7. Raphael

CHAPTER 7

Raphael

T his is more than I expected to get. I figured that I didn’t have a prayer of talking to her at all let alone talking to her about what we’re going to do about it.

“We could spend a little time together. Get to know each other and you’d find out I’m really not a bad guy. I’m actually a pretty decent guy.”

“I’m sure you’re a lovely man. The only reason all of this kind of has me a little off-kilter is that I don’t want a man.”

“I’m not a man. I’m a male. That’s what male shifters are called. We’re technically not human. We’re something more.”

“Interesting to know. Thanks so much.” Her snarky tone makes me smile again. I haven’t spent a lot of time around humans, female or male, and this one is just so much fun to tease that I almost don’t know what to do with myself when I’m around her.

That and the fact that I want to bury my aching cock so deep in her slick folds that I brand both of us with the feel, the taste, the need for each other.

“But I guess I understand that. What I don’t understand is how we’re supposed to deal with this whole circumstance. I have a life.”

“How old are you, mate?” She looks young enough to be underage and I’m not sure exactly how that works with humans. If she was a shifter we wouldn’t feel the mating bond until both of us were eighteen. But I don’t know if it works the same with humans and anybody I could ask isn’t around here and I’m not sure it’s something that they could answer either.

“Twenty-seven.”

“No shit!” My eyes almost bug out of my head and she rolls her eyes like she’s heard it all before.

“I know that I look young but I really get tired of hearing that same song and dance when someone meets me for the first time.” Her huffy tone and narrowed eyes has me smiling again. She’s just so damn snarky! I could pick her up in one hand and haul her lush ass around but she thinks that she can scare me! Hilarious.

“How old are you?” She eyes me curiously.

“I’m thirty-five, little sprite.”

“Why do you keep calling me that?” She groans.

“It suits you. I’ve always found sprites to be adorably surly little creatures. Pretty much describes you to a T!”

“I’m gonna show you surly here in a minute.” But she says it with a smile and doesn’t appear offended. If anything, her sky-blue eyes glow with pride.

“Wanna show me how surly and dangerous you are, mate?” I cross my arms and lift my brows, needling her a little bit. I want to keep her off-kilter.

So why not challenge her a little bit?

“What do you have in mind?”

“How about a little snowball fight, mate? Or are you afraid that you can’t keep up with a wolf?”

Her pink mouth curls and I want to sink my teeth into her so hard. She’s a challenge and I love it.

“You think I’m scared of the big bad wolf, Raphael? You don’t know me very well, fuzzball!”

A deep laugh busts out of me at the cheeky answer. “You’re on, mate. Meet me out front in five minutes. I’m gonna check the perimeter and I’ve got some torches set along the edges of the yard. I’ll get them going so that I don’t have an advantage.”

Her brow lifts. “An advantage?”

“I can see in the dark, mate.”

“Shit! That seems like cheating to me, fuzzball!”

“I already said I’ll set up some light outside so that I don’t have an advantage. Are you gonna back down every time you hear something you don’t like, little sprite?”

“You know, I’m starting to see why sprites might be a little bad-tempered if shifters sit there and say crap like that every time they’re around them. Talk about rude.”

That giddy feeling wells up in me again. I freaking love this woman. Human or not. She’s my perfect match.

“Are you up for it or not?”

“Get out of here so I can get something warmer on and I’ll wipe the snow with your furry ass!”

I chuckle and point at the closet. “There’s extra pairs of boots and coats that have probably been left by people in there. I’ll see you outside, mate.”

She huffs and turns her back, scrounging through the wooden closet, huffing softly.

It doesn’t take her long to find what she wants and before you know it, she’s standing in front of me wearing a warm, puffy, silver coat that about swallows her whole body. Large black boots pool around her ankles and I grin.

“Couldn’t find anything else?”

“Believe it or not, I have small feet.”

I actually can believe it. She’s a tiny little thing. “Do you want me to give you a head start on making some snowballs, sprite?”

She crosses her arms and glares at me like I just insulted her parentage. “I think I’m good, fuzzball.”

“Are you sure? I’d like to give you a fighting chance.”

“I have that without your dubious help. Let’s get this show on the road. What do I get if I win?”

“Anything you want.”

“That seems rather open-ended. What do you get if you win?”

“A kiss.”

