Page 16 of Love Bites Hard (Mated to the King #2)

sixteen

PORTER

I expected to toss and turn all night.

I hadn’t slept through the night since the day I killed my family’s murderer. Hell, I hadn’t slept more than two or three hours a night since then.

But by some insane miracle, when I woke up with my mate in my arms, it struck me that I’d made it all night.

All night.

I felt better than I could ever remember feeling.

At some point while I was asleep I had rolled onto my side. She’d turned too, so her ass was against my erection and her back was to my chest.

The feel of her body against mine like that was so good, I couldn’t stop my arm from tightening around her.

Pulling her closer.

All she had on was those tight shorts and the little bra that didn’t hide a thing, so my arm was around her bare abdomen.

I’d never wanted anyone or anything as badly as I wanted her.

And my balls still fucking ached from the night before. I felt like shit for walking away from her with that vibrator, but that was the point. I’d screwed up, and I’d paid for it.

“You awake?” she murmured.

The sound of sleep in her voice made my cock throb. She rocked her ass against me lightly, and I bit back a groan at the pain of my need. “How long does a sex war have to last?”

“Longer than a day.”

“How would one army surrender?”

“I don’t know. I’m not the one who started the war.”

I hissed as she ground against me harder. “Baby…”

“You finally started using my name right. Let’s not move backward.”

“Fine.” I wrestled the urge to slide my hand into her shorts and see if she was as wet as she smelled. “ Izzy ,” I corrected, “Tell me how to surrender.”

“I know you didn’t just give me another order.”

“Never,” I gritted out.

She pulled my arm off her waist, and I clenched my jaw when she slid away from me, leaving me hard and throbbing painfully. “Don’t take care of that yourself, or I’m redistributing the underwear.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Her lips curved upward—then she disappeared into the closet.

My jaw clenched tighter when she reemerged in what had to be her tiniest bikini.

I wanted her wrapped around me so bad, it hurt.

“Back to the lake?”

“After breakfast. I’ll probably have to stop here to drop off presents again afterward,” she said, striding toward the bathroom and disappearing behind the curtain.

I forced myself off the mattress and followed her in. My cock hurt, but I’d just have to deal with that for a few days. Or a few weeks. Until she decided I’d paid enough for being a dick.

I could handle it. I deserved it.

Izzy was braiding one section of her hair when I stepped up behind her. She wasn’t French-braiding, just tying it back. I’d heard enough about hair from my sisters to know that it wouldn’t last through a swim with how long she spent underwater.

I pulled the hairband off the braid she’d already finished, and earned a sound of protest. When I started a new one at the top of her head, her protests faded, her eyes wide and her lips round.

“You know how to braid?” she asked me.

“I told you I was close with my sisters. Their hair would get tangled with leaves every time we shifted if they didn’t braid it. Lana would braid Eve’s hair while I braided Lana’s. I always ended up with enough leaves in my hair for all three of us.”

Her mouth closed.

She watched me with new eyes as I made my way down her head, slowly enough that my sisters would’ve teased me. The memories hurt, but not as badly as I would’ve expected.

“It’s been a while, so it’s not the best,” I warned. “But no one else is putting their hands in your hair, so?—”

“It’s perfect,” she said, and there was no sarcasm behind the words.

I finished one braid, and started on the other. She reached back to touch the finished one, and her expression grew more surprised as she felt the smooth, tight strands.

“I’m going to breakfast with you,” I said. “Give me a minute to change.”

“Alright.”

“I’ll shift and carry you to the lake afterward.”

“Okay.”

Her short responses told me she didn’t entirely believe me, but that was to be expected. I’d caused it.

I tied the end of the second braid and set my hands on her bare shoulders. “If you really prefer swimming naked, you should do it. Just put your swimsuit under a rock or something and change before you get out. Please.”

She eyed me suspiciously through the mirror. “You’re acting weird.”

“I told you I was going to do better.”

“People say that and don’t mean it all the time.”

“Not me.”

She still didn’t look like she believed me, but that was what it was. I’d prove myself to her eventually.

We were both ready a few minutes later. I offered her my shirt, or to grab her one of the swimsuit coverups I saw in her closet, but she refused both.

Her sex war just might be the end of whoever stared at her for too long in the cafeteria.

I sent alpha commands into the minds of everyone I caught checking her out for too long, forcing them to look away, as we grabbed our food. The suspicious looks she sent me told me she was picking up on it, but I didn’t give a damn. If she wanted a war, she was going to have to deal with the consequences.

I didn’t touch my food as she started eating, my attention scanning the room as I watched for anyone who was looking too closely.

Izzy was halfway through her plate when she finally put her hand on my arm. I looked down at her, and she met my gaze as she said into my mind, “Give me your shirt.”

I blinked.

“We’re still at war,” she clarified. “But give me your shirt.”

I peeled it over my head, and she took it, tugging it over hers and slipping her arms through. I relaxed immediately when her torso and ass were covered, and she returned to her food.

Finally, I picked up my fork.

Kim sat down beside Izzy a few minutes later, and Izzy glanced over at her inquisitively when she realized the other woman didn’t have any food.

Kim handed her a large tablet. “Our designer sent over a handful of basic ideas for your room,” she explained.

Izzy’s forehead creased. “Why?”

“You’re redecorating,” Kim said. She seemed annoyed, but she was the one who had insisted on being involved in all of the alpha stuff so she could spend more time with Evan.

“We are?” Izzy looked at me.

“You are.” I took another bite of my food.

“Why?”

“You don’t feel comfortable here. I need to change that.”

“You wanted to leave the pictures of your family up,” she reminded me mentally, to keep the conversation private. “Every designer would take them down.”

“My mother would be horrified if she knew I made my mate live in a room full of pictures of the people I’ve lost. My sisters would be, too. It’s time for me to accept that this is the life I’m living now.”

“That sounds miserable.”

“I’m mated to a gorgeous, fiery siren who likes sex enough to start a war over it. I could do a lot worse.”

Her face reddened slightly before she turned back to her food, and I couldn’t suppress my grin.

I’d made her blush.

I’d make it a goal to do that a lot more in the future.

She looked at the pictures on the tablet with Kim, giving her opinions on everything. Kim took notes on her phone, and sent them to the designer. After they were done, Kim left us to finish up our breakfasts.

After setting a few things into motion for my mate the day before, I’d spent most of my time combing through the pack through the link the way my father had taught me. Doing so had given me a better idea of where I stood with the pack—and it was far from great.

It was time to do better with that, too.

So, after I carried my mate to the lake, I found Evan in my office.

“Ready?” I asked him.

His lips stretched in a twisted grin. “Always.”

And we headed out to deal with the first threat together.