The Quiet Giant's Mate Chapter 12 - Regina

As happy as I am to know he never had sex with Zelma, I’m still pissed at that bitch. How dare she give him a complex about his size. To make him think no one could or would want or be able to handle him. Just because she’s a weak little bitch doesn’t mean the rest of us are. She wasn’t made to be with him, so it’s for the best that she couldn’t handle him. That doesn’t mean I won’t smack her or at least give her the evil eye if I find myself in Silverclaw visiting Isis. 

‘Worry about his ex and the complex she gave him later. Focus on our mate and get him past this obstacle between us and the ride of our lives!’ Gioia encouraged.

I know she’s right. We are totally on the same page. Before the sun rises, Ivan will understand that nothing about him could scare me away. I know it will probably take longer to get him past his issues. There is no magical way to erase self-confidence issues. Not even the mate bond has that kind of power. But I will spend every day fighting to shut down any of that self-doubt for the rest of our lives.

That first step was bearing my desire to be with him. I put it all on the table. I won’t back down unless he rejects me. Because I want him, I want all of him. I could only hope he wanted me too. I know his wolf does, but that’s only half the equation. Ivan needs to want this for it to work. 

I held my breath as the silence of my mate left me terrified. When I thought he would tell me this wouldn’t work, he kissed me… hard. His hand gripped the back of my head, thick fingers digging into my hair to hold me in place. I gasped in surprise, and he took my parted lips as an invitation, his tongue delving into my mouth with a growl. I melted into the kiss with a whimper of pleasure as his other hand trailed down the open back of my dress.

This wasn’t like when we were kissing in the ballroom. It was more intense, hungry, passionate, all-consuming, everything. My body seemed to be acting of its own accord. My hips rolled against him, and my core pulsed in desire as I felt his dick harden through his pants. My fingers started to desperately button his shirt, needing and wanting to touch him. 

I knew he was a muscular man, but knowing something is always different from experiencing it. He growled my name as he pulled back for air, it was similar to earlier, but it was the way Gioia and I had wanted to hear it. It was a growl of desire, and I’d be a liar if I said it didn’t turn me on more. Not just the growl but the reason for the growl. To know my fingers tracing his muscles elicited that growl that I was the reason. That I create and control the desire of this giant.

I leaned back just enough to look at his chest as I helped him out of the shirt. The delicate fabric was tossed aside without care to give me a full view of the ripples of muscles. Again, knowing is so different from seeing and touching.

I smiled, biting my bottom lip as I traced the muscles with my eyes, eager to touch them. My smile faltered when I saw a distinct discoloration, a scar that only came from exposure to silver wrapped around his neck. 

I leaned up to look closer. I hadn’t seen it before because of the shirt’s collar, but now that I could see it, I wanted to look closer. He froze when I gently touched the scarred skin. I knew what it was from as I saw how perfectly it formed a circle around his neck. It was from the collar he’d had to wear in the Incubi prison. This scar is the fault of my pack, family, and the people I love most. I gasped softly, unable to stop the sniffle as I held back tears at his suffering.

“It doesn’t hurt,” Ivan assured me as if he knew what I would ask.

“But…” I protested, leaning back to look at his face.

I let what I was going to say fall to the wayside. We may not be fully bonded, so I can’t hear his thoughts, and his expression may not be easily read, but his eyes said so much. He doesn’t care about his scars. He thinks he deserves them for his part in the war. And he doesn’t hold my people responsible for taking the measures they took to restrain him. 

I’ve already committed myself to showing and proving to this man that he deserves more happiness and love than he believes. Why can’t he forgive himself if he can forgive that and my people and family? That’s a question for another time. So in place of words, I kissed his neck along the scar. No amount of intent of my power could erase them, but I want him to know they don’t scare me.

“Regina…” That deep growl rumbled through his chest as his hands tightened on my hips.

I smiled against his skin and kissed lower, rolling my hips against him, letting his hands guide and control their speed. As my lips kissed down his left arm, my hands explored his body. So, I knew before my lips reached his wrist that he had scars from his silver cuffs. I kissed over the wounds on his wrists.

“You don’t scare me, Ivan. I accept you exactly as you are.” I whispered as I placed a final kiss on his wrist.

I can’t fully place the emotions in his dark brown eyes. I want to think that relief, joy, and maybe love was in the mix of emotions. Time to get this evening back on track to mating, or at least I hope that’s where we were going. Seeing his scars changed nothing me. I still want him. I want him, imperfections and all. 

