Chapter Thirteen

Zeke

W ith the name of the book plus the series it belonged to written on the pad of paper, Zeke handed it back to her. Despite the rustle of paper being passed from one hand to another, he could hear the rumbling of her stomach. He raised his eyebrows in response. “Did you eat lunch?”

She scrunched her nose, and he could tell right then and there what her answer was going to be. “Um, no. I didn’t have time to pack a lunch this morning with Knox being at my place and my dad showing up. But it’s okay. I’m used to not eating much during the day.”

His raised eyebrows lowered into a frown. She should be taking care of herself, especially if she was going to be keeping up with two guys. Well, three if Drake ever pulled his head out of his ass.

“You should eat something,” Zeke said. He glanced around as if there might be something she could snack on, but he found nothing.

“I’m fine, Zeke. Really.”

Bullshit , he thought to himself. He grabbed her hand. “Come on.”

“Where are we going?” she asked as he led her toward the front door, locked it, and steered her to the back of the store.

“Lunch,” was his only answer. Like hell was he going to let his mate go hungry. Not when he could do something about it. And it just so happened that he knew how to cook.

“In the alley?” she asked with little humor.

He chuckled and shook his head. Briefly looking over his shoulder at her, he took in her pulled-down eyebrows and decided to clarify. “I happen to be a good cook.”

That had her halting in her tracks and trying to pull him to a stop as well. “You read and you cook? Damn, I think I won the mate lottery.”

He all but puffed out his chest, taking in the praise.

Tugging on her hand once more, he took her out of the shop through the back exit, through the alley, and into the back entrance of the bar. Drake and Knox were out running errands, so the place was empty and full of sunrays beaming through the windows.

The two of them headed upstairs, still hand-in-hand, and as soon as they were inside the apartment, he sat her down at the breakfast bar. She watched him with interest as he began moving around the kitchen to set things up.

“You don’t have to do this, you know,” she told him. “I really am used to not eating much throughout the day. You don’t have to go out of your way for me.”

Finding a pan, he placed it on the stove before moving to the fridge. “You need to take better care of yourself. You used a lot of energy in the last twenty-four hours, and you need to make sure you’re keeping up your strength.”

“Or you guys can just learn to keep your hands to yourself,” she replied with a giggle.

He smirked and turned to the breakfast bar with food from the fridge wrapped in his arms. Gently, he sat them down on the granite and gave her ‘the look’. “Not going to happen, Princesa. You know it doesn’t work like that with mates.”

She only shrugged and propped her chin on her hand. “Just saying, that’s what took all of my energy.”

The air became fragrant when he started chopping the cilantro. “We’ll have to keep you fed then.”

He continued to prep the food as they fell into a comfortable silence, but then she asked, “What are you making?”

“Street tacos. Thought something easy would be satisfying.” He paused in chopping an onion to look up at her. “You like tacos, right?” She nodded. “Good.”

When he was placing the sliced beef in the hot pan, she continued with her questions. “Who taught you how to cook?”

“My mother,” he replied, looking over his shoulder at her, a grin on his face as the memories of his childhood kitchen surfaced. He used to spend countless hours in the kitchen with his mother as a child, learning to cook and bake. While he wouldn’t consider himself a pro, he was decent at the very least.

“Are you close with your parents?”

As he seasoned the beef, his tone grew a little quieter. “I was, yes.”

“I’m guessing that changed when you left the pack for Drake?”

He turned back to her, rested his hands on the counter, and nodded. He didn’t mind the questions, nor was he going to keep things from her, but speaking about his life before he became a rogue was still difficult for him. “I haven’t talked to them since. It’s not allowed.”

She pressed her lips together in an understanding, giving him a sad smile. “Do you ever regret it? Leaving the pack, I mean. Do you miss it?”

He considered his next words carefully. “Sometimes, but then I remember the reason I left with Drake, and I find that longing disappears. I like my life now, even more so now that I’ve found you. If I hadn’t done so, if I hadn’t left, we would never have found each other.”

She fiddled with her hands on the surface of the granite. “I’ve been thinking about leaving the pack for years,” she admitted. “Even before you guys came along. But I’ve been thinking about it a lot more since we met. It’s practically all I think about now.”

