Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 128380 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 642(@200wpm)___ 514(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128380 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 642(@200wpm)___ 514(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
“Neither do I. When you challenged her to swear on her nephew’s life that her plan wasn’t to lure me to her side and then talk me into going to the land down under with her, she evaded it.”
“For her to come all this way, she must have been confident that her plan would pay off; that she’s so important to you that you’d choose her over anyone else.” Bailey’s mouth thinned at the thought.
“She’s wrong.” He gave Bailey’s hip a little squeeze and snared her gaze with his, silently insisting she heed him. “Even if there was no you, I wouldn’t have been interested in starting something with her. But there is a you, and you’re who I want.”
“Understandable. I’d want me, too.”
A slow smile curved his lips. “You were fucking magnificent earlier, all vicious and merciless. The way you move when you fight …” He nuzzled her, grazing her pulse with his teeth.
Bailey couldn’t control her grin. “I knew you liked watching me fight.”
“My cat likes it, too.” Deke met her gaze again, tucking her hair behind her ear. “He approves of how fierce you are.”
“Typical pallas cat.” When he nipped at her jaw just because, she nipped him right back. “You really do like to bite, don’t you?”
“Not usually. But you have very markable skin.” He breezed his finger over the bite on her throat. “I like this one most of all.”
As it happened, so did she.
Hearing his cell chime, he retrieved it from the nightstand and swiped his thumb over the screen. “It’s a message from Tate. Havana wants to check that you’re good—she apparently texted you a few times. Oh, and it turns out that Gerard scooped Dayna up off the floor and whisked her away after we left.”
“Really?” asked Bailey with a yawn, watching as he rattled off a quick text, likely confirming that she was fine.
“He’ll do his best to convince her that she’s better off without me. I hope he succeeds.”
“If he does, it won’t be something that happens overnight.”
“Maybe not.” Deke placed his cell back on the nightstand and then moved back to Bailey, curving an arm around her. “But she won’t approach me to declare her feelings again. Dayna is a proud creature. She won’t come begging for scraps from my table. Particularly after I embarrassed her tonight by rejecting her so firmly in front of God and everyone—she wouldn’t give me the satisfaction of thinking she’s broken up over it.”
“If she’s really so proud, she won’t scuttle away with her tail tucked between her legs either. She’ll do something.”
“Probably. She’s not a bad person. Not even close. But if anyone lashes out at her ego, she has to lash back. She’s always been that way.”
“I’m just as big on revenge, so I get it.” Bailey couldn’t fight the yawn that cracked her jaw. “Damn, I’m wiped.”
The set of his mouth softening, he dragged her closer and dropped a kiss on her nose. “Then sleep. We’ll talk more tomorrow.”
“’Kay.” She let her eyes close. “Night.”
“Night, baby. Sweet dreams.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Even with the incessant drone of the roof’s HVAC unit and the muted street sounds coming from below, Deke heard feet clambering up the exterior ladder. He knew it would be Isaiah, since the shifter was scheduled to take the next shift.
Most enforcers did surveillance duty. Usually from a low seat on the rooftops of the various pride-owned stores. None of the pedestrians below ever noticed them. Why would they bother looking up?
As Deke rose to his feet, the wind swept toward him, pulling at his clothes, rattling the deli’s sonar panels, and showering him with the smell of car exhaust and the stomach-rumbling scents coming from the street’s eateries. He hadn’t eaten lunch yet, so he was damn hungry.
Finally, Isaiah reached the rooftop. He tipped his chin at Deke as he crossed to him, his shoes scuffing the concrete floor. “Anything worth noting?”
Deke shook his head. In particular, he’d kept a lookout for Ginny, who—according to the enforcer watching her apartment—still hadn’t returned home. “All seems normal. The only bit of action was the Phoenix Alpha female, Taryn, arguing with her mate’s grandmother outside the florist.” He was pretty sure the old woman’s name was Greta.
Isaiah’s mouth curved. “Is it just me, or does the grandmother not seem to age?”
“Kye swears she’ll outlive them all,” he said, referring to the Phoenix Alpha pair’s son.
“He’s gonna have to leave his pack soon. He’s too strong a born-alpha for his wolf to tolerate being ruled by another shifter for much longer, even if that shifter is his father.”
Deke nodded. “I don’t know if he’ll definitely join our pride, though.”
The problem with many breeds of shifter was that two alphas couldn’t exist in the same group without fighting. Pallas cats didn’t have that issue, so Tate and Havana had offered for Kye to join their pride so that he wouldn’t be far from his family.