“I’m guessing that’s not code for having a make out session in the potions’ room and then pillow talk afterwards?”

She grinned at him. “No, my love, it’s not and why do you insist on calling it a potions’ room?”

“Sounds better than gypsy healer lab. But we could call it the luuuve potion room.” He winked at her.

Sally laughed. “Is that all you think about,” she asked as she tugged him after her.

“Yes,” he answered immediately and then amended. “Well, that and food.”

Chapter 3

“Secrets suck. The only good thing about a secret is that when Decebel is keeping one, and he knows that I know he’s keeping one, I have leverage. Leverage is good, especially when you’re mated to a bossy, domineering, possessive, though undeniably sexy, werewolf. Yes, leverage is very important when mated to one of these fur balls.” ~Jen

“I want you to build a doghouse,” Jen said as she lay sprawled across her mate’s bare chest.

“We don’t have a dog,” Decebel pointed out.

“But Thia will need a dog at some point. It would be good for a puppy to grow up with her, and then she’d have a buddy and protector.”

“I will protect her.”

Jen huffed. “What about when you’re out doing Alpha stuff? Who’s going to protect her then?”

“I’ll assign her a guard.”

“And what happens when, as she grows up, this guard and she fall in love because they spent so much time together?” Jen bit her lip to keep from laughing as she felt Decebel’s irritation grow. He always got growly anytime Jen brought up Thia and boys.

“Fine, I’ll build the doghouse.”

“Tomorrow.”

He growled at her. “Why tomorrow? We don’t have the dog yet.”

“It’s good to be prepared,” she pointed out. Decebel began to mutter under his breath in Romanian. Jen couldn’t help it that she found it incredibly sexy when he spoke his native tongue. She trailed a finger up his stomach and across his chest. “Are you grumbling at me in Romanian? You know what that does to me.”

He grabbed her hand to keep if from wandering further. “You’re purposely aggravating me.”

She shrugged, not denying it. “You’re keeping a secret. You know I don’t like it when you keep things from me. Therefore, you have to build a doghouse for a dog we don’t have.”

“Jennifer,” he growled. “You accused me of thinking about other women. As if I would need to think about other women when I have you in my bed.”

“Flattery will only get you one place, but that’s not happening until you explain to me what it is that you are keeping from me.”

Decebel growled.

“NO.” She sat up folding her arms across her chest. “You don’t get to growl at me. You blocked me from your mind tonight and then when I asked you why, you gave me some bull crap about Vasile ordering you not to tell. You’re a freaking Alpha of your own pack. You don’t take orders from Vasile.”

“Everyone takes orders from Vasile,” he pointed out calmly. “I am powerful. I might even give Vasile a run for his money, but I would never challenge him. I respect him. He asked us not to discuss what was said in the meeting tonight and I will honor that.”

“Then you can build two doghouses. I’ve decided Thia’s dog should have a friend for when Thia can’t play.”

Decebel groaned and threw his head back against the pillow. “You’re pushing me, female.”

“Then I suggest you don’t stand on the edge of a cliff because, right now, I’d gladly push you off!” Jen’s eyes were glowing and her wolf was itching for a fight. She didn’t like it when their mate kept things from them. They were supposed to be a team.

He moved before she knew what he was doing and had her pinned to the bed. “Maybe I just need to tire you out so you can’t be angry and you can’t order me around.” He trailed his nose up her collar bone and neck until his lips were pressed against his bite mark on her neck. He nipped her flesh and she shuttered.

“I’m not interested.” She turned her face away from him and bit the inside of her cheek to keep from groaning when she felt his hand trail up the outside of her thigh until it rested on her hip.

“Your words may say so, but your body is telling me something different, Jennifer.” His words were practically a purr. “Do you want to know what your body is telling me?”

“I want you to shut up and go build me those doghouses.”

He chuckled. “Ugh, even that was hot.”

“I think you want to know. I think you want to know that when I touch you here.” —he ran his hand across her stomach— “your skin erupts in little bumps. When I kiss you here” —Decebel pressed his lips to the hollow of her throat— “your breath catches. When I press you firmer into our bed, like this” —he lowered his larger frame over hers, pressing her into the mattress beneath them— “your heartbeat increases and your skin flushes a beautiful shade of red.”

Jen threw up a wall in her mind, not wanting him to see what he was really doing to her. Yes, her body was responding in all of those ways, and more, because Decebel got to her on a level that was beyond physical. He was able to reach inside of her and touch a part of her no one else could. Okay, so that nearly made her laugh out loud because, wow, that sounded bad.

“What are you hiding from me, baby?” he asked her as he continued his assault on her senses. His hands continued to roam and his lips found every tender piece of flesh available. “Are you trying to keep me from feeling what I make you feel?”

The smugness in his voice almost gave her the strength to push him away. Almost, but not quite, and as she always said, almost only counted with hand grenades and bad hair days. Okay, so maybe she didn’t really say that, but she’d probably read it somewhere and totally agreed with it. Her breath suddenly rushed out of her body as her mind was brought back to the present. Decebel had her full attention, but it would be completely unlady-like to say why.

“I’m not finished,” he growled.

Well neither am I, she thought to herself with a laugh that she didn’t let out. He must have picked up on the fact that her mind had been wandering. Dec just didn’t understand how she could possibly think of anything except him when they were being intimate. Jen just told him it was a chick thing. His response was usually something along the lines of, chick things are unimportant when my hands are on your body. That usually made her hush and pay attention.