I leaned my head back to look into his eyes. “The state or the city.”
“The city,” he answered with a grin. “My parents still live in the same house I grew up in on the Upper East Side, and my sisters have apartments right next door to each other only a few blocks away.”
With every detail he shared, I was getting the impression that his family was like the ones I’d always dreamed about having. “I’ve only been to New York City once when I was younger, but I loved it there. What made you leave the big city, your family, and your pack behind?”
“There wasn’t a pack to leave behind. The social structure for tigers is different from most shifters. We tend to stick with our families instead of larger groups,” he explained. “It was difficult for my parents and sisters to understand what I found in Timber Ridge since it’s so far outside the norm, but that didn’t stop them from supporting my decision. All they care about is my happiness, even if my path is different from what they want out of life. When I met Kace and he invited me for a visit, I followed my gut because it told me I belonged here. I’ve never second-guessed my decision, and now I get why becoming a part of his pack was the right call. It’s not because of the satisfaction I feel in being Kace’s third—being in Timber Ridge brought you to me.”
My heart melted at the sincerity shining from his eyes. “You’re too good to be true.”
“You have it backward, baby.” He shifted me on his lap to straddle him, tangling one hand in the back of my hair and cupping my chin with the other. His thumb brushed my lower lip as he added, “With a mate as gorgeous and sweet as you, I’m the lucky one.”
I felt his hard length pressing against my core, ratcheting up my desire for him several notches. “How about we agree to disagree and focus on the getting lucky part instead?”
His hold on my hair tightened, pulling my head back about an inch. A deep growl rumbled up his chest as he lowered his lips to claim mine in a deep kiss. I gasped, and his tongue swept inside my mouth. It felt as though he was devouring me, and my nipples hardened in response. When he pulled me closer, they rubbed against his chest. I felt the contact all the way to my core, making me whimper in need. He tore his lips from mine, and our gazes met. His dark eyes were full of lust, there was a splash of color on his cheekbones, and a muscle jumped in his jaw. I had no doubt how much he wanted me, even before he said, “I need to get you upstairs before I take you for the first time right here on the couch. You deserve better than that.”
I pressed my hands against Tane’s chest, and he stilled. “You know that thing Allegra said, about finding me a guy so I wouldn’t be too far behind Larissa and her in having babies?”
“Fuck, yeah.” His hips jerked up, pressing his dick harder against me. “I’m all for that idea, baby. But I want your gorgeous body spread out for me on my bed first.”
“Crap,” I mumbled, my body tensing as I worried about how he’d react to what I had to tell him before we went any further. Both of my friends had gotten pregnant super fast after meeting their mates, but as thrilled as I was for them, that wasn’t what I wanted for myself.
4
Calliope
Tane released my hair and stroked his hand down my back. “What’s wrong, baby?”
“Um...I’m not really sure how to say this other than to just spit it out.” I squeezed my eyes shut so I didn’t have to see the disappointment in his. “I don’t want to get pregnant right away.”
“Okay.” He slid an arm under my knees and the other around my back, lifting me as he stood. I thought he was going to set me in the chair or something, and my heart dropped. Then he started moving, and my eyes popped open.
Gripping his shoulders, I peered up at him as he headed toward the stairs. “Wait. Don’t you want to hear why?”
“Of course, I do.” He smiled down at me. “I want to hear everything about you, but whatever you have to say isn’t going to make a difference to us as a couple.”
My eyes widened in surprise. “It’s not?”
“Nope.” He shook his head as we reached the top of the stairs and continued down the hallway. “You can tell me anything. You’re mine, and nothing is going to change that.”
His declaration overwhelmed me. That steadfastness was a huge part of why I’d wanted a hunky shifter of my own. As close as I was to my best friends, I’d never had anyone in my life who was all about me. A solitary tear slid down my cheek, but I wiped it against his shirt as he carried me into the bedroom. He kicked his shoes off—I hadn’t been wearing any—and climbed onto the bed. After he got us settled with his back against the headboard and me sprawled on his chest, he asked, “Why do you want to wait to have babies? Is it because this is going too fast for you? I don’t want to rush you into a mating if you aren’t ready for it.”
“No, it isn’t that at all,” I rushed to reassure him, stroking my hand up his chest to cup his cheek as I stared into his eyes. “I’m one hundred percent on board with being your mate. After meeting every eligible male in Timber Ridge, I was ready to give up hope on the possibility that
