Free Astrid's Wish by A.J. Jarrett

him to consummate their relationship and to join them together emotionally and physically. He wanted nothing more than to do that, but in the back of his mind that little voice whispered that it was still too soon. It was too soon to give in to his carnal desires for his mate. Astrid still needed time to work through his issues from his past. Sex would only complicate the situation.
    He was quiet for so long, Astrid must have taken his silence as rejection. Klaus watched as Astrid sat up on the bed and pulled his legs toward his chest, hugging them tight. This was the pose Klaus had classified as Astrid’s scared and frightened position.
    Fuck! How can I fix this?
    “Astrid?” Klaus climbed up onto the bed and sat next this mate.
    “Astrid, talk to me.”
    His angel brushed his hand away. “It’s okay, Klaus, really. I should have known I wasn’t worthy of you, even if we are mates.
    Miles was wrong. You’re the one too good for me.” Astrid’s lower lip stuck out in a pout.
    The words Astrid said slowly sunk in. Klaus started to laugh. Of course Miles would say he wasn’t good enough for Astrid. He himself felt the same way.
    “It’s not funny,” Astrid shouted.
    Klaus stopped laughing immediately. He had upset his angel again. Tears ran down Astrid’s cheeks as he rocked from side to side on the bed. Klaus wanted to punch himself for his callous behavior.
    “Astrid, I’m not laughing at you. It’s what Miles said.” Astrid looked blankly at him. “Miles was right. You are too good for me.
    I’ve done a lot of bad things in my fifteen hundred years. I’m afraid my dark past will leak onto your delicate skin and ruin your way of thinking and being. If anything I’ve ever done were to come back and hurt you, I could never live with myself.”

    Astrid’s Wish
    61
    “Don’t say that,” Astrid whined. “You’re special to me, and no matter what you’ve done, I would still want you. You’re mine. Don’t you see that?”
    Klaus eyed him warily. He did understand, because he felt the same way, but still it was too soon.
    “Angel, I do, but even without all that it’s still too soon for us to engage in…in...in any sexual activity.” Klaus’s face heated with embarrassment. He’d never felt this awkward when discussing his sex life before.
    “I wish everyone would stop telling me what I need.” Astrid breathed out a deep sigh. “I’m a grown man. I think I know what I can and can’t handle.” Astrid reached for his hand. “I want to feel what lovemaking should be like. I can’t take away what happened between Lucian and I, but I’ll do whatever you want, just please give me the chance.”
    Klaus’s teeth clenched so tightly at the mention of Lucian’s name he thought his jaw would crumble to dust.
    “Me wanting to wait has nothing to do with that man.” Klaus was trying his best to reign in his anger for what Astrid had suffered through at the hands of that monster.
    Klaus gentled his tone when he spoke again. “I want you so bad I can barely stand being near you and not touching you. But what I want and what you need are two different things. I could never live with myself if you regretted what we shared afterwards. It would kill me, Astrid.”
    “But don’t you see, I don’t want to wait. It will change nothing if we do it today or tomorrow. I was abused, and I’m sick of everyone treating me like I’m a broken person. I’m dealing with it in my own way.” Astrid sat up on his knees and scooted closer to Klaus. “I know this may be hard for you to understand, but I love you. I feel you in my bones. And when you deny me, I ache here.”

    62 AJ
    Jarrett
    Astrid grabbed his hand and placed it over his heart. Klaus could feel the heat coming off Astrid’s body through the shirt. The small thud of his pulse pushed against his hand. His angel yearned for him.
    Without a second thought, Klaus fisted his hand in Astrid shirt and rolled until he lay on top of him. Astrid gasped