Page 66 of Wedding the Werepanther

“Yeah, ‘win’ might be the key word there,” I mutter and bite into my cupcake.

“Don’t tease us like that!” Violeta digs an elbow into my ribs. “Spill!”

“I could really fall for him,” I blurt, then take a sip to hide my blush behind my cup. “He enjoyed my wacky gaming wedding. He’s learning to play video games. He’s…” I shake my head.

“He’s what?” Violeta’s tone softens.

“He’s kinda too good to be true. So what happens after he wins me? What if he gets bored when there’s no longer any chase?” I ask. “Then there’s the marriage contract. If we do end up together, I want it to be because we both freely chose it, not because Victoria made us.”

“Wait out the rest of the month without consummating and take it from there,” Jasmine says.

“You make it sound so easy.” I throw a cocoa puff at her. “It’s totally not.”

“Because he’s gorgeous and gives you mind-blowing orgasms using only his mouth and hands?” Violeta smirks.

“Yeah.” Why lie?

Autumn says, “Then keep doing what you did the other night.”

I’m too embarrassed to admit all the stuff about never coming with a guy before, but I try to give them something. “The other night was amazing, but I know the next time we’re together, I’m going to want more of him.” It’s like he woke up my body, and now I can’t get enough. Just the thought makes my girl parts tingle.

“You already found one way around Victoria’s requirements for consummation,” Skye says, giving me a saucy grin. “So find others.”

My mind goes into overdrive at her words. She’s right. I’m an expert gamer. If there’s another loophole, I’ll find it.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Shadow

Kayla’s wedding ceremony yesterday proved amazingly fun. I learned how to grill burgers, which seems to be a human-male rite of passage. I danced for the first time and discovered I am, of course, a most excellent dancer. And I got to spend an entire evening with a Kayla who glowed with happiness, which was priceless.

It also made me realize I don’t have anything planned for my wedding ceremony, which is now less than a week away. It will be one of the most vital moves I can make in the game of courtship, so I need to match her level of play, if not surpass it.

As soon as she heads off for her weekly Witch Bitch meeting, I run the shadow roads into Ferndale Falls, coming out directly inside The Thirsty Tusk.

Thorvinn grunts and thunks a tankard of ale onto the bar in front of me.

Jace turns on his stool, his wings lifting a couple of inches in surprise when he sees my hands are empty. “No pizza? Blue won’t be happy.”

“I’ll get one in a minute.” I slide onto the stool beside him. “First, I need help. Big help.”

“You’re going to need to be more specific,” the dragon says dryly.

The orc growls, “Agreed.”

I down half my drink in one go, letting out a sigh. Goddess, I needed that. Then I turn to the others. It goes against everything in my nature to admit any kind of weakness, yet here goes. “This coming weekend, it’s my turn to throw a wedding.”

“Do you want us to help decorate?” Jace asks. “I gather from multiple conversations yesterday evening that the party was something of a group effort.”

“No. Well, maybe. I don’t know.” I throw out a hand. “And that’s the problem: I don’tknow.”

Jace pulls out his new phone and taps at the screen.

“Hello. Am I boring you?” I wave a hand in front of his face. “I’m having a moment over here.”

“Indeed, you are.” He lifts a dark-blue eyebrow. “However, you’re being so vague I cannot fathom how to assist you.”

“Well, when you put it like that.”