Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45093 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45093 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Quinn nods. “Ronan and I will go into town first thing tomorrow for supplies. Text us a list of what your mate needs, and we’ll get it. In addition, we’ll find out where this asshole lives and scope out his surroundings. Even without his surname, he shouldn’t be difficult to find.”
“Thank you. I appreciate your support.”
Sylas growls. “You know you have more than our support, Navin. Even though it’s been years since any of us have witnessed a man finding his mate, we’re not so far removed that we don’t recall what it’s like. Before we broke off from the larger pride, I was around when my older brother met his mate. Suffice to say, we understand your devotion to her, and we will help you get the revenge she deserves.”
I nod. There’s no need to reiterate my appreciation. They all know that if any of them ever need me for a similar problem, I will be there in a heartbeat.
Sensing my mate rousing, I turn my head to listen for her. My sense of hearing is much better than a human’s. I can hear her whimpering restlessly. She’s not fully awake, but she will be soon.
“Go,” Ronan says. “We’ll reconvene tomorrow when Quinn and I return from town.”
I give them another nod and hurry back into the cabin, shutting the door quietly before taking quick strides toward the bedroom. Sure enough, Brea is sitting up between the piles of pillows.
She looks like an angel as she lifts her head to meet my gaze. Her hair is tussled around her pretty face from sleeping. Her T-shirt has risen up so I can see her pink panties. The scar on her leg looks even better than it did this morning.
She lowers her gaze to her thigh as if reading my mind. “I can’t believe I’m alive, let alone that you somehow healed me with your saliva.”
I come to her and sit on the edge of the bed. Planting my hands on either side of her knees, I look closer. The scar is pink, but it’s not infected. It really is healing nicely. It will never fully go away. It will always be there as a reminder that a very bad man tried to kill her. I hate that for her. I hate that every time she looks down at her thigh, she will cringe.
“I’ll remove the stitches tomorrow,” I say softly. “Let’s give them another day to be sure the gash is healing on the inside, too.”
“It’s hard to believe you could possibly take out these stitches two days after putting them in. Unreal.”
I reach up to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear.
“Do you have a brush?”
I grin. “Of course, Little love. I’ll even brush your hair out for you. I’m sorry I didn’t spend much time on it yesterday. It’s all tangly now. I was too busy staring at your face while you slept deeply in my arms to pay much attention to your hair.”
Her cheeks pinken. “Do you realize how weird it is that you held me so intimately for twenty-four hours before I met you?”
“Do you know how weird it was for me to hold my mate for all that time without knowing a single detail about her, including her name?”
She shrugs. “Okay. I guess we’re even.”
“We’ll never be keeping score, Little love.” I kiss her forehead. “Don’t move. I’ll grab a brush.”
After hurrying into the bathroom, I return seconds later and stare dumbfounded at the bed. I left my naughty Little mate in the center of a pile of pillows like ten seconds ago, and now she’s gone.
I jerk my gaze to the far side of the bed when I hear her giggle. She pops up from where she must have been crouching out of sight, looking absolutely adorable and mischievous at the same time.
“What a naughty girl,” I say. It’s impossible to keep from smiling, though. I’m intrigued by her playfulness. I also can’t wait to take her over my knees and spank her naughty bottom. It feels like she’s challenging me to do just that. She’s intrigued by the idea and curious. It’s not surprising. I’m sure all new mates push their lion shifter’s buttons to get a rise out of him. Brea is testing her boundaries and wondering how I will react when she misbehaves.
I round the bed. “I don’t like you putting weight on that leg, naughty girl,” I admonish. I’m pretty confident, based on the rate of healing I’ve witnessed, that she’ll be fine, but I’m not interested in having her take risks.
She looks down. “I didn’t even think about it. It doesn’t hurt, Daddy.”
I feel like she calls me by that endearment every time she feels a bit chagrined. This time I believe she truly didn’t remember not to stand on her leg. It isn’t hurting her, so she’s forgotten it isn’t prudent to put pressure on it.