grape juice."

He didn't look convinced. "Okay, here, if you really want to make me happy then give me your credit card and I'll buy the wine."

Grayson was looking very confused. "That will make you happy? Buying the wine yourself?"

I nodded my head and held out my hand.

He still looked very skeptical, but nonetheless, he slowly reached his hand into his pocket and pulled out his wallet.

Then he handed me his credit card.

And I ran out the front door of the liquor store.

Parisian Picnic

BELLE

I ran down the street as fast as my legs could carry me, still clutching Grayson's credit card in my hand. I thought I had seen a grocery store when we'd gotten out of the cab earlier, and thankfully I was right. That's where I needed to go. I ran faster.

I didn't look behind me to see if Grayson was following. I had no doubt in my mind that he would catch me. In fact, I hoped he did. I had given up on getting away from him.

But first, I had to make it to that grocery store.

I crashed through the doors of the store and smiled brightly. It only took a second for me to feel arms wrap around my waist. I was tugged backward into a hard chest.

"Where do you think you're going?" Grayson growled in my ear.

I turned to face him and wrapped my arms around his neck, smiling. He looked surprised by my display of affection.

"It took you awhile to catch up," I said.

He tightened his arms around me. "I wanted to see where you would go."

"You weren't afraid that I would run off and spend all your money?" I said, waving his credit card in his face.

"What's mine is yours. You will never want for anything ever again. You can spend as much of my money as you want."

I stared at him for a moment. I'd never had enough money to spend on anything other than the necessities. Sometimes I didn't even have enough to buy food.

I couldn't count the number of times I'd gone to bed hungry after my dad had gotten sick.

Back home, I was just starting to be able to provide for myself.

I'd rented a small one-bedroom apartment and was paying for it with a crappy waitressing job. It wasn't the most luxurious life, but it was enough for me.

And I took great pride in the fact that I was making it on my own, providing for myself.

Sure, sometimes I didn't have enough money to buy groceries. But maybe now that I didn't have to save up all of my paychecks for a plane ticket to Paris, I could finally start living, instead of just surviving.

Of course, that was before I missed my flight home and didn't show up to several shifts I'd been scheduled for. Shifts that I needed in order to pay my rent... Which was already overdue.

I didn't even want to think about how I'd pay for another flight home. I guessed I wouldn't be buying groceries for a while still.

I remembered I had peanut butter in my cupboard, and I could always steal French fries off people's plates at the diner if I still had a job. Hopefully my boss would understand. That would have to be enough for now.

When I didn't respond, Grayson squeezed my sides. "Why did you come in here, anyway?"

I smiled. "If you must have your sour grape juice, this is the only place that I will allow you to buy it."

He raised an eyebrow, looking very amused. "Is that so?"

I nodded. "Yep. And I get to pick it out."

He shook his head, looking like he would object. "Belle—"

I cut him off by crushing my lips against his. Grayson let out a surprised groan but didn't protest. A low growl came from deep within his chest, and he immediately deepened the kiss, tugging my body closer to his.

Knowing how quickly things could escalate when it came to kissing Grayson, I removed my mouth from his when I felt him run his tongue over the seam of my lips, asking for entrance.

He groaned out his disapproval and tried to kiss me again, but I put my hand over his mouth as a barrier. He growled.

"Give me what I want and I'll give you another kiss," I said. He narrowed his eyes, and I slowly removed my hand.

"You're lucky you're my mate," he said in a low voice, telling me his wolf was at the surface. "If anybody else tried to manipulate me like this, I would have them back in their place within seconds in the most painful way possible."

I swallowed hard.

He leaned in so that his lips were almost brushing mine.

"It's a good thing I'll do anything to have your sweet lips on mine," he whispered.

I could feel my cheeks heating up. Grayson chuckled softly.

"C'mon, let's go get your wine." He pushed me in the direction of one of the aisles.

Once I had picked out a reasonably priced bottle of wine for about six euros, I looked at Grayson.

"Okay, we got the wine. What next?"

