Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 120031 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 600(@200wpm)___ 480(@250wpm)___ 400(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 120031 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 600(@200wpm)___ 480(@250wpm)___ 400(@300wpm)
He frowned. “What time is it?”
“Six-thirty,” she said, digging a sports bra, tank top, and shorts out of her drawers.
“Why in the world would you get up this early?”
“I’m going for a run.”
Watching his mate dress, Eli felt his frown deepen. For one thing, he preferred her naked. For another, he preferred her in bed. “A run? You do this often?”
“Every morning apart from Sundays, yeah.”
He groaned. “Just when I was beginning to think you were perfect …”
She snickered. “Go back to sleep.”
Instead, he flicked back the covers. “I’ll come with you.”
“The running track is inside the gates of my territory, I’ll be quite safe.”
Probably, but Eli wanted to be at her side whenever he could. Not just for her protection, but because he liked being with her. Liked being able to touch and smell and hold her whenever he wanted.
Standing, he curled an arm around her waist, hauled her close, and kissed her hard. “I’m coming with you.”
“So, you have spare clothes with you? Because I kind of ruined your tee last night. I don’t think you want to go running in jeans anyway.”
Well, he kept a spare set of clothes in the trunk of the SUV. But they’d get sweaty if he wore them while jogging, and then he’d have nothing to wear after his shower. “I’ll go running in my wolf form.”
“That won’t get people’s attention at all.”
“You’ll need to tell the pack you’re mated now anyway. It’s not like you ever intended to keep me a secret.” He palmed her ass. “You look hot in these shorts. All I want to do is peel them off you.”
“Maybe later. Now if you’re really set on coming with me, you’d better get ready, because I don’t dawdle.”
He kissed her and then, with a mock sigh of annoyance, disappeared into the bathroom. Once he’d done his business, he headed to where she was sat on the sofa, slipping on her trainers. “Be warned that my wolf won’t like other males being close to you, especially since the mating bond hasn’t yet fully snapped into place.”
“I know, I know. But you don’t need to worry—a running track isn’t a place where guys try to pick me up.”
He grunted. “Good.”
He shifted so wickedly fast that Casey felt her brows shoot up. “Impressive.” She petted the huge, powerfully-built, gray-white wolf. He licked at her jaw and rubbed against her, scent-marking her. “Well, aren’t you an imposing sight. Seriously, does Eli give you steroids or something?” The wolf gave a playful bark. Nodding, she stood and said, “I agree: Time to go.”
The track circled the housing estate within the gates, never crossing over into the surrounding woods or land. Her teammates often jogged whenever the annual competition came around, but not as often or as far as Casey. She’d always pushed herself and her body hard—she didn’t know any other way.
She’d been working her ass off, intent on securing her place as a starter, which meant she’d be one of the players who were on the field from the very beginning of each soccer game. And she’d be thoroughly pissed off if all that hard graft came to nothing.
The wolf kept pace with her the entire time she ran. Didn’t once leave her side—not even to sniff at a bush or pee on a tree. Since it was so early in the morning, she didn’t happen across a lot of people. Those she did see … yeah, they did a whole lot of staring. She greeted them oh so casually, as if it were totally the norm to have a wolf shifter at her side. A few people tried calling her over, but she just kept moving. There didn’t seem any sense in introducing them to her mate when he was wearing his animal’s skin—the wolf wouldn’t exactly be able to talk to them.
Back at her apartment, Eli shifted back into his human form and followed her into the shower. After soaping her down and washing her hair, he took her from behind while she kept her hands plastered to the tiled wall. He also delivered one hell of a bite to the back of her shoulder. Her mink had never liked guys being so territorial with her, but the animal rather liked how roughly possessive Eli could be.
Clean and dressed, they went to the kitchen. He froze, looking adorably confused. “Where’s the coffee machine?”
Leaning against the counter, she said, “I don’t drink coffee.”
He looked at her like she’d told him she was a secret member of the Manson family. “You … you don’t drink coffee? When? When don’t you drink it?”
“Oh, like, ever.”
He just stared at her. “You’re joking.”
“Nope.” But she was rather enjoying his reaction.
“How can you get up at six-thirty most mornings and still function without drinking coffee?”
She gestured at the bottle she’d just taken out of the fridge. “I prefer smoothies. Sometimes fruit juices. They provide a lot more energy than caffeine.”