Simon tipped my face toward him and kissed me soft and slow. I forgot where we were and who was with us. I fell under the spell he always seemed to put me under. I turned into him, wrapping my arms around his neck and holding him close. He never deepened the kiss. Merely kept it soft and sweet, and I still melted like a puddle.
“You’re right,” Simon told me. “Yes, I will know when you’re pregnant by the change in your scent. As for birth control? I’m sorry. I should have asked if you were on anything. I didn’t, and I didn’t speak to you about pregnancy, either. My only excuse is I lose my head when I’m around you. All I can think about is—”
“Hold that thought,” Leslie interrupted. “I believe the remainder of that conversation would be best had in private. As for Cain and me, we decided not to have more children. I have Hannibal. Cain has Cecilia. They’re the very best we could have ever wished for. It seemed selfish to ask the fates for more.”
My dad reached for her hand and brought it to his lips. “That and the thought of starting over at my age had me breaking out in a cold sweat.”
Leslie laughed, and it was so easy to see the love between them. A love I hoped Simon and I would have.
“How long were you together before you told Dad what you were?”
“We’d only gone out once when your dad showed up unannounced. Hannibal hadn’t met him yet, though I’d mentioned them to each other,” Leslie began.
“She didn’t answer the front door, so I walked around back and saw her approaching a huge wolf. I yelled out as I moved forward, and instead of the wolf, I found myself facing Hannibal. Gave the old ticker a jolt.” My dad shared a smile with Leslie.
“There was nothing to do but tell him the truth. I half expected we’d need to move on quickly, but your dad took it all in and began asking questions. Hannibal wasn’t sure what to make of him, and I…” She paused, pulling my dad’s hand to her mouth and kissing his palm. “I think that was the moment I tumbled completely in love with him.”
“It was the first date for me,” my dad said, but I didn’t think he was speaking to me or Simon.
“And how long after then was it before you mated?” I wanted to know if the rapid pace Simon and I were on was the norm or not.
“After the first date,” my dad answered with a laugh. I wasn’t sure why until I watched Leslie’s face flush with color.
“Cain!”
My dad was saying they’d had sex after the first date. I wasn’t sure what to think about that. I was appalled I was even remotely thinking about that. Then quickly tried to shove it out of my mind.
“The bite, Dad, and so help me, if you say anything along the lines of ‘there was a lot of biting’, I will hurl up my breakfast on this table.”
Simon laughed then.
“Yuck it up now, mate, because once my father fully accepts you, he’ll take pleasure in embarrassing you, too,” I warned.
My dad grinned at Simon, and I watched my mate look unsure for the first time. It dawned on me that Simon hadn’t once mentioned a father. Just the human woman who’d raised him. Thinking of him with no father figure broke my heart. I reached out and tugged him flush against me, dropping a kiss on his lips.
“What was that for?” he whispered.
“Because I wanted to,” I murmured. And I had. I always wanted to. Simon was a man who made it very hard to keep my hands off him. I always wanted to touch him. Anywhere and everywhere.
Simon brushed a finger over my bottom lip then turned to Leslie. “Cecilia is asking about your relationship with Cain because she wants to know if the speed of our relationship is normal by wolf standards.” He turned his gaze back to me. “The answer is yes…and no.”
“That’s not an answer,” I argued.
“Wolves mate quickly when they meet the right person,” Leslie informed me. “It’s instinctive. I met your father and knew from the beginning that he was meant to be with me. Had he been a wolf, we never would have made it to dinner.”
“Damn my genetics,” my father murmured.
Leslie laughed this time. “After dinner, we… Well… After, I bit him without even realizing what I was doing. Instinct kicked in. I was horrified when my actions hit me. I hadn’t said a word to him about what I was.”
“It was the same for me,” Simon shared. “Something sparked in me when I heard her voice over the phone, demanding I get my ass in gear and get my alpha where she wanted me to.”
“Hannibal needed back up,” I offered with a shrug.
Simon’s face hardened. “Which you are not. I swear I lost ten years of my life when I walked in that door and saw you tossed to the floor.”
“What?” my dad demanded, coming to his feet. “I’ll kill whoever hurt my baby girl.”
“Too late. Simon already ripped his throat out.”
My man’s chest expanded with whatever emotion was filling him. Anger? Fear? Pride in his ability to avenge me? I wasn’t sure. Still, I found myself kissing him again. He wrapped his arms around me and held me close, leaning his head down toward my neck when the kiss broke and seeming to breathe me in. Maybe, fear then. That he might have lost me before we even had a chance.
“So the first time you met was during a confrontation where Cici was hurt?” Leslie asked.
Simon nodded.
“You’re lucky he didn’t mate you right then.” Leslie shook her head. “Male wolves become very territorial when their mates are in danger. They’ll often initiate sex as a way of reinforcing the bond. In an unbonded couple, that need grows excessively.”
“He bit me
