Free His to Seduce by Elena Aitken

then, but it wasn’t a cute sound, or a happy noise. It was forced, tense, scared almost, as if she’d just discovered she’d left the house without pants.
    “I know you do, Chloe,” he continued, ignoring the noise. “I can feel it. I can sense it. Because it’s not just you. It’s me, too.” She squeezed her eyes and looked away, but Luke was not about to be deterred. “And don’t think for a second that falling for you was something I wanted either.”
    That got her attention. She whipped her head around. “ Falling for me? You barely know me. You know—”
    “Everything I need to.” He stared into her eyes hard, forcing her to meet his gaze. “I know that you were made for me. When I’m with you, my bear is finally satiated, calm. When I’m inside you, well…we fit. And you know it.” She blinked hard but didn’t look away. “I know you feel it too, Chloe. I’ve tried to fight it. Hell, do you really think I want to mess up my life with a mate? I’ve been doing just fine without any—”
    “A mate?” Her eyebrows arched into dangerous peaks. “Who said anything about a mate? ”
    “Don’t fight it.”
    She squirmed in his grasp. “I think I’ll do just that, thank you very much.”
    “You can’t.” Despite the fact that his mate was fighting him on every level, Luke had never felt calmer. He wasn’t worried. It might take a little convincing, but as soon as she let down her walls a little, he had no doubt she’d see what Luke already knew. They were fated.
    “Look, Chloe.” He tightened his grip on her, but used his thumbs to stroke soft circles on her upper arms. “It’s not what I had planned for myself either. I get it. But just like with Axel and Harper, it’s—”
    “It’s bullshit.”
    Chloe twisted hard to the left and escaped his hands, scooting herself out of reach. He could easily close the gap and hold her again, but he’d give her space. If she needed a bit of time to come to the same conclusion he had, that’s what she needed. He wasn’t worried.
    “You’re fairly sure of yourself.” Chloe adjusted her shirt but she wouldn’t meet his eye, which only affirmed exactly why he should be so sure of himself. “I told you, I’m not interested in anything. I shouldn’t even have done what...well, we shouldn’t have.”
    “Oh yes we should have.” Luke jumped over the rocks that separated them, and twined his arm around her waist, pointing into the stream below them as he did. “Just like those fish—once you cast with just the right fly, they have no choice but to take the bait.”
    Chloe made an adorable sound halfway between a chuckle and a snort but she covered her mouth so quickly, Luke was robbed of the chance to see her beautiful lips in a smile. “Did you just compare me to a trout ?”
    “I did.”
    “And you think you’re going to be able to reel me in, do you?”
    He took another step closer and closed the gap. “I think I have just the bait you need.”
    There was no way he could stand so close to her, breathing in the fresh, rich scent of her and not pull her into his arms, so that’s just what he did. “You know we could save a whole lot more time if you didn’t keep running away from me.” Luke didn’t wait for a reply before he took that sexy mouth into a kiss, leaving no doubt in anyone’s mind what exactly they could be doing with all that saved time.
    He was happy to take her right there next to his favorite fishing hole, under the pines in a bed of needles. In fact, he couldn’t think of a better place to finally make her his mate, not that she was ready to agree to that. Yet. When Chloe stiffened in his arms once more, it took all Luke’s self-control not to roar out in frustration. When she pulled away from his kiss, he had to swallow hard to keep his bear in check. He opened his eyes to see her staring over his shoulder at something behind him. Judging by the storm swirling in her blue depths, he wasn’t going to like what