Total pages in book: 22
Estimated words: 19932 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 100(@200wpm)___ 80(@250wpm)___ 66(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 19932 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 100(@200wpm)___ 80(@250wpm)___ 66(@300wpm)
Understanding dawned, and I settled onto his chest again. “But then Trinity went into labor, and you missed out on the best meal of your life.”
“Yeah, I was ten minutes away from being able to try one of your incredible creations before I turned the car around to head straight to the hospital.” His fingers toyed with the ends of my hair as his bottom lip stuck out in a pout. “And nobody brought anything for me to eat when they came to see the babies.”
“You poor, neglected man.” I nipped at his lip and gasped when he claimed my mouth in a deep kiss that quickly turned heated. When he finally lifted his head again, it took me a moment to remember what else I’d been about to say. “I promise to make it up to you today.”
His hips surged up, grinding his hard length against my core. “You already did, but I’m not going to argue if you’re ready to go again.”
“Not like that,” I sputtered, lightly slapping his chest before I rolled off him to stretch my arms above my head and arch my back to work out some of my aches. “I think my body could easily handle another round or two before I head into the restaurant, and then I can whip you up as many dishes as you’d like to try.”
He jackknifed up, staring at me in shock. “Are you planning on going into work today?”
“Um, yeah,” I whispered, just now realizing how little I was looking forward to being in the restaurant today. The kitchen had always felt like home to me, but that was before Cason. Now that I’d found my mate, he was the new center of my world, and I wasn’t ready to leave our little bubble after such a short time together.
A muscle in his jaw bunched. “Will there be any unmated males in the restaurant?”
“Yeah, two of the chefs I brought with me from Chicago are shifters.” I explained how Aero and Bexley, along with Larken and Thora, had taken my back during the crap William had pulled with me.
“I respect the fuck out of all of them for putting their careers on the line for you, and they sound like great friends to have.” Cason stroked his finger over the mark on my shoulder. “But my wolf wouldn’t be able to handle you being around them in tight quarters yet. Even with my mark on your shoulder and my come spilling out of your pussy, I’m feeling uber territorial.”
Between my desire to stay here with my mate and his need to keep me away from other males, I didn’t need much convincing to play hooky from work even though it was only the day after we opened. “I get what you’re saying, and I’d love to stay right here with you. But I’m not sure how Trinity is going to feel about the idea.”
“I don’t think you have anything to worry about there.” He rolled over and grabbed his jeans off the floor. Then he pulled his phone out of the back pocket and jabbed his finger against the screen. “There’s only one way to find out.”
I bit my bottom lip while the line rang. Trinity picked up much more quickly than I expected since she was still in the hospital after giving birth to twins. “Please tell me nothing went wrong.”
“Everything will be perfect as long as you don’t need my mate in your restaurant anytime soon,” he growled, his wolf flashing in his eyes as his gaze connected with mine.
“Duh,” Trinity giggled. “I assumed Peppa wouldn’t be there so soon after mating, and I already talked to her team. She definitely wasn’t bragging when she said that she has her kitchen running like a well-oiled machine. At any other restaurant I’ve opened, the kitchen staff would’ve freaked out if the executive chef couldn’t be there the second night. But not your mate’s people. Once they knew she was okay, they told me to make sure she knew that they had everything covered, and she should take as much time with you as she wanted.”
I wasn’t surprised that they weren’t worried about running the kitchen without me since I was lucky to have lured them all down here with me. Each member of my team was a kick-ass chef. But any thoughts about how awesome my friends were melted away when Cason ended the call and pressed his body against mine.
6
Peppa
My lioness and Cason’s wolf were tussling in the backyard when I heard the ring of my cell phone. Darting toward the patio, I shifted into my human form and glanced down at the screen to see who was calling. My mate stalked over in all his naked glory, and I held a finger in the air as I backed up a step so I could answer before he took the phone away from me. “Hey, Trinity. Is everything okay?”