Page 78 of Not Your Ordinary Shifter

Her eyes go wide. “What?”

“You heard me. Quit your job. Come with me when I leave.”

I can see the panic starting to set in, so I quickly cup her face with one hand and maybe a tentacle or two. “Hey, hey. Breathe, baby. I know it’s a lot. But I got you. Everything will be alright.”

Zora nods slowly, her scent a mix of fear and… hope? “But we barely know each other. And you’re rich, famous. I’m just… me.”

I growl at that, rolling us so I’m on top of her. “Don’t. You’re fucking amazing, baby. You’re strong, smart, sexy as fuck, and you’re fucking mine.”

I start kissing down her neck, paying special attention to the mark I left last night. Zora gasps, arching into me.

“Jay,” she moans, “we should talk about this.”

“Mm, later,” I mumble against her skin. My tentacles, already exploring, relearning every curve of her body. “Right now, I think I need to remind you just how perfect you are.”

She laughs, the sound turning into a moan as one of my tentacles finds a particularly sensitive spot. “You’re insatiable.”

I grin up at her. “Damn right. Get used to it, baby.”

We spend the next hour ‘talking’ with our bodies instead of words. By the time we’re done, we’re both sweaty, satisfied, and in desperate need of a shower.

As we stand under the spray, my tentacles helping to soap her up and revel in her delicious curves, I can’t help but think about the future. I want this - fucking need her - every day for the rest of my life.

“Move in with me,” I blurt out.

Zora nearly slips in shock, but I catch her easily. “What?”

“Move in with me,” I repeat. “I’ve got a place by the beach. Lots of room. Private pool. You’d love it.”

She stares at me for a long moment, water dripping down her face. Then, to my surprise, she starts laughing.

“What’s so funny?” I ask, frowning.

“Us,” Zora gasps between giggles. “This whole thing. Yesterday, I was just a hotel employee, and now I’m being asked to move in with a fucking Olympian. It’s crazy.”

When my frown doesn’t let go, she cups my cheek. “Hey, I didn’t say no. It’s just… can we maybe start with a date first? A real one, not just mind-blowing sex?”

I grin. “That, I can do.” I pull her close, loving how she fits against me.

“Thank you, alpha” she murmurs, stretching up for a kiss.

As I lose myself in her again, I can’t help but think: yeah, this is it. This is what I’ve been waiting for all my life.

Zora’s my mate, my match, my everything.

And I’m gonna spend every day making sure she knows it.

Chapter

Five

ZORA

Okay, so maybe I’m living a real-life rom-com. Or a porno. Or both.

It’s been a week since Jay Lafayette, the kraken-shifter Olympian and certified fine-ass alpha, decided I was his mate. And what a week it’s been.

Day 1: I wake up sore in places I didn’t know could be sore, with eight tentacle-shaped bruises all over my body and a grin I can’t wipe off my face. Jay orders room service for breakfast, and we end up christening every surface in his suite. I’m an hour late for my shift, and Tasha gives me the side-eye all day.

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