Reclaiming Her Heart

Chapter 21 - Bonded

Jadea

My heart was nearly beating out of my chest. I felt my body respond to his. Warmth curling through my veins and igniting a yearning deep within my body.

The way he spoke the oath ... He said it as if saying it to a lover. It was filled with so much emotion, so much tenderness. It was erotic.

His stormy blue eyes held mine in the silence that followed. As his wolf bound himself to mine. I could feel his need to kiss me. Could feel the war he waged to force himself to go slow. To wait until I was ready.

With a soft sigh, he started to pull away from me. And with him, he took his familiar warmth and a part of my very soul.

"Wait." My telepathic command stopped him dead. Those stormy eyes held mine, a question in their depths. "Kiss me," I commanded aloud. I don't know why I said it. A curiosity? A deep-rooted need between two souls that were made just for each other? I couldn't deny the chemistry and spark that was between us. It was intense and scary. But, I couldn't deny myself this small wonder. To know how it was to be held and kissed by someone who believed you were their whole world.

Adam returned, the weight of his chest pushing me against the door, his familiar warmth surrounding me. I had to admit I loved the feeling of his weight on me. It was calming. Soothing. And electrifying. His gaze never left mine, his fingertips tracing my neck slowly, as if savoring this moment. Fingers curled around the sides of my face, thumbs tracing my lips before settling on my cheek. The touch was sensual, and my mouth popped open as a soft sigh escaped. He was taking his time, reveling in the moment. A moment he thought he would never share with me again. Dropping one hand, he curved it around my hip, pulling us flush together.

Leaning in, he traced his nose up my other cheek before resting his forehead once more against mine. His eyes closed. And then, like a butterflies wings, his lips brushed mine once. Twice. Then he slanted them in a slow, deep sensual kiss. Leisurely, as if he was committing every detail to memory, his lips moved with mine before his tongue delved deep into my mouth, tasting me. As our tongues danced, a fire blossomed within my chest and moved south, an intense craving and need taking hold.

My hands raked down his bare back, my palms tracing the ridges of his abdomen and chest as they traveled back up. I felt his moan of approval on my tongue and was instantly addicted to the sounds he made. My hands felt his beard before delving into his thick red hair, anchoring him to me, never wanting this feeling, this intense need to—

"Stop!" Adam's command brought me up short. I immediately released him, looking at him in confusion.

Had I misread his mind? His feelings? My mind gently brushed his just to assure myself I hadn't overstepped.

Adam was panting as he dropped his head to rest on my shoulder, his whole body trembling with the need to claim me.

I understood then why he wanted to stop. He was afraid he wouldn't be able to keep himself from completing a mate's bond if we just jumped into this right now. With passion clouding his judgment, he was afraid he would accidentally go too far. It was a risk he wasn't willing to take.

Tears clogged my eyes at this man's selflessness. How he held my heart and comfort above his own.

Those stormy blue eyes were suddenly there, staring deeply into my own. "You need to drink my blood. Now," he commanded, his wolf taking over.

Tentatively, I touched his mind, trying to understand why.

"I need you to see yourself through my eyes, Jadea," he breathed evenly. "Then, and only then, will you be able to begin to comprehend why I cherish and hold your heart with such care. Why I put your needs over my own."

Nodding slowly, Adam pulled me back into him, so my mouth hovered over the vein in his neck. As my tongue licked his skin, he pulled my hand to his mouth and kissed the inside of my wrist. Gently, I sank my teeth into his neck and moaned as his very essence bled onto my tongue. This was intoxicating. Seconds later, I felt his teeth sink into my wrist. Our minds were like two broken halves of the same whole being melded together. Fireworks danced behind my eyes. Electricity arcing through our veins. Everything about him fit so perfectly with me.

And there, in the forefront of his mind, was everything he said would be there. All the reasons he cherished me and held my heart and soul with such tender, loving care. I saved him, back when we first met. As much as I argued he saved himself, he would say I gave him a reason to fight. I showed him what true love was. I taught him what forgiveness could bring. I chose him, even when he couldn't choose himself. I never abandoned him, even when all hope seemed to be lost. I found him, and I saved him.

In return, he delved into my deepest and darkest memories, wading through the trenches with me. Ones I had repressed when I was but a child. He held me through my lowest of lows. Forgave me when I stumbled. When I doubted everything and everyone else around me, he was my lighthouse, showing me the way home...

***Flashback***

Gently, he started brushing my hair. The act was calming. Loving. The remains of the tension in my chest eased. “Why don’t you say your affirmations, baby?” He suggested.

Oh, this was going to be hard today. I took a deep breath, but it didn’t stop my body’s response. My throat thickened. I found it hard to find my voice. I cleared my throat, but my saliva felt thick and sticky. I licked my lips and closed my eyes. It was only a few short sentences. I could do this! “I am worthy,” I whispered softly, my voice trembling because I knew I wasn’t. “I am worthy of love. I am worthy of life.” Even though it didn’t feel that way. I had been made for one purpose, and that was to breed. And when those rights had been stripped from me, I'd become useless to Elam… “I am enough.”

I hadn’t been enough for them.

I had never been enough for Hans.

I had barely ever felt I was enough for Lucien.

I only recently started feeling I was worthy to bare the Knight name, yet after what my brother said… I didn’t feel like that name suited me.

I didn’t belong anywhere.

I didn’t belong to anyone—

“You belong to me,” Adam’s thick voice was stern as his fingers curled into my hair, tipping my head back onto his shoulder. He had been a silent spectator in my mind up until that point. “Say it, Jadea,” he commanded.

“I belong to you,” I breathed, eyes fluttering closed, my soul shattering.

“That’s right, baby girl. You belong to me. You belong with me. If any other name does not suit you, then you will have mine,” he snarled softly against my ear. “If they reject you, then that is their loss, Jadea. You are perfect. You are worthy. You are enough. Every single one of them who has hurt you, who was insensitive to you, doesn’t deserve your love or attention. They don’t deserve you to dwell on them. They don’t deserve a spot in that beautiful head or heart of yours, do I make myself clear?”

I didn’t confirm his question, because I knew myself. I knew I would dwell over things that were out of my control.

“Let me rephrase that,” he stated ferociously, his right hand curling around the front of my neck possessively. “For every time I catch you giving any one of those bastards any thought, allowing them to ruin you in any way, I will spank you. You think of Elam. Hans. Harley. Ty. Or any others. It is twenty times each. And it’s not going to be nice.” He reached over to the left and opened the little hidden compartment with all the gear and pointed to a specific paddle that wasn’t made for pleasure. “I will use that one. Do I make myself clear?” He growled against my neck.

“Yes, sir,” I whispered. Already knowing this was going to be a lost cause. Already knowing I was going to fail. But that was okay. Sometimes, we had to fail. Sometimes, we had to fall in order to rise stronger.

***End Flashback***

Tears streamed down my face, because how on earth had I found this man? He had been there, trudging through the trenches right beside me until I was able to make it back out. He knew how fragile my heart was. He knew because he had slowly chipped away at each and every wall I'd built around my heart to keep me safe. There were no known words to describe the depth of his love or the absolute devotion he held for me.

Adam was everything I'd ever dreamed of and more.

Sobs of joy wracked my body, because everything I ever prayed for, and believed I would never obtain due to my lot in life, had come in the form of Adam and his beautiful children.