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I nodded. “Our mom was a human as well. Does that mean anything?”

Silver shook his head. “No, but it might explain why you don’t know about it. As fated mates with both of us being shifters, we’ll be able to share a mate bond. That’s how I’ve been able to know what you were thinking.”

I tilted my head, not sure what he was saying. “You’re making it sound like you can read my thoughts.”

Silver nodded. “Yes, that’s the mate bond. We are able to hear each other’s thoughts. And when you open yourself up to hearing me, we will be able to talk to one another through our bond.”

I gently pushed against Silver’s chest, putting just a bit more room between us. “You’re telling me that you can hear my thoughts?”

Silver nodded slowly. “Since we woke up this morning, yes. Sometime overnight, it seemed to have slipped into place.”

“What if I don’t want you hearing my thoughts?” Did I? There could certainly be benefits to that, but did I want Silver to know all of my thoughts? All of my needs?

“Yes, you absolutely want me to know all of your needs,” he said.

He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer.

When I didn’t resist, he leaned in and started kissing just below my ear.

I closed my eyes and tilted my head to the side, giving him more room.

“Just think. If and when we happen to be doing certain things, and say…your mouth is full, same as mine.” Silver gently bit just below my ear, and I moaned.

“You can’t exactly talk to me at that moment.

But if we can talk through our bond, just think about the possibilities. ”

I wasn’t sure how I found the strength, but I somehow managed to slap Silver in the center of the chest and pulled away just a bit again. “All right. You’ve convinced me. Tell me how I open this up to you. I want to know your thoughts too.” Silver chuckled again. How was that so damn sexy?

“The way our father taught us is fairly simple. At least it was for us. You have to simply open yourself up to your mate. You have done it for me. I can read your thoughts, but you aren’t searching for mine. It’s understandable since you didn’t know about it before now.”

“How?”

“I thought about you and how I wanted to have an intimate connection with you.”

Immediately, I thought the same. The sexual advantages aside, I wanted that with Silver. It would be wonderful to be able to communicate with him that way. I couldn’t have my phone out while at work, and the ability to still have that connection with him would be wonderful.

“And there you are,” Silver said suddenly in my head. I gasped, looking at him with wide eyes.

“I heard you!”

Silver smiled, leaned in, and kissed me. “You did. That’s our connection. That’s the mate bond, and we can use it to talk to one another at all times. It’s going to be wonderful to be able to talk to you while I’m in the middle of a meeting with a client that I’d rather not be dealing with.”

“I was just thinking the same thing,” I told him.

I took the initiative this time and leaned toward Silver and gave him a quick kiss.

“I can’t have my phone out at work. That means I can’t always message you.

But now, I’ll be able to talk to you. I won’t bug you all the time though. I understand you have things to do.”

“You wouldn’t ever be bugging me, Charlie.

” Silver reached up and brushed my bangs to the side again.

My hair was getting to be a bit unruly, and it was probably time for a trim, but that was going to have to wait.

“I know it’s going to take time for you to get used having someone that wants to be with you.

I do. More than I think you realize. I want us.

I am all in here, and I plan on doing all of the romantic stuff.

Not just because you’re my mate but because you deserve it. ”

I looked down at Silver’s chest, remembering what he looked like without his shirt on.

We’d done all sorts of things together last night and well into the early morning hours.

So why was I suddenly feeling unsure and a bit guarded when he was talking about romance?

“I would love nothing more than to have all of that. I know it would hurt not only me but my animal side a great deal if you didn’t really want me. ”

Silver raised my face with a finger under my chin.

“I do. I can tell you that I will always be truthful with you, and yes, like I said last evening, I’m going to be protective.

It’s in my nature. I can’t help it. The fact that you’re my mate is going to make that even more so.

But you can still have a life outside of us. ”

I snorted. “I don’t have a life, Silver. I work, then come home and watch sitcoms. On my days off, I clean, run errands, and I do all the things I need for the upcoming week.”

“Yes, about that. Why were you saying you would have to skip meals next week?”

I sighed. “I can’t afford to eat out every day.

I only get a thirty-minute break for lunch, and it takes at least twenty of that to leave the zoo.

The restaurant is great, and its lunch menu is quite good.

But it’s expensive. I can swing it once or twice a month, but I have to budget.

I don’t make a whole lot. I really like my job though, and it’s low stress, but the pay isn’t anything that affords a life of luxury. ”

“We won’t have that sort of talk just yet, but know that we’re going to have to eventually.

I’m not asking you to quit, and I never will unless it starts to negatively affect you.

But we will have that talk soon. But I can bring you lunches, and I am a good cook.

I can help you meal prep if that’s what you really prefer. ”

He was just the sweetest. “I appreciate that.”

“It’s what mates do, cutie.”

Silver’s phone ringing in his pocket interrupted us. He growled, and it was so damn sexy. “That’s Clay’s ringtone.”

I moved to get off Silver’s lap. “You should get it, then. I need to go find my phone and message Sam. I think it’s on the floor in your bedroom. It wasn’t in my pants when I put them back on this morning.” I looked at Silver. “Do you mind if I go look around under your bed?”

“Not at all. Feel free to look anywhere. I have nothing to hide from you.”

I nodded. I wasn’t going to go snooping through Silver’s things.

I just needed to see where my phone had landed.

Of course, knowing my sister, she’d probably sent so many texts, emails, and phone calls that it was probably dead by now.

That would be something she would do. That or she’d go completely overboard and have Justin have one of his work buddies search for me.

I groaned at that thought. Maybe I should call Justin first. Forget that he might be sleeping.

I wasn’t going to get myself worked up. I needed to find my phone first and see if she’d actually done something like that or not. It was possible that she’d only sent a message or two. Doubtful, but I could always hope.

As I entered the doorway to Silver’s bedroom, I heard what sounded like a vibrating phone.

Well, it wasn’t dead just yet. That was a plus.

Luckily for me, the vibrating continued, and I was able to locate my phone under the end of Silver’s bed.

When I looked at it, my heart dropped. Thirty-two text messages and seven calls.

I sighed. Yeah, she needed help. My first call needed to be to Justin and not Sam.

The question was, would Justin answer, or would Sam?

Only one way to find out. I found Justin’s contact, touched the number, and then waited.