Page 9 of Love Bites Really Hard (Mated to the King #4)

nine

ZORA

I woke up with a rock between my thighs.

A warm, slippery rock.

My body was so hot, I felt feverish.

And fuck, my lower belly ached with need.

Bane’s wings were tight and heavy as they draped over the back of me, from my head to my toes. I’d slept better than I could ever remember sleeping before, in my own personal gargoyle coffin.

That was bizarre.

Definitely unexpected.

I didn’t even know if he’d realized he was functioning as my canopy bed, or if he just wanted to hold me close, but it felt insanely good.

Even though my gargoyle coffin prevented me from seeing any shred of light, I knew it was morning. Probably early in the morning. I’d never been able to sleep in before, and doubted it would start now.

I had a tradition of waking up and spending my morning watching the sunrise with a cup of fancy coffee that I always made myself. None of my sisters had ever joined me for it. It was my personal time to think.

I had seen a sliding door in the kitchen that looked like it led out onto a balcony, and I itched to check that out and incorporate it into my habit.

But to do that, I’d have to get away from Bane.

Considering he was literally made of stone, that probably wasn’t going to happen unless I woke him up.

But hey, I wasn’t a quitter.

I moved a little, pressing on his wing as I tried to ease it away from me.

It tightened around me as soon as my hand touched the length of it, and his cock throbbed.

Hard.

The motion dragged it against my clit, through my slickness. I’d probably been drenched all night. I could feel my wetness between our hips, over my ass, and on the insides of my thighs.

It was intense.

He throbbed again, and I barely stifled my moan.

His wings were sensitive.

I’d forgotten that, somehow.

Now, what were my options? I was still literally soaked with how much I wanted him. And he had proven he could make me feel really, really good.

I was supposed to stay neutral toward him, but I could still do that, couldn’t I?

Sex could mean nothing more than sex.

It could just mean scratching an itch on a thick, hard gargoyle cock that made me stupidly horny.

Yep.

That’s what it was going to be.

Plain old meaningless sex.

Mmhm.

I reached my hand up to his wing again, and slowly dragged my fingertips over the surface of it.

His chest rumbled beneath me, and his cock jerked hard.

His smooth, stone hands slid down to my ass.

He was awake. Definitely awake.

But he wasn’t letting me go.

Not that I wanted him to. The way he’d trapped me was hot.

He parted my legs, opening me up for him as he rumbled again, louder.

I lifted my hips as much as I could, trying to line myself up with his cock, but he dragged a gray, stone finger slowly up my core instead.

I cursed, loudly, bucking my hips as much as he’d let me. The sensations were different. So different. And so, insanely good.

He parted my legs wider, slowly circling my clit with the smooth hardness of his finger.

I rocked.

Jerked.

Cussed.

And finally, cried out in pleasure as I came on his hand, making both of us even more slick with my release.

I panted as I came down from the high, his wings finally loosening slightly as he murmured in that sexy, low growl, “Feel better, Sweetheart?”

No.

I needed more.

But I nodded against his chest anyway. I didn’t want him to know what I really wanted. I was supposed to be neutral toward him. Which was difficult when he touched me like he cared instead of just screwing me without considering what I wanted.

“Don’t lie to me. I can smell your need.”

I groaned as he slid a thick, stone finger into my channel.

My hips arched.

My body was insanely flushed.

“I’m fine,” I mumbled, as he released me from his wings and rolled me onto my back. My legs were already open, and I couldn’t help but look down at his hand between my thighs.

Filling me.

Touching me.

Making me feel good.

He pressed the hard heel of his palm against my clit, and I gasped and bucked.

“Do not lie to me.” He wasn’t necessarily threatening me, but it kind of felt like it.

The man was a control freak.

He ground his palm harder against my clit, and the climax crashed into me so fast, I nearly screamed.

I grabbed his shoulders instead, holding on for dear life as the pleasure took hold of my body, making me writhe.

