The Reluctant Cougar (Rise of the Alpha King's Heir)

Condition

Eileen forced herself to breathe deep and slow. She had to calm down before Ben made it back to the car, or she might do something even more stupid than what she'd just done.

She should have known better--she had known better, but in her pride and desperation she had convinced herself she could separate herself from the feeding, that she could maintain emotional and physical distance.

She hadn't expected the fire that grew between them, the intimacy of them sharing life. She hadn't expected Ben to react so wholly, so vocally. Even the memory of his pleading voice and gasping breath caused heat to curl pleasantly through her stomach.

She had also not expected to feel the drive, the instinct, the need to mark him as hers, to claim him. She'd barely been able to resist.

"This isn't fair, Wayden," she accused, her head resting on the glass as she stared into the sky. "Why me? You should have picked a female that could give him children, that could help him rise in ranking. This isn't fair to him."

The answer she received wasn't words as much as a pressing thought, a feeling that clenched her heart until she listened to it.

You've always needed each other.

Tears swam in her eyes, but she blinked them away; Ben didn't need to see her crying after what just happened. He would think he'd done something wrong. 

He hadn't.

In fact, he had done everything right, almost by the book, since the moment they met. He had felt it, known it, from that very first encounter.

"I'm going to marry you someday."

As soon as his blood had entered her mouth, everything had made sense: his obsession, his protectiveness, his devotion. He, at an early age, had realized it, accepted it, fought for it.

Ben was her Bloodmate.

Even now his blood roared through her veins, strengthening her in a way no other blood ever would, linking them on a primal, elemental level.

How was she supposed to act around him after this? Would she pretend like she didn't know, or... would she confess her knowledge and allow him to pursue her?

The ramifications of the second option were terrifying. Yes, he was old enough to seek females, old enough to court one, but he was not yet of age, was not old enough to marry. If they went by the book, his parents could require a chaperone until then. 

Wayden, what were his parents going to think of her? What would Mrs. O'Hara think? All that time Ben and Eileen had spent together growing up, all the time they were together now... would their parents think the worst of her?  Would they believe that whole time she had been--

Eileen shook her head, No. They know I'd never hurt Ben. As his Bloodmate, I physically can't do anything my soul believes would harm him, including sex before he's ready.  

Not only that, but there was her job at New River to consider. She would be in a position of authority over him for another two years. If she decided to allow him to pursue her, that would create another power imbalance. Would she have to quit her job? 

No, what was she thinking? Bloodmate or not, he was still too young to date somebody her age.

Wasn't he?

Her insides warmed, swirled, remembering the feeling of him holding her in his lap. She could still feel the harsh rise and fall of his thick chest, could easily recall how it felt to be wrapped in his large, hard arms.