Page 61 of Fated to the Wolf Billionaire

“So thatwasyou on the plane, huh? Never would have guessed his uptight ass was that good in the sack.”

“Elodie!”

She chuckled. “Sorry. He just seems like he’s permanently got a stick up his ass. All those button-ups? It’s weird. But I’m glad you like him.”

We both worked in silence for a while, so long that I thought maybe that was all she was going to say about the issue, when she surprised me by breaking the silence again.

“Sometimes fear of a thing gives it more power. Power is like a sword. Sure, it could be deadly. It could lop somebody’s head off, if that’s what you want to use it for. But swords aren’t just used to kill. They can be used for protection. It’s all about how you train, how you use your talents. But if you’re too scared to even try, that’s a surefire way to hurt yourself, hurt those you care about because you don’t know what you’re doing.”

“Well, fuck. When you put it like that, there’s only one clear answer, isn’t there?”

She just laughed and turned up the elliptical to max speed.

* * *

Reed lookedgood enough to eat when I met him inside the doors of the hotel restaurant, which did nothing to ease the nerves consuming my belly at what I’d decided to tell him.

I was ready for the next step—to start training with my powers, learning how to control them. Just admitting it to myself was difficult. But opening that door with him… It was a whole new level of anxious anticipation.

He held my chair out for me like the gentleman he was, even helping me scoot it in once I was seated.

The waiter poured us glasses of water and told us the day’s specials, then left us to peruse the menu in peace.

“The pasta sounds good,” I said, eyes unfocused as I stared down at the menu.

“Pasta is always a safe bet when in Italy.”

I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t sit here and make small talk with my decision hanging over me like a dark cloud.

“I’m ready to start working with my powers. I talked to Elodie, and she said that it’s like a sword, and you’re more likely to chop your own arm off if you don’t know what you’re doing than if you just suck it up and put in the work to learn.”

Reed looked up from his menu, unfazed by my word vomit as he took a sip from his crystal-stemmed glass. It looked stupidly small and dainty in his large hands, and I couldn’t help but remember how those hands had felt burning me up with every little touch.

Desire knotted my belly, sending shivers of want down my spine. Fuck, I needed him to say something. Anything.

“Whenever you’re ready, I’m ready.”

That was it? After I’d been in knots for days, he was completely composed and unbothered?

I snatched up my own water glass, accidentally gulping down too much in an attempt to cool off and then coughing as I tried and failed to swallow too much at once.

He merely raised an eyebrow and passed me his cloth napkin. Suave bastard.

Finally, once I’d stopped sputtering, he asked, “Does it embarrass you, to think about working with your powers?”

“No, not that. It’s more theother thingsthat go along with the powers that seem like something taboo we shouldn’t be discussing in public.”

He chuckled darkly, the sound sending a shiver through me.

“So, you’re over there thinking about my tongue in your pussy right now, and just the thought is enough to have you choking on your water? Good to know.”

“Reed!” I could feel the blush heating my cheeks as the waiter walked back up and took our order. I could barely mumble out that I wanted the day’s pasta special without tripping over my words.

He was completely and utterly shameless, in a way that was devastating as much as it was a turn-on. I’d never been with a man like him, and I wasn’t sure I could keep up.

Thankfully, he took pity on me and changed the subject.

“I finally heard back from the dwarven ambassador, and we’re going to be going to Neftheim for a welcome feast tomorrow night.”

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