I gasped and went back to normal. “We can’t have that. Quick, un-shrivel it.”
“Too late. It’s gone.”
“Damn. Do you think if I do a striptease with my shark-knot out, it’ll come back?”
“You can try, but I’m not stopping to watch. Maybe you’ll attract all the fish shifter omegas in the area instead.”
“You’re killing me here, Remmy,” I said, wrapping my arms around him. “Besides, you know I don’t want any fish omegas. I only want you.” I paused. “Hang on, there’s a joke about omega-3 fatty acids in here somewhere.”
Remington groaned but I heard the amusement in his voice. “Please. I hear enough bad jokes from Sage. I don’t need them from my fated mate, too.”
“Fine, I’ll stop. But only if I get a kiss first.”
Immediately, Remington’s hand shot out to capture the back of my neck. He crushed our mouths together. His hot tongue brushed against mine, sending a shiver down my spine. My skin tingled with a wave of pleasure.
He broke it off as quickly as it started and grinned smugly. “That good enough for you?”
“Could’ve done with a little more,” I said, flustered. My sensitive shark senses suddenly picked up the slight scent of Remington’s arousal. That was when I realized what had been missing since last night. “Oh! Your heat. It’s over, isn’t it?”
Remington blinked. “Huh. I guess so. I hadn’t thought about it until you mentioned it just now. I wonder if our mating on the beach last night was enough to sate it?” He tilted his head. “Can you smell it anymore?”
I sniffed the air. It lingered a bit, like the way perfume stays in the room after the person wearing it leaves, but it wasn’t on full blast like it was before.
Remington looked over his shoulder. There was a distant concern in his eyes. I wondered if he was still thinking about Klimt. I followed his gaze but didn’t see anything or anybody behind us. There was nowhere for anyone to hide. It was all grass as far as the eye could see, with no trees or hills to hide behind. If Klimt was following us, he would’ve had to have been invisible.
I touched Remington’s back reassuringly. “Don’t worry, Remmy. I don’t see Klimt anywhere. That’s what you’re worried about, right?”
“Yeah,” Remington admitted. He was rubbing his arm. “Especially now that we know about the baby.”
“You know I would never let him do anything,” I said with an edge to my voice. “If he ever tried to lay a hand on you, I’d turn him into fish food. There’s not a chance in hell he’s ever going to bother you again. Do you believe me?”
Remington let out a slow exhale. “It’s not that I don’t trust you, I do. More than anyone else I’ve known. But I know Klimt doesn’t give up when he sets his mind to something. And I think that something is me.” He chewed his lip for a moment, like he was caught up in bad memories. I waited for him to continue. “Back when the pack first arrived here, they had an altercation with him. They won, but only because they outnumbered him. And obviously it didn’t even work because he didn’t leave the wildlife reserve like he was supposed to. He just ran off and hid somewhere where we couldn’t see him. And now he has my scent again. I’m just a little anxious, Nero.”
We both stopped walking as I put my arms around him and held him tightly. I never wanted him to be anxious around me, but I knew it was just the way he was and it was hard for him to stop, especially over a real perceived threat. I regretted not dealing with Klimt properly when I had the chance.
“I’m sorry to be so negative,” Remington mumbled into my chest. “If I could flip a switch and stop being this way, I would. I wish I could be as positive as Len, or as carefree as Sage, or as calm as Morgan. But I’m not like them. I’m this anxious ball of stress and I’ve always been this way. So if you don’t want to be around me, I understand. Sometimes I don’t want to be around me either.”
“The hell are you talking about?” I exclaimed, putting my hands on his shoulders. “I don’t want to hear you talk so negatively about yourself, Remington. You’re my fated mate. You may not be perfect, but no one is. I’m sure as hell not perfect either. But you’re perfect to me. You’re exactly what I want in a mate. Do you understand?”
Remington let out an exasperated laugh. “So I’m not perfect, but I’m perfect to you? That doesn’t make sense.”
“It makes total sense. Do you think I’m a perfect person?”
He made a face at me. “No, but…”
“But you still love me, right?”
Remington furrowed his brow, looking offended that I had even asked. “Of course I do!”
“Exactly. That’s what I’ve been saying this whole time,” I said, feeling a bit smug that I’d gotten him to admit it.
When Remington realized what he’d said, he blushed fiercely. It was the first time he said that he loved me and it warmed my heart to hear him say it out loud.
Just to tease him more, I asked, “Then youdolove me?”
Remington’s face turned a deeper shade of pink and his brows knitted together in frustration. He slapped me playfully on the arm. “Yes, asshole. I love you. Happy?”
I beamed at him. “Very. Now I don’t want to hear any of that self-deprecating stuff again. I’m serious. It upsets me to hear someone talk about my fated mate like that, even if that someone is you.”
