“Mornin’,” I respond.
He yawns and stretches, his lithe body muscular and shining bronze in the sun. I trail my hand down his chest, already feeling the spark of my heat coming over me. It’s stronger during the moon, but sometimes I can’t even resist him during the day.
“We should get back,” I whisper. “Eager to get to our nest.”
His brow furrows, hand resting on my hip. “You’re not… are you?”
“Pregnant?” I huff out a laugh. “Still on birth control, but… I’ve been thinking about it. Now that we’re safe with the pack, and secure, and we’ve got our little house? That choice seems more and more appealing.”
“One day,” he says. “But is it selfish of me to want a few years with you first?”
His lips find my pulse, and I hiss out a breath when his teeth graze my neck. I wonder if he’s finally going to mark me.
He doesn’t. He trails kisses down my neck.
I pull away from him.
“Why won’t you mark me?” I ask, trailing my hand over his stubble. “Is it because you don’t want me?”
Elijah frowns. “Charlotte—no. Of course not.”
I search his gaze for the truth, biting my lip. “Then why?”
“Because I… shit, you’re really gonna make me rush this, huh?” He rakes his hand through his hair, then chuckles under his breath. “It’s because your family would kill me if I bit you without marrying you, so… I’m gonna marry you first.”
I can’t control the laugh that bubbles out of my chest, even though it definitely puts Elijah off. He frowns, shoving my shoulder gently. “Seriously?” he says. “That was supposed to be romantic.”
I smile. “I’m your mate. And you know what we have is deeper than marriage…”
“I know,” he says. “But I want to do this right. There are a lot of things I’ve done wrong in my life, and I… I want to do this right, at the very least.”
“Elijah.” I hold his hand to my chest. “You don’t have to.”
“The fact is, I want to,” he says. “I love you, and I want to do right by you—so, will you marry me?”
I look at our entangled limbs, at my tattered white dress, at the sunrise-painted sky. Wildflowers bloom all around us, rising tall enough to keep us secret and safe from the world.
“I will,” I say. “But you have to promise you’ll chase me through the woods again next month.”
He grins. “Anytime, Sunshine.”
And as the sun makes its way up the horizon, I know my mate will always satisfy my heat.
About Chloe Parker
Chloe Parker is a full-time smut peddler and part-time academic working on a PhD in alien eggplant. When she’s not dreaming up angsty, otherworldly love stories, you can find her hanging out with her three little dogs and her extremely silly husband. You can learn more about her work—including the Fated Mates of the Riftwolves series—at www.chloeparkerromance.com.
The Governess and the Wolf
by
Hannah Haze
Chapter 1
I hurried down the stairs as quietly as I could, fingers trailing against the white-washed wall, my tight bun bouncing loose. My feet clipped on the back stairs despite my best efforts, but I hoped the merry noises from the dining room would disguise them.
My instructions were simple: once the guests arrived, keep myself and the children upstairs and out of sight. Which, if it weren’t for little Anne’s doll sitting neatly on the chaise in the morning room, I’d happily intended to do. But the child could not sleep without her precious toy, so here I was, risking my mistress' wrath to retrieve it.