I stare at him, flabbergasted. “I was teasing. It was my brother when I was like four! What in the world, Slater?” He shrugs as he walks around to the other side of the bed. “You can’t just shrug after saying something like that.”
He lays on his back on his side of the bed and turns his head to me. “You’ll find that’s just the way we are. Nobody touchesour mates and lives to tell the tale. If you had any boyfriends before me, don’t tell me their names. And if you had sex—”
I reach over and throw my hand over his mouth. “Okay. First of all, no. No boyfriends, well, if you don’t count my elementary years.”
He pulls free of my hand. “Don’t tell me their names.”
“Oh, right, because you’re going to go after somebody that I liked when I was in like first grade.”
His eyes meet mine. “Exactly.”
I ignore him. “Second, I haven’t done any of that.” I stare down at him.
“Sex?” he asks. I nod, feeling my face heat. “Good.”
I shake my head, a wry smile on my face. I lay down on my back as well, keeping several inches between us. “I suppose you’re quite proficient at it.”
He props himself up on his elbow, so he’s looking down at me. “Never.”
I arch an eyebrow. “You expect me to believe that?”
“I was waiting for my mate. I was waiting for you.”
Chapter 30
Tessa
It takes a few minutes for my heart rate to slow down. But when it does, my body suddenly remembers how tired it is. I yawn. “I’m about to fall asleep.” I turn my head to face him. “Will you sleep?”
“I don’t know if I’ll be able to.” He squeezes my hand. “But I’ll try...for you.”
I squeeze his hand back. “Thank you.”
“Are you warm enough?” he asks quietly.
“Yes. I think you put off body heat.”
He chuckles quietly. “It’s because I’m a shifter. We tend to run a little hotter.”
“Yeah, you do,” I mutter without thinking about it. “I mean, your body temp runs hotter; that’s what I meant.”
“Sure.”
I close my eyes with a smile on my face, and it takes me just seconds to drift off to sleep. I wake up sometime later to the sound of someone talking. It takes me a few seconds to remember where I am, or what day it even is. “Aw, they’re so cute together,” somebody says, and I freeze. I can feel Slater’s body behind mine, and his arm is draped over my hip. It’s honestly the most comfortable position I’ve ever been in. “And look, our Slate is a cuddler. I knew he would be.” I finally recognize Quint’s voice.
“Get out before I throw you out,” Slater growls at him.
“Well, I drew the short straw to be the one to have to come in here and wake you both up to see if you want anything to eat before it’s all gone. Slate, we know you don’t like to eat too latebefore a game.”Thatwakes me completely up, and I jerk upright in bed. Slater grunts, but I ignore him a moment.
“What time is it?”
Quint grins and leans against the wall. “I don’t know. What’s it worth to—”
“Quint, time.” I snap.
“Goodness, okay. It’s two-thirty.”
I turn to Slater in a panic. He whips the covers back and stands. I catch my breath...again, like an idiot. I was just in bed with the guy, and it still doesn’t prepare me for the flash of skin and muscle. “What’s wrong?” Quint asks.
