Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 66609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
“You’re bleeding,” Sadie exclaims, bringing her thumb to my chin.
I hurriedly swipe the evidence away. “Sorry, I—”
She studies me, concern and curiosity glinting in her warm brown eyes. “What are you sorry for?”
I swallow. I should explain it all to her. But is she ready? Are we there yet? I haven’t even talked to Rafe. I don’t know what I’ll do if my alpha stands in the way of me claiming Sadie.
“Wolves, uh...we mark our mates.”
“What?” She doesn’t sound shocked. Only confused.
“With our teeth. That’s why I’ve been going for so many runs and not sleeping in the same bed as you. I, ah, have the urge to claim you.”
“Claim me?” Her eyes are wide. Not frightened, though. That’s good.
I scrub a hand over my face then pick up her yoga pants from the ground and hold them open for her to step back into. “It may not work,” I admit the sour truth.
She draws in a gasp. “Do you mean, like, turn me?”
A surprised chuckle pops out of my throat. “No. We’re not vampires.” I can’t stop smiling. She’s so damn cute. “We’re a different species. We usually mate our own kind.”
Her disappointment is palpable. My wolf wants to howl, to fix it. He wants to make her happy for the rest of our lives. So do I.
I tug her back onto my lap. “I want you for my mate.” I need to make it clear.
She touches my face. “I want that, too. I mean, I think I do. I want you, Deke.”
“Then we’ll work this out. We’ll figure it out, together. All right?”
Her smile is brighter than the morning sun. She presses her lips over mine. “I love you.”
“Fuck, Sadie. I love you, too.”
I detect the sound of voices coming up the trail. Scott may have returned after his supreme show of cowardice to “rescue” Sadie.
“Someone’s coming, Sadie-girl.”
She kisses me again. “I don’t care.”
“I’m naked.”
“Oh!” She laughs and scrambles off me.
“I’ll meet you back at the resort in twenty. Okay? Are you all right on your own?”
She lets out a soft scoff. “Of course.”
Of course. She was the one prepared to fight off a giant wolf with nothing but a branch. My Sadie can handle herself.
I shift, my wolf preening when Sadie gasps and buries her fingers in my fur. I risk another moment to let her stroke my ears and rub my head, then I bound up the mountain in the direction of my clothes.
When I reach the top, I turn and look down at Sadie, unable to keep my back to her for long.
She’s still standing there, watching me with a wondrous expression on her face. She waves, and I lift my snout. But Scott and two resort employees are rounding the bend, so I take off, getting out of site as quickly as I can.
Chapter 14
Sadie
“Well, that was fun,” I say as the resort grows smaller in the Mercedes rear view window. “Sex in the forest. Guess I can cross that off my bucket list. Sex with a werewolf, too.”
Deke’s eyes crinkle, but—characteristically—he says nothing.
After he met me back at the resort, we stayed and had another round of epic sex in the room, skipping the farewell wedding lunch.
I called for a late check-out, and we showered together then had a very late lunch before packing our bags and checking out. As much as the resort and the crowds aren’t his scene, I got the feeling Deke didn’t want to leave.
Like, maybe he doesn’t want to get back to the real world yet. Maybe he’s worried about us.
Something suddenly occurs to me. “So the no mixing with civilians thing, was that really, no mixing with… humans?”
He hesitates. “Yes and no. The thing about me being dangerous, Sadie.” He looks over and my stomach cinches up. “It’s real.”
“We already talked that through,” I say stubbornly.
“Yes, but what you didn’t understand when we talked it through is that I have a wild animal inside me. And sometimes, I lose control of him.”
I suddenly want to cry. Not for myself but for him. His pain is palpable.
“You didn’t lose control this morning. I mean, you tackled Scott, but you didn’t hurt him. You definitely wouldn’t have hurt me.”
He seems to consider this. His shoulders relax a bit. “Yeah. You’re right. I think my fear over hurting you kept me in control.”
“So you’re safe. I know you’re safe.”
I do. I know it to my bones. There’s no other man—werewolf—on the planet more safe for me.
As we come down a mountain and back into cell service range, my phone wakes up. It chirps at me, announcing a missed call and voicemail.
“Is that Scott?” Deke growls low. His hands instantly white-knuckle the steering wheel. It had taken me a while to shake off Scott after he so gallantly—(not)—came to my rescue with resort security. Deke showed up, though, and showed a touch of menace when he told Scott to stay away from me, or there would be trouble.