Page 135 of Love Bites

BELLA

Iawoke alone at dawn in a strange room.

Before I could remember where I was, the sound of a door opening had me leaping up out of bed. The fact that I didn’t seem to be wearing any clothes started to bring back some memories of the night before.

“Bella.”

Luke’s voice was low and growly. He stood naked in the doorway of the bathroom, beads of water sliding down his beautiful, bare body. His blue eyes blazed.

“I-I…” I stammered stupidly.

“We have to get you back to school,” he said, ripping his eyes from mine.

My brain returned reluctantly to its post. I remembered last night, and why I shouldn’t be standing naked by his bed, ogling him.

“Sorry,” I said. “I was just a little disoriented.”

I grabbed my bra and dress from the floor and hurriedly put them on, grateful that he had taken the time to undo my buttons instead of just ripping them off.

My panties had suffered a more violent fate. I picked up the pieces, but they were hopelessly shredded.

“Sorry,” he said. “Do you, uh, want to borrow something of mine?”

I looked at him. He was as big as a mountain. There was no piece of his clothing that would fit me.

“I’ll just go commando until I get back to school,” I said, shrugging. The dress was almost to the floor anyway. It’s not like anyone would know.

“Go commando?” he repeated, one eyebrow arched.

“It means to be dressed but without underwear,” I explained. “You haven’t heard that phrase?”

“No,” he said. “What does underwear have to do with the military?”

“I’m not actually sure,” I admitted.

He frowned. “I don’t like you going commando,” he said.

“Why not?” I asked. I didn’t like it either, but only because it was embarrassing.

“I don’t want other males to scent you,” he said.

“You can… scent me?” I asked. “Because I don’t have underwear?”

“I can scent you anyway,” he told me with a wicked half smile.

He turned and headed for the kitchen before I could react.

I found myself smiling. He could be kind of a funny guy, for all the drama of this mate bond business.

And God, he was good in bed. He would make such a great boyfriend.

Get it together, girl.You’re not looking for a boyfriend. You’re trying to find a way to stay at school. Focus.

But I wasn’t going to focus.

He was only a few steps away and I was already jogging to catch up, as if the tiniest distance between us had me unable to breathe.

There was no point trying to break the spell and refuse the mate bond. I was his, and had been since the first moment our eyes met.

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