Silence fell between them, interspersed only with his ragged breaths. She didn’t move, didn’t say a word. Then, and he felt like weeping when she did, she started to run a hand through his hair. He shuddered at the sensation, pressed his face deeper into her chest, smashing his face between her breasts until he could barely breathe, just needing to be close, needing her to know how much he needed her.
“It’s okay,” she whispered.
“No, it’s not. I’ve hurt you. But I didn’t want to keep this from you. s**t sticks, and I knew it would come out eventually, and it would hurt you even more because you’d think I’d been lying to you, or you’d think there was something I needed to cover up. But I needed you to have spent some time as my mate, to know that nothing is stronger than the bond between
