“Someone’s at the door,” I managed, my eyes watering as the last of my bones snapped into place. “Shit, that hurts like hell.”
“It’ll get easier and less painful every time,” he murmured into my hair, holding me to his bare chest. We were both naked—but still dirty after having sex.
And someone was still at the door.
“Daxton Spencer Gordon, I will have your father break this door down in ten seconds if it’s not open!” the woman hollered.
Guess it was his mom.
Dax groaned. “How long has she been out there?”
“I don’t know. At least ten minutes.”
“Shit.” He lunged off the bed, grabbing his dirty sweats off the floor and tugging them up his thighs, sans-underwear. “She really will break that door down. Grab your clothes—I don’t want to kill my own damned father for seeing you naked. And your wolf probably won’t let me be out of your sight while she’s chasing me.”
Crap, I’d forgotten about the chase part of the mating process. Somehow, with all the drama, I’d just sort of assumed everything would be over and easy and perfect if I survived the transformation.
I grabbed my dirty shorts and shirt off the ground.
“With a bra,” Dax growled at me, as his shirt went over his head. Raising his voice, he yelled loudly, “Just a second, mom!”
“I’ve waited long enough!” she yelled back.
“So are you like… a mama’s boy?” I checked, tugging my shirt on without a bra despite Dax’s growled order. I didn’t want the bra. But I also didn’t want to show his dad how pointy my nipples could get the first time we met, so I ducked into the closet to grab a sweatshirt and tugged that on over the top of the shirt too. It was summer time, but I kept my house cold.
“Not even close.” Dax sighed heavily. “I’m an only child, and my parents think they need to be involved in every part of my life. They’re also huge gossips, so be careful what you say. Whatever you tell them, everyone else in town will find out. They’re loving, and they try to help out, and they’re good people. But as you’ll see, it’s too much, a lot of the time. I have to set boundaries with them just to maintain my sanity,” he explained quickly, as he grabbed my hand and we walked toward the door.
Our fingers slid together naturally as we went, and something inside me just about melted at the sweetness of the contact.
I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have overbearing parents, and honestly, the idea made me curious. My dad loved me, but he had always worked so much that I’d longed for the helicopter-parents I’d see in TV shows and read about in books. I’d always thought it would be nice to feel that loved, even if it was a little stifling sometimes.
“I’ll try to get rid of them quickly,” Dax mumbled to me, as he twisted the locks on the door. With one last breath out, he grabbed the handle and pulled the door open.
The people on the doorstep looked nothing like him—they both had dark brown hair, and were shorter than him. But his dad had his same pretty blue eyes, and his mom’s face lit up when she saw us standing there together.
“You look so healthy!” she exclaimed to me, her voice enthusiastic as she stepped forward and flung her arms around me. The hug caught me off guard, but I quickly let go of Dax to return it. “Are you getting better? Do you think your body’s accepting the wolf now? Has my son been taking good care of you?” She shot rapid-fire questions at me, but the interrogation only made me grin.
“I actually shifted a few hours ago, so I think we’re all good.”
The woman squeezed me tighter. “Thank fate, Sabrina! We’re so glad to have you in our family! I’ve been waiting so long for Dax to find his lady, and I’m so glad it’s you. You seem perfect for him.”
I bit back a laugh. She didn’t know me, so how would she know I was perfect for him? But I knew she didn’t mean any harm with the words, so I didn’t point that out. She was too sweet.
“You can call me Sab, or Sabby. No one calls me Sabrina,” I told her, waving it off as she finally let go of me a little.
“Oh, I’d love that. I’m Jolie, and this is Spence.” She gestured to her husband, who was clapping Dax on the back. Unlike me, Dax wasn’t really grinning.
“It’s nice to meet you.” I offered a hand toward Spence, assuming he’d shake it, but Dax caught it before I could.
His fingers slid between mine, and he jerked his head a bit. “Not there yet, baby.”
Baby?
That was new.
And I definitely didn’t hate it.
“Sorry,” I told Spence, sheepishly.