Page 15

Penn

When I woke up, Rumor had already left.

For a moment, I wondered if it had all been a dream—a blissful, wonderful dream. But her scent was still heavy in the air. And all I could think about was the way her soft lips felt against mine.

The way she trusted me in a way she’d never trusted anyone before.

The way she came undone beneath my fingers.

The way she tasted on my lips when I licked them clean—and the way she blushed. That beautiful, adorable blush.

Her curves caught my attention the very first time I saw her. But yesterday…yesterday, I got to explore them. I got to feel her up close. She’d nibbled on my lips, sighed those happy little sounds, welcomed my fingers inside her. She—

I was hard, and she wasn’t even in the room. Or maybe I was still hard from last night.

Without consciously deciding to, I reached down into my sleep pants, just to give some pressure, to relieve the ache. But when my fingers wrapped around my length, I imagined it was Rumor’s hand. Her scent was still close, saturating my sheets, my skin, my thoughts.

I replayed last night—our first kiss, her whispered moans, the way she fell apart in my arms—as I stroked myself, not even trying to hold back. Her name was on my lips when I came, coating my hand, streaking up my chest.

That’s when I noticed her.

Rumor was standing in the doorway, her eyes wide—and then falling to the floor the second she realized what she’d walked in on.

“Good morning, beautiful,” I said gently.

She had no reason to be embarrassed. Neither did I. She was my mate. Of course it was her I was thinking about.

“I came to get you for breakfast,” she said, flustered. “I thought you were still sleeping.”

“I wasn’t sleeping,” I told her, my voice softer now. “But I was thinking of you.”

Her cheeks flushed deep rose. “When you did that…you were thinking of me?”

“Only you.”

She stood there for a moment, as if unsure of what to do. Honestly, I wasn’t either. What I wanted was to ask her to come in, to stay. Let me wrap myself in her scent a little longer. But I was a sticky mess, and she’d made breakfast.

“I’ll be down in a few minutes,” I told her.

She nodded and left, still so shy even after last night. Adorable.

When I came down, she was kneading dough—maybe for bread, maybe for pizza—but either way, she was working that dough like it owed her money. My breakfast was already on the counter, waiting for me.

“You made this?”

She shook her head. “No, it was Vargas. But it’s good—he’s a very good cook.” He really was.

“What are you baking?”

“In theory, sourdough,” she said. “I tried to make my own starter. Jury’s still out.”

“It looks great. It looks like dough. I like dough.”

She giggled. Gods, what a beautiful sound.

Her phone rang, cutting off her laughter. “Would you hit speaker? I don’t want to cover my phone in flour.”

I did…without looking.

I shouldn’t have.

Because I recognized the voice instantly.

Reyna.

But she wasn’t the confident, venom-tongued sister from before. This time, she was crying. I wasn’t sure if it was real or not and even though the right thing would’ve been to leave Rumor so she could have some privacy, I couldn’t move. The draw to protect her was too intense. Something felt off about this call. I just hadn’t figured out what yet.

If the tears were real, had something happened to one of their parents? As much as Rumor was lucky to be away from them, they were still her family. And losing family—that would hurt.

Rumor asked her what was wrong a few different ways, her sister ignoring her each time until eventually Reyna blurted it out—she couldn’t get pregnant.

Or at least she hadn’t yet.

“I—I’m so sorry,” Rumor said softly. Sincerely.

“You should be.” And there was the venom I’d come to expect from her shitty-ass twin.

“Huh?” Rumor was confused, and she should be. It wasn’t like she had anything to do with her sister’s fertility.

“You know my mates?”

Rumor’s face fell. These were the alphaholes who rejected her. Of course she knew who they were.

“They say your name during sex…all of them.”

My stomach dropped. Even if that was true, what did sharing it accomplish? Made Rumor feel like shit. Nothing more. It was difficult to believe those two ever shared a womb.

Reyna’s mates—the ones who’d rejected Rumor now wanted her. How could they not? She was perfection. But also, how fucking dare they make that known?

Rumor didn’t respond. How could she? What was she supposed to say to something like that? It wasn’t as if she was controlling their brains or their mouths. That was an issue Reyna needed to take up with her mates.

“I tried to see you at the farmer’s market,” Reyna went on. “Are you mated? Are you marked?”

So that’s why she’d been there. She hadn’t stumbled across Rumor by accident. She’d come to spy.

What the fuck?

“You may want to share what your mates say and do in bed, Reyna,” Rumor said, her voice sharp now, cutting. Good for her. “I do not feel the same about mine.”

I was so proud of her. She’d never have stood up to her sister like this when I first picked her up.

“But…have you gone into heat?”

I’d had enough. I cupped my hands around my mouth and called out, “Hey, Rumor! We need some help with the quail—Little Wilder escaped again! Hurry up!”

Rumor looked at me like I’d just rescued her from drowning. “I-I gotta go,” she said quickly, and hung up. Her eyes shimmered with tears.

The phone rang again. She ignored it.

Then a text buzzed through. Do you want to come home?

And our mate—our sweet, sexy mate replied with three words. I am home.