He rolled his eyes dramatically, making me chuckle. “I’m seriously hoping it won’t take long enough for me to have to get redressed.” He hesitated, “Unless you’d be more comfortable with me wearing something?”
Ari hadn’t even finished asking when I shook my head and reached for the button on my jean. “Not only would I not be more comfortable with you dressed, but I’d also be more comfortable with me naked and us rubbing together.”
That made Ari snort. “You’re a horndog.”
I choked on my laughter. “When did you learn that phrase?”
Ari shrugged but his eyes twinkled. “Let’s go to the bedroom?”
“Sure,” I agreed promptly, stepping out of my jeans and pulling my shirt off as we walked. Stopping in front of the bed, I waited to follow Ari’s lead and then climbed on to sit with my back to the headboard when he gestured for me to. “You want me here?”
Ari nodded, seeming to lose his courage slightly before drawing in a deep breath and following me onto the bed, kneeling between my spread legs to put us face to face.
I reached to take Ari’s hand in mine, waiting for him to find his words.
“What you said at the clinic,” Ari finally dove right in, “about how you wouldn’t have changed me, even if I wanted it. Will you tell me why?”
My brows crept up. “Why wouldn’t I unnecessarily turn a sexy, amazing human man into a much-reviled monster?”
Ari’s lips pulled down into a frown. “Is that really how you see yourself?”
I sighed. “It’s not how I see myself,” I tried to explain, “but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s how a large section of the population sees me. For fuck’s sake, your own clan was set on killing werewolves just because we exist. I wouldn’t have willingly subjected you to that kind of risk.”
“Is that the only reason?” Ari asked, his voice was soft, but he was meeting my eyes unflinchingly.
“Mostly. There’s also a stigma attached to the act,” I admitted. “In the eyes of werewolf society, it is considered a, well, a failing to infect a human for lack of a better word.”
“Back when you found out I was pregnant, you told me that you couldn’t marry me,” Ari reminded me. “Why?”
Thatthrew me for a loop and I had to think for a minute to remember when I’d said that. “I don’t think that’s exactly what I said,” I responded carefully. “I remember asking you to accept me as your Alpha and clarifying that it wasn’t the same as marriage.”
Ari thought for a minute and nodded. “Yes, that was what you said.”
“If I was human, I’d have married you in a heartbeat,” I admitted, reaching for his other hand. “But werewolves don’t make their commitments in that manner,” I murmured, my eyes straying to the mating bite where his neck and shoulder met before going back to his. “And offering marriage or, worse, going through with it because you didn’t know I was a shifter would have been dishonorable.”
Ari was nodding, a small smile on his lips. “And you don’t do anything dishonorable.”
I blew out a breath. “Well, until a few days ago, I would have agreed with you.”
“Does that mean your memories came back?” Ari asked curiously.
I shook my head. “No, but that mark on your shoulder is pretty clear evidence of my bad behavior.”
Ari cocked his head at that. “You said before you didn’t want the bond broken. Have you changed your mind?”
“No,” I said a little too forcefully. “Absolutely not.” I drew in a breath and forced myself to lower my voice. “Which doesn’t mean that you’re stuck with me. If you’ve changed your mind, I’ll understand.”
“I think it would change your interpretation of the situation if you knew what led up to the bite,” Ari said softly.
I dropped one hand to reach up and caress his cheek. “Do you want to tell me?”
Ari shook his head and his eyes took on a devilish glint. He shifted on the bed, scooting up a little awkwardly to straddle my lap. He lowered his weight so the head of my erection was probing between his cheeks and I automatically reached down to cup his butt, offering support. “I think I’d rather show you.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Ari
In the days that followed Roger claiming me, Jeremy had spent hours giving me a crash course on what it meant to be the mate of a shifter, including a fascinating explanation about how it was possible to communicate mentally through the bond that the bite forged.
