Page 29 of The Wolf's Kidnapped Mate

“We both know you’re not actually sorry, Fred.”

Alright, I probably deserved that, but she didn’t have to say it so rudely. “Yeah, well, you talk a lot when you’re stressed.”

“And you make rash decisions.”

I pursed my lips angrily while taking the kettle from the stove. It barely had time to whistle. Her tea wouldn’t be scalding hot, but it would do the trick. It would calm her nerves and make it easier to talk to her.

The tin on the counter only had loose chamomile leaves in it. I had gathered some berries earlier, so I popped those into the metal mesh tea holder that had a clay mushroom hanging on the end of the chain. With a little brown sugar and a dash of coconut cream from a can, it was ready.

I carried it to Kylie who frowned at her hands. “I can’t move them.”

I glumly set the mug on the table to the right. “Right—my bad.”

I reached around her neck, noticing how her eyelids fluttered rapidly before snapping open to reveal her hazel-brown irises. Shocked pupils opened wide as I located the magical tape on the nape of her neck. She just kept looking up at me withouttilting her head, breathing so erratically that I thought she was about to sneeze.

She winced when I plucked the end of the tape up. I slowly peeled it away from her skin, watching how her cheeks flooded with golden heat as I cradled her now lolling head. Being careful not to touch too much of the sticky part, I folded the magical tape with my thumb and forefinger as I massaged the back of her neck.

I was bowing over her now, monitoring the way her body responded to having full control again.

Her eyes never left mine. “What are you doing?”

“Bodies can be finicky. Nerves are weird,” I explained softly. “I didn’t want you to convulse and fall over. I’m trying to ease your nerves.”

Her eyelids batted once and then snapped open again. A soft groan vibrated her throat. Her knees moved slowly, bumping into my legs and drawing my attention to her lap. She idly rubbed the tops of her thighs, forward and back, slow lines that seemed to match the rhythm of my fingers against the back of her neck.

From this angle, I saw every exposed inch of her flush with goosebumps. It started at her throat and then trailed to her cleavage, exploded along her arms, and rolled in waves over her thighs. Magic did weird things to people.

At least she wasn’t yelling at me.

“It’s nice in here,” she whimpered. “It’s so…hot…”

“Too hot?”

She arched in the chair while stretching her arms on either side of her. As she raised them up, I stepped back, carefully releasing her neck.

Something broke in me. Something strange happened that made me want to scoop her into my arms and never let go. I wasn’t sure why I felt so drawn to protecting her, or why I was urgently trying to recover my stance. The way her breasts plumped up as she breathed through her stretch made my cock twitch.

I folded the tape again, and then again, trying to ignore how she widened her legs and did another round of stretching. As soon as she righted herself in the chair, her eyelids were drooping, and she was grinning sleepily.

I lifted the mug and extended it to her. “Better?”

“As good as it can be after being tied up by my brother’s best friend.”

Add that to the list of things I never thought I’d hear come out of her mouth.

That list was starting to get long. Among the most popular were her saying that I was cute back at the boba shop and her saying that we got along.

Do we get along?

I studied her delicate fingers cradling the mug. Just then, the fire sparked back to full intensity, the light of it splashing over her thick thighs as she turned to observe it. “That’s so nice. It’s cozy here.”

“You’re shockingly positive about this whole thing.”

“I can’t change much now that I’m here.”

I stared at her. Was there a damn thing on this planet that bothered her at all? Originally, she’d appeared pretty upset over the whole mate rejection thing. Then when I had suggested it later, she laughed. It was like she had gotten over it already.

Was that true?

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