Never speaking to my horrible parents again.
“I guess.”
“Just so you know, you’re beautiful, more so when you climax,” he whispered. “Come here.” He pulled me back into his arms, holding me tightly.
I could drown in his massive arms.
“Does this mean I really belong to you?”
“Does that bother you?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. This isn’t normal. This isn’t how relationships usually go.”
“How do they go?” His hot breath created another wave of tingles. “Is there a set rule somewhere I don’t know about? I admit, I’m not good with dating but I didn’t think everything had to follow a pattern.”
I pulled his arms more tightly around me, smiling when he even planted his leg over mine. I was going nowhere. “You’re right.My parents followed that rule and see where it got them. My guess is your parents didn’t have any rules.”
“Oh, my mother hated my father at first. Oil and water.” He yawned. “In fact, she poisoned him, but that’s another story. It was all love and being inseparable after he recovered in the hospital.”
When I laughed and he didn’t, I closed my eyes. His family was crazy and I realized that maybe what I’d needed my whole life was a little bit of crazy.
Almost in the same spirit as having a shifter as a fiancé.
There were two dozen questions to ask, including the most basic regarding any future plans, but I was far more exhausted than I’d been in a very long time. I closed my arms, nuzzling against the warmth of his chest.
And as I could feel myself falling asleep, I envisioned myself as a wolf standing beside one giant alpha male.
* * *
Bam. Bam. Bam.
What was that? I jerked my head up, wincing from seeing the early morning sun.
I listened again, trying to ascertain what I was hearing. I’d settled in once again when the same three hard pounding noises occurred, only this time I realized it was coming from the bedroom window.
“Wake up,” I moaned, fighting to get out of Steven’s arms. We’d stayed locked in the same position for hours. How was that even possible?
“What is it?” he asked, his voice entirely too dreamy for whatever was going on.
“We’ve got company.” I finally disengaged, rising onto my knees so I could look out the window.
Seeing Tawny’s face plastered against the glass brought a shriek. “What are you doing here?”
“Is the Beast in there with you?”
I wasn’t certain if she meant the hockey player or the wolf. “Yes, why?”
“Unless you’re prepared to face a brigade of reporters, I suggest you leave through the back door and find my car on the other street. They’re coming in droves.”
Droves? Was she kidding me?
“How do you know that?”
She narrowed her eyes, even shielding them from the sun. “Girl, what are you doing?”
“None of your business. How do you know they’re coming?”
“Because Jeff mentioned he and a group of reporters would soon be heading out. I knocked him out with a vase and stole his car keys, but others will be arriving. Come on. I’ll get you both to safety.”