Her mouth falls open again and she glares at me. “You’re planning to cheat or something so that you can win!”

“I am not. I’ve given you a fighting chance.” My wolf yips in my chest. There’s no way that she’s beating the both of us and her narrowed eyes let me know that she knows what I’m planning.

“I can give you that head start if you feel like you need more help.”

She grunts and then glares at me. “Fine. I get it. I’ll take the extra time.”

I nod my head, amazed that she took the bonus time. She must really want to win. But she’s not going to. I want that win and then I want my reward.

A kiss.

For two minutes I pace back and forth across the space and watch the woman build snowball after snowball to beat me. She eyes me nervously but doesn’t say a word. I watch her and smirk. Sometimes in life you’ve got to play the long game. That’s what I’m playing. It’s not going to take very long I hope. Because my body is strung out on her like I’d be strung out on drugs. I’m jonesing for a taste, a touch, hell anything at this point.

She moves closer and I eye her out of the corner of my eye, smiling when I see the snowballs in her hands.

Little does she know, she’s competing against the snowball fight champion of Magic! Nobody can beat me. Not even my cousin the sheriff.

But I let her get closer, let her think that she’s going to win. Until I grab a handful of snow and whip around, tagging her and watching the snow fall to the ground. I watch her mouth hanging open and almost roar with laughter.

“And that’s how it’s done, mate. That’s how it’s done.”

She growls under her breath, adorable like a happy little puppy with its tongue hanging out.

And now I’m picturing her tongue. Ugh!

“If you need it, I’ll give you a free shot or two.”

She glares at me and throws a pathetic snowball at me that falls apart as it hits my chest. “I don’t need your charity, wolf,” she growls. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

I roll a ball and toss it at her. Then another and another. She squeals and darts around the yard, yanking her own snowballs off of the ground and chucking them at me savagely, only to watch them fall apart as soon as they hit me. Like little frozen snow grenades.

By the time I’ve lobbed two more at her, she’s huffing and breathless, pink and pretty. I’m not even panting and she eyes me warily. “I feel like you’re not even trying.”

I grin at her. “Do I even need to?”

With another huff, she builds two more snowballs and chucks them at me but then I make a bigger one and this one is my killer of snowballs. This is the one that’s going to win this for me. I chase her around the yard and she giggles madly, slipping slightly on the snow that slows her down.

I don’t have that problem and easily catch her, pulling her down to the ground and rubbing the huge snowball over her front. She squeals wildly.

“Stop, stop!” Her cheeks are flushed and she’s smiling, laughing, her eyes glowing with happiness, tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Do you give up?”

“I do, yes! Please stop!”

I lean down and smirk. “So I won.”

“Fine, you won. The big bad wolf beat the girl. Whoohoo! What do you want, a medal?”

I smile and I know she can see my sharp teeth because her breath falters and her cheeks flush beet red. Her lush, curvy little body under me has my whole body on fire. Even the roll in the snow doesn’t cool down my fever.

“I want my kiss, mate.”

She sighs and then nods her head and I lean down, her warm breath washing across my lips. Her sky-blue eyes are huge, pupils blown wide as she watches me. My eyes search hers. I won’t take what she won’t freely give.

She nods her head and my lips claim hers. She moans and I run my tongue along her lips before sliding inside her mouth and teasing her own tongue lightly. Her arms come up and wrap around my neck and she arches up into me and my whole soul hums to life, vibrating with a lightness, a joy, a need unlike anything I’ve ever known. I devour each moan, each roll of her hips and each little sigh until I finally lift my head and she opens her midnight eyes, her lips slick and red, bruised from our kiss.

“Now do you understand what I was talking about, mate? This…this is what fated mates is all about.”

She nods her head, her eyes hiding from mine.

“I can’t be away from you. I can’t stay away from you. I need you.”

Then she says the words that I prayed to hear. “I need you too, Raphael…mate.”

I lift up higher, eyeing her carefully. “This isn’t some one night thing, Helena. This is forever. If we sleep together, if we mate…I won’t leave you. I won’t mark you until you ask me to but I won’t leave you.”

“Good,” she whimpers and then wraps her arms around my neck and drags me down to her again. Her soft lips cling to mine and her lush curves press into me, her breasts squished into my chest. I can feel her under me, smell her sweet scent in my nose, in my soul.

And all I can do is hang tight and love her. Love her forever.