“You must sit with mate,” he said, sliding into the seat next to his own mate.
Eleanor sighed loudly but she didn’t comment, she just moved as close to the window as she could get. Ruby and I sat across from them, settling in for the three hour ride to Oregon. I worked on my laptop while Ruby dozed next to me, at one point resting her head on my shoulder. I liked that. I liked it a lot.
I sent Alexei a text.
Cassie:What do you want to do about sleeping arrangements tonight?
Alexei:The team all have their own rooms. We will each stay with our mates.
Cassie:Will Eleanor go for that?
Alexei:I will show her this is a good idea.
Cassie:Good luck.
“Are you two texting each other from three feet away?” Eleanor asked suspiciously.
I gave Alexei anoopslook, then turned my attention back to my laptop, trying not to listen as the two shifters argued at a tone that was barely audible to humans. Next time I looked over Alexei was holding Eleanor’s hand, resting it on his strong thigh, and the soccer player was leaning against his side, her eyes closed as she took a nap. Those two were going to be mated sooner rather than later I guessed.
As for me and Ruby, I wasn’t as sure. She hadn’t brought up anything personal since our conversation about being mates, not that we’d had a lot of privacy with Eleanor and Alexei sleeping over at her house. But even still, she’d very carefully kept our conversation professional.
At least until we got to our hotel in Portland.
“Where are you guys sleeping?” Ruby asked, looking from me to Alexei.
The bear smiled, making Eleanor bristle. “No.”
“Yes,” Alexei said, making his voice firm. It had no effect on his wolf mate, who continued to shake her head.
“Oh I get it, you guys want to bunk with me and Eleanor.”
“It’s the best way to keep you both safe.”
“I’m a freaking wolf!” Eleanor snapped. “I can protect myself.”
“Not as well as I can,” Alexei shot back, his voice stubborn. “I will sleep in room with you, or I will sleep in hallway outside door, and you will have questions about this. You make the choice.”
Eleanor’s irritation seemed more put on than genuine, telling me that she wasn’t as put out about the sleeping arrangements as she pretended.
“Fine, whatever, let’s get settled. We have a team workout at the stadium in an hour.”
As the team did their workout, Alexei and I checked out the specs and security system for the Portland stadium. We didn’t really think anyone would mess with the players here, but better safe than sorry. Once we felt comfortable that we had a handle on the space, we headed out to the field to watch the rest of the team’s workout.
“Seems like Eleanor is warming up to you, huh?”
Alexei nodded. “Yes, mate will be mine before we leave this city. Likely by tonight.”
“How can you be so sure?” I asked curiously.
“Our animals already are communicating through the bond. They work together.”
“Huh, I didn’t know you could do that.”
“Only in some cases,” he explained. “And only with fated mates. Usually the animals connect after claiming, but they are very eager to finalize bond, so they make themselves known.”
I wondered if it would be easier if Ruby was a supe. I guess it would, but then again, she wasn’t really rejecting me. Mostly she was ignoring the mate thing. But we were about to spend three nights sharing a room. Surely that would give us a chance to get to know each other better and hopefully grow closer. Even if our room did have two beds. So much for any ‘one bed only’ fantasies I might have entertained.
That night the four of us headed out with a couple of the other players to get dinner at a local farm to table restaurant before retiring to our rooms. The team had a ten p.m. curfew, which was fine with me. It was easier to protect my mate when she was indoors and away from other people, plus it gave me some alone time with her. Between spending several hours pressed up against Ruby in the bus seat and being crammed together in a booth at dinner, my physical craving for my mate was at anall-time high. The fact that I could smell her excitement at our nearness only made it worse.
