24

E verything about my existence has gone from the mundane day-to-day of checking on my pack, playing hockey, and spending time with only my trusted men to a whirlwind of everything I never expected. There's no way I could have seen any of this coming, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Leera's heat seemed to unlock the need brought on by the mate bond. It's getting harder and harder not to take her when we're together, and I know she's feeling it too because she's been a horny little thing. I'm not saying I mind that she wants me, but I know I need to give her time to accept that her life is changing unexpectedly, and I’m realizing it is more difficult than I thought it would be to hold out this long. All of that with the addition of consistently reminding myself that she’s a virgin, and I want to make sure she's completely ready. I want it to be an experience for her. In my continued research of human relationships, women will remember this day forever in a different way than men, and well, werewolves too.

Though werewolves definitely seem to take it more seriously than human men, it's still so much different than women. All of which leads me to wonder if werewolf traditions that are so based on instinct make us take some things for granted.

When the time comes and she's ready, I know I want to make it everything she's ever dreamed of.

In addition to balancing Leera's need, we're also learning to balance our lives. She's been staying in my room, but she has requested her own room for when Zoey stays the night and for if she feels like she needs space.

Again, I find myself questioning my instincts and wondering if maybe instincts alone aren't enough, because I immediately want to say no. She's staying with me; Zoey can have a room that they can decorate however they want. However, I already know how well that would go over with my independent little mate. While it makes my hackles rise at the thought of her wanting her own space away from me, I have to remember to think about her needs from her perspective and not our archaic notions.

She's currently in our room, packing her bags for her first away game, which is a victory in itself. I truly thought she would have fought harder about the away game situation, but I should have known she always has a plan. She got in touch with Sinclair and planned an assignment on the lives of hockey players on the road. I had asked her if she wanted to be part of any of the press briefings, but she declined after everything that's happened.

I'm sitting in my office, pretending to be busy doing something because I know she's adjusting to me being around all the time, and I don't want to smother her until she's ready. I've already arranged our visit to the pack in a couple of days for what we think will be Leera's first transition into her wolf. I can feel the pack beaming with excitement at the thought of meeting their future Luna through our bonds.

The men are all coming with us as well. They claim it's for Leera's protection, but I can feel their excitement, just like everyone else’s. We haven't all been to the pack for a full moon in far too long, and I make a note to discuss making a schedule to be there for my pack more often on special occasions.

With nothing else to do at the moment, I decide to clean up my desk. Just as I start shuffling a few pages around, Matilda slowly swings the door open. “Here he is, Dearie,” she says in her sweet, old voice as she reveals Leera fidgeting behind her.

In an instant, she's turned back to me, scowling and pointing her wrinkled finger at me. “Roman Razboinic, maybe make sure your mate knows where your office is if you're going to hole yourself up in here. She couldn't find you.”

Shit. I'm on my feet and moving towards the door, feeling Leera's anxiety rolling off her.

“Thank you, Miss Tilly,” she squeaks as Matilda hugs her, glaring and pointing at me once more for good measure.

“You're welcome. All is well. You keep this lughead in line for me, will ya?” She baits Leera into a sniffly giggle.

I pull Leera to me and watch as Matilda shuffles away. “I'm so fucking sorry, Sweetheart. I was trying to give you space. I was worried I would overwhelm you, and I still fucked up.”

“It's…I'm okay. I don't know why I get so worked up. I tried to call you, but your phone was in the kitchen, and my mind just kind of spiraled a little.” She shakes her head as she finishes, like she's trying to dislodge the anxious parts of her mind.

I hug her body close to mine, tipping her chin up with my finger. “I'm here. I'll be more aware of my cell phone so that you can contact me until you're able to reach me through our bond.”

I can see the wheels turning in her head before she asks, “We haven't talked about it directly, but you can, what, like hear each other's thoughts?”

“Not exactly, but kind of. Packs have the ability to communicate telepathically. Once we seal our mate bond, you'll be part of the pack, and you'll be able to speak directly to us.”

“And to…to complete our mate bond, we have to…we have to…you know?” she stutters, suddenly shy again.

This won't do.

Her anxiety is still weighing on her, so I close the door and pull her farther into my office. I lift her up and set her on top of my desk as I take my seat in front of her, sliding my hands up the insides of her thighs.

“Wh-what are you doing?”

