“That’s rude.”
“Just blame it on the paperwork,” she said.
“I would never insult paperwork that way.”
“You smell fucking delicious.” Maverick leaned closer and took a deep breath of the same disgusting hair I had just touched.
“I think that translates toyou really need a shower,” Harper whispered.
“Of course it does,” I agreed.
The world’s slowest elevator finally opened.
“Don’t forget that nap, Sugar. I’m going to keep you up late tonight.”
“Is he making sex jokes, or am I hallucinating?” I asked Harper.
“He is indeed.”
The elevator door closed, finally hiding his stupidly attractive face.
Was I ever going to adjust to being in close proximity to the Alpha?
It was starting to seem very, very unlikely.
After a nice long shower—anda vow never to go that long without one again—I packed a bag and crashed on the couch. Harper woke me up a few hours later, when Maverick was at the door, and I stumbled to meet him.
He had the leather messenger bag he’d given me with blood last time hanging off his shoulder again. Something told me he’d stolen it from the apartment at some point when I was gone that week.
I wasn’t going to ask.
He’d fed me enough times that I didn’t particularly care if he broke in. It wasn’t like I had anything he would want to steal, other than my clothes. Which he had cleaned and folded.
Hard to complain about a free doorstep laundry service.
“Hey,” I said blearily.
He was already putting blood bags in our freezer.
“Don’t try to ration,” he warned. “I have no problem providing what you need.”
I gaped when I saw his face. “What the fuck happened to you?”
His skin was tintedgray.
“Nothing.”
I stormed past him, opening the freezer he’d just closed to count the bags of blood.
Four. At once. That was a shitload of?—
“Drink this before we go. Just in case. I want you at full strength.” He shoved another bag of blood toward me with none of his usual grace. Thanks to my vampire speed, I managed to catch it before it hit the ground. The man looked like he had one foot in the fucking grave.
“Five bags? You can’t do that. That’s at least a third of the blood in your ridiculously large body. You shouldn’t even be walking right now.”
“I’m a werewolf, Bloom. I can take it.” His voice was lower than usual. Rougher, too.
“You look like a corpse. Whatever this is, it’s nothandling it. Sit down.” I waved him toward the couch.
