Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 44411 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 222(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44411 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 222(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
Elias lifted her chin so he could meet her gaze again. “I know it’s tempting, but I think we should eat before we go down that path. We’ll need nourishment.”
Her face flushed at having been caught and called out for her obvious thoughts. “Okay. Will you let me eat whatever I want?”
“Yes, but surely we can agree on something for dinner and eat it together, yeah?”
“Probably, unless you like yucky foods.” Her reaction surprised her. Why was she challenging him like that?
He chuckled. “By definition, I only like yummy foods, Little one. Do you like yucky foods?”
She shook her head. This banter was fun. Would it last, or was it a phase of their bonding?
“Do you like spaghetti?”
Her stomach growled. She realized she was starving, and he was right, they should eat. If they started acting on their instincts, they would end up skipping eating altogether. “Yes. Do you put mushrooms in yours?”
He cocked his head to one side and looked at her. “Noooo… Should I?”
She scrunched up her face. “No. They’re gross.”
He laughed so hard her body shook on his lap. It felt good. It felt real. For the first time since she’d arrived, she felt like things might work out. She might be happy here. It was still a barbaric practice, but she was growing to understand that it wasn’t a tradition they could challenge. It was innate. Even if no one told them how to behave and what to expect, she was beginning to understand that they would follow every bit of this prescribed path the same because they wouldn’t be able to stop it.
None of this was Elias’s fault or his doing. He didn’t come down into the valley like a caveman and drag her up to his lair because he had a lack of respect for her as an individual. He did so because he couldn’t not. This claiming was inevitable and unavoidable.
It felt…right, and Leah decided to lose the attitude and enjoy getting to know her mate instead of arguing with him defensively at every turn. The end result would be the same—they would be a bonded couple unable to keep their hands to themselves for Heaven only knew how long. She was afraid to ask how long this frenzy would last.
Elias kept her in his arms as he rose to his feet, and he carried her cradled against him into the house.
She wondered if he would let her help cook after he’d said he would be doing all the cooking. That baffled her. In her home, her mother did most of the cooking. It was hard to picture Elias working hard in the kitchen while she…did what?
Her breath hitched when he headed directly for a piece of furniture she had not yet noticed. It was undeniably a highchair—the kind babies used but big enough for her.
Elias gently sat her in the seat and pulled a strap around her waist.
She held her breath, trying not to react to his dominance. When he cinched the strap tighter, she gasped. Something inside her tingled. Everything inside her tingled. Why?
He slid a tray on and snapped it into place before lifting her chin. He was smiling. “You liked the restraint.”
Her cheeks heated. Darn his super senses.
He leaned forward and nuzzled her nose with his, moaning. Or growling. It was a combination. It made her think he was struggling to restrain himself with her.
Good. She was struggling, too. Except now she was secured to a chair. A highchair.
He leaned back a few inches. “If you weren’t wearing that long dress, I would bring another strap up between your legs. In the future, I will do so. When I secure you to this highchair or any other piece of furniture, I expect you to leave the buckles alone. Understood?”
“Yes, Sir,” she whispered, goosebumps rising on her skin. “But why do I need to be buckled in? I’m not going to fall.”
He grinned again. “I will restrain you for your safety sometimes, Little one. Other times, like now, I will do so because it heightens your submission. As soon as the fastener snapped into place, your heart rate picked up. I know you’re fighting against the norms because they’re foreign to you, Little firecracker, but the sooner you let yourself follow your gut, the sooner you will be able to fully enjoy the rewards that come from being mated to an Alpha Protector.”
“The rewards?” she whispered. She immediately wished she hadn’t posed that as a question because she didn’t think she was prepared to hear the answer.
“Yes, Baby girl. It turns me on when you submit to me. It makes me want to strip this dress off you and show you what rewards I’m referring to.” He stared into her eyes, holding her gaze for long seconds.
Her mouth fell open, but she couldn’t find words.