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He was her mate, damnit! Shouldn\'t he be all over her?

Was he ignoring her on purpose?

To make things worse, the whole room smelled of delicious coffee and she really wanted some.

Tatiana knew that those were the urges fueled by her wolf side.

Tatiana lived among humans, and she learned to suppress her animalistic urges in order to blend it. It came in handy to appear human in order to deal with customers and models without snapping someone\'s neck, but this was different.

Such a way of living nearly cost her a mate. A real soulmate. Like in the movies where a man and a woman fall in love and live happily ever after.

Will everything be perfect just because they were mates? Of course, not. Every relationship requires hard work and dedication.

However, the fact that they were fated mates meant they will accept each other unconditionally. Maddox will be the most outstanding man in her eyes, and he will see her in a similar light. If any of them thinks of cheating, the other one will know.

Maddox was not human, and neither was she.

Human rules don\'t apply to them, and it took her near-drowning experience to realize that.

Tatiana decided to give her wolf side a chance and see how things go.

"Max?", Tatiana called.

"Yes?", Maddox responded.

"Why don\'t you come here?", Tatiana asked.

"I am here."

\'Bastard!\', Tatiana cursed internally. She was not sure if he was set on getting back at her or if he was really so dense. But she was determined to make this work, so she persisted, "Closer."

Maddox puffed his cheeks and moved to the side.

"No, no…", Tatiana said quickly when she saw that he grabbed a chair. "Come here."

Maddox stared at her hand that was patting the mattress next to Tatiana.

"You want me on the bed, with you?", he asked in disbelief.

Does that mean what he thinks it means?

Maddox quickly shook those thoughts away. Nothing with Tatiana was ever easy. She was probably playing some game again.

"Didn\'t you hear what the Doctor said? I will heal faster if you are close.", Tatiana responded.

She didn\'t understand, why was he hesitating? He was so eager to get frisky so far, yet now that she was calling him to share the bed, he is looking at her like she spoke a foreign language.

Maddox narrowed his eyes. Did she want him close only so that she can heal, and after that, she will discard him?

Maddox really wanted to jump on that bed next to Tatiana and to cuddle forever (and do much more than cuddling), but his lifelong experiences taught him not to trust a person who harmed him.

They met that morning, and instead of embracing this whole mate thing, Tatiana pushed him away more than once on the same day! He would be a fool to just trust her again, but every fiber of his body screamed for her proximity.

Rejecting this request for closeness would be foolish, even though it might be a trap. But what if it\'s a trap that will only make him sink deeper?

Maddox gritted his teeth. Everyone talks about finding a mate as something extraordinary, yet for him, it was full of uncertainty, and he hated it, but he couldn\'t walk away either… not when his Goddess was calling him to get into the touching distance, and it was just the two of them in the room. Privacy.

For the first time in a long time, Maddox was not sure what to do.

He could go next to her but what will be next?

Maddox knew that he will get aroused and want to kiss and fondle her, and she will probably call him a caveman again. Or can he go there and behave? It will be the biggest test of his willpower.

Eventually, Maddox released a slow breath and moved closer to the bed.

The moment he sat on the edge of the bed, Tatiana scooted on the side and lifted the cover, exposing her body that had a loose hospital gown on it, but Maddox knew that there is a skimpy bikini under it, and then her glorious body.

Maddox swallowed hard. "What?"

Tatiana rolled her eyes. "Don\'t make me beg for it, Max. Come here."

Maddox\'s insides jolted. There was that word. Beg.

Maddox never cared for any word in particular, but since Damon said that Maddox should beg for Tatiana\'s forgiveness, that word became something nasty that shouldn\'t be used.

"I will never expect you to beg for anything, Tanya.", Maddox said seriously. "Not from me and not from anyone else. But I hope you will clearly tell me what you want."

Tatiana appreciated that. "I want you in the bed with me. Now."

Maddox steeled his resolve and laid flat on his back in slow motion like the mattress was made out of eggshells.

He stiffened when Tatiana stuck to him, and she even pulled the cover over both of them.

Her breath fanned his chest and his hair stood on ends.

The thin hospital gown separated their bodies under the cover, but he could still feel the sparks of their bond dancing over his skin.

And their legs were interlaced. It was skin to skin!

Maddox tried thinking about something else to distract himself from the overwhelming arousal that swelled in a second.

Saggy breasts… quarterly expenses report for the pack… deplumed chickens… broccoli…

No matter how horrid images he conjured in his mind, it didn\'t work. His erection pitched a tent and he hoped that Tatiana will focus on his face or at least not call him a caveman again.

Tatiana was frustrated. He was obviously aroused, and she was clinging to him. Why did this look like she was hugging a statue?

"Max?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you really just going to lie like that?"

Maddox didn\'t get it. Was she chasing him away already? He didn\'t do anything! "Like what?"

"Like a dead person."

Maddox was confused. "And how do you want me to lie?"

"Aren\'t I your mate? Don\'t you want to hug me and", Tatiana\'s voice stopped abruptly when Maddox turned sideways to face her.

"Say that again.", Maddox said anxiously.

Did he hear her right? Did she say that she wanted him to hug her?

Tatiana blinked rapidly. She was not sure if she can keep up with his mood changes. "Is there something wrong?"

"I don\'t know. You tell me. So far, when I hold you, you pull back. When I want intimacy, you call me a caveman. I remember clearly that you said sex was off the table. So how about you explain to me what you want? You want hugs? How about kisses? Is touching above waist level allowed? I need to know what all is acceptable so I don\'t offend you again." Because every time you push back, I am dying on the inside.

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