honor her, welcoming her to the Pack.”
“And you’ve never bitten anyone?”
“No.” He lifted my hand to his lips, pressing a soft kiss on my skin. “I never believed the old stories about finding your one and only mate. It sounded like a big fairy tale to me. Then I watched it happen to my brother.” He stared into my eyes. “And I found you.”
My breath caught in my throat. “What would happen if you bit me?”
Chapter Thirty-Five
I pondered her question. The wolf tensed inside me, my animal instincts ripping and tearing their way to the surface of my consciousness.
“That’s a loaded question.”
She raised a brow. “Is it?”
I nodded and stared down at our hands. How could I look her in the eyes and explain that part of me salivated just thinking about tasting her skin and marking her as mine? Even
The human part of me was repulsed at the thought of biting her, but it was obvious to me now that the feral instincts of the wolf inside of me were enticed at the prospect.
“Until Jason was certain it wouldn’t hurt you” —I met her eyes again— “I wouldn’t risk it. It’s not like we’d be trying to have children anyway.”
I wanted to yank my words back into my mouth when I saw her face fall.
“I haven’t signed anything in blood agreeing to be your mate anyway.”
“No, you haven’t.” I shook my head staring at my shoes. “I didn’t mean for that to come out the way it did.”
“You act like not having any kids is no big deal, but I’ve had a year to accept it, plus I already raised my sister. Someday the rest of your Pack will have a new generation of wolves. How can you be so sure you won’t be aching because you don’t? Because you chose me?”
I mulled over her words for a moment before turning toward her. “I trust the wolf inside me. It didn’t come easy. I thought it was a mistake and fought my mating instinct, but once I got to spend time with you, I realized the wolf knew all along. I’ve never felt the way I do when I’m with you. I can’t imagine a more perfect woman for me.”
I waited for a second, but she didn’t say anything. “You’re probably right. There will be kids in the Pack.” I started to grin at the thought. “And we can watch them grow, we can even babysit, and then we can give them back.”
She almost smiled, then it faded a little. “The Pack already questions your judgment when it comes to me. What will they think when we don’t ever have children?”
“I don’t care what they think.” I shrugged. “It’s none of their business.”
“Does anyone wonder why Adam hasn’t bitten Lana?”
“I’m not sure. He obviously doesn’t have to convert her since they have the twins.”
“If Lana has the shifter gene just like any male-born shifter, wouldn’t her twins have it too? Maybe Madeleine will be able to shift without being converted. I wonder if she’d be a wolf or a jaguar…” Her brow creased. “I guess you can’t tell yet though.” She swallowed and shook her head slowly. “I bet Nero will want to know too.”
My chest felt tight, and I was grateful she hadn’t heard my conversation with Adam about the pictures Nadya had drawn for the twins. I was also glad Sasha hadn’t held them. Any werewolf could tell by the twins’ scents from a distance that they were both shifters, but being a jaguar, Sasha would probably only be able to tell once she held them and caught the scent of their skin. I should’ve told her, but the mention of Nero made me hesitate.
Sasha removed her hand from mine and focused back on her laptop, shutting me out while her fingers danced over the keyboard. I watched her, still debating whether or not to tell her about the babies. Did it really matter? She didn’t need to know if they could shift. It wouldn’t affect our problem with Fonthill. I was making a big deal out of nothing.
Once everything settled down I’d mention it to her. Hopefully she’d agree to be my mate, and then the Pack secrets would be hers, too.
“Hey.” I reached over to catch my thumb under her chin, shifting her attention back to me for a moment. “I hope you know that even if Jason decided it wasn’t safe to convert you, it wouldn’t change how I feel about you.” Her eyes searched mine. “I love you, Sasha. Whether or not I put my mark on your body with a bite wouldn’t make me feel any differently.”
She leaned up to kiss me, whispering against my lips, “I would let you.”
I crushed her body to mine, oblivious to her laptop as it slipped to the carpeted floor. Her fingers slid into my hair, pulling, drawing a growl from my throat as I laid her back on the bed. Our mouths met in a slow, sensual exploration. Heat pumped through my body as her teeth nipped at my lower lip. Her taste was a drug, and I was hopelessly addicted.
She smiled up at me when I pulled back. “Are all wolves amazing kissers?”
“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never kissed one.” I grinned and stole one more taste of her lips. “But I’m pretty sure my skills far surpass any other wolf’s.”
Sasha laughed and rolled us over. “You just don’t want me to check into it.”
I tightened my hold on her. “Damned straight.”
She kissed me again and settled down against my chest. To say I loved holding Sasha in my arms was a huge understatement. Having her body against mine and hearing her breathing settle to match mine made the rest of the world cease to exist.
She was my world.
“Once we get rid of Fonthill, I don’t want you to go.” I went on before she got a chance to say anything. “I was thinking, since you took a leave of absence from the NYPD, maybe you could get a job with the police here in Reno instead.”
Sasha lifted her head, her eyes searching my own. “Even if we get Fonthill, Nero still wants me dead. I know too much.”
I reached up and cupped her cheek. “I know you think Nero stole your life, but that’s only still true if you let them.”
She nuzzled into my touch, closing her eyes. “Getting to work again seems like too much to hope for. I don’t think I could stand the disappointment. I bet the Pack would be
“Don’t think about the Pack.” I brushed my thumb along her cheek until she met my eyes again. “Just us right now.”
“If it were just us, I’d do everything I could to stay.”
I grinned and rolled over so she was pinned underneath me. “Then let’s finish Fonthill and get moving.”
She laughed. “You make it all sound so simple.”
“It’s called a business plan. Once we agree on what we both want, we can take steps in that direction.”
She rolled her eyes, her lips brushing against mine again. “It doesn’t change the fact that Nero still wants me out of the picture and your family probably does too.”
“No, but knowing we want the same thing is a big step.”
A monumental step.
I lost myself in her arms, her lips, her touch, until my cell phone interrupted us. Content to ignore it, I held her even tighter until she whispered to me between kisses. “You…should…get…that…”
Groaning, I loosened my grip on her and reached for my phone. Adam’s name lit up the screen. “Yeah?”
“Hey, Aren. Jason’s got some results back on that Fonthill guy. You better get over here.”
