Page 64 of Vampire Pack

I looked at him. "Why is that funny?"

"I told the managers that if they let you leave, they'd have to trade me and my pack, too. Hollis and Jude came by to support the statement. They agreed not to let you leave."

I stared at him.

He stared back. His lips were curved, slightly.

"How long have you been determined to be my mate, King?"

"I told you—I knew you'd be mine the day we met. I can play the long game."

I stared a little longer, waiting for him to tell me that he was joking.

"You stopped me from sealing the mate bond at least a dozen times," I finally said.

"I wanted you to want it too. I planned to woo you."

"You are horrible at wooing."

"I know. It worked out for me in the end, though." He grabbed my hand, dragging it to his lips and kissing my fingertips.

"This doesn't feel like the end."

"It's the end of you hating me, I hope. And the end of me wondering how long it's going to take for you to come around."

I made a face. "For the record, I still don't think I've come around."

"I'll make a note."

I had to fight a smile.

If I hadn't come around yet, I was definitely getting there.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

king

Carmen didn't start feeling warm until almost a week after we bonded.

Merging our lives had gone fairly well, all things considered. Things had been a little bumpy on a few occasions, particularly during the game we'd played together, but overall, we knew how to be team players.

And no one had attacked her on the ice, which was a fucking significant improvement.

I could tell that she was hot during our morning skate. She wore less gear than usual, and hadn't put a compression shirt on over her sports bra. My possessiveness had settled back to its normal baseline, so I didn't want to tear out the throats of anyone who saw her shirtless.

I still blocked her from the view of as many of our teammates as possible with my body.

Jude caught my eye partway through the skate and looked pointedly at Carmen, fanning himself with his hand.

I nodded.

If he'd been anyone else, I would've been irritated by the intervention, but Jude was just looking out for us.

I didn't bring it up to her on the ice.

She would've been pissed if I had.

By the time we left the stadium, her stomach was growling loudly. We had just gotten a batch of prepped meals from our performance chef, but I knew healthy food wasn’t what she’d be craving.