Page 52 of Fake It ’Til You Mate It

That realization stuns me silent. I let him carry me the rest of the way up, and when he glances down at me when we reach the top, visibly puzzled, I point in the direction of the bathroom. Just as stubborn, Max finally sets me down on my feet again, but he doesn’t leave until he’s figured out how to turn my shower on for me.

Declaring the temp to be perfect, he says flatly, “I’ll be waiting for you downstairs. I need to get my clothes so we can wash them for tomorrow. After that, I’d appreciate it if I could borrow your shower.”

“Of course⁠—”

“Thank you. And then we’re going to finish the conversation we started downstairs.”

Crud. Here I thought I got away with it, too.

I nod. “Only for a little bit. I’m tired, and we need to get some sleep.”

And I only have one bed. Wonderful. Unlike Max’s Alpha cabin, I don’t have a guest room, but I guess that’s a bridge we’ll cross when we get to it. Knowing him, he’ll insist on sleeping on the kitchen floor to protect me.

He nods, then steps out of the bathroom.

I wait a few seconds before closing the door behind him. I don’t bother with a lock. Max is an honorable male. He won’t come back in unless I invite him, too, and it’s not like a simple lock will keep him out if he decides to return.

Stripping quickly, I test the water, impressed that it’s just as hot as I like it. I step in, letting the water wash over me. Specks of grey appear at the bottom of the tub. Remnants of the wolfsbane that managed to hit me. As I grab some shampoo, lathering my hair, I’m already feeling ten times better as I rinse the wolfsbane off of me.

That lasts for… oh? Ten seconds?

Yeah. That’s about right. Ten seconds… that’s how long it took before I proved that my impression of Max might not be all that correct because he not only comes thundering down the hall of my upstairs apartment instead of heading down the stairs to the bakery, he throws open the door.

I peek my head around the shower curtain, ready to rip him a new one for not sticking to his word, when I see him—and he sees me.

“Why do you smell like my mate, Killer?” His wolfish eyes flash, a heated look so very different from the cold gaze peering into my window earlier tonight. I shiver all the same. “Why do you smell like mine?”

Holy shit.

Holy shit.

I… wasn’t thinking. I’m running on two hours of sleep, I got hit by a blow-back spell, and Max Lobo’s kisses scrambled my brain again.

I wasn’t thinking, and I hopped in the shower. What else did I do?

I just washed my scent-dampener charm off and, for the first time since I moved to Moonburrow, my fated mate got a full blast of my scent.

Uh-oh.

CHAPTER 15

MATES

Ah. Gus understands now.

Mother has finally chosen her wolf. Good.

He is tasty.

— gus

The shower curtain yanks back. I get one look at Max, and if I could still drop, I’d be dropping fast.

Only I don’t. Instead, I stare at him, unsure what to say—or how to apologize. A low, guttural sound rolls from the depths of his chest. A sound so dominant, it’s more instinct than speech. I don’t faint, but I do freeze, one hand still in my damp hair.

“Max?”

There’s no keeping him away from me. I’m hot and I’m wet—and I don’t just mean from the shower. My scent perfumes the air; so does his. He breathes in deep, body flexing. The Alpha doesn’t shift, but it doesn’t matter. His boxer briefs literally tear right off of him.