Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 109705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 549(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 549(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
“Not before stealing the candy he was trying to lure you with!”
“He had my favorite lollipops!”
“For someone so intelligent, you can be very careless with your safety at times.” Kathy shook her head. “Is it any wonder that I worry about you? When you have children of your own, you’ll understand.”
“But that’s just it, Mom, I’m not a child.”
“Says the person who had her brother in a headlock not so long ago,” muttered Janice.
Roni snarled at her. “Oh, yeah, bring up old crap.”
Kathy clucked. “It’s this immaturity that worries me. Going on a hunt is dangerous. I hate to think of you in such a situation. I tried talking some sense into her, Marcus. I tried convincing her to let Eli go in her place, but she wouldn’t listen. She never does. I need to know she has someone watching out for her, making sure she doesn’t put herself in harm’s way.”
Enough was enough. Roni slammed her mug on the table. “I think you’ve delighted us long enough with this whole ‘trying to insinuate to Marcus that I’m weak and not worth the effort’ thing, don’t you?”
Kathy rolled her eyes. “Pay no attention, Marcus. Tantrums are a regular thing with my Roni. She can be very petulant at times.”
Okay, that got Marcus’s back up. Roni was anything but petulant. Painfully awkward at times, yes. Totally without social skills, yes. Vengeful and vicious, yes. But not childish. And if Roni was right and this was Kathy’s way of trying to put him off Roni, he needed to make it clear that it wouldn’t work.
Marcus pursed his lips. “Petulant?” He shook his head. “I can’t say that’s a word I’d associate with Roni. She’s an extremely capable person. Excellent in a crisis. Takes her responsibilities very seriously. And she stays calm when faced with a dangerous situation. If it wasn’t for her, Kye would have been kidnapped.”
Those words got him looks of approval from Eli, Shaya, and Derren. Nick was staring at him with a weird expression on his face, but at least he wasn’t scowling.
“I’m ready to leave.” Roni wished Marcus would stop defending her. Each time he did it, she liked him that little bit more. That wasn’t good. He wouldn’t be around for the long haul—he wasn’t for her, he belonged to someone else, and no amount of jealous growling from her wolf would make a difference.
It was as they both went to stand that Nick suddenly spoke. “Hold up. There’s no need to leave so soon, is there?” It wasn’t really a question. Nor was it a friendly invitation to stay. In fact, there was a sly tint to her brother’s tone that made her wolf’s hackles rise. “Stick around for a while.”
She tensed. “Nick, what are you doing?”
He folded his arms across his chest. “Well, it seems to me like you two are dating. Am I right, Marcus?”
Marcus narrowed his eyes at the Alpha. It was obvious that Nick had emphasized the word “dating” to communicate that he didn’t want his sister being just someone’s bed buddy. Nick was trying to force him to publically state his intentions toward his sister right there and then, to either up his game or walk out the door. He clearly thought Marcus would do the latter. It would be the sensible option. To stay when such a dare had been thrown at him would be to take a step toward a relationship that was anything but casual.
Instead of recoiling at the idea, Marcus found himself considering it. In the past, he’d kept things short and simple because females had wanted feelings from him he wasn’t sure he was capable of, feelings he wasn’t sure he’d even recognize if he did feel them. Roni didn’t lay demands on him, didn’t expect anything of him, and didn’t make him feel trapped. She made him feel . . . comfortable. Relaxed. Accepted. He didn’t want to give that up, and he knew perfectly well that nothing about what he had with Roni was simple anyway.
“Yes, you are right.” Marcus covered Roni’s mouth with his hand before she had the chance to object.
Nick’s brows rose in surprise. “In that case, I was obviously wrong to assume that you intended to use her and dump her like a secondhand toy, wasn’t I?”
“Yes, you were.”
“Well then, I’m thinking that it’s time you and I spent some time together, Fuller, clear up our ‘misunderstandings,’ show there are no hard feelings.” His smile was deceptively pleasant.
Roni bit hard into Marcus’s hand and tugged it away. “Wait a cocking, fucking second!”
“After all, you marked her and now you’re staking a temporary claim on her—that practically makes you one of us. Why not spend some time here, get to know us better?”
“Nick, don’t you dare!” Her brother had given a similar speech to her first real boyfriend . . . then he’d beat the shit out of him during a “friendly game of softball.” Friendly, her ass. The guy had been close to sobbing when it was over.