Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 128380 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 642(@200wpm)___ 514(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128380 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 642(@200wpm)___ 514(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
Luke tilted his head. “How did she handle you pulling out of the vow?”
“She doesn’t know it’s my intention yet. I video-called her a few days ago to tell her, but it turns out that her great-uncle just died, and so his mate—unable and uninterested in fighting the breaking of the mating bond—is now dying. What kind of a dick would I be if I broke it to her now that I was done waiting for her to come home?” Deke plucked at his tee. Like his skin, it felt too tight; felt confining. “I should have done it months ago, really.”
“You should have done it a year and a half ago, when she failed to come home like she’d said she would,” maintained Luke.
“If I’d known she’d stay in Australia this long, I wouldn’t have made her any promises.” He would have thought it pointless for them both. “Countless times I considered bowing out. But then I’d feel like a piece of shit for not supporting her at a time when she’s so busy supporting others. And I worried it would make Dayna feel pressured to return before she’s ready.”
“I get it, Deke. But it isn’t fair to you that you’ve had to put your life on pause. It’s not for you to be her rock.” Luke pushed away from the bar, straightening. “Unless you think she’s your true mate?”
Deke scratched at his cheek. “I once thought she might be. She’s the only woman I’ve ever really clicked with. But she’s been gone a while, and I haven’t struggled to deal with it. Neither has my cat.”
Puffing out a breath, Tate rocked forward slightly on the balls of his feet. “And here I thought you were just struggling with your attraction to Bailey.”
Deke’s head flinched back slightly. “Bailey?”
“You want her,” said Tate. “That much is obvious.”
Deke felt his mouth firm. Yeah, it was obvious. It was also a goddamn mystery.
Not that she wasn’t attractive. Bailey was a pretty thing. Not classically beautiful, but striking. Arresting. And far too fucking tempting.
Her dark deep-set eyes were set into an oval face that boasted high cheekbones, elegantly arched brows, and a full, upturned mouth. Her obsidian hair seamlessly blended into a striking silver and tumbled down her back, sleek and ruler-straight. The warm tones of her smooth, flawless skin hinted at her Japanese ancestry.
Average height, she was also slender and supple. Her breasts were high and delightfully perky. And fuck, she had a great ass—tight and round.
Despite being a dominant female shifter, she didn’t give off a predatory vibe. She had “innocence” written all over her. Looked as sweet as she did helpless. There would be no way to guess that the female was a ferocious, cunning, bloodthirsty creature who picked fights simply for something to do.
Provocation was not required with Bailey—even with no motive, she had zero problem drawing first blood. Or tossing out logic. Or dicking with people. Or waving her crazy flag high in the air.
Yeah, there was nothing innocent about Bailey Bryant.
But his cock gave not one fuck about that. Nor did it give a single shit that she set his damn teeth on edge—always pushing his buttons and not taking him or his authority seriously. The woman didn’t really take anything seriously, from what he could tell.
She was like no one he’d ever met. There was no real way to handle her. Deke could be sure of it, because he’d tried. No avenue he’d used had been effective. Not glaring, not ignoring her, not blowing her off, not riling her, not calling her on her crap, nothing.
In sum, attempting to handle Bailey was much like trying to dish out orders to a full-blooded cat. They’d just twitch the tip of their tail and walk away—having better shit to do than deal with you.
It made no logical sense to him that, despite it all, he found it impossible to dislike her. Or that she was such a temptation to him he actually worried that, should he be caught in a moment of weakness, he might make a move on her regardless of the vow he’d made to Dayna.
Deke never broke his word. Ever. But Bailey had made him consider it more than once, and so he couldn’t help feeling a little resentful toward her.
Tate tipped his head to the side. “Would your cat be down with you spending a night in her bed?”
Deke shook his head. “He often wants to bite her—and not in a good way. In any case, it doesn’t matter, because she wouldn’t be down with it either. The woman doesn’t like me.”
She didn’t even refer to him by his own damn name. She addressed him with dismissive terms such as Boy Toy and Eye Candy. She might as well say, Oh Depthless One. “Plus, there’s Shay to consider. She only recently stopped dating him.”