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Chapter Ten
“What do you think?” Ryan asks. The smirk on his face tells me he knows how sexy he looks in his perfectly tailored suit.
I chuckle. “That’ll do.” But my smile is strained, and I can’t keep my gurgling stomach quiet, especially from werewolf ears. “Lunch didn’t agree with me.”
“You didn’t eat much lunch. Or any breakfast.”
“Yeah. I don’t eat breakfast. And lunch…” I walk over to him, replaying in my mind that scene from our picnic in the rain. His silk tie is smooth in my fingers when I adjust it. “I was a bit distracted.”
But even the memory of our amazing physical chemistry can’t keep my hands from shaking.
Ryan wraps his fingers around mine. “It’s going to be okay. You really are going to enjoy my bite.”
“That’s no longer the part I’m worried about.”
“I’m so sorry you have to go through any pain.” He gazes at me. “I’d gladly bear it for you if I could.”
“I know.” I give him a wry smile. “I’m sure I’ll survive.” At what cost though? I’m fighting the urge to run for fear of being trapped in a nightmare.
“You will. If it helps, you’re going to love being a werewolf.”
I narrow my eyes at him as I imagine myself sprouting fur.
“Seriously.” He leans down and flutters kisses along my jawline, and my head falls back as I savor the sensation. His voice lowers. “Food tastes better.” He moves behind me, continuing to kiss my neck as he walks. “You can see in the dark.” His fingers thread through my hair to slide it out of the way, and goosebumps of pleasure rise along my scalp. He sprinkles kisses along the top of my spine. “And the sex…” A shiver of desire runs through me when he speaks softly into my ear. “You’ll never want to leave our bed.”
I turn to him, blinding need taking over for logic. “Sold,” I whisper before my lips meet his. It would be so easy to drown in this passion, but I control myself and simply enjoy our kiss. It’s more than sexual. It’s…
I focus on the way I’m glowing with warmth. I’m in love.
Abby gives a single knock before opening the door, and I step back from Ryan, putting my hand over my mouth as if to keep the sensations I was experiencing from slipping out.
Ryan grins at me and slides his finger along his collar as if the shirt is suddenly too tight.
“Nice suit.” Abby nods at him. “I have good news for you two. I negotiated a deal so that bonding can still be your choice.”
“A deal?” Fear for my friend chases away my happy thoughts, and my shoulders tense up. “What did you do?”
Abby wanders past me toward the kitchen. “I promised Kevin a few things. It was nothing.”
But my friend didn’t look at me when she spoke. “What kind of deal, Abby?”
“Relax.” The fridge door opens with a snick. “I’m just doing a bunch of stuff I would have done for Kevin anyway.” She turns to me with a diet soda in her hand. “It’s fine.”
Ryan frowns in a way that makes me think he doesn’t fully believe her either.
I walk over to her. “Abby,” I say. “What did you promise?”
“So.” Abby pops the top of the soda can as if I didn’t just ask an important question. “You two can date for as long as you want and get married if and when it’s right for you. But.” She points at me. “No sex. And don’t get clever. That means mouth kissing only.”
I frown, despite my growing relief that I won’t be going through various contortions to become a werewolf. “How do you know what we did?”
Ryan looks at me. “Remember when I said my alpha can tap into my thoughts?”
“Yes.”
“I can initiate a conversation, too, which is kind of like opening up a channel. I may have broadcasted some of my thoughts when I… lost control.”
“Oh.” I chuckle, imagining a man sitting at his dinner table and hearing Ryan’s intimate thoughts over mashed potatoes. “That’s got to be?—”