Grayson had one arm wrapped possessively around my waist, his thumb rubbing my side.

"Now we go get the bread." He pushed me toward where the bread was located.

"Bread? Why do we need that? What are you planning?" I asked.

Grayson smiled. "I was actually surprised when you came here. This place was our next stop."

"Really? Why?"

Grayson picked up a nice-looking baguette. "We're getting French bread and cheese."

"Wine, bread, and cheese? Are we having a picnic?" I asked. I looked outside. "The sun is about to go down."

Grayson shrugged. "I guess you'll just have to wait and see."

After buying our wine, bread, and about five different types of cheese, Grayson and I were back in a cab and off to our next destination.

Which just so happened to be the Eiffel Tower.

As I stepped out of the cab, I couldn't help but gape up at the massive wrought-iron lattice. It was so much bigger than I'd thought it would be.

"Wow," I said. "This is my second time in Paris, and I've only now gotten to see the Eiffel Tower."

Grayson came behind me and wrapped his arms around me, leaning down so he could place his chin on my shoulder.

"I'm glad I'm here with you for the first time you get to see it," he said. He kissed my cheek gently and then grabbed my hand. "C'mon." He led me toward a bench.

There were already people sitting there when we approached, but when they saw Grayson they immediately stood up and hurried away, muttering, "Sorry, Alpha."

"Why don't we just sit at that bench?" I asked, pointing to a bench with no one sitting on it.

"It has to be this bench," Grayson said sharply, sitting both of us down.

Mr. Bossy, as usual.

I was finally starting to enjoy my time with Grayson, but maybe that was because I knew that it was ending. Soon I'd go back to work and try to forget all about my trip to Paris.

I shook my head to get rid of that thought, coming back to the present.

The sun was just beginning to set, painting the sky a beautiful pink, purple, and orange.

There were people sitting all around us, gazing up at the tower.

I noticed that several other people were just arriving, too, setting up blankets on the grass and sitting on the surrounding benches.

"Why are there so many people?" I asked as I looked around.

"You'll see," Grayson said.

I raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

He open the paper bag that contained the wine, bread, and chese and took i all out. I reached for the bread, but he moved ot out of my reach. I gave him a questioning look.

He looked down at his watch. "Just a few more seconds."

And then our night got truly magical.

Glimpse of Vulnerability

BELLE

The Eiffel Tower glittered with a million sparkling lights. It was breathtaking.

The radiant building shone across the city of Paris, casting a warm yellow glow as we all gazed up at it. I couldn't help the smile that took over my face.

"Is this what you were waiting for?" I asked Grayson.

He nodded as he watched me, giving me a smile that took my breath away.

"When I was a kid, my mom and I used to come here every year after the Alpha Conference and watch it light up. She would take me to the exact store we just went to and buy the most expensive bottle of wine they had.

"Then we would go and get bread and cheese from the grocery store down the street, and then we'd come and sit here and watch the Eiffel Tower light up under the stars.

"She would even let me have my own glass of wine. It was one of my favorite days of the year-one reason I love Paris so much."

I had never seen this side of Grayson. I'd seen him as an aggressive lover and as my caretaker, but I'd never seen him be vulnerable. I hadn't even known that this tough, possessive alpha male had a vulnerable side. It touched me that he was willing to share it with me-made me like him even more.

"What?" he suddenly asked.

That shook me out of my admiring daze. "What?" I asked back.

He chuckled. "You were staring at me. Not that I minded. I would just like to know what's got you thinking so hard."

I blushed. There was no way I could let him know that I was thinking about how much I liked him.

"Nothing," I said quickly. "I was just imagining what a beautiful scene it must've been, you and your mother sitting under the stars in Paris."

He nodded and looked up at the tower solemnly. "Yeah. It was."

"Does she not come with you to Paris anymore?"

His eyes turned glossy and he was quiet for a moment. "No. She and my father died almost five years ago."

"Oh, Grayson, I'm so sorry." I put my hand on his shoulder. "I can see how much they meant to you. That must've been terrible."

