I buried my face in my pillow and squeezed my eyes shut.
Holy fuck.
I’d just woken up in bed with the sexiest man in the world. If I hadn’t just been through what had to be one of the most painful experiences a person could have, I would’ve pinched myself.
Considering my pain, there was no doubt that the moment was real.
And I had no idea what was coming next.
My alarm shut off, and I let out a long breath into my pillow.
For ten minutes, I needed to stop freaking out about the wolf thing, the Nico thing, the shifting thing, and the, well,cucumberthing, and focus on my job.
Human Nico came back with my phone. He set it down next to me, but I didn’t feel the bed dip, so I didn’t think he sat back down.
“Sorry about hijacking your bed.” His voice was still low and gravelly. My goosebumps didn’t budge. I didn’t let myself look up from the pillow. “I can wash the sheets.”
“It’s fine.” I reached for the phone without picking up my head. My palm slid awkwardly over the mattress, coming up empty.
Warm fingers brushed the sides of mine, and the device was in my hand a moment later.
“Thanks.” I hesitated. “You can sit. No need to be uncomfortable.”
Nico didn’t say anything, but I finally felt the dip.
He definitely left more space than either of our wolves had.
Pulling the phone toward me, I lifted my head off the pillow. My hair was glued to my face, neck, and shoulders with sweat, so I peeled it off my forehead, cheeks, and chin.
My shoulders went still when a large, careful hand gathered the strands off my shoulders and the back of my neck.
Then paused.
Cucumber cleared his throat and released all of my hair slowly over one of my shoulders. “Sorry. I shouldn’t touch you without asking.”
I shouldn’t have liked that he had, but I did anyway.
It was kind of sweet.
Kind of sexy, too.
“Mates don’t do that?” I asked.
“They do. But you technically aren’t my mate yet.”
My forehead creased. “Your friends said I was.”
“It’s complicated. We’re fated mates. My wolf hunted you and bit you. You transformed. That makes you my mate. Because your wolf hasn’t bitten me, she hasn’t accepted me as yours yet. She could still reject me.”
My eyes widened, staring down at the pillow. “Oh.”
Cucumber—Nico—was quiet.
“I know we need to talk, but can you just give me a few minutes to figure out work stuff before we do?” I finally asked.
“Of course.”
I slipped out of bed and padded across the room.