As I came, he shifted into his human form and pulled his fingers out. He lined his cock up with my entrance, and thrust into me. Though his muscles were strained, he moved slower than he had the night before. More careful.

Even moments after waking up, Mr. Control Freak was worried about hurting me.

I wrapped my legs around his ass and yanked him closer, taking him deep.

He snarled, shuttling his hips hard.

His cock was perfect .

He drove me back to the edge of my climax quickly. When the pleasure hit me, I cried out desperately.

My body arched and rocked.

Bane fucked me harder, roaring his own release as he filled me.

He didn’t even give me time to recover before he’d pulled out and forced my legs open wider, covering my clit with his tongue. He tasted our combined pleasure on my core, and the animalistic sound of pride and need that echoed through the room just made me groan.

He’d learned exactly what I wanted— needed —the night before.

And he was insatiable.

By the time I finally had to tap out, my clit was throbbing slightly painfully, and I was sticky all over. I wasn’t sure what was sweat and what was cum. I didn’t particularly care, either.

Dazed didn’t even begin to describe the way I felt.

I’d always known there was a reason people liked sex. I’d known it had to be better than I’d experienced, for them.

But being with Bane was something else.

Something otherworldly.

My chest rose and fell quickly as I stared up at the ceiling, past the massive body positioned over me.

“We need to talk about birth control,” Bane finally said, catching his breath despite the way he was holding himself above me. Our bodies were pressed together, but he wasn’t letting me feel all of his weight. Not even close.

“I have an implant,” I said, finally closing my eyes. “We can’t get diseases. We’re good.”

“Zora…” he trailed off.

Something in his voice made me open my eyes again.

Immediately.

“Monsters reproduce quickly without prevention. The imprint changes our bodies’ chemistry, adapting them to fit our mate’s.”

“Okay. And?”

“Whatever hormones or magic your implant uses to prevent pregnancy, my imprint will adapt my release and my magic to counter it.”

It took me a minute to process what he had said.

When I did, my eyes widened slightly.

Shit.

“I guess we can try condoms. It’s not ideal, and I’m not sure how the shifting will affect them, but?—”

“No. Condoms can’t withstand the magic. It will take time for my body to figure out how to counter your implant, so we’re probably fine for now, but we’ll need to visit the garden today. The fae gave us cuttings of a few plants from their realm a long time ago. There’s one that works as birth control, when used in a tea. It tastes awful, so female fae all use the normal supernatural methods, but monsters have no other choice. Because its magic isn’t from this world, the imprint can’t adapt to work around it.”

“ Probably fine for now?” My voice rose slightly.

“There’s no guarantee, but I don’t think the magic can work through existing birth control in two days. If I’d been thinking clearly yesterday, I would’ve gotten you the tea then, but that obviously wasn’t the case.”

I shoved a hand over the top of my wild hair, then pushed his chest, trying to get him off me. He didn’t move immediately.

“I’m sorry, Sweetheart.” His voice was low, and genuine. Not neutral.

One look at his expression showed guilt. Immense guilt. He was feeling like shit.

Mr. Control Freak was probably used to thinking through all the possibilities and making sure everything would work smoothly. He wasn’t used to dealing with things as they came up.

I was shitty at that, too.

Maybe we were both control freaks.

“Please, don’t—” he began, but I cut him off.

“You just told me there’s a chance you could’ve knocked me up yesterday or this morning, dude. I need a minute.”

He didn’t look happy about it, but he rolled off of me.

I stepped away from the mattress, fighting my nerves and the shakiness in my legs as I paced the bedroom.

Back, and forth.

Back, and forth.

Back, and forth.

“I need coffee,” I finally blurted. “I always have coffee in the mornings. Fancy coffee.”

“I don’t have a coffee machine, but I can put in an order and have it delivered in a few hours,” Bane said, watching me closely.

“My sisters can bring mine over. They were supposed to send my stuff anyway. They might’ve already packed it. They know I’m obsessed with it.”

“I’ll talk to Lex and see if it’s been delivered yet or not.”

