Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 20835 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 104(@200wpm)___ 83(@250wpm)___ 69(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 20835 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 104(@200wpm)___ 83(@250wpm)___ 69(@300wpm)
“I like her.” The other man smiled at Artemis. “She’s got you saying more than one-word sentences.”
“Mine,” Artemis growled, making all of us laugh.
The man inclined his head toward me. “Since your grumpy mate didn’t see fit to introduce us, I’ll do the honors myself. I’m Keane.”
“I assumed.” I smiled at him, and Artemis pulled me closer.
Laina sidled up next to her husband, leaning against his side. “He’s even more possessive than you were when we first met.”
“Because I sank my canines into you only an hour later.”
My eyes widened at Keane’s answer. “An hour?”
Artemis bumped his hip against me. “It didn’t take much longer for us to fall into bed with each other.”
I reached up and covered his lips with my hand, my cheeks heating. “You don’t need to share all of our secrets with everyone.”
“Nobody in The Wilderness Pack is going to judge you for moving fast,” Evette assured me, pointing at her rounded belly. “That would be like throwing stones at glass houses. Leyton knocked me up with twins the first week we were together.”
Laina nodded. “Love at first sight is par for the course in the world of shifters.”
Moving fast was a massive understatement. I’d only met Artemis yesterday, but I wasn’t freaked out by the idea of saying those three little words as I should be. My feelings for him were growing by leaps and bounds, and he hadn’t even fully claimed me yet. At this rate, when he sank his teeth into my shoulder, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was hard to hold back those words, no matter how quickly our relationship progressed.
“Time to head back to our cabin,” Artemis muttered. “I want you all to myself.”
As he tugged me away from his packmates, Evette called, “Get used to that too. I’m pregnant with his twins, and Leyton is still greedy with my time.”
“Don’t expect that to change once the twins come,” Laina warned. “I’ve given Keane cubs, and he still wants me all to himself.”
“You better not be complaining about that,” Keane grumbled.
“Never,” Laina promised.
“Don’t worry.” I patted Artemis’s chest. “I’m looking forward to alone time with you even though we can’t spend it all in bed while I’m recovering from last night’s antics.”
“Doesn’t matter if we’re in bed or not. With you is exactly where I want to be.”
Another plus to being with a shifter was how open they were with their feelings and planning a future together. I wouldn’t have to deal with any of the game playing I’d heard other girls complain about. Artemis wasn’t shy about what he wanted, and I had no doubt that it was me.
11
MARIELLE
Although I took a long bubble bath last night, the ache between my legs hadn’t eased enough for Artemis and me to have sex again before I had to head back to campus. Which left me feeling cranky even though he’d used his mouth to give me two orgasms this morning and had served me breakfast in bed again. Pancakes and bacon this time, along with a cup of coffee fixed exactly how I liked my daily dose of caffeine.
It was a good thing the existence of shifters was a well-kept secret from humans, or else every human woman would want a fated mate of their own. Even Shelley probably would’ve given up on her gold-hunting plans if she knew how amazing shifters treated their women.
I would’ve been fine driving myself back to campus, but Artemis insisted on bringing me. And using his truck instead of my car since it had rained a little this morning.
“There’s a parking lot around this corner,” I instructed, pointing to the left. “If you drive there, you can pull up to the curb and drop me off right in front of the door. I should have just enough time to run upstairs and change before my first class.”
“You don’t want me to come up with you?” he asked.
Turning toward him, I quirked a brow. “I would, except then I’d never make it to class on time. The second I pulled my pants off, we’d both want your mouth on me. Then we’d forget where I was supposed to be, and I’d probably miss my second class too.”
“True,” he conceded with a smirk. “I’ll wait here and drop you off after you’ve changed. Or you could just keep my shirt on.”
I laughed at his suggestion and plucked at the neckline that had slid off one of my shoulders. “Wearing it at your cabin is one thing. It’s way too big on me to wear around campus.”
“Hurry up.” He stroked his thumb over my exposed shoulder, sending a delicious shiver down my spine. “I want enough time to send you off to class with a kiss.”
“Be right back,” I promised before climbing out of the truck to run upstairs.