Chapter Three-Conrad
I slouched back in my chair at the Sheriff’s office, spinning a pen between my fingers while staring at the stack of paperwork I had zero intention of finishing today.
My brain wasn’t here—not even close.
It was about five blocks away, in a warm, sugary-smelling little bakery where the woman I wanted more than my next breath was probably up to her elbows in flour, frosting, and finding new and creative ways to avoid me.
Bella.
My Bella.
The only woman on Earth who could make a Python Shifter like me feel like an awkward teenager again.
She wasn’t just beautiful—though, Goddess help me, she was stunning—she was mine.
My fated mate.
My other half.
My home.
Only she wouldn’t admit it.
Her laugh haunted me.
Her scent—sweet sugar, vanilla extract, and rainbow sprinkles, plus a little something that reminded me of the moment before a summer storm—wrapped around my senses until my Snake wanted to coil up and never let her go.
The way her curves fit against me when I’d had the chance to hold her was burned into my memory like a brand.
And yet nothing.
Or rather, nothing more.
“For the Goddess’ sake, Conrad, why don’t you stop moaning and groaning and slither your ass down to The Tasty Tart and just mark that woman already?” Jaxson snapped, slamming his fingers against his keyboard.
“I tried! I mean, we already slept together,” I moaned, dropping my head onto the desk like I was trying to fuse my skull with the wood. “She knows we fit. Hell, we’re perfect together! I just can’t figure out why she won’t accept my claim.”
Jaxson, lounging in the chair across from me like the smug mated Wolf that he was, smirked as he grabbed his mug of hot java. His gray eyes peered at me over the rim of his #1 Sheriff mug.
“Maybe she refused you because you’re coming on like a battering ram instead of the perfect mate?”
Ryan, in the corner eating what had to be the biggest damn triple berry croissant in the entire state, let out a low chuckle.
“Yeah, you Python guys have this whole coil-’em-and-keep-’em instinct thing going, right? Maybe that’s not exactly her style.”
I sat up, glaring at both of them.
“You think I don’t know that? I’ve been trying to go at her pace, but my inner beast is,” I blew out a breath, shaking my head. “Let’s just say, if it were up to him, Bella would already be claimed, marked, barefoot in my kitchen, and we’d be arguing about baby names.”
Jaxson’s grin widened.
“Sounds romantic. Try that. She’ll love it.”
“Shut up, Wolf,” I grumbled, though one corner of my mouth twitched.
The truth was, I had been pacing myself.
Sort of.
For a guy like me, waiting a whole week after sleeping together was practically saint-level restraint.
But Bella? She was a wall—gorgeous, soft, kiss-me-until-I-forget-my-own-name wall—and she wasn’t budging.
The thing was, I didn’t just want her in my bed.
I wanted her in my life.
Waking up next to her.
Arguing about who left the coffeepot empty.
Dancing in the kitchen at midnight just because I could hold her close.
She was the one, the only one, and my snake knew it.
Now, I might not think much of Wolves and Bears, being a superior sort of Shifter myself, but let’s face it—those guys got their mates to accept them.
So they had to be doing something right.
My beast shifted restlessly in the back of my mind, muscles coiling, ready to fight, to prove strength, to win her. But that wasn’t going to work with Bella.
She wasn’t prey.
She was the prize.
I shoved down all my hissing and growling and did what no self-respecting Python should ever have to do.
I begged.
“Please, guys. Help me out.”
They smirked like I’d just handed them the winning lottery ticket.
Ryan set his gun down and leaned forward, elbows on his knees.
“First thing—stop chasing her like you’re hunting dinner. Let her come to you.”
“Exactly,” Jaxson agreed. “And when she does, don’t smother her. Give her space, but make sure she knows you’re not going anywhere.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“That’s it? That’s your big advice? Play dead and hope she trips over me?”
Jaxson shrugged.
“Worked for me.”
Ryan grinned.
“Me too.”
I groaned, leaning back in my chair.
“You two are impossible.”
But the truth was, they’d answered.
As only real blood brothers could.
And maybe, possibly—because really, I wasn’t getting anywhere on my own and I only had everything to lose—but just maybe, they were right.
Goddess, please be right.