“I walked over to Drake and stomped on his foot. Hard. "What will I give you tohelp me? What will I give you?"He stood on one leg rubbing his foot, grinning a grin so steamy, it almost meltedmy underwear. "I never doubted you would defeat her. You are my mate. Youcould do no less."I pointed a finger at him. "You are too arrogant for your own good. I officiallyde-mate you. Go away. I never want to see you again. Except maybe tonight.Naked. Your place. But after that, no more.”

“You are too arrogant for your own good. I officially de-mate you. Go away. I never want to see you again. Except maybe tonight. Naked. Your place. But after that, no more.”

“He caught her hand. “What do you want from me, Grace?”That was easy. “Everything.” She wanted to touch his chest, but since he held her hand prisoner, she insinuated one leg between his legs, delighting in what it did to his breathing. “I don’t want you to hold anything back. I don’t want you to be so careful with me all the time.”“Grace….”“I want you to give me as much as I can take, and then I want you to give me more.”“Like I did last night?”His voice was rough, laced with self-disgust. God help her, she’d never loved him more.”

“Did you ever think she was your mate?” Lucas asked unable to help himself.Clyde tensed, seemingly caught off-guard by the question. “I knew she wasn’t mine,” he said then exhaled. “Angels don’t mate, remember?”“Then why did you make it so hard for her?”“For her or for you?”“For her. I couldn’t care less how hard you made it for me.”“Because I love her,” Clyde responded simply. Lucas’ jaw clenched then he exhaled, acknowledging that hearing another man admit he loved Jenna would never get easier.“Not the way you do, but I love her. I wanted what was best for her. I thought you weren’t it,” Clyde added then turned to walk away. He paused and spun back around. “One more thing. If you ever hurt her, I’ll kill you.”Lucas let the fire in his heart fill his eyes. He would never hurt Jenna; they both knew it. “I know. That’s one of the reasons I haven’t killed you myself.”

“She touched his jaw with gentle fingers. "Promise me you will never leave me like that again.Next time let me go with you."Her eyes were eloquent, pleading, so much so that he had to look away. "Do not ask me for what I cannot give you. I would give you the moon if you asked, cherie, but I cannot allow you to place yourself in danger.Not for any reason.Not even to help me.”

“Before he turned away, I asked, 'What do you need?''I need you. I need to give you a proper kiss. I need you to be my mate.”