He took a deep breath and then turned his head to place a kiss on my hand.

"It was a long time ago. No need to dwell on the past."

He leaned over to where he'd spread out our food and wine.

"I try to do this every year to honor her memory." He opened the wine and held the bottle out to me. "And now you get to join me."

I smiled. "I'm honored."

We spent the next several hours talking and sipping our cheap wine out of the bottle.

Soon, all the people around us were gone, leaving just Grayson and me, staring at the city lights in front of us. The lights on the Eiffel Tower turned off some time during the night, but Grayson and I stayed, talking about anything and everything.

Conversation was so easy with him.

We spent the entire night like that, and, by the time the sun rose over the horizon, I found myself completely taken with Grayson.

I was lying on the bench with my head in his lap as he played with my hair when he finally said, "Do you want to go get some coffee? I know a great place down the street."

I smiled and nodded.

Once in the coffee shop, Grayson told me to find a seat while he ordered for us, but I quickly grabbed his hand, pulling him back to me.

Grayson gave me a questioning look.

"Don't leave me," I said quickly, afraid of the pain that I might feel if I lost contact with him again. I didn't think I could handle it.

Macheeks thined brieht red at the request, but Grayson just smiled. He brought his hand up and tucked a piece of

"We've been together long enough for our bond to strengthen. Nothing will happen now if we are apart. Nothing

besides a dull ache."

My eyebrows rose in surprise.

"Are you sure?" I asked nervously.

Grayson leaned down and kissed my forehead.

"I'm sure. And if you feel any pain at all, all you have to do is come stand next to me and touch me, and it will all go away. I'll only be a few steps away."

He tried to step away slowly, but I didn't let go of his hand.

"I, um—" I gripped his hand tighter. I didn't want to be away from him, not even a little.

"I think I would feel better if I just went with you."

Grayson didn't protest. Instead, his face broke out into a breathtaking smile.

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to him, nuzzling his face in my hair and breathing in deeply.

"I am more than okay with that."

Romance in the City of Lights

BELLE

Once we'd had our coffees and croissants, Grayson and I wandered around the streets of Paris, chatting and watching as the city woke up. I was beginning to understand why Paris was considered to be such a romantic city.

I can definitely imagine myself falling in love here.

We walked all the way to the Notre-Dame cathedral and sat on the steps for a bit before going to a very fancy restaurant nearby for lunch. I felt odd sitting there in my jeans and sweater, but the food made up for any discomfort that I might have had.

"Oh my God, that was amazing!" I said when I had finished.

"I told you I would bring you to the best restaurant in Paris," Grayson said.

"Yeah, well, you weren't lying."

Our waiter came by then and set down our check.

"Whenever you're ready," he said in a thick French accent and then walked away.

I reached for it, ready to pay whatever the cost as Grayson had paid for our food last night and our coffee this morning, but he snatched it away before I could grab it.

"No." he stated firmly.

I rolled my eyes. "Grayson, please let me pay for this. You already have paid for so much. I'll feel terrible if you don't let me at least buy you lunch."

He was already reaching into his pocket for his wallet.

"Absolutely not. As long as you're with me, you will never pay for anything. In fact, I am determined to make sure that you never pay for anything ever again."

I scoffed. There was no way I would let that happen.

"How about you at least let me pay for my meal? It'll make me feel better and not like I'm leeching off of you, stealing all of your money."

"Argue all you want; it's not going to happen."

He placed his card in with the check and then lifted it up for the waiter to see. But before he closed the check folder, I caught a glimpse of the price of the meal.

My eyes widened. Maybe it was better that I wasn't paying for it.

Just my meal would've cost me several shifts at the diner.

"Where do you get all of your money, anyway?" I asked. Then I realized what I had just said. "Oh, sorry, is that a rude question?"

"No, not rude at all. My family owns a large hunting company with thousands of workers who keep my pack afloat and then some. We provide animals both alive and dead for anybody who wishes to buy them."

