Page 48 of Chev's Mate

I think I’m going to puke, and I hold my breath as she wraps her arms around me. Then she kisses me, letting her hands wander underneath my shirt. She’s not scared.

“I love you,” I blurt out.

Vanessa pinches my forearm, but I don’t mind.

Someday, she’ll say it back.

Chapter Nineteen

CHEV

VANESSA IS LATE to leave her house the next morning, so we hardly have any time to talk before I drive her to work. She runs inside the second we arrive, too.

I try not to let it get to me, but it’s all I can think about during the day. I attend meeting after meeting, which makes the first half of the day pass quickly. I haven’t been to the headquarters in weeks, and with so many people eager to touch base with me, it shows.

Over lunch, I return to the shifter lands and continue working on my home. My dad quickly joins in, and we get a good amount completed before I need to return to work.

Echo finds me after lunch, and she immediately launches into several lectures. I can tell she’s been waiting to see me in person to unload, and I putter around on my computer while she vents her feelings. She needs this.

“Have you considered stepping down?”

Her question pulls me from my thoughts. I don’t know how to answer it, so I don’t. It’s not the first time I’ve been asked, and I know I’m running myself ragged between my work with the females and now trying to build my relationship with Vanessa.

It’s not sustainable.

By the time I finish work and return to Wrath, I’m exhausted. Aziel’s house is suspiciously quiet, and I listen for signs of life as I shut off the portal and begin heading down the hallway that will bring me to the front door.

Vanessa should be getting out of work any minute now, and I don’t want to be late. She tends to leave work at varying times, and I want to get there early so she doesn’t have to wait for me. Not that she would. I have a feeling my mate would hop right into her golf cart and drive herself home. She doesn’t wait for a man, even if he’s me.

“Chev!”

I ignore Aziel, but he shouts my name again.

I resist the urge to groan as I step back into the open doorway I just walked past. It’s Aziel’s office. He’s sitting behind his desk, and he waves me in the second we lock eyes. What does he want?

“What?” I ask.

“Good evening to you, too,” he says, spinning his computer in my direction. “Word’s gotten out about you and Vanessa.”

I step closer to better see his screen. There’s an image of Vanessa and me sitting in her golf cart outside the Wrath facility. This must have been taken a few days ago. She has her arms wrapped around me, and I’m staring at her with a stupid smile toying at the corners of my lips. Her face is tucked against my shoulder, but the reporters don’t need a clear view of it to figure out who she is.

“What are people saying?” I ask.

Aziel hesitates, which is all the answer I need.

“Schedule me a public interview tomorrow,” I order, glaring at the screen before reaching out and touching it. “And send me this image. I like it.”

I knew this was a possibility. Nymphs are a weaker breed, and I feared people would have negative things to say about it. Irefuse to hear it, and I’ll correct the lies being spread about my mate.

I have enough physical strength for both of us, and she carries the emotional strength of our pairing. Vanessa is perfect for me in every way, and I won’t let sexist men or jealous women say otherwise.

“I’m not your assistant, Chev,” Aziel says.

I’m too angry to respond, and I wave away his words before storming out of his office. Either he’ll do it himself or he’ll tell his assistant to do it. Either way, I know it will be done. Aziel can be an idiot at times, but he’s reliable.

Vanessa’s golf cart is still parked where I left it this morning, and I let out a sigh of relief before plopping down in the driver’s seat. I don’t want to be in a sour mood when I see her, but I can’t stop myself from pulling out my phone and checking to see what people are saying. It’s only a matter of time before she sees this, and I need to know just how bad things are.

She’s insecure about our relationship and what she can offer me, and this is going to make things worse. People will know she was once a purchased female, and they’ll accurately assume there’s no physical intimacy between us. Men will say they’d never want a woman who won’t let them fuck, and women will openly discuss the things they’d let me do to their bodies.

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