Gideon led her around the pool and down a set of stairs that led to her grandmother’s rose garden. “I’m happy to see that you’ve returned,” he expressed in a deep, sexy voice.
Even though Enola was hypersensitive to the feeling of his touch, she was able to look up at him and ask, “Why?”
“At this point in both of our lives, you need to be here.”
Nola halted their leisurely stroll and looked up at Gideon. “What makes you think that you know what I need? With all due respect, Gideon, you don’t know me, and you don’t have a clue what I’m going through right now.”
“Nola, darlin’—” Gideon started.
Enola began to laugh at the reference.
Enola noticed the question in his eyes. She shook her head, stifling her laughter. “Sorry.” She chuckled softly. “You said, ‘Nola darling.’ It reminded me of a Spike Lee movie. She’s gotta…never mind. You wouldn’t know it,” Enola dismissed.
“She’s Gotta Have It,” Gideon said with a smile. “I’ve been around for a long time, darlin’. It ain’t a lot of shit I haven’t seen.”
“Aw, okay. My bad.”
Gideon pulled her closer and looked her directly in the eye. The look of determination in his beautiful gray eyes told Enola that he was serious about what he would say next.
“Nola, I do know what you’re going through. I know what’s going on in your life. Everything. You and I are connected.”
“Connected? How?” Enola questioned.
“In the strongest possible way,” Gideon confirmed.
“Gideon, what the hell are you getting at?” Enola asked with narrowed eyes.
Gideon placed his hand on her upper arms and looked deep into her eyes. “You’re my mate. We’re destined to be mated forever.”
Enola stepped out of his hold. Shit was beginning to get heavy.
“Mate?” Enola frowned.
“Yes, Nola. I’m a shifter; half man, half beast. You met my beast when you and your cousin were attacked by vampires.”
Enola recoiled and pushed Gideon away. Well, she tried to push him away. He was big. She remembered the large beast that had attacked the vampire that had attacked Margo.
“Enola, I’m a wolf. We mate for life,” he informed.
“So, you want to mate with me…like a dog?”
“Call me a dog again and I will bend you over on this grass and fuck you like a dog.”
Enola scoffed at his vulgarity. “Don’t forget, dog…I can turn into a big, angry bird that can set creatures like you on fire.”
One side of Gideon’s mouth lifted in a smirk. “Darlin’, it would take more than your hot ass to kill me.”
Enola rolled her eyes and walked away. Not only had she found out that she was some powerful Voodoo chick, and a damn phoenix, but now she had just been informed that she was betrothed to a man that turned into a giant dog whenever it suited him.
“Gideon, I have no desire to kill you, but I will not be told who I am to spend the rest of my life with. I just wanna get through the shit that I’m dealing with right now if you don’t mind.”
“I do mind. I mind you trying to deal with your life issues without me, I mind you not taking the mating process serious, and more than anything, I mind you calling me a dog. I’m a wolf. Not only a strong wolf, but I amthewolf. And you, Nola, are my bitch.”
Enola whipped around and glared angrily at Gideon. “Wait…what? Did you just call me a bitch?”
“Nola, I called youmybitch. That’s different. I’m a wolf, a beast. Bitch in my life is not a put down, it's a declaration. Nola, you belong to me.”
Nola looked him straight in the eye and said, “Gideon, I am my own woman. I belong to no man.”