Just then, our waiter came into view. He approached our table when he saw Grayson waving.

"Please take this away before my date tries to pay again," Grayson said in an amused tone, handing the man the folder.

I glared at him.

When the waiter was gone I asked, "So you kill animals?"

Grayson chuckled and took my hand from across the table.

"Don't look so frightened, beautiful. It's the circle of life. And I must provide for my pack in some way. "Besides, what else would you expect from a pack of werewolves? We already hunt in our wolf forms to keep our wolves sane. We might as well make some money off it."

I still didn't love the idea, but I decided not to argue.

Once Grayson had officially paid, we stood and left, continuing our exploration of Paris.

I had never walked so much in my life; my feet were beginning to hurt, but I didn't want my time with Grayson to end.

It all felt so magical.

"This day hasn't even felt real. It's probably been the best day of my life," I told Grayson, complete sincerity in my voice.

Grayson nodded his head in agreement, smiling. "Just you wait. Tomorrow, I'm taking you to the Louvre. You'll be amazed."

I stopped walking. "Tomorrow?" I asked. "I thought we were going home tomorrow."

Grayson faced me. "Yes, but I thought one more day wouldn't hurt. I must get back to my pack then, anyway. And my private jet won't be ready until tomorrow night."

"You have a private jet?" I asked in complete shock.

"Why didn't you just fly that to Paris?"

He shrugged. "I only just bought it yesterday. I always had a strange stubbornness when it came to buying my own jet, always preferring to fly commercial. I didn't understand it until I met you on that plane. It was because fate was setting me up to meet you."

He came forward and pulled me into his chest, leaving a kiss on my forehead.

"Now, there's no reason for me not to have my own jet. It'll be much more convenient." His body shook with laughter.

"Also...I'm sort of never allowed to set foot in the MSP or Paris airport again after what happened on the last flight."

I gawked at him. "Serves you right! You almost killed a man!"

Grayson laughed again. "I'll say this one more time. He deserved it. No one looks at what is mine."

I scoffed and shoved him away from me. "You're a Neanderthal."

I continued to walk, and he quickly caught up to me, taking my hand in his. He kissed the back of it.

"I'll be a Neanderthal, as long as I get to keep you by my side."

I blushed a deep red.

I thought about what he'd said. I couldn't stay another day in Paris. I had to go home... I was already risking being kicked out of my apartment for not paying rent.

Actually, I probably would get kicked out.

I hadn't worked in so long that I probably wouldn't make my rent. Which meant I had to find a way to escape Grayson and get back to Minnesota.

Maybe I could convince the airline to reschedule my return flight on the cheap? I didn't bother saying anything to Grayson. I knew that he would just try and convince me not to go.

It made me sad to think I'd have to go home tomorrow and continue working in my lame job at the diner, with my lame boss.

But I knew that this bizarre and beautiful dream couldn't last forever, as much as part of me wished it could. As we continued to walk, Grayson wrapped his arm around my waist, tugging me close to him and looking down at me with a contented smile.

It made my chest feel warm.

He's getting too attached to me. At that realization, the warm feeling left my chest.

There was no way that this relationship could continue when we got back to Minnesota.

Sure, we only lived a couple of hours away from each other, but I had no car, no way of getting to him. And I wasn't going to force him to drive to me every time I wanted to see him. I would feel too guilty.

I knew that the way he was making me feel would only make it harder for me to leave him and return to real life. The thought made me stop in my tracks.

Grayson stopped too and looked at me. "What?"

I breathed in deeply and wrapped my arms around myself.

"This isn't a date," I said firmly. The words hurt to say, but I kept my stance.

Grayson raised his eyebrows. "Excuse me?"

"In the restaurant, you called me your date. I just wanted to let you know that I don't see this as a date."

He licked his lips and approached me slowly. "Is that so?"

"Mmm," I said, feeling more awkward and nervous now that he was standing right in front of me, looking down at me.

Why does he have to be so tall?

"Do you want to know what I think?" He placed his thumb on my lips, tracing them.

