Page 54 of Love Bites Hard

“How wild?” I pushed. “Orgies? Murder? Cannibalism? Human sacrifice?

His lips twitched as he fought a grin. “None of the above. Except maybe the orgies—but those are rare. They usually happen so far on the outskirts of the forest that no one stumbles upon them.”

“If you stumble upon one, I’ll have to cut your dick off.”

“You don’t need to worry about that. The only person I want is you.”

“Somehow, that’s not convincing.”

“You can access my mind freely throughout the night if you need to. I’ll probably spend most of it trying to break into our room, so I doubt you’ll find that necessary.”

“Trying tobreak intoour room?” We reached the door, but I stopped there without stepping inside. He was going to leave if I walked in.

“You’re my mate.” He lifted a shoulder. “In my basest form, I want you. Endlessly.”

The words made my heart beat a little harder. Though I had a plan to push him (hopefully right into my bed) I hadn’t actually asked him to sleep next to me.

Suddenly, that seemed like a pretty important step.

“Do you want to share the bed tonight?” I asked him, gesturing toward the door that I still hadn’t opened. I didn’t want to spook him when he’d already made it clear that he didn’t want to share the room on multiple occasions.

“I do,” he said, nodding once. Slowly. My hope inflated, just a little bit. “But I shouldn’t.”

The deflation was hard and fast.

I’d let myself get my hopes up far too soon.

“Alright. Goodnight.” I stepped through the door, and he mirrored my goodbye as I shut it.

My eyes lingered on the new, extensive locking system, but I only turned the deadbolt. He had the code, so he could get through that if he changed his mind.

He didn’t change his mind, though.

So, determination settled on my shoulders.

I pulled one of my many brand-new vibrators from my nightstand drawer and slipped beneath the blankets.

Porter was going to change his mind about living with me the way mates were supposed to, or he was going to be tortured by the scent of my pleasure every time he stepped into our room.

It was his choice to make.

twelve

PORTER

The next morning,the pack was bustling with energy in preparation for the full moon that night. I brushed my mind against Isabella’s long enough to learn that she was already in the cafeteria, having breakfast without me.

Though that irked me, I knew it only did so because of the incoming full moon.

And the mate bond.

Which was permanent.

I needed to do something about it if I didn’t want to feel that every morning. But the only option I could think of would require spending my nights with my mate.

I wouldn’t be able to maintain a hold on my sanity if I didn’t spend those hours working myself hard in the forest, so that wasn’t a real possibility.

Hence the way I’d turned her down the night before, when I wanted badly to take her up on the offer.

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