I jerked my head, and he got off the bed.

Though he’d exhausted the horniness right out of me, my gaze followed him out of the room anyway.

As soon as he was gone, I beelined it to the bathroom. I wanted to soak in the tub until I forgot all of my problems, but I was pretty filthy. So, the shower won out.

I stepped in, closing my eyes as the water fell over me. My hair was a mess. My body was a mess. My life was a mess.

And I could be pregnant.

Pregnant , pregnant.

Growing a baby, pregnant.

Changing my life even more than I just had, pregnant.

Mating with Bane was already a monstrous step forward that I wasn’t ready to deal with. A baby?

What the hell would I do?

…other than take care of it, obviously.

I’d always liked kids. Or the idea of them, at least. I’d never spent much time with them, but when I did, it made me happy. I’d always wanted to have a few. I just hadn’t expected it to happen so quickly.

And I’d expected to love the man I mated with, before I had kids with him.

That didn’t mean I couldn’t handle it, though. Both the mating and the kid. Kid s .

I would handle it.

I’d enjoy it, even.

I looked down at my bare belly, trying to imagine it swollen. I had no idea what it might feel like to have a baby kick, but maybe I wanted to know.

And holding a tiny little creature in my arms…

With my curls, or my eyes…

My throat swelled.

Maybe I wanted a baby.

The timing was terrible, obviously. I knew basically nothing about my mate. We hadn’t figured out a single thing as far as how we were going to live together, or what our life would be like. He didn’t have a coffee machine, and I loved coffee. His closet didn’t hold any of my clothes.

But when things in my life changed, I always figured it out. Eventually.

I’d taught myself how to cook, so my sisters and I could eat after we lost our parents and moved to our safehouse together.

I’d learned to love living with the vampires, even if I’d been against it at first.

Adapting wasn’t easy, but it was doable.

And having a family was something I’d always wanted. Sacrificing and adjusting to those big changes would be rough. There would probably be tears. Maybe some fighting with Bane, too.

But I would survive it.

I could do it.

Everything was going to be okay.

I scrubbed my scalp with Bane’s shampoo. After I rinsed it, I quickly worked his conditioner into my hair. I was going to smell like him, but I liked the idea. Everyone would realize we’d been together. That fit my evil seductress plan, but it also satisfied my apparent possessiveness.

I hadn’t expected that particular trait to apply to Bane, but it didn’t really surprise me.

I was possessive of my sisters, so of course I would be even worse with my mate. He was mine, in a way no one else could ever be

I heard our apartment’s door open in the other room, and tried to listen in as Bane exchanged words with someone. I couldn’t make out any of the words, or tell who he was talking to, but a few minutes later, he joined me in the bathroom.

His gaze moved over me slowly as he leaned against the countertop.

“Stop eye-fucking me,” I warned. “If we have sex again today, I think I’m going to break.”

He chuckled, but his gaze didn’t leave my figure.

“Who was at the door?”

“Lex. Your sisters dropped your things off last night, but he didn’t want to interrupt us again.”

“Probably a good call. We were screwing like animals.”

“Like monsters .”

“Like sirens .”

His lips curved slightly.

Mine did too. “The sex can’t always be like this. We’d better enjoy it while it lasts.”

“Why can’t it?”

I turned away from him, rinsing conditioner out of my hair.

“Things always change,” I finally said.

Bane didn’t reply. Just watched me.

After a moment, he asked, “How do I make your coffee? I can get it ready while you finish up.”

“It’s complicated. Don’t worry about it.”

“I’d like to learn.”

“Seriously, don’t worry about it. I like making coffee. I can handle it.”

He made a noise of disagreement, but didn’t push the subject anymore.

“I’m going to need a new phone,” I said, as I shut off the water and grabbed a gigantic towel off a hook nearby. “My sisters will worry if they don’t hear from me again soon.”

“I already asked Lex to order one.”

“Is he like your assistant or something?”

