Page 18 of The Bookish Girl’s Guide to Mating with a Werewolf (Mate Hunted #1)

NICO—TWO AND A HALF MONTHS LATER

“What’s the surprise?” Abby asked me for the fifth time since we’d driven away from her apartment for good.

I never would’ve asked her to stop teaching in person—but I was fucking glad when she told me a few weeks earlier that she’d decided to.

Not having to make the commute anymore would be great.

Not being apart so much would, too. Though we’d spent as much time together as possible since sealing the bond, I did need to work with my pack a few days a week. Which meant driving back and forth from her apartment to our land.

Over. And. Over.

But that was finished now, and I was determined to make my mate so happy that she only wanted to leave when she missed her friends.

Starting with her surprise.

“You’ll see.” I parked in front of the house.

Abby was out of the truck in a heartbeat, tugging the front door open and looking around for the surprise.

“If it’s a pet, I’m going to throw something at you,” she called over her shoulder. “Our wolves are more than enough.”

I jogged up behind her and covered her eyes with my hand. “It’s not a pet. Have patience, woman.”

“No thanks.”

I snorted, and she tugged me forward.

I let her drag me a few steps, but turned her toward the spare room with a hand on her hip. “Almost there.”

“It smells like paint. Did you paint something?”

“Patience,” I repeated, opening the door and leading her two steps inside. “Okay, ready?”

“I’ve been ready since the moment you told me there was a surprise, Cucumber.”

I swatted Abby’s ass playfully, and finally pulled my hand away from her eyes.

Her lips parted as she took in the spare room’s transformation. Bookshelves lined all four of the walls, made out of smooth but rustic-looking wood that matched the rest of the house. The walls were dark green, and the ceiling was just a few shades lighter.

A thick, plush rug covered most of the room, stretching beneath a large desk on one side. A large, comfortable chair occupied the opposite side. And a built-in reading nook sat underneath the window she loved.

“Holy fuck, Nico,” she finally whispered. “You built the library of my dreams.”

“Most of the guys helped me. And Jade sent the inspiration pictures from reels you—” Abby cut me off when she flung herself into my arms, grabbing my face and kissing me deeply.

“I don’t care who helped,” she breathed. “You did this. It was your idea, and you made it happen. I love you. I really, really do.”

A grin stretched across my face. “I love you too, Abbs.”

She kissed me again, deeper, before pulling away. “Do you know the last thing we need to finish this library?”

“What?” My forehead creased as I tried to come up with what I might have forgotten.

There were empty bookshelves, but she had a ton of books and would want to choose the rest of them herself. I had plans to turn the closet into a small, comfortable reading nook, but that was going to be a Christmas present.

“Sex. On the desk.” She pointed to the wood. “Desk sex is a necessity in a professor romance book, and I’m pretty sure we qualify.”

Oh.

Yeah, we definitely didn’t want to miss that.

“Pretty sure?” I hauled her off her feet, making her smile as I carried her to the desk and sat her down on the edge. “Do you need me to grab you a book so you can double-check while I eat you out?”

Her smile widened. “We can figure it out afterward.”

“Good, because I’m starving.”

She laughed—and moaned, when my tongue met her clit.

Abby’s fingers dug into my hair as the taste of her flooded my senses.

She was everywhere.

Everything, too.

Thank fuck for werewolf smut. And grocery stores. And cucumbers.