Page 105 of Love Bites

She was insane for agreeing to seal a bond with Porter.

But, like Damian said, it was her decision to make. And I had to respect that, even if I wanted to lock her in a room and force her to see how crazy she was.

Hours later,a large rock came sailing down to the bottom of the pool. I recognized it as one we’d rescued from our house—one of the only things Curtis’s guys hadn’t destroyed, because they didn’t realize the rocks held meaning for us.

I caught Clementine’s eye, gesturing toward the surface, and she grabbed Izzy’s shoulder. All of us swam upward and slipped out of the pool.

Damian was waiting beside the water, his hands in his pockets and his sleeves rolled up his forearms like usual.

My gaze lingered on his arms.

Damn, he was pretty.

“Porter’s waiting in my office,” he said. Though the words were for Izzy, his gaze lingered on me.

“Guess it’s time to meet the pretty bastard,” Izzy said, her voice far from upbeat. She didn’t usually do upbeat, though. Sarcasm definitely, but optimism? Not typically. She wasn’t pessimistic, but she was very much a realist.

Damian pulled his button-up over his head and tugged it over mine. I rolled my eyes at him, but didn’t argue when he buttoned it up to my chin.

Zora snorted.

Clem whispered, “At least he didn’t throw her over his shoulder and carry her up to his room to have his way with her again.”

“Eventually, you will both know what it means to be mated to a big, possessive bastard,” I warned.

“There are perks,” Damian tossed out.

“Big perks,” I admitted, albeit a little reluctantly.

“Big,hardperks,” he drawled.

All of us busted up laughing, though Izzy only managed a small smile.

She’d learn about those particular perks pretty soon. And I’d heard enough about how much she enjoyed sex to be positive she wouldn’t regret the mate bond for that reason, even if there was regret on other fronts.

Damian took my hand, lacing his fingers through mine as we headed off.

Our walk to the elevator and then down the hallway to Damian’s office was short, but the mood grew much more serious as we went. Worry made my abdomen tight.

I worried about Izzy taking a mate… but more than that, I worried about the worst outcome of the coming hours.

Porter couldloseafter he challenged Curtis.

Curtis could be even more set in his ego and even more of a dictator afterward.

He could want us even more for conspiring against him.

And that would be really, really bad.

We probably should’ve hidden the rest of my unmated sisters, but one look at the three of them told me they were going to meet Izzy’s mate, consequences be damned.

Maybe we could claim they were sirens in need of help too, if we had to.

Porter was waiting outside Damian’s office. He was bigger than he’d seemed on the video call—maybe even as big as Damian. He had tan skin and wild, reddish-brown hair that was shaved on the sides but longish on the top.

When he asked Izzy for a minute alone, she agreed, and slipped inside with him.

We heard a thud against the door a moment later.

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