Bane’s eyes didn’t leave my figure as I wrapped the towel around my body and grabbed a second one for my hair. “He’s my best friend. He’s doing things for me now because he knows I would and will do the same when he imprints. It would be harder to let someone I like less help me right now.”

“But he doesn’t want to imprint?”

“All monsters want to imprint. We just want to stay in control of who we imprint on, and when it happens. Because we can’t, some of us keep to ourselves as long as possible.”

My defenses rose. “I wasn’t trying to take your choices away. I didn’t ask you to imprint on me.”

“I never said you did.”

“It was implied.”

I crossed the bathroom, and Bane followed at my heels, catching up to me easily. He didn’t put his hands on me or try to stop me, but he didn’t let me put space between us either.

“It was not implied. I wasn’t blaming you for what happened, Zora. I was the one who put myself in that observation room. I knew I was attracted to you. I knew I was fascinated by your fire. I’ve never struggled not to imprint on someone, so it was very clear to me what was happening. I could’ve left, but I didn’t. It was entirely my fault, but I don’t regret it.”

I scoffed.

He caught my arm, his hand gentle but his grip iron. “Neither of us wanted this before it happened, Sweetheart. We both know that. But we’re here, now, and we have no choice but to make the best of it.”

My throat swelled with emotion.

Of course he hadn’t wanted me, or our mate bond.

I’d known that. I hadn’t wanted him either.

But it still hurt to hear, especially after spending the morning wrapped around his cock. I’d kind of thought we were getting somewhere good. I definitely couldn’t convince myself to hate him anymore.

It was time to take a step back. To put as much space between us as possible. We were mates, but there were no real feelings involved. Not for him. It was just the obsession of the imprint. He had promised to make me fall in love with him, but he had never mentioned falling for me.

He didn’t want to fall for me.

I couldn’t let myself develop feelings, either, regardless of everything else that was going on. And considering the emotions I was currently wrestling with, it would be pretty much impossible for me to screw him without feeling something. So that needed to stop. Completely. In all forms.

“You’re right. Neither of us wants this, but we’re trapped. I think it’s best if we stop acting like we’re anything other than strangers who ended up stuck together.” I pulled my arm out of his grasp, and though he hesitated, he did release me.

“That’s not what I was trying to say,” Bane said, his eyes flashing and his voice going neutral again.

Fuck his neutrality.

I said abruptly, “We have to stop screwing. I’m not going to risk drinking the fae tea until my period shows up, so I know I’m not hurting the potential life we might’ve created.”

“Zora.” Bane’s voice was far calmer than he felt. One look at his eyes told me that much. “I didn’t mean to offend you. That wasn’t at all what I?—”

“You didn’t offend me.” The words came out too quick and too sharp for either of us to buy them. “I told you from the beginning that I wanted us to just be friends. You can do whatever you want to try to make me fall in love with you, but it’s not going to happen. Neither of us want this.”

“Zora,” he repeated, his voice still too calm as he stepped around me so we faced each other. The man towered over me, his bare chest and thick muscles catching my attention even though I didn’t want them to. “I do want this. I wasn’t looking for a mate before, but I always intended to have a relationship when I found the right person. I’ve seen the effects of an unhappy mate bond just like you. I?—”

“Did your dad ever hurt your mom?” I demanded.

He blinked.

I’d obviously caught him off guard with the question.

“No,” he finally said. “A female gargoyle is just as difficult to injure as a male one. Even if they weren’t, my father isn’t that kind of man.”

“Well, mine did. He hurt her. He hurt me. She hurt me, too. I didn’t want to mate with someone I didn’t love, because I didn’t want to repeat the cycle. Now I have a bond, and there’s no way out. I don’t want this. I don’t want you. I don’t want anyone . We sealed the bond because we had to, and that’s it.”

Bane stared at me.

There was something in his eyes.

If it was pity, I wanted him dead.

Pulling away, I stepped into the bedroom and shut the door hard behind me.

A large suitcase full of clothes was on the mattress, and relief hit me hard as I unzipped it.

