center of his chest. His heart gave a kick at the feel of her soft body pressed tightly to his side. Axel wasn’t sure what to do with her. This was the part where he ordered her to dress then threw her out of his room to make an example of her. And yet…he wasn’t sure he wanted to get rid of her just yet. It was soothing having her pressed so close, feeling her breath fan his skin, her heart thump against his ribs.
Oh, fuck me! I’m turning into a pansy.
“You need to go.” He forced himself to pull away and sit up.
“Go?” Her brow furrowed. “But I thought…”
“I don’t give a shit what you thought. This was fun. A good time. But that’s all I can give you, Amelia. You aren’t my old lady. I don’t plan to ever take one. Why should I when I can have any pussy I want? Yours was excellent, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to wet my dick with someone else later tonight or tomorrow.”
He could see his words pained her, but then the stricken look in her eyes turned to fire as she rolled off the bed and began jerking on her clothes.
Uh-oh. We’re in trouble , his beast warned. Our mate isn’t happy.
She gave him one last glare as she yanked open the door, stomped out, and slammed it shut behind her. With a sigh, Axel zipped up his pants and went back out into the clubhouse, just in time to see Whisper follow her out. His feline hearing caught the sound of a motorcycle roaring to life, and as he peered out the slats on the blinds covering the front window, he spied Amelia on the back of Whisper’s bike as they headed into the heart of Ashton Grove.
His beast snarled at the thought of the other shifter getting his hands on their mate, but Axel shut him up with a stiff drink, and then joined in the revelry.
Chapter Four
Amelia climbed off Whisper’s bike and handed him the helmet. She was fuming, but she couldn’t deny that she was also very hurt. Axel had slept with her, made her his in the most intimate of ways, and still he wanted other women? Was she defective in some way? Did he not feel the same mating pull that she felt?
Whisper chucked her under the chin. “Chin up, doll. Don’t let that cat’s yowling get your panties in a twist.”
“I’m not wearing any,” she muttered.
Whisper laughed and swung his leg over the bike, standing in front of her. “Look. I’d like to tell you that Axel will come around, and it’s possible he will, but I’m not sure chasing after him is going to get you anywhere. Truthfully, I thought he’d keep you overnight.”
“So what do I do from here? Just ignore him and hope he misses me?”
Whisper shrugged. “Truthfully, if I found my mate, I think I’d want to hang onto her with everything I had. But, I know some of my brothers prefer the feeling of freedom. They equate an old lady with a leg shackle. And others decide to hold onto both worlds.”
“Both worlds?”
“They have an old lady and still keep on partying with the party girls. Their women are wise and look the other way. But those are the ones who settled for one reason or another. True mates don’t fuck around on each other.”
“Tell that to Axel,” she muttered.
“Something tells me he’ll look, but I don’t think he’s going to touch. And even if he does, I doubt he’ll be able to get it up for anyone but you, which means he’s just going to frustrate himself. Eventually, his beast will beat him into submission and he’ll realize he needs you.”
“But when?” Amelia asked. “Soon? Or when I’m old and gray?”
“You could always go puma hunting and lay a trap.”
“Puma hunting?”
Whisper looked at her belly and gave her a pointed look. Amelia placed her hand over the flat expanse of her stomach and looked up at him, unsure what to say. She didn’t want to trap Axel, not really, but there was a small chance she was already pregnant. He hadn’t used protection tonight. She’d lost track of time during her captivity so she wasn’t sure if it
Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt, Howard Curtis