“Shhh. Relax. I'm ridding you of your anxious thoughts that I caused,” I purr. “And yes, to solidify our mate bond, we will have sex, and while my knot is inside of you, we will bite each other here.” I kiss and nibble at the tender skin at the base of her neck, causing goosebumps to break out down her arms. “You'll feel our bond effectively snapping into place. We'll be able to speak to each other without saying a word. We'll be able to feel each other's emotions much more strongly.”

As I explain everything, I continue to touch her. Tease her. Taste her between words.

When I finish my explanation, I look into her eyes, smiling to myself, when I see that the desire has chased the fear away.

“Feel better?” I ask, still allowing my fingers to roam across her body.

She nods before asking only one word: “When?”

I smile at her, hoping she can see how much she means to me as I lift her hand to my lips, leaving a long kiss on her knuckles. “When you tell me that you're ready, without a doubt or worry in your mind.”

“Thank you, Roman.” She leans forward, kissing me hard. “I think…” she trails off, and for a moment I take her kisses and wait for her to find her words.

She grabs hold of my shoulders and hops off of the edge of the desk into my lap, and I catch her, molding our bodies together.

She stops kissing me and wraps both her arms around me, hiding her face in my neck where I nibble hers. She takes a deep breath of my scent, so I do the same, just soaking her in when she whispers, “I think I'm falling for you, Roman.”

My heart stops. Then it soars. She holds me tighter, like she's hiding from embarrassment for having admitted what she's feeling. Needing to see her gorgeous icy-blue eyes, I slowly pull her arms from around my neck, and as I hold her head in my hands, I kiss the tip of her nose.

I look into her eyes, speaking to her, her wolf, her soul, “Hear me now when I say that I already know I love you. I love you, Leera Adams. I love your strength. I love your kindness. I love the way you make this townhouse feel like home for the first time since it was built. I love how you light up every room you enter, no matter where we go, and you don't even know it. I love watching you watch your favorite movies. I love the look on your face when you take your first sip of coffee of the day. I love the way your body fits perfectly with mine. Even if you weren't my second chance at having my soul mate. Even if you were just the human girl you thought you were when we met. Even though I've loved your soul before. I know now that it’s not just the bond. It's you, Leera. I. Love. You.”

Her eyes fill with tears at my sudden need to make her understand that this is more than just the mate bond. I've done this her way—the human way. I've learned so much about her in a way werewolves normally miss out on at first. Instead of diving into the mate bond and solidifying it immediately and throwing ourselves into a life together, it's allowed me to know her at a level I never knew I needed.

She tries to find words, but her emotions are running too high. I crash my lips to hers and let our tangling tongues convey everything left unsaid.

Our kiss takes a frenzied turn, and she's sliding her hands under my shirt, lightly running her nails down my chest. I groan into her mouth as my dick hardens beneath her. She begins to wriggle in my lap, whimpering into the kiss. With one hand holding her tighter to my lap and the other reaching under her hoodie in search of her nipple, she arches into me when there's a knock at my office door.

Before I can growl at Benny to go away, the door is swinging open, and the smile on his face says he's immensely proud of himself. “Everyone packed and ready? We've gotta leave in thirty minutes to hop on the plane for tomorrow's game.”

Leera scrambles off my lap, blushing from embarrassment now instead of the heat collecting in her tiny purple thong she put on this morning, and I do growl this time, my boner now on display for everyone in the room to see.

Benny's just leans against the door frame with his arms crossed, still smiling like I'm not going to pummel him for this later, when the twins walk past my office door.

Only they don't keep walking. I hear them stop and then see them step backwards back into the doorway, now wearing ornery smiles to match Benny's.

I will kill you all if you don't stop embarrassing her and leave now.

“Keep the old man in line for us, will ya, Leera?” Benny jests as he ushers the twins away, pulling the door closed behind them.

“Fuck, I'm sorry…” I begin when Leera suddenly bursts out laughing.

When she gets it all out of her system, she starts wiping tears from her eyes.

“Whew. I can't believe they just caught us like that. I'm sorry, but it was just like a scene out of a movie, and I couldn't help but laugh.”

My face must portray my confusion because she uses her thumbs to smooth the wrinkle between my brows before planting a kiss there.

“Come on, Big Guy, we've got a plane to catch.”