AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Isaiah joined them, his brow pinched. “Everything okay?”
“She’s forcing a hug on me,” Elle complained. “I don’t know how to detach her from me without hurting her feelings.”
His mouth tilted up. “I see.”
Quinley lifted her head from Elle’s shoulder as she noticed something. “Joaquin’s spotted you, and he’s on his way over. Not sure if you wanna—”
That fast, Elle was gone. Like magic.
Isaiah sighed. “She’s still struggling with the Joaquin thing, I’m guessing.”
“It has to be hard for someone you have non-platonic feelings for to want to spend a lot of time with you ‘as friends.’ If you were angling for that, well, I’d want you in my life. But I’d also want to punch you in the throat on occasion if you weren’t giving me space when I needed it.”
Draping an arm around her shoulders, Isaiah drew her out of the corner. “You’re my best friend for sure, but what I feel for you is far from platonic.”
Aw, he said the best stuff. “If someone had told me a month ago that I’d be this happy in just four weeks’ time, well, I wouldn’t have believed them. Which is sad. But here we are.”
“It seems crazy that I didn’t know you existed last month. It feels like you’ve been around for years. You’re so much a part of me that it’s weird to think of when we weren’t bonded.”
She knew exactly what he meant, because she felt the same way. Part of it was the imprint bond, but part of it was just how seamlessly they’d clicked. Sometimes, you could meet a person, slot into their lives, and feel like you’d known them for years. It had been that way with them. “When are we having our mating ceremony?”
“Whenever you want, providing I don’t have to wait long.”
“Maybe next weekend, then.”
“Works for me.”
They halted as Aspen stumbled their way with Bailey on her back. The mamba had her arm curved around the bearcat’s throat, trying to choke her out.
Deke swore long and hard as he and Camden caught up with them. “What is wrong with you two?”
“She needs sleep, that’s all,” Bailey told him. “Say ’night, ’night, Aspen.”
Deke plucked the mamba from Aspen’s back.
Camden hauled his coughing mate to him. “I turn my back for thirty fucking seconds…”
“Let’s just keep them apart for the rest of the night,” Deke proposed.
“The rest of their lives sounds better.” Camden guided Aspen away, rolling his eyes as she began hurling insults at Bailey—who only laughed.
Right then, the music cut off and the DJ announced that the countdown would start very soon.
“I don’t know how Deke and Camden cope with those two,” said Isaiah, “I really don’t.”
“They’re a riot,” said Quinley.
“Yeah, but I could never have someone like that as a mate. Someone who I’d worry would destroy the world if I didn’t have my eye on them twenty-four/seven.”
“You need someone more low-maintenance,” she agreed.
He turned her to face him. “I need you.”
She went pliant against him. “You have me.”
“I know. And I’m never letting you go.”
“I’ll never want you to.” She planted her hands on his chest. “And if you try getting rid of me, you’re gonna find all sorts of wonderful delights on your pillow every day.” She wasn’t joking. He’d pay for it until the end of time.
