Page 30 of Honey Heat
“Did you enjoy your first time, cariño?” He kissed Ethan behind his ear. “Was it everything you’ve ever imagined?”
“Do you really expect me to think right now?” Ethan lay there trying to catch his breath. His bear rumbled with satisfaction, finally settling down.
Lucio kissed his skin again, his arms tightening gently around Ethan.
They lay together in comfortable silence, his mate’s fingers tracing patterns on Ethan’s skin. Outside, birds began their morning chorus, sunlight filtering through the curtains to paint the room in soft gold.
“We should probably clean up,” Lucio said eventually, though he made no move to release Ethan.
“Probably,” he agreed, equally reluctant to leave the warmth of his mate’s embrace. His body was a languid noodle right now. If he got up, Ethan just might collapse from how relaxed he felt right now.
A sudden pounding on the front door shattered the peaceful moment. Lucio tensed.
“Stay here,” he said, pressing a quick kiss to Ethan’s lips before climbing out of bed. He pulled on his pajama pants, his movements swift and efficient.
Ethan sat up, wincing at the various aches in his body, both from his injuries and from getting thoroughly wrecked. “Who is it?”
“No idea.” Lucio grabbed a gun from the nightstand drawer. “But whoever it is, they’d better have a damn good reason for interrupting us.”
The pounding came again, more insistent this time. Lucio disappeared into the hallway, leaving Ethan alone with his racing thoughts. Had someone found them? Was it the man in the suit, come to finish what he’d started?
Or was it his father, finally returned to make peace with their new reality?
Hell if Ethan was going to stay in bed. He reached for his clothes, quickly dressing, cursing at the pain of stretching his arms. His bear was instantly alert, ready to protect their mate.
Hurrying from the room, Ethan eased down the hallway to see who was knocking on the door at the ass-crack of dawn.
* * * *
“Got breakfast, bitches.”
Percy strode in, Santiago right behind him, bags of food in his grasp. The enforcer didn’t look repentant that he’d interrupted Lucio’s snuggle time. He just stared at Percy like his elegido hung the moon and stars.
Lucio began to close the door, only for Cesar and Jamie to walk into the house, followed by Diablo and Brett. What the fuck?
“Heard you found your mate,” Percy announced. “Where is the cute little bear? I’ve never seen a bear shifter before. I’ve totally got to meet him.”
“Is he really a bear?” Jamie bounced where he stood, his hands clasped in front of him, pure excitement in his eyes. “Did you know bears can run as fast as thirty-five miles per hour? Also, it was Lewis and Clark who gave grizzlies their name! I’m so hungry. Where did Santiago put the food? I need to eat before my stomach tries to climb out of me.”
Cesar kissed his mate, a technique he used to quiet the excitable guy.
“Sorry for the interruption,” Brett said, his face going nuclear.
Lucio had never seen anyone who could blush that deeply. His cheeks were so red Lucio feared they would catch fire.
Movement from the hallway caught his attention. Ethan peeked around the corner, his eyes wide as he took in the crowd of strangers filling the living room. Hesitantly, he took a step forward, clearly overwhelmed by the sudden invasion.
Lucio crossed the room in three quick strides, slipping his arm around Ethan’s waist and pulling him close. The warmth of his mate’s body pressed against his side felt right, grounding him amid the chaos his friends had brought into his quiet home. Ethan smelled of sleep and sex, a combination that made his wolf rumble with satisfaction.
“Osito, these idiots are my pack,” Lucio murmured close to Ethan’s ear. “They have zero boundaries and apparently no concept of privacy.”
“It’s okay,” Ethan whispered back, leaning into Lucio’s touch. “They seem nice.”
Jamie bounded across the room like an overgrown puppy, practically vibrating with excitement. His hand shot out toward Ethan while words tumbled from his mouth at machine-gun speed.
“Hi! I’m Jamie! Did you know bears can smell food from over a mile away? And your sense of smell is seven times better than a bloodhound’s! Can you climb trees? Grizzlies can’t climb very well, but black bears can climb thirty feet in thirty seconds, which is really impressive, and oh my god your eyes are so pretty!”
Ethan blinked rapidly, clearly overwhelmed by the barrage of bear facts. He carefully extended his bandaged hand to shake Jamie’s.