I didn't answer, too transfixed by the sparks in my mouth.

He leaned down so that his lips were touching my ear. "I think you desperately want this to be a date." He took my ear into his mouth and bit down lightly. "And you know what? This is a date, whether you want to admit it or not. You have no say in the matter."

That made me fume. Why did he think he could control me? "I—"

"Shh..." He interrupted me. His voice became deeper. "Do you want to know what else I think?"

"No, I really-" I started.

"I think..," Grayson interrupted yet again as I huffed, "that you haven't been able to stop thinking about kissing me since the last time in our bedroom." He wrapped an arm around me and brought me into his chest. Shivers ran up and down my spine. "Because I know that I haven't been able to stop thinking about your sweet lips on mine, and it's been driving me mad."

I tried to pull away from him, knowing where this was heading and that kissing him would definitely give him the wrong idea, but I couldn't escape his firm grip.

Before I could protest, his lips were on mine. And I melted. I melted into a slimy puddle of goo in his arms.

Oh God, how am I ever going to leave him?

Deception in the Bookstore

BELLE

Once I had finally pushed Grayson away from me, feeling embarrassed to be having a hot make-out session in public, we caught a cab to a place where Grayson said there were a lot of cute shops that we could walk through.

The architecture of Paris amazed me. All the buildings were so beautiful and cohesive. The shops were all cool too. It was too bad that they were all way out of my price range.

As we continued to walk, I couldn't help but wonder if we were anywhere near my mother.

This area kind of looked like where my mother lived based on my memory of the last time I'd gone to visit her. It was so long ago, but I remembered the trip so vividly.

She lived in an apartment above a shop called E.Dehillerin, a cute little cooking shop.

I'd loved walking around it, browsing when I'd come to visit with my dad years ago, especially because it had gotten me away from my mother.

"Grayson?"

He looked at me.

"Do you know if we're anywhere near a shop called E.Dehillerin? A friend told me about it before I came, and I was just wondering if we're close to it."

"Let me check," he said and took out his phone. I watched him type in his password, and I quickly put it to memory as it would be helpful to know for later.

"It's actually only a few blocks from here—about a five-minute walk."

My eyes widened. I was much closer to my mother than I'd thought.

"Did you want to go there?" Grayson asked.

"Hmm..." I thought about it. Did I want to go see my mother? This trip was supposed to be a visit to her, and she hadn't heard from me since I'd gotten on the plane back in Minnesota.

I did sort of owe her an explanation as to why I hadn't shown up to her house a couple of weeks ago. Plus, who knew when the next time I'd be able to contact her would be?

Grayson had taken my phone, and I had no money to buy another one. Now would be my only chance to talk to her. I was about to tell Grayson that I wanted to go there when I thought of something: I already had a plan to get back to Minnesota without him knowing.

If everything went smoothly, I would be on a plane tonight and back in the normal world by tomorrow.

I knew that Grayson would freak out. The last thing I needed was for him to go to my mother and demand information from her about how to find me.

What if he hurt her? I knew he was capable of violence, and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if my mother got hurt because of me. Grayson couldn't come with me.

But I had to go see her.

I shook my head quickly.

"No, I actually like the shops around here. But maybe later?" I asked.

Grayson smiled. "Of course."

We continued walking, and Grayson kept one arm tightly around me. I couldn't help but notice that no one was looking at us.

They all bowed their heads as we passed, keeping their eyes low to the ground.

It only happened once or twice that someone would accidentally look at us, and Grayson would let out a low growl under his breath and tug me closer to him.

The person would immediately look away and bare their neck to him. It shocked me how much power Grayson seemed to have over these people. Is everyone in Paris a werewolf?

We came across a small bookstore and I quickly pulled Grayson inside.

"C'mon," I said. "I want to find a book."

My anxiety was skyrocketing. Now was the time.

We looked around for a while as I came up with my plan. This store was actually cute. It was two stories and full of all sorts of books in both French and English.

