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For a while?“Try never,” I spat back, heat rising in my cheeks. Try as I might to summon my wolf from inside, she was pretending to be asleep, too.
Traitor, I whispered to her. Was she really going to make me walk back to the alpha house naked?
“Is there a problem?” Gabe asked, his words seeping with humor. I glared at him. I was tempted to sneak a look lower than his face but at the same time I didn’t dare to take a glance. The curiosity, or perhaps the struggle, must have been written on my face.
“I’m yours to enjoy, too, Ella,” he said, reclining further against the tree. If I wasn’t already blushing, that would have been enough to do it.
“I’m good,” I said between gritted teeth. “You know, if you were as great a guy as Mariam said, you might give me a little privacy or shift back yourself, you know?”
“If your sister was here, I would do either of those things in a heartbeat, Ella.” Gabe’s words were as smooth as silk, and I found myself leaning toward him. He smiled and leaned in, as well. “But she’s not. You are. And I’m not going to just be a ‘nice guy’ to you, mate.”
I chewed on my lower lip, not sure how to respond to that. The movement caught his eye, and his stare became heated. I didn’t need access to his thoughts to know that they were quickly turning in a different direction.
I have to get out of here.
Suddenly, having to walk back to the house naked was the least of my worries. There was a strong pull to crawl back into Gabe’s arms and snuggle up against him. It was undeniable, no matter how much I wanted to say it wasn’t true. I carefully stood and began the trek back up the hill.
I was honestly surprised by how easily he was letting me walk away without so much as another comment on my nudity or even a regular, G-rated goodbye. I glanced back at the tree, hoping that he wasn’t watching the sway of my hips as I walked, but he was already gone. Frowning, I turned to continue on the path but instead found myself face-to-face with him again.
“Goddess!” I grabbed at my chest. He wasn’t literally giving me a heart attack, but it was startling, to say the least. His footsteps had been completely silent. Or maybe I had been lost in my own head and just wasn’t paying attention. Either way, a fully naked Gabriel now stood in my way, leaving me no choice but to engage with him again.
I kept my eyes above the belt, but this time it wasn’t as hard to do. What caught my eye were the clothes in his hands. Apparently, his wolf hadn’t forced a shift like mine, so he had a chance to remove his clothing before sprouting fur. As I came closer, he thrust his shirt into my hands.
“Here,” he said. “If one of us has to be topless, it should probably be me. My wolf doesn’t appreciate the alternative when you’ll be around other males.”
I didn’t want to encourage his wolf’s possessive nature, but I also didn’t want the whole house to see me nude. Without a word, I grabbed the shirt and pulled it over my head. I crossed my arms under my substantial breasts, wishing that he would somehow magically produce a spare bra, as well. Together, we walked back to the house in companionable silence. When we neared the front door and finally did speak, it happened as a jumble, both talking at the same time.
Gabe: “So, I’ll pick you up in an hour for dinner?”
Me: “I’ll give Mariam your shirt, so you don’t have to stop by again.”
He narrowed his eyes at me, causing me to glare back.
“Really?” I demanded. “You didn’t have enoughdinnerlast night?”
He cracked a grin at that and quickly tugged me to him. “I’ll never have enoughdinnerwith you, Ella,” he whispered. Somehow, he made that simple statement sound like an invitation directly into his bed.
My mouth went dry, both at the innuendo and at his arm hooked around my waist. My nipples puckered under the shirt, happy to be pressed against his bare chest. Somewhere lower, I felt myself tighten at the contact.
I pushed away from him, allowing the space between us to calm my beating heart.
“I’m eating here tonight, Gabe. And I’ll be busy for the next few days, too, so don’t bother stopping by.” I could have ended with that and gone inside, but I was on a roll; the words just kept pouring out of my stupid mouth. There was nothing I could do to stop it. “I’m here for the mating ceremony and haven’t really done anything to help Mariam. And it’s the day after tomorrow! So, yeah, I’m too busy. I’ll see you… around.”
His eyebrows raised, and the sides of his mouth twitched to form a grin. A very appealing grin. He closed the space I had created and leaned his body against mine. My wolf rumbled her approval as our hips made contact. It took every ounce of self-control I had in me not to grind against him.When did I turn into such a--
“You know what, Ella?” Gabe whispered into my ear,putting any other thoughts I had on hold. “I think you’ve forgotten that I’m going to be part of this ceremony, too. We’ll be seeing each other a lot over the next few days,dinneror nodinner.”
He was close,so close, to brushing his lips against mine. I could feel the heat from his breath stirring in the cool early evening air. Thankfully, he was the one who pulled back this time. I’m not sure I would have been able to. My wolf’s encouragement to grab his face and kiss him wasn’t helping, that’s for sure.
With a glimmer in his eye, he gave me a short nod and another heartbreaking smile before turning and walking back to his car, hands in his pockets. His shoulders looked relaxed, matching the self-assured saunter. I bet he was enjoying the feel of my eyes on him. With no shirt, he was something to look at, even without having the huge muscles male werewolves were known for. His form was lean, more refined. He was almost… beautiful.
It took me a shameful amount of time to snap out of my trance and rush to the front door, but when I finally did, it felt as if one problem had been traded for another. It sounded like he wasn’t going to push for another dinner date, but what exactly did he mean about spending more time around here?
I kicked off my shoes and glanced into the front room, groaning as I took in the sight of everyone staring at me. Trace and Randy had matching smirks on their faces, clearly amused by something, but Mariam and Justine looked downright giddy.
“We saw you,” Justine gushed, clapping her hands with excitement. “We saw you both through the window. It wasso romantic. You, wearing his shirt and basically simulating sex in the driveway. Get it, girl!”
“I can’t believe you’re mated to Gabe,” Mariam added. “It’s just so surreal but so perfect at the same time.”
