Page 13 of Hungry As Her Python

Or rather, nothing more.

“For the Goddess’ sake, Conrad, why don’t you stop moaning and groaning and slither your ass down to The Tasty Tart and just mark that woman already?” Jaxson snapped, slamming his fingers against his keyboard.

“I tried! I mean, we already slept together,” I moaned, dropping my head onto the desk like I was trying to fuse my skull with the wood. “She knows we fit. Hell, we’re perfect together! I just can’t figure out why she won’t accept my claim.”

Jaxson, lounging in the chair across from me like the smug mated Wolf that he was, smirked as he grabbed his mug of hot java. His gray eyes peered at me over the rim of his #1 Sheriff mug.

“Maybe she refused you because you’re coming on like a battering ram instead of the perfect mate?”

Ryan, in the corner eating what had to be the biggest damn triple berry croissant in the entire state, let out a low chuckle.

“Yeah, you Python guys have this whole coil-’em-and-keep-’em instinct thing going, right? Maybe that’s not exactly her style.”

I sat up, glaring at both of them.

“You think I don’t know that? I’ve been trying to go at her pace, but my inner beast is,” I blew out a breath, shaking my head. “Let’s just say, if it were up to him, Bella would already be claimed, marked, barefoot in my kitchen, and we’d be arguing about baby names.”

Jaxson’s grin widened.

“Sounds romantic. Try that. She’ll love it.”

“Shut up, Wolf,” I grumbled, though one corner of my mouth twitched.

The truth was, I had been pacing myself.

Sort of.

For a guy like me, waiting a whole week after sleeping together was practically saint-level restraint.

But Bella? She was a wall—gorgeous, soft, kiss-me-until-I-forget-my-own-name wall—and she wasn’t budging.

The thing was, I didn’t just want her in my bed.

I wanted her in my life.

Waking up next to her.

Arguing about who left the coffeepot empty.

Dancing in the kitchen at midnight just because I could hold her close.

She was the one, the only one, and my snake knew it.

Now, I might not think much of Wolves and Bears, being a superior sort of Shifter myself, but let’s face it—those guys got their mates to accept them.

So they had to be doing something right.

My beast shifted restlessly in the back of my mind, muscles coiling, ready to fight, to prove strength, to win her. But that wasn’t going to work with Bella.

She wasn’t prey.

She was the prize.

I shoved down all my hissing and growling and did what no self-respecting Python should ever have to do.

I begged.

“Please, guys. Help me out.”