Page 44 of Wolf Blood

I considered asking if he wanted me to sink my teeth into the taco again, or into him.

But I'd already pushed my luck with him enough for the current hour, so I focused on the food.

My stomach churnedas I walked slowly on the treadmill. The half taco Rhone had forced me to choke down was threatening to make a reappearance.

Bloom was jogging on the machine beside mine, but only because Maverick kept coming over to increase the speed on her treadmill every couple of minutes.

He was a lot stricter about her training than mine. Probably because she might have to run for her life at some point, and I was much less likely to live long enough to manage that.

Especially if I couldn't keep down half of what everyone else agreed was a fantastic taco.

Rhone had unceremoniously left me with Bloom and Maverick when he was done eating, and I pretended not to notice the slight bulge that remained in the front of his pants as he walked away.

Everyone was horny because it was breeding season. The bulge could've been because of that.

Or it could've been because I kissed him.

He hadn’t been very enthusiastic, so it probably wasn’t that. I shouldn't be thinking about it, or even caring about it. I rarely cared about anything anymore.

But I cared about this. Just a little.

"Do you think he's mad that I kissed him without asking?" I asked Bloom. Maverick was on the other side of the room, chatting with a male enforcer about something.

"Rhone?" Bloom asked breathlessly.

Wow, I was glad I wasn't jogging.

"Who else?"

"I don't know. He can’t be mad about you fixing his problem. Not after what he did to you after Ryker. If he is, he needs to get over it."

I nodded. That was fair.

"Pick up the pace, Harper," Maverick called from the other side of the room.

"If I do that, I'm going to throw up all over your mate," I called back. "Your dick of a Beta made me eat half a taco."

He grimaced.

"I thought they were together," the enforcer he was talking to muttered, loudly enough that I could hear him over the sound of Bloom suffering on the treadmill.

"They definitely aren't together."

"Then what are they?"

Maverick shrugged. "It’s consensual, so it's not our business."

"Was it good?" Bloom asked me. "The kiss?"

"Yes and no."

She frowned, stabbing the button on her treadmill to slow it down.

"You should ask for a refund. Running is a steep price for a mate bond," I said.

"I'll send fate a strongly-worded email."

"Good call."