“If you leave now, I might never forgive you,” I said, only half teasing.
His laugh was deep and rough, and I couldn’t wait to hear it again. Then he nipped just once at my earlobe, before feathering a trail of light kisses along my jawline to my lips. Before I had a chance to deepen it, though, he dragged himself off me and stood. Lucky me, it put his thick hard-on right at eye level. Mouth watering, I was leaning in for a taste before I even realized I was doing it.
“Ah-ah,” he scolded lightly, chuckling. “Not yet, sweetheart. Kedi tells me you haven’t been eating.”
“Mm, but I plan on eating something right now,” I said with all seriousness. Unfortunately, my traitorous stomach chose that exact moment to growl, and Northswooped down and helped me to my feet. It turned out this whole mate business meant putting my needs first. Dammit.
I hated to admit it, but food was probably a good idea. My limbs were as shaky as a newborn fawn’s. I’d lost track of mealtimes while I was in full wallow mode—food just hadn’t been my top priority after I’d learned that shifters were real and the world as I knew it was a lie.
And besides, I suspected I might need to keep my energy up…
“Come on, I’ll make you some lunch,” he said, taking my hand and pulling me from the room.
My eyes were fixed squarely on North’s perfect, firm ass, when I suddenly realized he was going to leave the room like that. “Um, would you mind at least putting on some underwear?”
He turned to smirk at me. “Why? Worried you can’t keep your hands to yourself long enough to eat?”
“I mean, honestly, yeah, but I’m more worried about my roommate not being able to keep his hands to himself.”
North shook his head. “Shifters aren’t like that. By nature, we spend a lot of our time without clothes, and no matter whether we grow up in a pride or pack or flock, we get comfortable with nudity real quick. It’s no big deal. Kedi won’t care.”
My frown deepened. “But what ifIcare?”
He watched my face for a moment, clocking every emotion, every insecurity, before he bent down to retrieve his boxer briefs, sliding them up his legs and—tragically—covering up the goods. “I think I like you being jealous,” he admitted with a little smirk.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “So you would be totally fine if all my shifter friends got naked around me, huh? Or maybe I joined them?”
He scowled, now that the tables were turned. “Fair enough. I suppose I’m not immune to the emotion myself.”
When we left the room, we found that Kedi had made himself scarce. I could hear him playing loud music in his room, likely to drown out any noises we might make. I winced. “Shifters probably have great hearing, right?”
North stuck his head in the fridge to hide his satisfied smirk. “Sure do.”
I offered to help, but North pushed me down on a stool that sat at the narrow two-seater table in the corner. “Let me feed you.” Not a request, but a demand. It was the first time a guy had ever wanted to take care of me. Usually, they thought an omega’s place was in the kitchen, so I wasn’t about to complain.
In fact, I was more than happy to take this front-row seat to the show. I propped my chin in my hand and watched his back muscles ripple as he went about making me an omelet. Damn, now I was drooling for two reasons.
While he cooked, he answered some of the questions I had about shifters. Like, were there mosquito shifters? What about dragons? In both cases, his answer was, “Not that I’ve ever met,” which wasn’t a no. They had better senses even while in their human form, but what about ESP? Could they talk to each other in their minds or move objects without touching them? North arched an eyebrow at me as if I were being ridiculous, but seriously, how was I supposed to know? HE TURNED INTO A FUCKING JAGUAR! As far as I knew, aliens could be real.
“Do you have to shift? Can you shift whenever you want? What happens if you stop shifting? Do you age?”
North laughed at my enthusiasm, setting my omelet down in front of me. “No. Yes, as long as no humans are around to see. I don’t know, I’ve never tried. And yes, I age. I’m not a vampire.” Although he flashed his sharpened canines at me all the same.
Damn, there went that theory.
I took a single bite of food and moaned, my eyes rolling into the back of my head. “Oh gods, you can cook too?”I asked, gushing a little. “Seriously, fate’s just showing off now. I have no idea what I’m bringing to this relationship.”
“So, we’re calling this a relationship…?” he drawled, shooting me a gooey smile across the table.
I was sure the smile I offered in return was just as sappy. “Relationship might not be the right word for it, but… yes? I have to call you something to my human coworkers, so I thought boyfriend might do.” My smile dropped. “Unless my coworkers are all shifters… Shit, now I’m going to wonder every time I meet someone.”
North watched every single bite of food disappear into my mouth, with single-minded focus, licking his lips every time I withdrew the fork. He at least had the good grace to wait until I’d finished eating before he dragged me away from the table, but not a second longer.
“And now, a shower,” he announced, before he herded me into the bathroom. This macho alpha attitude might’ve gotten on my nerves, if his eyes didn’t hold so many promises while he devoured me with his hungry gaze.
It turned out, he didn’t intend for me to shower alone, either.
The door closed behind him with a click, and he shucked his boxers once more, freeing his leaking cock. I couldn’t stop staring at it. I knew logically that it shouldfit, but… “Are you coming in to wash my back?” I asked, my voice turning breathy.
