“Did I get my five minutes?” he asked me, his eyes still half-lidded, watching me lazily, letting my hand go.
“I don’t know,” I told him, feeling the flush rise on my cheeks, not wanting to tell him I had been lying there just staring at him as he slept.
“Then I think you owe me five minutes,” Wolfe said, closing his eyes. I flinched in surprise when his hand settled on my hip, just a light touch, nothing heavy. “You can give me that, yeah?”
I was sure that I already had, but I nodded anyway, and then my fuddled brain reminded me he couldn’t see me.
“Okay.” My husky voice caused one of his eyes to open. Wolfe said nothing as he looked at me and then closed it once more. His thumb began to move in a slow circle over my hip.
I didn’t protest.
Soon, the slow circles stopped, and his breathing returned to slow and steady. Every molecule in my body wanted to stay here, but common sense reminded me why that wasn’t a good idea. Carefully, I inched away from him, careful not to move the sheet too much, until I was at the edge of my side of the bed. With care, I got up and grabbed the nearest set of clothes.
I left the house, not even bothering to shower, intent on putting as much distance between me and Wolfe as possible before he woke up. My mind was reeling from therightnessof this morning.
This was precisely why I didn’t sleep beside him. I couldn’t be trusted.
Adair opened her door wide with a sleepy yawn, saying nothing as she stepped aside to let me in. I used her shower, and when I came out, she had made coffee.
“You want to talk?” she asked as I gulped down the black nectar.
“I need to find Sherry,” I answered.
“She’s okay,” she told me. She sat down in her armchair, her legs folding up beneath her as she got comfortable. “She doesn’t blame you.”
“You spoke to her?”
Adair shook her head. “Not directly, I spoke to her neighbor. I think Wolfe did, though.”
“When?” He’d left the house late last night and was home at dawn. You didn’t go and console someone in the early hours of the morning.
Adair yawned again. “I don’t know, I just think he did. I met him a few hours ago, and he was coming from the direction of their house.”
“You met Wolfe a few hours ago? At night?” Why did that make my wolf jump up and snarl?
Adair’s eyes widened, her body more alert. “We passed on the path from the ridge. I was coming in from patrol.” She watched me closely. “You okay with that?”
“Of course.” My answer was too quick. Too tight. She grinned. “Shit.” I sat down, knowing I was caught. “I can’t control it.”
“Your jealousy?” She was practically giggling.
“It’s not funny.”
“Your irrational, possessive jealous streak that you show when you think of anyone with your mate?”
“You’re not helping,” I muttered as I remembered him lying in bed with the sheet half over him, bathed in the golden light of morning.
“Could you not just fuck him already?”
My coffee sprayed across the floor, my eyes wide as I choked at her bluntness.
“The pack would really appreciate your ‘sacrifice.’” Her shit-eating grin was enough to stop my coughing, and I got to my feet.
“Normally, I would offer to help clean up my mess after spitting on your floor, but for that”—I headed to the door—“I won’t.”
I left her house, fighting my grin, hearing her chuckling at my expense as I walked away.
Perhaps it would be easier just to get it over with. He was a fantastic kisser, his hands alone could make me moan, and having seen him naked, I was sure he knew what to do with the gift the Goddess had given him between his legs.