There was an adorable old lady behind the front counter, helping people with a kind smile.

I turned to Grayson. "Will you help me find a book?"

Grayson looked at me. "Sure."

I swallowed hard. I really hope this works.

"Okay, it's called Hands of Gold and it's by Michael Johnson. It was my dad's favorite book, and I can't think of a better place to buy it than in Paris."

I felt guilty lying to him, but I didn't have a choice. There wasn't actually a book called 'Hands of Gold' that I knew of, but I needed to get Grayson away from me for enough time to get to my mother.

"Absolutely. Let's go find it," Grayson said as he walked away.

"Wait," I said, grabbing onto his hand. He stopped and turned to look at me.

"I don't know what genre it is, so I thought that I would look down here and you could go upstairs and look for it. It could be science fiction, or fantasy, or horror, or mystery. I don't know what the book is about, only that it was his favorite."

"Okay.," Grayson said slowly. "Are you sure you're okay being away from me for a bit? I saw how freaked out you were at the coffee shop."

I smiled, trying to calm my nerves. I actually was a bit worried about that.

"Well, we have to try it out sooner or later. You won't be that far from me. And I really want to find this book." I touched Grayson's arm. "It would mean a lot to me."

Grayson nodded, looking a bit hesitant as he took a step back.

"Okay," he said. "I'll be right back. Just shout if you need me, and I'll be at your side within seconds." He leaned down and gave me a kiss.

My body warmed up as his lips moved softly against mine.

Before the kiss could get too heated, I pulled away from him and smiled.

"The sooner we find the book, the sooner you can come back to me." I kissed him one last time. "I'll look down here while you look upstairs."

Grayson nodded and stepped away from me. "Okay."

I watched as he walked up the stairs to the second floor, never looking away from me. I could feel the dull ache grow in my chest from being apart, but it wasn't nearly as bad as the pain before.

I let out a relieved breath. Okay. I can do this.

I smiled at him one last time before he reached the top of the stairs and turned the corner onto the second floor.

I immediately ran to the lady at the front desk.

"Hi, do you speak English?" I asked her.

She looked up from her computer, seeming a bit shocked.

"Um, of course. What can I help you with, miss?" she asked in a thick French accent.

"Oh, thank goodness," I said.

"I need your help, please. In a few minutes, a man is going to come down those stairs looking for me, and when he realizes that I'm no longer in the store, he may freak out.

"I need you to tell him that there was something important I needed to do and that I'll be back in a little bit. Tell him not to freak out."

The woman gave me a strange look. "Miss, I don't know..."

"I'm sorry, this is a strange thing that I'm asking you to do." I quickly opened my purse and took out a twenty euro note and handed it to her.

"Please do this for me. If he gets too upset, just keep reminding him I will be back soon. Do not call the police."

The woman's eyes widened. "Miss, are you in danger? Do you need me to call someone?"

I shook my head quickly. "No, no. It's nothing like that. I have something I need to do and my...my boyfriend can't come. Nothing is wrong, I promise.

"But—" she said.

"Now, I have to go. I don't have much time. Can you do this for me?"

The woman glanced down at the money in her hand and then back at me. She nodded. "I can do this."

My heart lifted. I felt like hugging this sweet old woman.

"Thank you so much," I said, stepping away from the counter. "You have no clue how much this means to me."

She gave me a sweet smile. "Of course, my dear. Please stay safe."

"Thank you," I said. And then I turned and ran out the door, beginning my sprint down the street.

A Mother's Secret

BELLE

I could hear my heart beating in my ears as I ran down the streets of Paris to where I hoped my mother lived. I couldn't stop looking behind me, waiting for Grayson to come around the corner and chase after me. But he never came.

By a stroke of luck, I was able to slip into my mother's building, and in very little time, I found myself standing in front of the door of her apartment. I knocked on the door quickly, hoping to God that someone would be home, otherwise this would all be for nothing.

"Just one second!" I heard someone shout from the other side of the door.