At least one thing was normal. Even if it was just my clothes.

I pulled on a pair of leggings and a cropped long-sleeved tee, my every-day winter outfit. It only snowed a little in Mistwood, and the snow never stuck, so the weather was pretty nice. And it was late January, so it was currently about as cold as it ever got.

My curls would require more TLC than I could give them at the moment, especially after using Bane’s shampoo and conditioner. It was fine, but wasn’t made for people with my curl pattern, or people with as much hair as I had.

I was stressed enough that I didn’t particularly care what my curls looked like, though. So, I just wrapped them tighter in the towel and wrung out as much water as possible.

My heart was still beating too hard, too fast, after the lecture I’d given Bane. I’d been too mean. Too harsh. Too angry.

But nothing I’d said was untrue.

I probably could’ve said it better, though. Calmer. With less emotion and more… tact?

Argh.

Times like these, I wished I was better with words, like Clementine. Or Avery. Or Blair. Or Izzy.

Because yes, I was angry, and guilty, and I thought we should stop having sex. But there was a better way to say it. A way that wouldn’t offend him. I’d probably offended him. And I couldn’t apologize for telling the truth, could I? It seemed ridiculous. I wouldn’t want him to think I was sorry for being honest, or going back on what I’d said.

I wasn’t.

I just…

Yeah.

I didn’t know.

I was just sad, and overwhelmed, and frustrated.

Pressing my fingertips into my temples, I pressed down hard.

I needed…

Coffee.

Yes.

Coffee.

And a nice long sit on the balcony, too. Caffeine and fresh air. That could fix my problems. Or at least help me ignore them. Hopefully.

I’d probably offended Bane. Considering we were going to be stuck together for the rest of our lives, I would need to do something about that.

After the coffee and fresh air.

I freed my curls and stepped out of the bedroom, my mind made up—until I halted just outside the door.

Bane was leaning against the wall, his arms folded and his expression stonier than his body for the moment. He’d found a pair of sweats, and I recognized them as the ones he’d worn yesterday. They were too small and too tight, but they still looked stupidly good.

And he had been waiting for me.

Shit.

I was not ready for the coming conversation.

Mayday, abandon ship, run.

Forcing a breath out, I tried to step past him.

He was away from the wall in a heartbeat, blocking my way out.

Crap.

I tried to steady myself. My rage had faded away, leaving panic and uncertainty.

“We need to talk, Sweetheart.” Bane’s voice was gentle, but not soft. He wasn’t going to back down.

“I don’t want to talk.” I tried to step past him again, but he stopped me with an arm around my waist. I pushed it away.

He moved it, but didn’t let me pass.

“You like coffee in the mornings. Show me how you make it, and we can talk over coffee,” he said, holding my gaze as he waited for an answer.

I grimaced, but nodded. That was almost what I’d planned, though I’d wanted to talk after the coffee. “Fine.”

He stepped aside, and I slipped past him.

He already had my expensive coffee maker set up in the apartment’s sleek, modern kitchen. The rest of my stuff was out too—the container of coffee beans I’d roasted a few days earlier, my grinder, the milk from my mini-fridge, my favorite flavoring syrup, and my frother.

Bane watched closely as I went through the familiar ritual to make my perfect cup.

When I was done, I padded out onto the balcony, staring out at the view. Our apartment faced away from the largest part of Mistwood, so all I could see was some buildings near the Manor, and the foggy forest beyond.

The view was gorgeous.

Bane had a small table on the balcony, along with two comfortable-looking chairs, so I folded myself into one before finally taking a sip of my drink.

My eyes closed.

My shoulders relaxed.

It wasn’t the caffeine I needed—though to be honest, I was at least a little addicted to that. It was the routine. The normalcy. The simple, familiar pleasure of it.

Bane took the empty chair. I assumed he was looking out at the forest too, but when I eventually glanced over at him, he was looking at me.

“If you want to talk, talk,” I finally said, turning back to the forest.

At least I wouldn’t have to make eye contact, from there.