He turned slightly to the side to stir the meat. “Yeah, I can see where your world would have shifted to consider it more carefully. What’s holding you back?”

She was quiet for a while, and he let it remain that way until she could gather her thoughts. They were touching on a sensitive subject, and he didn’t want to push her too much. He wanted her to feel comfortable enough to talk to him, on her own time.

“I’m worried. I’m worried that I won’t be able to make it as a rogue. But even more, I’m afraid my father will come after you guys. He’s . . . possessive. He sees me as a possession, and I don’t think he would just let me go that easily. I don’t want anything to happen to any of you.”

He could remind her again that they could fix that, but he knew it wouldn’t do any good. In fact, it would probably just make the entire situation worse. So instead, he nodded, letting her know that he was listening and understood even if he thought that Knox had the best solution when it came to her father. But she wasn’t ready yet, and he wasn’t going to push it. Pushing too soon could fill her with regrets, and the last thing he wanted was that regret stemming from their choices about the way they handled this complicated situation.

“I almost killed him once, you know.” Her voice was so quiet that he barely heard it above the sizzle of the meat.

He raised an eyebrow. For a daughter to want to murder her own father, the alpha to her pack . . . “When? How?”

“A year ago,” she explained. “He tried to force me to mate with one of the enforcers. He wanted someone from our bloodline to take over as alpha since I can’t, being a woman. It was a huge argument; things were said and done.” She paused to blow out a breath. “That night, I went into his room and took his gun out of the dresser. I stood there, aiming it at his head for a half hour, and just couldn’t bring myself to pull the trigger. I wanted to. Believe me. But no matter how much easier my life would be with him gone, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.”

He finished assembling the tacos as he pictured her standing above her father in the middle of the night, poised to end his life. Turning, he set the plate before her, taking the time to choose his words carefully once more. “When we’re backed into a corner, we fight. There’s no shame in it.”

“Oh, I’m not ashamed of it. I’m angry with myself for not being able to follow through. If I had just taken care of the issue then, things would be easier now.”

Nodding, he rounded the breakfast bar and turned her to face him before pressing into her space. He parted her knees so he could fit between them and tipped her head up so that she was looking into his eyes. He knew she needed the comfort, and if he was going to be honest, he just wanted to have an excuse to touch her. Aside from the handholding on the way up there, he hadn’t been able to do that yet. “And what would have happened afterward? Would you have been able to live with yourself?”

She looked away from him and chewed on her bottom lip thoughtfully. “You don’t know the whole story about him, Zeke. You know part of it, sure, but there’s still a lot more you don’t. Killing him would have finally released me from this nightmare. So, yes, I would have been able to live with myself. And what’s more, I would have been able to accept you guys from the very beginning.”

He gently guided her face back to his and pressed a kiss to her lips. “This will all work out as it should in the end. You have to have faith that it will play out however it’s meant to when it comes to your father.”

She sighed. “Yeah, well, I’m tired of waiting for things to work out. When do I get to be happy?”

“You choose your own happiness. What would make you happy, right at this moment? What can I give you that would make you happy?”

She smiled shyly and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Just you.”

He grinned back before taking her mouth. The kiss was soft and sweet. He wanted her to know that he had her back, that he would give her anything she wanted. But somewhere along the way, after a few moments of lips brushing against lips, the kiss morphed into something hungry. Starved.

Her hands slid down his neck and to his sides where she shimmied his shirt up to place her palms against his skin. She wrapped her legs around his thighs and tugged him close. When his rock-hard erection pressed against her warm core, she tipped her head back and sighed. This new angle gave him access to her neck. He nibbled and bit and was rewarded with the sexiest sounds he’d ever heard.

It hadn’t been his intention to take things this far, he really had brought her here to make sure she ate something, but that’s what it was like for mates. They couldn’t keep their hands off each other for very long. How Drake managed to keep his distance, despite his conflicting emotions, was beyond him.

Zeke slid his hand up her thigh, loving the way she trembled and the goosebumps that rose on her skin. But he froze when he skimmed over her bare sex. “You’re not wearing anything under this dress.”

“No, I’m not. Complaining?” Her voice was soft and breathy.

