I struggled again, half-heartedly, just so I would get another spank, which he gave me, before tossing me down on the bed. I didn’t even have time to try and roll away before he had me pinned, trembling and helpless beneath him. “You should let me win sometimes. It’ll help build up my confidence.”
“Oh yeah?” With one quick move, he flipped up over until it was me on top, and he took my hand and placed it on his neck. “Uncle! You win! You got me fair and square.” His throat vibrated with his laughter. “How’s your confidence?”
“You’re such a jerk,” I griped, before attacking his ribs with my fingers.
North truly was at my mercy now, squealing as he tried to get out from under me. He was far too ticklish for a deadly jungle cat.
He was laughing so hard that I almost missed the words he said. It sounded an awful lot like… I stopped immediately. “Say that again,” I demanded, deadly seriously.
“I said, move in with me.”
I didn’t even need to think about the answer. “Yes.”
And just like that, North gave up any pretense of letting me win.
Needlesstosay,dinnerwas cold by the time we crawled out of bed to eat, neither of us fully dressed. North’s face was as smooth and still as a frozen lake as he looked into the pot on the stove. “What is it?”
I frowned. “It’s pasta sauce. You can’t tell?”
“Oh yeah, yeah. I see it now.” Neither of us made a move toward the pot, where the sauce had congealed into a lumpy brown paste.
“Aren’t you going to taste it?” I asked, handing him a spoon.
“Right. Yes. I was just about to.” Was it just me or had his face turned pale? He scooped up a small amount thenpaused, before he took a deep breath and shoved it into his mouth.
I watched him, gauging his reaction. I hadn’t tried it myself yet, and right about now, I didn’t think it was the best idea, judging by the smoky smell wafting off it. “Thank you for making dinner, baby.” North spoke with his mouth full, refusing to swallow.
I slapped a hand over my mouth to cover my laugh. My confidence in the kitchen still needed some work, it seemed. “Do you want to order Thai?”
He spat the mouthful of food back into the pot. “Oh thank gods, yes,” he said in relief, before he shoved his face under the faucet to rinse out his mouth.
When he went to kiss me, I ducked. “No way! I don’t want to taste that garbage!”
“Come here, baby. Give us a kiss!” And the chase was on. Gods, sometimes those shifter reflexes were a curse.
Chapter 21
North
IstoodflushbehindJoel, guiding the knife as he chopped the onion, trying my best not to get distracted by having his ass cradled in my lap. “Slow down. This isn’t a race,” I teased, using my shifter reflexes to pull his free hand out of the way before he could sever his fingertips.
“Tell that to my stomach. I’mstarving!” he whined, squirming, which only made me even more distracted.
Gritting my teeth as I debated whether we had the time to take a break from making dinner for me to pillage his ass, I said, “Well, do you want me to take over chopping so the food will be ready sooner?”
We’d taken to cooking meals together, after he’d burned a pot of rice so badly that someone downstairs called to report a fire.
He huffed a sigh, before he relinquished the knife, lower lip stuck out in a sulk. “Fine, but only because my only other option is to eat the entire tub of ice cream for dinner, and I’ve already noticed I’m getting a little pudgy around the middle. I blame you for feeding me too well.”
Honestly, I thought he’d been too thin to start with and found the bit of added weight hot as hell, but I knew better than to say that out loud. “Could you put a pot of water on to boil?” I asked instead, giving him a task.
“Yeah, I’m sure I can manage that much without burning the place down.” He stuck out his tongue before bending to pull a pot out from under the counter, giving me a prime view of his ass, even plusher than usual.
Gods. I bit back my groan, forcing my eyes back to the cutting board—before I ended up the victim of a kitchen accident. We were going to be lucky to get through dinner before I needed to take him again.
“You know,” Joel drawled, filling the pot at the tap, “the weather’s supposed to be nice on Sunday. Maybe we could… go for a hike?” His grin turned lascivious, and there was no mistaking what he meant by “hike.”
I smiled back, preparing for the rush of excitement that usually followed the idea of chasing our mate down and fucking him into the ground, but… there was a strange lack of bloodthirst from my beast. Frowning, I nudged at him inmy mind.Hey, didn’t you hear what he said? He wants us to hunt him.
