Page 37
“Ask me now,” he said.
“Ask you what?”
“What you should’ve asked before.” He poked my chest with one finger. “Properly. With words. None of this wolf instinct nonsense.”
I caught his hand and held it against my heart. “Niles,” I said. “Will you be my mate?”
This was fucking ludicrous since we were already bonded, but it didn’t matter what I thought. Whatever Niles needed, I would give him, even if it sounded like a marriage proposal.
He tilted his head, pretending to consider it. The drama of the gesture was so purely him that I had to bite back a smile.
“I’ll think about it,” he said.
I laughed. “You’ll think about it.”
“These things take time. There’s paperwork involved. Wolf forms to fill out. Very bureaucratic, I’m sure.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“You’re the one who bit me without asking.” He poked my chest again. “I’m the injured party here. I get to be ridiculous.”
My mate could be whatever the fuck he wanted.
His mouth was still curved in that almost-smile, and the sight of it—him, in my arms, and completely himself—made my heart give a little pinch. I kissed him, pouring the things I was unable to express into it.
His lips parted, and his fingers curled into the fabric of my shirt. The kiss was hungrier than the one last night, yet somehow softer.
When we broke apart, his cheeks were flushed.
“Okay,” he said.
“Okay?”
“I’ve thought about it. The answer is yes.” His hand slid up to the back of my neck, his fingers tangling in my hair. “But you’re explaining everything. Every wolfy thing. No more secrets.”
“No more secrets,” I agreed, smiling like I’d just won the lottery. I had, and I’d been given one hell of a prize.
“And you’re making me French toast again. Tomorrow.”
“Deal.”
“And you’re going to meet my father.”
I blinked. “Come again?”
“Not yet. Eventually. Possibly never, if I can avoid it. But you should know that’s on the table.” His expression turned mischievous. “Think of it as payback for the bite.”
“That’s cruel.”
“That’s justice.” He pulled me down for another kiss, and I let him, his body pressed against mine with the same desperate enthusiasm he’d shown last night. My hands found his hips, my thumbs slipping under the edge of that cropped sweater to find bare skin.
When he pulled back, he swiped his thumb across my lips.
“You’re still a dead man for not telling me sooner,” he said.
“I’ll make it up to you.”
“You’d better.” He stepped out of my arms and headed toward the fridge, hips swaying with exaggerated purpose. “Now sit down. I’m making you dinner, and you’re going to tell me everything. Starting with how many of your friends are secretly wolf mechanics.”
