Page 28 of Love Bites Hard

I should’ve brushed it out after my bath the night before, but laziness had prevailed. And tossing and turning hadn’t helped anything.

After a beat of hesitation, I blurted the question on my mind. “Don’t men usually want to sleep with their mates? Not just for the sex—but for the actual sleeping? Wasn’t that a big deal for Hale?”

“Yeah, he won’t sleep without me,” she agreed. “I don’t know if it applies to all mated men. Want me to ask him?”

“I don’t know. Maybe?”

“Maybe, or yes?”

“Yes,” I admitted reluctantly. “I’m kind of scared Porter’s going to cheat on me or something. He said he won’t, but…”

“But you don’t trust him.”

“No.”

“You just met him, and you don’t know him. I think not trusting him is fair. He’ll have to earn your trust if he wants it.”

Her words eased some of the tension in my shoulders. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“Okay, I just got to the office. Let me ask Damian about the sleep thing and I’ll call you back.”

“Alright. Thanks.”

“Of course.” She hung up, and I dropped the back of my head against the wood behind me.

Closing my eyes, I let out a long breath.

The pack’s voices were still running through my head, but they were a little quieter and more subdued.

A kid was playing tag with a bunch of other little wolves.

Someone was washing their hair, singing along passionately to a pop song that played.

As small group of men and women were gathered together, arguing about whether or not I was a suitable mate for their new alpha and if the pack would be better off with me dead.

That last one had me jerking upright, my eyes widening.

I tried to focus on that person, but my phone rang again, distracting me. The distraction pulled me too far, and I couldn’t find them again.

Letting out a soft groan, I answered my phone.

Suddenly, whether or not Porter wanted to sleep with me didn’t seem to matter.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hey. Damian says it’s a security thing, and nearly all mated men should feel the same way about it. It’s pretty much impossible for a guy to sleep without his mate next to him after he’s bound to her. I didn’t tell him that you asked, by the way—just in case you wanted to keep it a secret. If he asks, I don’t want to lie to him, though.”

“It’s fine, you can tell him.” I tugged my fingers through my hair again, still wincing. “So you think if a mated guy didn’t sleep by his mate, he didn’t sleep at all?”

“Probably not,” she agreed.

Damn.

I reached out to Porter’s mind, trying to do so carefully so he wouldn’t feel my intrusion.

He was focused on the forest around him; he was running.

Had he been running all night?

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