I grinned for good measure.
Brock pinned me with a glare, tightening his arms across his chest, making his biceps bulge. “You know it won’t be that easy.”
I sighed again. Of course it wouldn’t be that easy; things with me never were. “Well, I’m sure as hell not having a baby while the gate to the underworld is wide open in our back yard.”
He grinned. “Ourback yard? Does that mean you’re moving in with me?”
Brock stalked toward me and I paled. Did I sayour? Well … technically, it was our back yard. I mean, it was his land, but my house backed on to it too.
“Maybe.” I squirmed. Why the hell shouldn’t I move in with him? I could make his ass take half the night feedings with our new baby, and I could have sex with him anytime I wanted—hello, sexy times. Now that I thought about it, it seemed like the only reasonable thing to do, really.
He hooked a finger into my jeans and traced the length of the band that sat low on my waist, sending a zing of heat shooting between my legs. “I don’t like maybe,” he said in a deep, scratchy voice that made my insides tight and suddenly desperate.
I moaned, wishing I hadn’t revealed how easily he fired me up. “I’m not ready to say yes just yet.”
My house was overcrowded anyway with Molly and the warriors there, but living together was a big move. What if it messed things up between us? We’d gotten off to one hell of a rocky start. We shared a bun in the oven, some warm fuzzy feelings, and sizzling sex, but moving too fast might ruin things. I wanted this new relationship with Brock to last for the long haul.
His face became guarded, but not until after I’d registered a flash of his disappointment. I hurried to add, “However, it sounds nice so I’m going to think about it, but only if we go with the warriors and fix my blade.” I wasn’t beneath using bribery to get my way, especially not when the fate of the world depended on fusing my katana back into one piece.
He yanked his finger out of my jeans and growled, facing away from me. “No. It’s too dangerous.”
“Brock, I love you and all, and I respect your alpha dominance, but I’m only asking to be nice.”
He spun, eyes wide. “What the hell does that mean?”
I shrugged. “It means I’m going whether you agree or not.” His eyes became wild and I softened my tone. “I’d really like it if you were there with me though.”
This guy and I were going to spend the rest of our lives co-parenting; he’d better get used to the fact that I didn’t ask permission to do shit I wanted to do.
His chest heaved up and down a few times before the wild streak retreated from his gaze. “You’re not good at taking orders.”
I grinned, stepping closer and pressing my body flush with his. “Nope.”
Bringing my face closer, I traced a figure eight on his neck with my tongue and he moaned.
“Woman, you’re going to be the death of me.” His voice was husky and raw—my favorite.
“Does that mean we’re going to fix my katana?” I purred.
He wrapped his fingers into my hair and pulled on it playfully. “Does that mean you’ll move in with me?” He trailed kisses from my earlobe, along my neck, and down to my collarbone. I nearly melted in his arms.
“It will encourage me to think highly of the idea,” I breathed, my mind unable to come up with a single strong reason why I shouldn’t. Maybe I was just scared. Scared of getting hurt.
Dammit … I was head over heels for this man.
“As long as thinking highly of the idea eventually lands you in my bed on an everyday basis…” he whispered against my ear.
I was going to take that as his agreement and move on. Because if not, I feared I’d throw him to the floor and have at him right there, right then, in the middle of his dining room. I wouldn’t even care about the wolves swarming all over the place.
Oh … but I would care about getting it on while remnants of the apollyon lingered on me.
Wriggling free of Brock’s grasp, I grabbed the two pieces of my blade and then texted my crew that we would leave first thing in the morning.
“What do you know about selkies?” I asked Brock.
Blatantly adjusting himself, he looked annoyed that I’d cut off our kissing session to make plans for tomorrow. I willed my eyes not to drift below the belt, where it was obvious that he wouldn’t have minded if I’d jumped him in his dining room. I forced my brain to focus on the life-or-death situation we were dealing with … even though it was the last thing I felt like doing.
He finally answered my question. “Selkies can strip a man of his flesh, down to the bones, in under a minute—assuming they’re in their seal forms.”