Bane padded over to the ledge of the balcony and looked around. He was probably making sure no one else was nearby. He had enhanced hearing, so it seemed safe to assume some other kinds of monsters did too. Maybe all of them.

But it was the middle of the day. We’d been in bed together long past breakfast. It was likely that no one else was out.

He finally sat back down. “What happened to your mother will never happen to you.”

“You don’t even know the full story. You have no way to promise that.”

“Even if I could possibly hurt my mate—which I couldn’t—the imprint makes it impossible. You can ask any monster. Ask all of them, if you want. The imprint makes your safety and happiness the most important things in my life.”

“You talk about the imprint as if it’s some kind of physical, tangible thing. It can’t have that much power, Bane. It’s not?—”

“Come here, Zora.”

I flashed him a scowl.

He beckoned me closer.

I shook my head and looked back at the forest.

“If you want the physical proof, come here.”

I huffed.

But after a minute passed, I finally took the two steps that separated us and stood in front of him, one hand on my hip and the other on my coffee.

He took the coffee mug from me, wrapping his fingers around my wrist and dragging it to his chest. He put my palm down flat over his heart.

“What am I—” I began, but he cut me off.

“Shh.”

I blinked.

His heart beat steadily beneath my palm, but after a minute, his skin warmed more under my touch. His heartbeat slowed. His muscles swelled a little bigger. The mismatched colors in his eyes brightened.

My own eyes widened as I watched his body change, just slightly. And slowly, I sat down on his lap. The more I touched him, the more his body seemed to change.

“The imprint is a powerful magic that possesses a male monster. It’s a tiny piece of your personal essence, your being, that my own power has latched onto and used as an anchor. Which is a large part of the reason why even now, in this moment, I am fighting the urge to track Oscar down and kill him. You are mine. I am yours. Nothing can, or should, change that.”

I couldn’t peel my eyes away from his muscles. Not because they were attractive, though they were. Because of the way his body had literally grown because of something as simple as my touch.

“My magic is literally transforming me to make me more attractive to you, Zora. Over the next few days, my natural scent will start to smell better to you. I’ll taste better. My skin will feel better. My voice will sound better.”

He already tasted and felt good. I already loved his voice. I couldn’t imagine how irresistible I’d find him if the imprint continued to change him for me.

I started to pull my hand away, but his palm landed on top of it, holding it lightly to his chest. “I wasn’t looking for a mate. We’ve established that. But the moment I saw you, I wanted you. I knew there was a good chance an imprint would form. I knew I should continue trying to convince you to stay with Oscar, but I couldn’t walk away. I didn’t want a mate—but I wanted you .”

He held my gaze. “And now, there’s nothing in this world or the next that could keep me from you. We don’t have to have sex. I can hold myself back when I want to touch you. We can take things slow, give ourselves time to develop more feelings for each other. But don’t push me away.”

My throat swelled. “All of this is really overwhelming.”

“I know, Sweetheart.”

“I’m still not your sweetheart.”

His lips curved upward, and he lifted my hand from his chest to his lips, brushing a kiss to my knuckles. “Yes, you are.”

Fine, maybe I was.

He kissed my knuckles again. “I know it’s overwhelming. You had no idea I would imprint on you. Now we have a sealed mate bond, and you’re drinking coffee on my balcony. That’s a big change.”

“It is,” I whispered. “I was going to be alone forever. I wanted it that way.”

I hadn’t really wanted it that way. I’d hoped for a family. Love. Kids. Staying alone forever had just seemed like the only way to prevent myself from repeating the cycle.

“You can be alone forever with me.”

I scowled, and his lips curved upward further.

“Do you think the imprint will make me like coffee?” he asked.

I blinked, caught off guard by his question. “You don’t like coffee?”

“I like the way you smell when there’s just a hint of it on your skin. Otherwise, no. But I’ve heard of males’ tastes changing after imprinting. They preferred beef, but their female is turned off by the scent, and they lose their taste for it. They dislike bright colors, but mate with a female who loves them, and learn to despise neutrals.”

