"It could be a month or two. Maybe even three."
"Three months isn't that long."
"Three months ofthisis." She sat back in her seat and stared out at the trees she must've grown the day before.
Growing plants always brought memories back for her. She had a hard time with it. Not magically, but emotionally.
I took her hand, lacing my fingers through hers. "We can go home now. Come back another day."
"Or you can fuck me in this car to distract me."
"Your vehicles have never been ideal for what I like to do to you."
She gave me a small, reluctant smile. "We might as well go out there and get it over with. I was still getting faster when I left yesterday, so after today, I should have a better idea of how many days it'll take. If I need a distraction at lunch time, I'm sure you'll have no problem pinning me to a tree to have your way with me."
"Wouldn't be the first time."
"Better not be the last, either." She studied me. "You really want a mate bond?"
"I do."
Liv shook her head. "You're insane."
"So are you." I lifted our connected hands and kissed the back of her palm.
"True. Alright, let's do it."
nineteen
LIV
Niall spentthe next few hours in his panther form, giving me plenty of space to work. He brushed up against my side when I got up and moved every hour or so, and brought me a water bottle full of an electrolyte drink every time. A snack, too.
He gave me a dirty look if I tried to start working again without draining the bottle and eating.
The caffeine in the coffee I'd purchased started making me panicky after approximately three sips. When my breathing picked up and I had to hug Niall's furry form to my chest like he was a stuffed animal rather than a rare, deadly shifter, heaccidentallyknocked the cup over with his tail.
It was probably for the better.
Early in the afternoon, he had fried chicken and mashed potatoes delivered to the villa. He was back in his panther form when Gwen called my name half an hour after he made the call.
"Liv! I have your lunch. You can just text me or Jonah when you get hungry, we don't mind asking the wolves in the kitchen to—"She stopped abruptly when she saw the giant cat behind me. "Oh my god!"
There were plenty of other kinds of shifters in the city, but none of them associated with the Alpha werewolf.
"I assume that's Niall," Jonah's voice said.
Some part of me registered that having these men together again was dangerous, butI was channeling my magic into a few hundred trees at the moment. It wasn't the kind of work you could just start and stop on a whim. If my mind wandered, I could fuck up all ofthetrees.
"Great to see you again," Niall said flatly. "Thanks for bringing the food."He must've shifted back.
"Sorry to interrupt. We didn't realize you were out here with her," Gwen apologized. "I guess that'swhythere's so much food."
I felt a trickle of blood drip from my nose as I sent the last bit of necessary magic into the trees and sat back on my heels, panting.
"You're bleeding." Niall's growl was the only warning before he was kneeling next to me, completely naked and not giving a damn about it.
"It happens." I dashed the blood away with the back of my finger. The dirt from the night before must've hidden the blood from him, because he seemed surprised about it.
