I took another bite of cake.
When I filled the fork and lifted it to his mouth, he stole the utensil without looking at it, and fed it to me instead.
Clearly, I was in no condition to turn down chocolate.
"Explain heat for mated pairs like I know nothing about it, Kitten."
"I'll get hotter and hornier as it approaches. I'll want to be touched more, and I'll crave being surrounded by your scent more. You know that part. But when a mated werewolf goesfully into heat, the only word that applies iscrazed. Or feral, I guess. Savage, maybe? Crazed just sounds less violent, and it has nothing to do with violence."
Callum's eyes were still narrowed.
He waited for me to continue as I stole the fork back and took another bite to buy myself time beforeIcontinued.
"I'll lose control of myself entirely. It'll be bad until we either have sex, or I make it through a few days without being fucked. I'll beg. I'll push. I'll manipulate. I'll cry. I'll demand. You'll need to leave, because I will not be here."Itapped my temple with the end of my fork, accidentally smearingchocolatethere.
Callum wiped it away with his thumb, lifting it to my lips. I wrapped them around his finger, and his gaze was hot as he watched me suck lightly. When he pulled his thumb free, he rested it on my chin.
"What would be different if I was a male werewolf?"
"You would be mindless too, and you'd have your own urges. Irrational possessiveness. Overprotectiveness. Stocking up on the perfect food and drinks to have ready beside the bed. The urge to make a nest is to ensure that we have a safe, comfortable place to spend heat. Twelve hours of sex is a lot."
"How long does it last if we don't fuck?"
"Around three days. It's a day and a half without a partner before you're mated. I've never done it before, but it's supposed to be manageable before mating. You'll probably just need to lock me in the house and stay with Liv for a few days."
"Do you genuinely believe I'm going tolock you in our house and leavewhile you're going through hell?"
Something in his voice told me I needed to be very careful how I answered.
"I think if you stay with me, I won't be sane enough to stop myself from trying to relieve heat in any possible way, and the last thing I want to do is hurt you or force you."
"I'm sure between my magic and my touch, I can make it at least a little more bearable for you."
"No. Heat doesn't work that way, even before a mate bond. You either relieve it, or you don't. You can't just ease it. Not when your body is determined to reproduce."
I looked down at my cake, cutting into it again."I'm not trying to pressure you, Callum. I just want you to understand what's going to happen so you don't end up making a decision you regret. It's a shitty situation, but it is the situation."
"Thank you." The words sounded difficult for him to get out.
"Thanks for the cake. I'm insatiable."
"I can relate." He dragged his thumb over my bottom lip, his attention on my mouth. "Let me taste you."
"Sounds like fun."
He tipped my head back with the hand on my chin, and I lowered my fork. "I bought you a few new toys, too."
"That also sounds fun, but you only bought those to get out of fucking me long-term. So, by the terms of our contract, I can't let you use them on me."
"I hate that contract."
"You signed it, so there's no way out." I lifted a bite of cake to his lips, and he ate it without breaking eye contact.
"You are the most stubborn creature I have ever met."
"No. I'm just the only one you aren't willing to kill for disagreeing with you."
"I rarelykillpeople who disagree."