“That sounds more like exposure than magic.”

“In a matter of days?”

My forehead creased. “How many days?”

“Around a week. That’s how long it takes the imprint to fully set in.”

The crease deepened. “Maybe it is magic. How much do you dislike coffee?”

“I despise the smell of it and find the taste revolting.”

My eyebrows lifted. “So you hate it.”

“It’s one of my least favorite things in the world. Most people in Monster Manor find the scent and taste far too strong to stomach.”

I snorted. “I probably smell like it half the time.”

He grabbed a strand of my hair and lifted a chunk of curls to his nose. His eyebrows lifted, and I swear, his eyes nearly watered.

I bit back a grin. “Guess we’ll find out soon enough if the imprint changes that or not. Maybe I should drink more coffee, to make more people in Monster Manor revolted by me.”

Bane’s lips curved slightly.

“Here,” I lifted the cup to his lips, and he wrinkled his nose, jerking his head back. “Try it. If you taste it every day, we’ll know for sure whether or not the imprint is changing you.”

“Do we really need to know?”

“Yes.” I lifted it higher.

He still didn’t move closer. Or look convinced. “If you want me to drink that for you, you’re going to have to do something for me.”

“Like…”

“Like agree to go down to my office with me after I shower. I have meetings scheduled today that my assistant is probably furious with me for blowing off.”

My eyes narrowed. “Is your assistant sexy?”

Weren’t assistants always sexy? That was basically a rule, wasn’t it?

“Sure. If you find ancient, grumpy, long-mated male krakens sexy.”

I relaxed a little. “I don’t know why I’m so possessive. Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize.” His hand moved slowly over my thigh. “It makes me hard.”

“We’re not having sex, remember?”

“I wasn’t propositioning you. Just stating a fact.”

I narrowed my eyes.

He was way too smooth.

“Alright, fine. Taste the coffee, and I’ll go to your office with you before your meetings.” Honestly, I was curious about whether or not he’d really adapt to the smell and taste of it.

And I didn’t particularly like knowing that my mate hated the way I smelled when I had my favorite drink. The smell would cling to me until I showered, with a nose as sensitive as his. Maybe exposure therapy could work for him too, if the imprint didn’t.

“I want you to stay for the meetings, too.”

Oh.

“I thought you want people to think you hate me.”

“No one would expect me to be able to leave your side this soon after imprinting, even with the mate bond sealed. You can play the evil seductress again during any meetings with unmated males.”

“Okay, deal.” I lifted the coffee to his lips, and he took the mug’s handle, tipping it back just a little.

His throat bobbed as he swallowed, and the man nearly gagged.

A laugh burst from me. “You really hate it.”

He coughed, setting the cup down on the table beside him and rubbing his chest like it hurt. “Not my favorite.”

“You won’t even want to kiss me or screw me when I’m drinking coffee.” I couldn’t help my grin. “This is perfect.”

“I wouldn’t go that far.”

“Try.” I pointed to my lips.

He looked just as reluctant as I expected, and my grin widened.

But he still leaned in and kissed me.

His tongue parted my lips, and he gave a small groan before he pulled away, grimacing.

I laughed so hard my eyes watered, climbing off his lap and walking back into the kitchen.

He followed me with a grimace—but his eyebrows lifted when I handed him a glass of water.

“Thank you.”

“Yeah.” I wiped the happy tears that were threatening to escape. “Maybe being mated isn’t so bad.”

“Now is when I start really hoping the imprint kicks in, isn’t it?”

“Yep.” I couldn’t get that grin off my face.

He didn’t look nearly as pleased as I was, but he didn’t look annoyed or angry, either. Just faintly amused.

If his imprint didn’t work to make coffee smell better to him in the next few weeks, I’d try to find something else delicious to replace my habit with. Obviously, I wasn’t going to do something that made my mate think I smelled disgusting for the rest of my life.

But he didn’t need to know that.