Gathering my confidence, I guided his hands back to my waist, to the zipper at the small of my back that kept the dress secure. He must have understood as he unzipped the dress, all while looking into my eyes, making the moment even more sensual. I smiled at the confusion on his face as I slipped out of his lap. I answered his silent question as I slipped my arms out of the dress, the dress slipping off to pool around my feet. 

I’ve been naked around people before, but that’s when I’ve shifted and therefore was never anything sexual. Sure, Valter and other unmated males looked longer than they should have, but I always quickly dressed, and if I didn’t, they looked away with a silent command from my Zio Alec or Papa. Bearing myself to Ivan was different. I wasn’t getting ready to shift to my wolf. I want him to see me, to see all of me. 

Despite my blush, I held my head high, standing in only gold thongs and heels. There was power in this. So much power as I watched his eyes darken while they slowly took in my body. I watched his fingers twitch on his thighs, itching to touch me. I watched the outline of his cock twitch and become more defined, itching to be inside me. I clenched my thighs, hoping to contain the pooling wetness I knew had soaked my thong.

“No bra.” Ivan’s deep voice broke slightly as his eyes focused on my breasts.

I’m not built like Zoe. I don’t have her C-cup breasts. I have curves and wide hips, but when it came to my chest, I was built like our mother. I accepted that I’m an A cup. It has its downsides, like being teased as flat-chested. But it has its upsides too. I can go without a bra, whereas someone with larger breasts can’t, as they need support.

“Bras are torture devices made by man and a waste of my money and time,” I answered.

“Ivan…” I licked my lips.

At the call of his name, his eyes went from my breasts to my face. I shivered, goosebumps and a blush covering my skin under his gaze. His full attention like this turned me on almost as much as when he’d been kissing and touching me. And that’s what I want, what I need. I need him to touch me before I lose my mind.

“Touch me, please.” I hated how vulnerable I sounded and how desperate and needy my words were. 

If there is anyone in this world I should and could be vulnerable with and not feel shame about, it should be Ivan. He is my mate. He’s the other half of my soul. It would be like saying I couldn’t be vulnerable with myself if I can’t be vulnerable with him. I wasn’t sure what would happen, and the anticipation was killing me. My knees felt weak in anticipation of him touching me. A million options crossed my mind. Each illicit thought more delicious than the last turned me on. 

I gasped as he did none of what my gutter mind was thinking. Without a word, I was swept off my feet, literally, and held bridal style in his muscular arms. I didn’t get a chance to ask what he was doing. His lips were on mine, and I couldn’t be bothered to question anything, let alone think. I was so consumed by the kiss I didn’t realize he was carrying me somewhere until my ass touched the bedding. 

I pulled back from the kiss as he laid me down, and I realized we were in the master bedroom of the suite. Looking through the sheer curtains of the massive ivory and gold ornate bed, I saw candles strategically placed around the room, giving a soft romantic glow to the opulent space. Purple rose petals scattered across the white duvet, a few clinging to my bare skin. While my cousin said no one was supposed to use it, it was certainly prepared as if someone was.

André!

It’s the only answer. Somehow between when he realized I was Ivan’s mate and Nicolao gave us the key to this suite, my cousin set this all up. I don’t know if I should be annoyed or thankful. Perhaps a bit of both at his presumptions we would be having sex. I’m leaning more toward being thankful because he wanted to ensure my first time, our first time, had some level of romance to it. 

Ivan either didn’t notice or didn’t care about our surroundings because he said nothing as he lay on the bed beside me. I moaned into our kiss and shivered in desire as his rough hand went from holding my face to slowly moving down my body. The closer his hand got to my breasts, the faster my heartbeat. I gasped as he rolled my nipple with his fingers. 

I was left panting as he kissed my jaw and down my neck. His hand continued teasing my breast, every touch sending pleasure to my core. When his teeth scraped across the hollow of my neck, I moaned his name.

“Ivan…” I cried out, my body arching into his touch. “I want more… touch me more.” I pleaded.

His answer was a growl against my neck as his hand slid down my belly, ripped my thong’s thin band, and tossed it aside. Okay, that was HOT! I threw my head back as I cried out, my hips arching as he ran his index finger across my entrance and swirled the wetness that was already there over my clit. 

He has some seriously good instincts for someone who said he’d never done this, or I’m just ultra-sensitive because of the mate bond. I don’t care, so long as he keeps touching me. I moaned his name loudly as his mouth found my breast and his tongue swirled around my pebbled nipple.