Page 21 of Ravenous

Now that I knew Joy was my mate, every word she spoke to my kid was significant.

Her quick, easy smile, the brightness in her face, and the way she hugged Remy and tousled her hair meant everything.

I wanted to throw her over my shoulder and carry her back to bed for another round.

My dick stirred at the thought of doing it again.

But no. I needed to push her out the door before Remy got attached.

Hell, I didn’t know if Joy evenwantedanother round with me. She’d been releasing steam last night. Trying to get the adrenaline of the accident out of her system.

Maybe I’d just been a vehicle to an end for that.

It certainly didn’t mean she was ready to move in and for me to mark her. To marry me if that was what she needed. It didn’t mean she was ready to commit to my kid.

And that mattered. I couldn’t let Remy get attached to her and have her heart broken if Joy wasn’t interested in us.

I needed to play this right. Joy was human and didn’t recognize me as her mate. Johnny, one of the guys who worked at the ranch with me, had told me he’d had to make his new human mate Emma fall in love with him. He’d knocked on her door to kill her boss and discovered she was his fated mate. He’d had to pivot, quickly.

“Making” a human female fall in love was hard enough, but doing it when a four-year-old kid was part of the package was a whole different level.

Especially when I wasn’t exactly Romeo. Hell, I was the farthest thing from it. I had the absolute worst track record with females. I’d become the grumpy single dad who didn’t know how to plan a date. Hell, shifters didn’tdate.

Looking back, I hadn’t been able to satisfy Remy’s mom, Soraya, with anything. Fine, I satisfied her with an orgasm the one time we’d fucked on the moon run.

After that, nothing. She’d been needy. Consistently unhappy. She’d bolted the first chance she got. I wasn’t enough for her. I had no confidence that I would know how to meet every emotional, physical, and sexual need of my fated mate.

And a human one? With all that fucking sunshine? I’d block it out with all my clouds.

I’d ruin her.

So far, all I’d done was tell Joy how I was going to fuck her and that she was a bad girl for not obeying. Oh yeah, and I’d spanked her gorgeous ass. That might have been hot as fuck, but that wasn’t a date. That wasn’t forever.

She wanted a night of sex? She got it. Oh, she got it good.

But I didn’t have the slightest clue how to make her fall in love.

Nor–far more importantly–stay.

But then Joy’s gaze met mine, and the warmth of it blasted everything else out.

The sense of rightness settled around me, driving out my objections.

“How do you feel about scrambled eggs and bacon?” I asked, opening the refrigerator to take out the supplies.

She glanced out the window at her house, the pleasant look on her face fading. “I need to make some calls about the damage.”

“The house can wait,” I said firmly, even though it would probably be better for Remy if I sent Joy scooting out the door. Still, my wolf couldn’t stand her not being fed. The need to provide and care for her was too strong. “You need a good meal before you tackle calling your insurance and all that mess.”

Remy had her by the hand and led her to the kitchen table.

Still, Joy hesitated.

“Sit down and eat.” I sounded grouchy. Formidable. Maybe even intimidating. I needed to work on that. Fuck.

Remy pulled out a chair and patted it. “If you eat two eggs, you get hot cocoa.”

To my wolf’s relief, my beautiful neighbor sank into the chair. “Your daddy is bossy, isn’t he?” Her voice was light, but when I looked over my shoulder, I caught heat and innuendo in her look my way.

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