“Damn,” he sighed, shaking his head.
I started to pull my hand away, but he wrapped his fingers around my wrist and held it in place. “Did I say something wrong?”
“No, it’s just a shame that I’m going to have to kick the ass of every unmated member of the pack.” His lips curved up in a smirk that said he had no concerns about being able to back up his claim.
“You can’t possibly be jealous.” I rubbed my palm against the scruff on his cheek. “None of the guys felt even the tiniest bit of desire for me since I’m not their fated mate.”
“I get that it might not be the most logical thing in the world, but fuck being reasonable when it comes to you,” he growled, his eyes filled with a possessive gleam. “They had time with you that should’ve been mine.”
I loved his reason since I’d always wanted someone who would look forward to spending time with me. “You just added more points onto your perfectness scale.”
“I have no problem with you thinking I’m perfect as long as you realize I feel the same about you.” He brushed his lips over mine. “Now tell me why you want to wait for babies.”
“I have another dream I’ve wanted to fulfill ever since I was a little girl, but I never want my children to feel as though they come second to anything else in my life.” I knew far too well the impact that had on a kid.
“What’s your dream, baby? I’ll do everything I can to make it happen,” he promised as he ran his fingers through my hair.
I flashed him a grateful smile. “Unless you have connections in the fashion world, this one’s all on me.”
“Tell me everything,” he urged with an answering grin. “You might be surprised by the strings I can pull when it comes to your happiness.”
“Ever since I was ten years old and my mom took me to New York City for Fashion Week, all I’ve wanted was to have a show of my own. I doubt I’ll ever get to Fashion Week, but a show in New York City would be a dream come true.” I closed my eyes, picturing the models strutting down the runway in spectacular outfits I’d designed. “I think I fixated on it because that trip was the only time she took me somewhere just the two of us. I felt so special, getting dressed up and having her all to myself.”
He brushed a kiss against my forehead. “You aren’t close with your mom?”
“I wish,” I sighed, blinking a few times to try to stop the tears filling them as I thought about my relationship with my parents. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s not as though they neglected me. I grew up in a huge house with all the things any girl could wish for. Heck, we even had another house up at the nearest lake and another in Colorado for ski season. But it was my nanny who took me to and from school, made sure I had new shoes and clothes when I needed them, took me to doctor’s appointments, and spent most of my vacations with me. I know my parents love me even though it tends to be from a distance because they’re so busy with each other and building the family business.”
“No parent should ever be too busy for their children.” He gave me a gentle squeeze. “And their business couldn’t need that much attention if they have three fucking houses.”
I shrugged. “What can I say? For my parents, there’s no such thing as being too successful. Appearances are very important to them.”
“Now you have my family and me.” He traced his fingertip down my arm. “They’ll either show up on our doorstep shortly after I tell them about you, or they’ll have all the travel arrangements set for us to go to New York. My mom and sisters will want to spend so much time with you that it’ll drive me up the wall because I want you to myself, but maybe I can distract them with your dream of having a fashion show. They’re an unstoppable trio once they’ve set their minds to something. I bet they’ll be thrilled to help.”
Tane was handing me everything I’d ever wanted—a man who would always want to be by my side, a family who’d welcome me with open arms, and support for my dreams in fashion design. Even though he’d be thrilled to knock me up our first time, he hadn’t thought twice about waiting since that was what I wanted. I hadn’t been overexaggerating when I’d said he was perfect for me. We might’ve only met less than an hour ago, but I didn’t want to waste another second in moving forward with our life together. Luckily, my friends had already filled me in on most of the shifter mating details. Knowing what to expect—and seeing how happy they were with their mates—gave me the courage I needed to jump into this relationship when I normally would’ve been too scared to take the risk.
Throwing caution to the wind and acting completely out of character, I wiggled out of Tane’s embrace. He jerked upright and reached out for me, but then my hands went to the bottom of my shirt, and he realized why I’d moved away from him. His dark eyes filled with heat as he watched me lift my shirt over my head. My breasts felt swollen, and my pebbled nipples pressed against the delicate, white lace of my bra. His gaze dropped to my chest, and his tongue swiped out to lick his bottom lip. “Fuck, you’re gorgeous.”
“It’s a good thing you think so because you’re stuck with me forever,” I whispered as some of my boldness left me, and a blush swept across my cheeks and trailed down my
