Page 57 of The Wolf She Shouldn't Desire

I stare at him and notice a little tension in his shoulders. “Until earlier, no. Just you. This is my safe space away from everything and everyone. No one knows about it, and I plan to keep it that way, so please promise me you won’t compromise that and keep this place a secret.”

He reaches out to grab my hand and pulls me towards him to where I collide with his chest abruptly. He wraps his armsaround my waist and kisses me deeply. When he pulls back, he stares directly at me. “I promise, darling. No one will know about this place from me. Your secret is safe with me.”

“Thank you.”

He turns back to the cupboards and riffles around the contents. I don’t even recall what all I have, but I’m sure he can find something.

I back up to the island and hop up to sit on the counter and watch him.

“You not hungry as well?” he asks distractedly.

I am a little, but I’m not going to tell him that. I can drink a blood bag in the fridge after he leaves. I’m not embarrassed by… my appetite or cravings because it’s just part of who I am as a vampire. But I’ve never drank blood in front of anyone other than another vampire and don’t want to gross him out because my guess is he has never seen a vampire casually feed in front of him either. “I ate recently, so I’m good for now.”

Jordan pulls out a bag of jerky and props himself against the counter across from me.

We talk and joke between us while he eats. It’s comforting and feels so natural. I love it. Such a simple thing, but it feels like a huge deal to me. I’ve never been able to do this with anyone other than the five vampires I trust absolutely and definitely not with a lover. He finishes his jerky and tosses the empty bag into the trash.

“You got a spare tooth brush I can use?” Jordan asks. “I doubt you’ll appreciate jerky breath.”

“No, I don’t think I would,” I laugh. “I might have an extra one in the bathroom.”

I lead him to the bathroom and find a toothbrush to hand him.

While he brushes his teeth, I make my way back to the bedroom to sit down on the edge of the bed and wait for him.The water turns off, and then, he comes out to lean against the doorframe.

“What now?” he asks gently.

I quirk my head to the side in question, needing further information.

“What’s going to happen with this business of you having to marry that prick?” he clarifies. “I don’t share.”

I look down and fidget with my fingers. This is not something I want to think about or even talk about after everything that has happened between him and I in the last hour. But I guess I can’t avoid it.

“Danny said he was going to take care of it. Like I said before, I don’t know how, but I trust him.”

“So, we have to wait and see and hope for what? That it all works out in our favor?”

“Essentially, yes,” I whisper.

“Does that guaranteed that you won’t have to marry him anymore or that hopefully he will be dead though?”

“I don’t know about him being dead, but I know that Danny is working with the goal of making sure I don’t have to be tied to that asshole in that way. He knows if I were to marry Zander, I would die slowly. Either from the misery or because Zander will kill me.”

“I’m not going to let that happen, darling.”

I chuckle halfheartedly. “You wouldn’t be able to do anythingtostop it, Jordan.”

He says nothing in response, and I look up at him. When I finally do, he speaks with a stern and steely tone. “Watch me.”

“You can’t go against him. You’ll be starting a war and that’s exactly what Zander is hoping for. You’ll have a target on your back like I said earlier tonight. It’s dangerous Jordan and foolish. Promise me you will let Danny and I handle this.”

“I can’t make that promise, Talia.”

I sigh and start to comb through my tangled hair with my fingers.

“I will let you and your vampires handle it first, though. Without factoring in my objection of you being forced to marry him, I have enough cause, along with other wolves, to attack him and his coven for what he is doing to wolves in this city right now.”

Looking at him, I know there is no arguing with him on this. He’s right, and Zander and his coven of idiots should have known better than to attack werewolves without cause. I’m grateful that at least Jordan is letting us handle it first.

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