My toes curled.
I wasn’t supposed to be glad about that, but I was.
“So you want me to go hang out in the car while you torture someone?” I checked.
His lips curved again, more dangerously. “I wouldn’t be much of an Alpha if I had to torture someone to find out whether or not they’re targeting my pack.”
“The mental pack connection thing. Right. You can tell if she’s lying.”
His head bobbed. “It’s only a four-hour drive. We’ll leave tomorrow morning, spend the day and night there, and come back the next day.”
I grimaced.
That plan was going to cause me some real problems with people I really didn’t want problems with. I was going to have to do it for the blood, though.
“If you go tomorrow, the Sharpe clan is going to hate you even more,” Harper said.
Maverick looked at her.
“They do dinner together every Friday night, and Bloom skipped last week for the paperwork. They’re already pissed that you’ve publicly claimed her when they want her mated to a vampire, but family dinner is sacred to them. If she misses two for you, there’s no going back.”
Maverick studied her for a moment before looking at me for confirmation.
I made a face. “They’re… codependent.”
“Over-involved,” Harper clarified.
“Clingy,” I admitted.
“Loving, then,” Maverick said. “We’ll leave at lunch time today, to make sure we’re back in time for dinner tomorrow.”
I eyed him. “Why did you phrase that like you’re planning on going to dinner?”
“I am. I can’t win over your family without meeting them.”
“Why would you need to win them over?”
“Come on, Bloom. He’s seducing you with coffee, food, and presents. He’s invested.” Harper gestured to my cozy office with the point of her uneaten croissant.
I flashed her a look that said,“SHUT UP.”
She replied with one that said,“STOP LYING TO YOURSELF, THE SEXY HUNK OF A WEREWOLF WANTS YOU.”
I may have added the sexy hunk part, but she absolutely found him just as attractive as I did.
“That’s a truly horrible idea,” I finally said. “My family will hate you more when they meet you. You’re…” I gestured to all of him with my half-eaten croissant. “You.”
“I’m going to pretend that wasn’t an insult,” Maverick drawled.
Harper nodded. “Probably for the best.”
“Then it’s settled. I’ll bring blood and lunch at 10, and we’ll leave after you’ve fed,” the Alpha said.
Shit.
That wasn’t the plan.
I scrambled for a way to ask him to freeze the blood instead. “I’d rather drink it throughout the week, if you don’t mind.”
