Page 8 of The President

“Taking care of my mate,” he rumbles, standing. “Now, let me fumble my way through this where you can’t see and laugh at me.”

“I would never do that,” I reply, feigning shock. But after he leaves, I may go through everything he does and fix his mistakes.

He chuckles before saying, “Somehow, I suspect you just might. Especially once you meet Tressa and Nini and they convert you to their way of thinking.”

I stand up and brush against him. “I can’t wait to meet them. All of them, Fox. Because they’ll be my family too, won’t they?”

It’s been so long since I’ve had anyone outside of Angie and my dad, that I’m sure I sound a bit deflated and needy. He pulls me into his strong arms and looks down at me, his gaze capturing mine. “Yeah, sweetheart, they’ll be your family now too.”

“Good.” My voice is barely above a whisper as he lets me go and I head into my living room to do as I’m told.

Dare I tell him that I’m not always this compliant? Nah, I think it’ll be more fun for him to find out on his own.

“Vivi, I need to leave, sweetheart,” he murmurs against my ear, shocking me out of sleep.

“Mmm.” I’m so warm and cozy, I don’t want to wake up from the cocoon I’m currently ensconced in.

“Vivienne,” he says, a little louder this time. “Babe, we fell asleep, and we may be shifters, but even we’ll feel the impact of sleeping on this couch if we don’t get up.”

“Fox,” I whine. “Do you really have to go?”

“Yeah, babe, I do. Otherwise, I’m going to carry you back to your room and we’re not coming out until we’re fully bonded.”

At that, my eyes pop wide open. I know he wants to wait until we’re at the clubhouse, in his suite of rooms. I respect that so I’m not gonna push the issue. “Okay, Fox,” I grumble as I manage to extricate myself from his grasp. “How much of the movie did I manage to watch?”

I’m the world’s worst person when it comes to watching a movie all the way through until the credits roll. Some people fall asleep when they hear those rainforest sounds, others fall asleep to white noise machines. Me? All I have to do is start a movie and bam, I’m a goner.

He starts chuckling, then tucks a stray strand of hair behind my ear before he says, “Maybe fifteen minutes or so, if that. One minute, I was thinking about kissing you, the next I heard the cutest little snore and when I looked down, you were sound asleep.”

“I do not snore!” I exclaim.

“That’s all you took away from what I said?” he questions, quirking his brow at me.

“Oh, I definitely want you to kiss me, Fox,” I boldly proclaim. Right now, I’m channeling my inner Angie. She’s always been braver when it comes to males than I am. In fact, she’s the one who explained the mechanics of sex and how it works to me. The only thing we’re both a bit clueless on is what happens during a mate bond itself. Guess I’ll find that out before she does.

“Good. Do you have a spare key for the downstairs lock?” he suddenly asks. At my look, he continues. “I want you to stay up here when I leave so I know you’re safe, Vivi. If you have an extra key, I can make sure everything’s locked up tight after I walk out the back door.”

“Oh! I can hit the deadbolt from my app,” I say, reaching over to grab my phone. Pulling the app up, I show it to him and watch as he nods approvingly. “It actually sets my alarm at the same time. Will that work?”

“That’s perfect, Vivi,” he says. “Now, I’m going to kiss my mate the way I’ve wanted to for hours. You ready for that?”

“Absolutely.”

Not, my wolf whispers, smacking my chest.You’ve never kissed a male before in your life and you know it!I mentally glare at her, and she sashays away, her tail swishing as though she got one over on me.

Wench.

He completely surprises me when he pulls me into him and cups my face with both hands. “Goddess, I’ve waited a lifetime for you,” he whispers before his lips lightly caress mine. Before my disappointment rises, because this is similar to what he did earlier in the shop, he deepens the kiss, swiping his tongue across my bottom lip.

As my desire ramps up, I feel myself melting into him as he tilts my head, one hand curls around the nape of my neck while the other lightly strokes my cheek. “Mmm,” I murmur against his lips when our tongues begin dueling.

Long, delicious minutes pass as our embrace becomes more heated. I can feel his erection pressed against me, which has my core pulsing in need. When he finally pulls back, we’re both panting for breath, so close that the tendrils that have fallen around my face flutter with every one of his exhales.

“Worth the wait, Vivi,” he says.

“Yeah, it was to me as well,” I murmur, my hand reaching up to touch my swollen lips. It was my first kiss and hopefully, I didn’t embarrass myself too badly, but from the look on his face, I suspect I’m good.

“Gonna go, Vivi, but want to know when you can come out to the clubhouse and spend some time with me,” he says.

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