Free Merrily Mated (Ouachita Mountain Shifters 3) by P. Jameson Page A

her head, and carefully eased his fingers from between her legs. He said a quick prayer that she wouldn’t speak. He didn’t want her to regret anything either. He just needed to grow their bond like Doc said. He needed Layna to be whole again.
    He felt her release her grip on his shirt. Slowly, her hand crept lower toward his belt, but he grabbed it, locking it in the tight space between them.
    “Sleep,” he rasped.
    Several breaths passed before she answered, sounding shy. “Let me touch you.” He’d never heard her sound like that. Layna had the confidence of an entire army of warriors.
    He kissed her hair again, rubbing the silky strands against his lips.
    Her soft hands on him sounded like heaven, and made him so hard, he felt pain. But he couldn’t let her.
    “No.”
    “But… you need it.”
    “Layna…”
    She lifted her head to find his eyes, and he struggled not to glance away. It was so damn hard to look at her now, knowing none of this would matter in a few days. Not to her anyway.
    “I want to satisfy my mate’s needs,” she whispered.
    Ryan closed his eyes, unable to bear it another second. This wasn’t her. It was her cat maybe. Or the tranq. Or gratitude. Or the fastest way she could think of to grow the bond. But it wasn’t her .
    And he wanted her .
    “No,” he murmured, determined. “I’ll take nothing from you right now. Not while your wounds are so fresh. When you’ve healed, then we’ll straighten things out between us. But right now, all I want is for you to be well. Now sleep.”
    Hesitantly, she laid her head back on his chest.
    “Okay,” she said quietly. “I’ll do whatever you want. But Ryan?”
    “Hm?”
    “Please stay. Don’t leave again. Just… don’t go.”
    He swallowed the lump in his throat, pushing the pain down as far as it would go. “Sleep, my Layna.”
    He listened as her breathing steadied and she succumbed to healing rest. Hours passed before he was able to follow her under, but finally the pull of sleep claimed him.
    ***
    The blinds did their job shielding the rest of the room from the early morning sun. It had taken Ryan a whole year to get them just right so the cracks didn’t land on his bed, and luckily no one had messed with them in the week he’d been gone.
    He was warm even with his jean-clad legs halfway out from under the covers, his woman’s body molded to his side as if there was no other way to sleep. His bed would never be the same.
    It took a few seconds for his brain to catch up to everything that had happened overnight, and when it did, his eyes came open, hoping to catch Layna before she woke. Watching her sleep was comforting to him.
    But he was too late. Her big emerald eyes stared back at him, unreadable. Clear and knowing. Like they could see inside his thoughts. The tranquilizer was gone from her system, and not even sleep seemed to cloud her mind this morning.
    And hell, was she beautiful in the morning. Just as he always knew she would be. The harsh features that made her daily sarcasm so successful were softened by sleep. Her full lips didn’t smirk. Her hair was messy and spread out all over his pillows. It was a private view of her no one but him had the privilege of witnessing. Just like her tears last night, and it made his heart soar only to crash again.
    When would this loop of hope and reality stop? Ever?
    He should get up, find Doc for an exam. Get Layna water, food. Anything but lay there with her naked body so close and her scent on his hand and her damn endless eyes reading him.
    But he stayed exactly as he was. Bonding. Because he wanted it and she needed it.
    Treat her like a female cat . Doc’s word of advice came back to him, and the song What’s Love Got To Do With It flitted across his mind in an ironic jab.
    “How do you feel?”
    Ryan watched her throat work down a swallow. “Stronger.”
    “Does your back hurt?”
    Layna shook her head. “I suspect most of the damage won’t show in my human form. I