Page 50 of My Solemn Vow
I nearly blow that sentence, and I can’t believe it. Normally I’m better about keeping my guard up when talking to humans. Antonella will learn soon enough that we’re not the same. But a restaurant is not the place to tell her that wolf shifters exist. It’s hardly even a place to have the ‘mate’ sort of conversation.
“I suppose that’s probably a good thing.” Antonella gives a resounding sigh. “It’ll be interesting to learn your expectations of me.”
I take a sip of my beer before extending an olive branch. “If you want to teach, there’s no reason you can’t continue to.”
Antonella quirks a brow, and her lips part a fraction. It’s not intended to be sexual, but I’m stuck somewhere on the spectrum between interrogating and fucking. On one end, I want to know everything about her, from what makes her tick and what she knows about the D’Medici empire. I want to grill her for information and see how long before she cracks. On the other hand, I want to bend her over the nearest surface, make her scream my name, and then watch my cock disappear between those slightly parted lips.
“I would really like to keep teaching,” Antonella softly says.
The restaurant isn’t the place to have this sort of conversation, but it’s also not the place to bend her over and fuck her. It’s been a long time since I’ve been attracted to someone like this, and leaving the hotel room is quickly becoming the worst mistake I’ve made today. It’s probably just the year-long, self-imposed dry spell making it all that much harder to keep my thoughts tame. The dry spell I implemented after some serious guilt over spending time with hookups instead of Kerrianne.
Yeah, we’ll go with that,my wolf huffs.
I force myself out of the fantasy of fucking her mouth and let the burning questions bubble to the surface, disguising them as polite conversation rather than demands. “I’m interested to know how you were the one to come to Kerrianne’s aid. I’m equal parts grateful and, as I’m sure you can understand, suspicious of the circumstances. Are you a teacher in a neighboring class?”
“Sooo...” Antonella runs her fingers through her hair and then sighs. “Funny story about that. I had no idea Kerrianne was a student at the school. I wouldn’t have taken the job had I known she went there, Valor. But I had a... well...” Antonella backtracks. “How friendly are you with Peyton Hopkins?”
I shake my head, thinking about the exchange in the principal’s office.
Antonella draws one long breath before a massive string of words. “Well, depending on who is telling the story, I told her that her son was stupid and she was ugly, and then she pulled her kid out of my classroom and almost pulled out her funding for the school. So, I was slapped on the wrist and they transferred Kerrianne into my classroom.”
I’m dumbfounded. I’m stuck in neutral. I don’t even know how to shift gears.
Ms. Mancini.
Antonella huffs, expelling the last bit of air from her lungs before sipping her beer.
She’s telling the truth. I can hear the honesty, but I dislike the answer. I take a long pull of my beer, trying to stave off the irrational, angry, overprotective parent in favor of the logical, levelheaded nature expected of me.
“I know that has to be hard to believe.” Antonella rises to herown defense as if she hears my innermost thoughts. “But I wouldn’t have put us in this potential position. The school is in neutral territory, so I assumed it would be safe to accept the job. I teach under a pseudonym because well... everyone knows the D’Medici’s and what they do. It’s hard to get work that way.”
She’s telling the truth.My wolf has been as equally interested in her as I have.
Why didn’t this come up in the background check Royal ran? Is her cover identity that good?I hate that I have more questions than answers.
What I do know though... “I believe you.”
I’m thankful for her saving Kerrianne, even if it’s put me in a shit position. I still want vengeance for Holly, but Antonella has put an end to my vendetta. “It’s been a lot to process. I was out of the country, and to come home to this...”
“Mess.” Tears well in the corner of her eyes. “Thank you for saving my life.”
Saving her life. She’s thanking me for saving her life?It was either save her life or risk Kerrianne’s. She must know that, but it seems like the wrong thing to say right now. I only nod in response.
I finish my beer at the same time the waitress comes back with our main courses, and she offers to get me a new one. I look to Antonella, and she asks for a second.
With a nod of agreement, I tell the waitress, “Looks like we’re having another round.”
Antonella smiles and wags a finger at me. “Don’t get any ideas that I’m some sort of big drinker. I’ve had probably the worst week of my life, and I want to enjoy the good things when they happen.”
I lean forward. “Am I the good thing?”
Her tongue peeks out of her mouth, wetting her lip before she bites it. My cock stiffens in response, but before Antonellacan give me an answer, the waitress returns with our second round.
Antonella takes the out of the waitress coming by and bites into her burger. She hums in approval. “Oh, this is really good.”
“I’m telling you, they have the best burgers in the area.” I pick up my burger and take a bite.
As expected, it’s cooked to the bare minimum, meaning it touched the grill long enough to sear the outside and not let any humans think the restaurant is serving raw food. It’s a perk of being a regular and recognized by the server. Do I need the burger raw? No. Do I like it raw? Yes.
