The Girl He Marked by Laila Callaway novel Chapter 3

Callie's POV.

Picking up from Nate and Callie's first meeting in The Girl He Claimed…

I freeze as my eyes land on a man.

A gorgeous, dark—haired man staring directly at me.

'Nate' A girl, I think called Myra maybe, calls his name. I can't look at her, my eyes are locked on the delicious man.

The wind blows again, wrapping me in his scent. Everything inside me warms with the most wonderful, tingling feeling.

Mate.

Having seemingly come to the same realization, the man, Nate, begins running towards me.

My legs move forward of their own accord, before I realize it, I find myself running over to meet him.

His face is one of complete shock, utter disbelief. As soon as I am close enough, he reaches for me, lifts me up and spins me around. Like something out of a cliché chick flick. But I don't care.

His strong hands on my waist feel incredible, I momentarily wonder if that feels so nice, what must it be like to kiss him As if sensing my thoughts, he lowers me down in front of him. My feet feel unsteady on the earth, but his hands don't leave my waist.

He hesitates a moment, as if checking for permission, then leans in and kisses me. My hands instinctively grab his arms for support, his arms wrap around me, holding me close. His lips move confidently over mine, leaving no room for doubt that I am his and he is mine.

Eventually he pulls away, in the distance I can hear Myra squealing with excitement, but all I focus on is his beautiful face. He grins down at me, his whole face lighting up with happiness, it dazzles me.

'Hi,' he says.

'Hi,' I reply quietly, in a voice I barely recognize, breathy and light.

'I'm Nathan, but you can call me Nate,' he tells me and then grins again. 'Hell, you can call me anything you like.'

I giggle at that.

'I'm Callie,' I respond.

Myra comes over to the two of us, unshed tears in her eyes and a huge smile on her face.

She wraps an arm around Nate's shoulder and, if I didn't know that they are siblings, I would be jealous.

'Congratulations, big bro,' she says good—naturedly.

'I'm Myra.' She sticks her hand out to me. 'This idiot's younger, more attractive, sibling.'

She winks at me and Nate nudges her playfully.

'It's lovely to meet you, I'm Callie, Rixon's sister,' I tell her, and her face becomes serious.

'We should probably get to the hospital and check on how Lexi is doing,' Myra suggests.

⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆✥⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆

Nate and I visit Lex at the hospital. She's so happy to see us together. It makes me blush like hell, but I have to agree with her.

Three days pass. Lexi is okay, and the baby is fine. She and Rixon are discharged from the hospital, and we all feel like we can finally relax.

My brother and his mate return to the cabin, giving them some alone time to spend together after the horror they went through.

It's quiet in the house, with just Ben and I, but Nate and I make arrangements to see each other.

We've waited so long to find each other; I don't think it's really sunk in yet. At twenty—eight, I believed that I wouldn't meet my mate. It's surreal to know I've finally found him.

It's four days after the fight, after I killed Alpha Seok, the father of my attacker.

I thought I would sleep easy now that both of them are dead, but my sleep is haunted with dreams of both of them.

I hide the dark circles under my eyes with concealer and get ready for my date.

I've got a date with my mate, Nate.

He told me to dress casually over the phone, so I answer the door in a pretty top and jeans.

'You look perfect,' he compliments me.

He kisses my forehead, and my stomach feels all fuzzy.

'What are we doing' I ask him when he guides me over to his car.

'We are going bowling,' he states proudly, and I can't help but chuckle.

'Bowling Okay, I like it.'

He drives us to the nearest bowling alley. It's a weekday evening and not that busy.

We hire the shoes that no woman wants to wear on the first day. Bowling shoes give you the appearance of an amateur clown and have the slipperiness of ice skates.

Not a good combination.

Nate pays for our lane, and we load our names onto the screen.

'Ladies first,' Nate says and gestures towards the bowling ball rack.

'Thank you,' I mumble shyly and take my time picking a ball that has the right size and weight for me.

It's hot pink and feels just right. I slowly approach the lane and get myself into position.

I line up my aim and swing my arm backward. I release the ball as I swing my arm forwards and it launches through the air. It lands on the wooden boards with a bang and rolls smoothly towards the pins.

It knocks all but two over. I'm quite pleased with that.

I turn to Nate with a satisfied smile, and he grins.

'Nicely done,' he comments.

I watch Nate choose a ball and then he aims. He throws the ball at almost twice the speed that I did. It hurtles down the lane and creates a huge smash when it crashes into the pins.

Every single one is thrown with momentum and falls on its side.

Strike.

I aim the ball at one of the pins still standing, but the other one is all the way on the other side of the lane. I only knock down one.

Damn. I need to up my game.

I decide to take a leaf out of Nate's book next time. After Nate gets another strike, I choose a heavier ball and use all of my strength to send the ball careering down the lane. It smashes into the pins and knocks them all down.

Strike!

I whoop loudly and jump in the air. Nate laughs as I spin around to face him, clapping my hands.

'I did it!' I exclaim happily.

'Well done,' Nate says with a smile on his face.

We take it turns, going back and forth. I manage to keep up with Nate, but he still wins. I don't mind so much, I got quite a few strikes, so I'm happy.

After finishing the game, we go over to the food section and get ourselves some burgers.

We sit outside. The air is warm, despite the fact that the sunset a long time ago.

We eat our burgers side by side on one of the benches, chatting away like we've known each other for years.

That's what it's like having a mate. It's like you've known them your whole life, even if you just met.

After finishing, we go back inside for another game. This time, I only lose by a few points.

'I was so close!' I whine as the scores are finalized.

Nate laughs and shakes his head. 'You know you can't win against a pro like me. You tried, though.'

I press my lips together and gently punch his arm.

'Arrogant ass,' I mutter under my breath.

'You love my what now' Nate replies playfully, throwing his arm around my shoulder.

I tense up at his sudden touch, but nothing happens. No flashbacks, no panic. It's all okay.

I slowly breathe out and relax into him.

'Come on, let's get you home before your brothers come and save you,' he says and ushers me to his car.

He drives us back to my house and he walks me to the front door. I'm kind of grateful that Rixon isn't here. He would give Nate a hard time, I know it.

Ben is more chilled than that, thank Goddess.

We both hesitate outside the door. Our eyes meet and it's like everything else just falls away.

Both of us lean in at the same time and our lips meet.

Our first kiss, when we met and didn't even know each other, was short and sweet.

This kiss is different. It's long and deep. We savor each other, our bodies pressing close together on the porch.

His lips move over mine in a way so natural and confident that it has my heart stuttering in its beats. I grip his shirt to steady myself and his arms wrap around my waist, holding me close.

I don't want to pull away, but both of us need to catch our breaths.

When we pull back, our lips are swollen, and our eyes are heated.

'Same time tomorrow' Nate whispers.

I smile up at him. 'Sounds perfect.'

The giddy smile doesn't leave my face, even as he drives away.

I've got it bad.

⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆✥⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