Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 109705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 549(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 549(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Taryn came to the enforcer’s rescue, taking her son into her arms. “Are you tormenting Uncle Ryan again?” The kid kissed her smack on the mouth in response.
Standing beside his mate, Trey studied Marcus. “Either Roni’s brothers took it easy on you, or you didn’t hold back. I’m hoping it was the latter.”
“What do you mean?” asked Dominic.
“Marcus did some male bonding with the Mercury Pack,” explained Grace as she made her way to Roni, giving her a huge hug that took Roni by surprise. “I was told you helped get the party organized, so thank you.”
Roni nodded. “No problem. Happy birthday.”
“Thanks. I did tell Taryn to cancel the party, what with everything that’s been going on and—”
“No, we planned it months ago,” interrupted Taryn. “No way were we going to let anything mess it up for you, Grace. You do a lot for the pack, always take care of everyone. Now it’s our turn to take care of you, because if anyone deserves some pampering and attention, it’s you.” Marcus had to agree with that.
As Dominic cupped Roni’s elbow and tried to move her arm, she slapped at his hand. Dominic held his hands up. “I’m just trying to see what your T-shirt says. No need to get testy. It’s hard to tell, though. Can I read it in braille?” If Dante and Jaime hadn’t appeared at that moment and pulled Dominic back, Marcus would have knocked him clean out.
Roni simply smiled at the pervert. “Your body is like a wonderland, Dominic . . . can I be Alice?”
Jaime laughed. “Good one.”
Dominic, however, wasn’t so amused. “Stop that!” he whined.
Eli appeared then, his face a little marked up with lacerations and bruises. Taking in Dominic’s expression, he arched a brow at his sister. “You throwing cheesy lines at him again?”
“The dumbass thinks he can take me. Still getting advice about STDs on Twitter?”
The amusement on Eli’s face died a quick death. “I’ll get you back, sis. Trust me on that.” He turned his attention to Jaime. “Oh, and thanks for making it worse by recommending antibiotic creams and wishing me a quick recovery.”
The Beta female shrugged innocently. “I didn’t know it was just a joke. I was trying to be helpful and supportive.”
Dante wrapped an arm around his mate’s shoulders. “Baby, you’re so good, I could almost believe that.”
“Believe what?” asked Trick, coming up behind Trey. Marcus was surprised when Roni stiffened; he might not have noticed if he hadn’t been touching her. When Trick came to Marcus’s other side, she went totally rigid. There was the smallest flash of her wolf’s eyes, revealing the animal’s agitation. Well, now, that was interesting.
It hadn’t occurred to him that either Roni or her wolf might feel uncomfortable or jealous around Trick, despite that Marcus would have felt the same if the situation had been reversed. Maybe other guys might like that their female was jealous, but Marcus had never cared for jealousy. He didn’t want Roni or her wolf feeling uncomfortable or insecure.
“Roni’s playing pranks on Eli again,” Marcus told Trick, sliding his hand up to rest firmly in the crook of her neck so he could soothingly draw circles on her nape with his thumb. It was an attentive, possessive move that he knew would relax her wolf and hopefully appease Roni. She would get the message that she was his choice.
Tao gently nudged Roni. “Why is your mom glaring at you?”
Following Tao’s gaze, she found her mother stood at the other side of the room, glowering. “As far as she’s concerned, I’m living in sin. She thinks all females should wait for their mate.” Roni jerked when Marcus tightened his hold on her neck. “Did she continue making her ‘Roni’s weak’ case to you while I was gone?”
“No, she didn’t. She hasn’t said a single word to me since I spoke up for you earlier. She did grunt at me when I said good-bye, though.”
Eli grinned. “Mom’s not used to people questioning her. She wouldn’t have expected it. Nick definitely hadn’t. Speaking of Nick, have you seen the look on his face?”
Roni almost laughed at his sulky expression. Nick was no more a fan of parties than she was, purely because people in general tended to annoy him. He even found being around his own pack a trial at times. Shaya was the only person whose company he sought out and truly enjoyed.
“He probably wouldn’t have come if Shaya wasn’t pregnant; he hates being away from her,” continued Eli. “By the looks of it, he’s trying to get her to abandon her cake and leave.”
“Ah, that would explain why she’s just whacked his nose with her spoon,” said Jaime.
Marcus arched a brow. “There’s still cake?”
“Last time I looked,” said Dante, “there was one slice left.”
Marcus knew exactly who loved cake as much as he did. He met Roni’s challenging look. “Not on your life, gorgeous.” He rushed out of the room and into the tunnels, but she dived on his back, did some fancy-ass move, and took him down. Bitch. She sprung over him, intending to make a run for it, but he grabbed her ankle. The sneaky little minx easily managed to get free of his grip, but by that point he was on his feet. Before she could move, he clamped his arms around her, wrestled her to the ground, and pinned her beneath him on her stomach. Another fancy-ass move later from Roni, and he was on his back and she was straddling him.