Page 338 of Love Bites

Didn’t want fate to slap me upside the head again.

“Wanted to get to know him,” Madeleine chimed in.

“Maybe.” Not really, but it sounded good.

“So, you know him now?”

How to explain to Madeleine—the possible virgin—that I didn’t, but I was ready anyway. “Sort of.”

“I call bullshit. What does he do?” Ginger asked, sounding like a lawyer instead of a baker all of a sudden. “Why is he in town? Where does he live?”

“I…” Oh god, they’d never let me live this down. “I’m not sure.”

“So you’ve gotten to know him enough to have sex with him, but you don’t actually know anything about him.” Madeleine’s sarcasm might as well have been a whip cracking across the line.

“I never said it made sense.”

“You’re so transparent,” Ginger said with a laugh. “You’re afraid to get attached when you know he could find his fated mate at any moment.”

Yup. Transparent. “You can’t deny that it’s a possibility.”

“It’s an excuse. You want the dick, get the dick. Lust makes sense. Sex makes sense. All that love stuff and soul mates and forever…that’s the shit that doesn’t make sense. Sex is easy.”

“Says who?” Madeleine asked.

“Says me. And I bet Coco agrees, don’t you, sis?”

I hated when they put me in the middle. I hated it more that Ginger might well have been right—lust and sex were easy. The hard part came when my heart got involved. Which meant I could have sex with Magnus, I just couldn’t fall for him.

I had a feeling that was easier said than done.

“Look, girls. I know you’re trying to help—”

Thankfully, I was saved by the bell. Quite literally.

“Oops, that’s probably Magnus at the door. Gotta go.” I hung up and wiped the last of the foam from my leg, hoping against hope that I’d sliced off every last hair. If not, well…there was nothing I could do about it now. I grabbed my phone and my purse and headed for the stairs, looking forward to another night talking across a candlelit table. To jokes and banter and Magnus’ brand of wittiness to fill a few hours. But when I opened the door…

Woman down.

“You look amazing.” Magnus gave me a smile, looking like some sort of movie star in his dark blue suit coat and pants with a crisp white shirt underneath. No tie, top two buttons open—casual enough for Kinship Cove but still dressy. Sexy as fuck, too.

“You don’t look half bad yourself.” I stretched for a kiss, shivering as his hand came down to grab my hip and pull me in close. As his growl vibrated against my skin. I couldn’t help myself—I placed my hands against his chest and just…touched. Felt. Closed my eyes and absorbed the warmth of him. It was almost crazy how much I’d missed him this afternoon, and the reconnection felt good. So, so good.

I wanted more.

Magnus seemed to want the same. He held me tight, a soft rumble making his chest vibrate against me, before tapping my hip and stepping away. I swear, the man even had to take a deep breath. “Are you ready to go?”

No.“Yeah.”

I locked the door behind me, wishing I had the guts to simply pull him inside my house and take him to bed. Wishing I could feel his rough hands on my skin. The weight of him on top of me. That sweet sting as he slid—

“You okay there, beautiful?” Magnus had a concerned sort of smile on his face as he dropped into the driver’s seat of his car. He’d apparently already helped me into my own—my thoughts had been running too far off course for me to even notice. I took a deep breath, instantly regretting it because he smelled so good and he was so close and—

“Coco?”

Oh, right. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

“You sure? We can cancel—”

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