“Okay,” he says, his smirk softening to a smile. “But…I mean, are you mad? That I’m not a virgin, like you?”“Wait, how do you know I’m a virgin?” I ask, narrowing my eyes.He sniffs the air around me. “I can tell by your scent.”“What!?” I screech, eyes wide.But he just laughs at me and shakes his
“I knew it was spring,” he murmurs, his head still hanging as he gets back on track, “because the riverbank was seriously muddy. Like, I kept slipping in it, couldn’t keep my footing, annoying as hell. In winter, it’s frozen solid. In summer, it’s so dry that the dirt…puffs up in the air.”He sighs,
He shrugs, stopping there, perhaps sensing that I don’t want all the details. Or wanting to keep them for himself. But I don’t begrudge him that.I frown a little, though, at this phrasing. “So…” I say carefully, softly. “Did you not…”“If you’re asking if I wanted to,” he murmurs, lifting his eyes
“I was embarrassed,” he says, looking away from me again. “Because…when I came to the city and started watching TV, people of course talked about sex casually – that husbands and wives did it, and mates, and boyfriends and girlfriends. But…they talked about it like it was this big thing – especially
“Yeah, I absolutely do not want you to apologize for that, Ari,” Jackson says, turning a little so that we’re face-to-face again, so that I can see his frown. He sits up straighter, wrapping an arm around me. “I don’t want you to think I don’t want to have sex with you. Because…” he raises his eyebr
Jackson stares at me for a second and then nods even as he growls, pressing a last kiss to my cheek before standing up and striding, of all places, towards his dresser.Frantic to make the noise stop – honestly, the way Luca’s shouting my name and slamming himself against the door, I think he’s actu
“What?” I gasp, swatting his hands away.But Rafe ignores me, reaching for my shirt, tugging back the neck on either side, looking for a bite, the signal that Jackson has claimed me as his mate, officially, incontrovertibly.“Rafe!” I growl, shoving him away from me – god, sometimes, brothers are so
“Ariel,” Jesse says, tightening the hand on my shoulder as he grins at me. “This isn’t going to wash off like my scent markings in the Academy did. Jackson’s…in your pores now. For a couple of days, every Luna you meet is going to be begging to see your new mark, and every Alpha is going to be givin