Chapter 10
ten
ETHAN
Sealing our mate bond was a fucking dream.
My wolf bit Maya’s ankle pretty much as soon as he finished shifting. Her shift wasn’t too bad—only a few minutes—and her wolf tackled mine as soon as she was in control. They wrestled around the living room until she bit him.
It didn’t end the chase. She would have to bite me for that.
But he howled in victory anyway.
Maya’s wolf used his momentary distraction to charge through the doggy door and take off into the forest. Mine’s tail wagged in excitement while he prowled out to the porch, pacing while he gave her time to get ahead.
When he finally caught her, they played in the forest all night long. The sun was rising as they wandered back to our place, deliriously happy.
I shifted back on our porch, and Maya’s wolf wasted no time before sinking her teeth into my calf.
The relief that crashed into me was immediate, and immense.
Like a weight off my shoulders—or a wolf off my back.
Maya’s shift was a little faster this time, and she was in my arms as soon as she was done changing.
Our lips were locked when the climax’s heat slowly set in, our hands on each other’s bodies as we stumbled into the house.
“You’re mine,” I growled playfully into her ear.
She laughed breathlessly. “Shut up.”
“Mine.” I nipped her throat, dragging a hand over her breast.
“Fine, I’m yours. Just fuck me already, Cupcake.”
My fingers were on her clit as I pinned her to the nearest wall, and did exactly what she wanted.
…Fucked her, if that wasn’t obvious.
A few days later, the climax was over, and we drove back to the university. Maya’s hair was back up in its usual two buns on top of her head, and the loose sweater she had on revealed her whole shoulder.
She laughed and pushed my face away every time I leaned over and licked it, so I kept doing it.
God, I loved her laugh.
“This is insane.” She shook her head. “I shouldn’t do it.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s insane,” she repeated.
“What part of it is insane?”
“All of it!”
We pulled up to a stoplight, so I leaned over and dragged my tongue on the sexy, smooth skin she’d left on display for me.
Or for herself.
A disagreement was had over who it was for. I didn’t particularly care who was right—I just liked teasing her.
She snorted, pushing me away again. “You have got to stop that.”
“I can’t. You’re too delicious, Muffin.”
“The light’s green.”
I sighed, sitting up straight again.
“I shouldn’t do it,” she repeated.
“You still haven’t given me a good reason for that.”
“For one, I need the money.”
“We’ve been over that. I called and paid off your loans while you were asleep the other day—which you’re still pretending to be pissed about, as expected—and you’re moving in with me, so you actually don’t need the money.
I added you to my bank accounts, too, even though you continue refusing to log in.
And I distinctly remember transferring a large chunk of cash into your account, further making you yell at me. ”
“Because I’m not a fucking gold digger, and I didn’t mate with you for your money.” She flashed another scowl in my direction.
“What if I want to be your sugar daddy? You do call me Cupcake.”
“I am seriously regretting the mate bond right now.”
“No, you’re not.”
We stopped at another red light. I leaned over and licked her again, earning another one of those laughs I loved. Another playful shove, too.
“Fine, I’m not. I really don’t think I can go through with this, though. Quitting a job when you don’t have another job lined up is the definition of insanity.”
“I’m pretty sure being insane is the definition of insanity.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I do, but it’s not insane. You have a handful of interviews lined up in Moon Ridge already.
Everyone you talk to will understand why you haven’t been in a restaurant for so long.
I have connections with one of the owners, so if you want it, that job is pretty much a guarantee.
Zed’s not going to turn me down if I call him and ask him to hire you. ”
“I don’t want to land a job because you phoned a friend. If you call him to make that happen, I’ll turn him down.”
“That’s just petty.”
“I don’t care. Do not call him. I’m not kidding.”
“Alright, fine. I won’t, as long as you agree to stick with the plan you made. Your plan. Which I was not allowed to be involved in making.”
“It needed to be my decision.”
When I looked over, there was steel in her eyes.
Fuck, I loved seeing them all the time. I hadn’t realized just how much I hated sunglasses until after we sealed the bond.
“It was. Don’t chicken out now.”
“Fine. I’m sticking with it. Even though it’s insane.”
“That’s the spirit.” I parked in the university’s employee lot, at her instructions.
She threw her bag over her shoulder while I carried in the plastic storage tub we’d brought to collect her things.
She was confident her department head was going to be pissed about her quitting so close to the end of the semester, but she’d filed enough complaints against Dr. Ben that she didn’t think they would dare try to force her to stay.
As far as I was concerned, any business that sided with a guy who was harassing a woman could go fuck themselves. Maybe scrambling to find another professor to fill Maya’s place would somehow help them avoid this situation in the future.
And fire Dr. Ben.
I had already paid an investigator to find enough dirt to get the fucker removed from education completely, but I wasn’t going to tell Maya that until after it was done.
I didn’t think she’d be angry, but I didn’t want to get her hopes up in case it didn’t pan out. And honestly, I wanted her to be able to move on.
Unlike Dr. Ben.
I had also set up an automatic service to message his phone and every email address he had, multiple times a day. The subjects ranged from I KNOW WHAT YOU DID to ONLY MEN WITH SMALL DICKS TOUCH A WOMAN WHO DOESN’T WANT THEM to YOU ARE A USELESS PIECE OF SHIT.
The company I paid had assured me they were the best at spam, and could get around any number of blocks, reports, and complaints.
He had harassed my mate for ten fucking years—you’d better believe he was going to experience harassment for at least ten himself.
Maya had made him a cake laced with laxatives, on top of that. She’d put it in a box from the store and made it look identical to the one that had come in it, so he would think it was safe.
I supported her revenge. Mine was better, but I’d never turn down a literal shitfest.
We packed her things, gave the cake directly to him along with a card that said World’s Greatest Coworker on the front, and spent twenty minutes explaining her resignation.
The woman who had to fill out the paperwork was indeed pissed.
When I playfully pointed out that it could be worse, and Maya could be suing them for harassment instead of quitting because of it, she quieted down about it. Still looked angry, though.
Society’s current take on sexual harassment was fucked. Some people were just assholes who really needed to die.
Getting Dr. Ben fired and driving him to insanity with spam messages was going to have to be enough for me, because I wasn’t going to risk leaving Maya alone while I went to prison.
I swung our arms back and forth while we walked to my truck. Maya was grinning, despite the flush in her cheeks from explaining her decision to the paperwork lady.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she said. “I’ve literally dreamed about quitting this job so many times.”
“Believe it, Muffin. You’re free.”
Her grin widened, and she stepped closer to me so our arms bumped. The touch no longer gave me relief like it had before. I just got to enjoy it, now, which was so much better.
“So are you.”
“Thanks to you.” I lifted our intertwined hands and kissed the back of hers, making her laugh.
“I’m glad you kept texting me when I blocked you.”
“I’m glad you wanted a fancy dutch oven badly enough to let me come over that night.”
“Honestly, I wanted company just as much,” she admitted.
“Well, you’re never going to be rid of me now. Embrace your lack of loneliness.”
She threw her arms around me, hugging me tightly. I hugged her back—and licked her shoulder again, just for the hell of it.
The way she laughed in response made me feel like the luckiest fucker alive.