Total pages in book: 254
Estimated words: 240032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1200(@200wpm)___ 960(@250wpm)___ 800(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 240032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1200(@200wpm)___ 960(@250wpm)___ 800(@300wpm)
That was a statement to store away for later, but I had to focus. “But maybe you need to think about it too some more when you aren’t worked up.”
“Cricket,” he grumbled so deeply I felt it in my chest.
“Fluffy, listen. We have too much history for you to jump into anything. Your cousin is one of the most important people in my life—”
“And now I’m going to be,” he cut me off, wrapping those brawny arms around me, collecting me. I stared up at him. “We both know what there is here between us, and we aren’t going to insult each other by pretending like we don’t. There’s a choice to be made, yeah, but is there? The first thing I thought when I saw your face was that you were so damn pretty. You smell like my favorite thing in the entire world. The sound of your voice makes me smile.
“A wolf knows when it knows, and I haven’t been able to stop looking at you… looking for you… since you got here. Matti’s always going to be one of the most important people in your life, the same way he is for me, but what you and I are going to have is going to top that.”
I was going to have to consider at a later time that I might have a heart problem from the way it started beating so fast and hard since I’d gotten here.
And Henri didn’t have any mercy on it. “A mate is the foundation for the present and the future. I’ve made my decision, and you made yours before I even did. This is going to happen. You’re not the kind of person who’s going to give me shit for trying to do what I thought for a minute might be what’s best for you.” He lowered his face as he whispered, “There aren’t going to be any green-eyed or blue-eyed babies for you in the future unless they need to use contacts.”
I opened my mouth to try and disagree, but he shook his head. “You liked Dieter and Keegan just fine, but not anywhere near as much as you like me,” he said slowly and carefully. “When you’re scared, you come to me because you know I’ll protect you. When you’re worried, you come to me because you know I’m going to be there for you. You trust me. You love me. I know it, and so do you.”
I squinted up at him, my heart still continuing its racket.
And Henri decided to finish me off. “And neither of them are as funny as I am.”
Why was he talking to me in that low, raspy voice, all bossy and perfect, and what was happening to me? Was I sweating? Did I start panting?
Some small pesky part of me wanted to argue with him for the sake of arguing with him, because who was he to tell me how much I’d liked Green Eyes and whoever Dieter was, compared to him?
But I knew the freaking truth.
He was right.
Physically, Henri was a wet dream. Personality-wise, he was a wet dream. He was He-Man, Prince Charming, and a god amongst men all rolled into a bossy, serious package that made my world. And I’d never met anyone I found half as attractive as I did him.
I wasn’t sure what a mate was supposed to feel like, but he checked off the boxes I figured needed the most attention.
He ticked off all of them, all right.
That had been my problem since I’d gotten here.
I’d been attracted to him from the start, and it had gotten worse.
I eyed him, my poor little heart still going at it—in fear, in excitement, a little bit of confusion. Some part of me said, “This is very soon,” and, “This is too good to be true, and he’ll change his mind.”
But it didn’t feel like it. It didn’t feel too fast. And wasn’t this exactly what I’d wanted?
I poked his stomach. “I think….”
“What?”
I poked him again. “You could have said something, you know. Every time you got home late on purpose to avoid me, it hurt my feelings.”
He scowled, busted.
“This has been a kiddie ride at the fair that I didn’t know I was a part of. I told you, to your face, multiple times, how interested I was in you.”
His jaw clenched. “Ask me how many new members I’ve spent more than five minutes with after they got here.”
Playful Henri was back, and I narrowed my eyes at him. We could play if he wanted to. “How many new community members have you spent time with other than meeting them, Fluff?”
“Zero. The elders deal with accepting and dealing with all of them. All I’m here to do is explain what’ll happen if they do something to endanger our community,” he said before his features softened. “I’m sorry I hurt your feelings. I scented them every night and went to bed feeling like an asshole, but I was trying to stick to the rules, dammit.” Henri lowered his head. “I don’t want you to go anywhere. I want you to stay. And if your nose was better, you’d know how I felt when you were talking about your little backup plan that was never going to happen.”