He growled, slid the plates away, lifted her up, and set her on the counter. Bringing her to the edge, he then ran a finger across her clit before he moved down and pushed two inside of her. She moaned as he murmured against her collarbone, “So fucking wet.”

He brought his slick fingers back to her clit and began circling slowly. With his other hand, he pushed down the straps of her dress, exposing her nipples, and captured one with his mouth. She moaned again and tipped her head back again, her thighs shaking and her eyes closed.

Her back arched when he flicked his tongue against the tight peak, nibbling occasionally, and he could tell by the way her body tightened that she was already close.

When he pulled his hand away at the last moment and released her nipple, she cried out in frustration. She glared at him, but he didn’t give her a second to protest. He bent down, spread her legs wider, and buried his face between her thighs. He groaned at the taste of her and all the little sounds she was making as he brought her closer and closer to release again. Her fingers dug into his hair, her nails scraping against his scalp to make sure he didn’t move an inch, not that he had any intention of doing so. He licked and sucked and nipped, and all the while, she whimpered and mumbled incoherently. Her thighs began to tremble against his cheeks.

“Yes, Zeke,” she moaned. “Make me yours.”

He lifted his gaze to hers while sliding a finger inside of her. Did he hear her right? She wanted him to claim her? “You’re ready?” he asked, accent thick with his own arousal.

Her lips parted as she nodded with hooded eyelids. “Yes.”

His cock jumped in his pants, excitement overcoming him. But he ignored it and looked at her thighs draped open for him, submitting to him. Decision made, his canines slipped out, and he pressed a kiss to her inner thigh, right by her pussy. He continued to work his fingers inside her, and when she was trembling again, he bit down, finally claiming her as his.

She screamed his name and arched her back as she came, her pussy walls clamping down on his fingers. The orgasm seemed to go on for ages, but when she finally recovered from it, he retracted his canines, removed his fingers, and unzipped his pants. No way in hell was this over. Not yet. Not until he was inside her and she was a mess in his arms.

In one smooth motion, he pushed inside her. Her nails dug into his biceps as he fucked her fast and hard, unable to contain himself. One of the barstools clattered to the ground, and the apartment filled with the sounds of them fucking. She was so tight and so wet. He’d wanted to mark her ever since they met, right there in the alley, and he wasn’t sure how much longer he was going to last now that he finally had. The bond between them was stronger, but it wouldn’t solidify until she marked him too.

“Your turn, Princesa,” he said through clenched teeth. “I’m not going to last much longer.”

Her canines appeared at his words, and she pulled him forward by his arms, immediately sinking her teeth into the side of his neck. Her heels dug into his ass, urging him to go faster and harder. The sharp sting of her teeth mixed with the pleasure of being inside her, and within a few strokes, he fell apart.

The grip on her hips tightened, and he practically saw stars as he exploded inside of her. The moan that had begun in his chest turned into loud curses, but still, he rocked his hips faster, chasing this feeling and the overpowering sensations that came along with it.

“Fuck,” he whispered, out of breath and slowing his pace until he stilled inside of her. She released his neck, and he brought her lips up to his, kissing her fiercely. She was his mate now. His fucking mate! He hadn’t expected this to happen so soon; he would have been content to wait for as long as she needed. But he was happy it did because now he had something to fight for.

He broke the kiss and looked into her eyes, making sure there were no regrets lingering within their depths. When he found nothing of the sort, he smiled. “What made you change your mind?”

Her cheeks colored. “Just you being you. And I didn’t want you to ever doubt how much I want you, how much I want this. It’s time for me to stop being afraid and start doing what makes me happy. You just made me realize that is all.”

He kissed her forehead. He liked that answer.

Slipping out of her, he headed into the kitchen, grabbed a towel, and returned to clean her up. Once that was finished and they were both back in their clothes and the stool returned to its spot, he pulled her plate back to her.

“I meant what I said about taking care of yourself.” He kissed the top of her head again, his heart beating an extra beat from excitement. “Eat.”

She grinned at him and picked up one of the tacos he had prepared. “It’s not my fault you distracted me with sex.”

He chuckled under his breath and headed into the kitchen to clean up the mess while she ate.