Page 17 of Trouble Walked In

“That too,” he agreed, laughing. “When I woke up, I laid there for a few minutes, not sure how to move. You were partially on top of my hand. Christ. My dick was already throbbing and then you started rubbing up against me.”

“God. I was so mortified. I try and make it a policy not to randomly dry hump people in their sleep,” she said, flushing. “You just felt so good pressed against me. Shoot. I'm getting a little hot just thinking about it right now.”

Ronan grinned and said, “We can definitely address that. But, um, seriously. I'm glad you stopped when I said something, at least. I was really close to marking you right then. With or without your consent.”

Moira settled back against the futon. “Marking me?”

“Yeah. It's a sign of ownership.”

“How exactly does this marking thing happen?” Moira asked, ignoring the overtly feminist urge to remind him that women weren't exactly property. “Don't wolves pee on things to mark their territory? There's no way in hell I'm gonna let you pee on me, Ronan!”

Ronan blinked at her for a minute and then started laughing. “Christ, no, baby. I don't wanna pee on you,” he finally managed.

“How the hell am I supposed to know? You were the guy that wasn't even gonna tell me this was a thing, and now I'm supposed to know all about it?” she grumbled, shooting him a dirty look.

“It's a bite mark,” he replied, sobering instantly. “I'm sorry. I know you're new to all of this. It's just that I couldn't help it. The look on your face was priceless.”

She shot him a bland look and said, “I live to amuse. So you bite me? That's it?”

“My wolf does. I shift partially and then I bite you. It leaves a mark. You become one of us. Not as powerful as a natural born wolf, but it would make you a shifter, too.”

“Oh,” Moira said quietly. “I would become a shifter?”

“That's part of why I didn't even want to tell you. It's a lot to ask of someone who isn't in the middle of a major life change. You walked into my bar the other night with no idea what you were going to do with yourself. Seems a little unfair of me to ask you to make that kind of decision right now.”

“I can appreciate that you were thinking of me, but by not telling me, you were in essence making the choice for me. That's not exactly fair either.”

He considered for a minute and then said, “You're right. I don't really see this working out in my favor, though. I can't blame you. Settling down with a shape-shifting bartender who claims to be your mate? Turning into a wolf on a full moon? Living above a bar? Maybe having a couple of pups when the time was right? I'm sure that's your dream.”

She took in his scoffing face and sighed. “I'm not likely to agree to it with a sales pitch like that, Ronan. Jeez. You gotta work on your delivery. As for my dream? I've got no idea what my dream is. The only thing that I'm certain of is that I feel something inexplicably strong for you. Let me work out my life and see if there's a place for you in it.” She paused for a moment and then said, “I really want there to be.”

“I want that, too,” he admitted, his gaze hopeful. He gave her hand a gentle tug.

She didn't hesitate when he drew her near. Before he could kiss her, she asked, “Would I get to claim you, too?”

“What do you mean? I would be yours. You would be mine. There wouldn't be anyone else,” he said, confusion all over his face.

“I'm not asking if you'd be loyal to me, Ronan. You'd do that if you knew what was good for you,” she joked. “I meant that if I had to walk around with some sign of ownership on my body, I'd want you to have one, too.”

He gazed at her, some unreadable emotion on his face. Then he said, “Wolf culture is a male dominated thing, so that's not exactly the norm. We already established that I don't exactly play by the rules, though. I guess I never really thought about it before, but I would be honored to wear your mark if you wanted to give it to me, Moira.”

Her eyes filled at his sweet words, so she did the only thing she could do. She closed the space between them and presse

d her lips against his. Immediately, he responded by deepening the kiss and pulling her onto his lap. No matter how strange this night had been, a part of her was relieved that everything was out in the open. She had some difficult decisions she'd face soon. They had tonight, though. Right now, that was more than enough.

Chapter Eleven

Ronan turned on the hose with a grimace. Looked like someone left a parting gift on their way out the door last night. He turned on the high pressure stream, spraying at the dried-on vomit. Much as he'd like to wait for the late afternoon rain to rinse it away, puke on the sidewalk was bad for business.

Moira poked her head out the front door and took in the scene. Her face scrunched up in disgust. She teased, “And you said your job wasn't glamorous, baby!”

“You best watch it, woman, or I'm putting you on puke removal duty from now on,” he warned, smirking.

She snorted. “Not if you ever want inside me again.” When he remained quiet, she grinned. “See, you're not the only one who can make threats.”

Reading the challenge in her eyes, he dropped the hose and said, “That's an idle threat and you know it, cupcake. You'd be begging me for it inside a day.”

“Is that right?” she said, slipping the rest of the way out the front door. “You think I'd be the one begging? I see the way your eyes roll back in your head when you slide inside me.”

---