I nervously ran my sweaty palms over my jeans as I looked up and down the extremely fancy hallway, hoping I wasn't about to see Grayson come up the steps behind me before I got the chance to talk to my mother.

This place was really nice. I'd known that my mother's husband was rich, but I hadn't remembered her living somewhere this nice.

The door opened and my mother stood in front of me, wiping her wet hands on her apron. She didn't look at me just yet.

"Sorry, about that. I was making dinner and had my hands are covered in chicken fat."

Then she lifted her head, and her eyes widened as they met mine.

I gave her a small smile and shrugged. "Hi, Mom."

"Belle!" She pulled me to her, wrapping her arms tightly around me. It was the sort of hug she used to give to me when I was younger-after I'd won a soccer game or gotten home from a long day at school.

It made me feel warm.

I was surprised that she was showing me any affection at all. I couldn't remember the last time she'd hugged me.

"Oh, my darling girl, you have no idea how worried I was!" She held me tighter and then moved back. She took my face in her hands. "Oh, you've gotten so beautiful."

I pulled away a bit. "You were worried about me?"

Her face dropped and then turned sympathetic. She glanced down the hall in both directions, as if she was making sure that no one was watching, and then looked back at me.

"Why don't you come in?" she motioned to the inside of her apartment.

I nodded and hesitantly followed her inside.

She led me to a lavish living room that was very well decorated. It was all white with accents of gray and cream. I didn't even want to sit down in case I stained her furniture.

My mother smiled at me as she sat, removing the apron tied around her waist. She fit perfectly with her decor.

She was wearing a black A-line skirt and a white blouse, with pearls in her ears and her hair up in an elegant bun. She looked beautiful-like the perfect housewife.

After I'd sat down, she spoke: "You came at a good time. The kids are at school and Carl is at work. We have the entire apartment to ourselves." She was wringing her hands nervously. "I'm so happy to see you, Belle."

I nodded, not knowing how to react to all the affection that she was giving me. I looked around me. It didn't seem like any children lived here.

Everything was so pristine-like I had just walked into a very fancy hotel.

"You have some explaining to do," my mother said. "Will you tell me where you've been?"

I took a deep breath. I hadn't really thought about what I would tell her once I got here. "I've been in Paris."

"This entire time? Where have you been staying?"

"Well, I..," I said. "It's a long story—one that I don't think I can explain right now. I just wanted to come here and let you know that I'm okay and that I'm going home tomorrow.

"I don't know when I'll be able too get in touch with you again." I watched to see if she would react to what I was saying. "I figured I owed you an explination. Your are my mother, after all."

Not that you've acted much like one.

My mother's eyes narrowed, and I wondered if I had said that out loud. I looked away from her piercing eyes.

"What's that on your neck?" she asked suddenly.

My hand immediately went to my neck, to where my mark was. It burned a bit at the touch, and I knew that it was because I was so far away from Grayson.

"It's nothing," I said.

My mother rose slowly from her seat. "That isn't nothing." She approached me and then sat down next to me. I moved away from her a bit.

She had this frightening expression on her face that was making me nervous.

"Let me see," she said.

I shook my head. I had no way of explaining a giant bite mark on my neck without sounding insane. "No. Really, it's nothing." I stood.

"I actually should probably get going. I've done what I came here to do."

Before I could even take a step though, my mother grabbed my hand. She stood up next to me so fast that I didn't have time to react. Just as quickly, she moved my hair away from my neck, revealing my mark.

She gasped and stepped back.

"Mom, I can explain," I started. "I-"

"You have the mark of an alpha," she stated with a frightened expression. "And it's fresh."

My eyes widened to the size of saucers. "How do you know that?"

As if in slow motion, she reached up and pulled aside the collar of her own shirt. There, sitting on her porcelain skin,

were puncture wounds in the shape of teeth.

They were covered over by years' worth of scar tissue, telling me they were very old. I gasped.

"Because I have my own mark," my mother whispered.

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Due to the size the book will continue on another page:

Kidnapped by My Mate - part 3