Marcus took her hand and pulled lightly. Her body fit perfectly against his. It also made him hard as a rock. Needing that mouth more than he needed to breathe, he stole a brief kiss. “Have you had breakfast yet?”

Before she could answer his question, her mother was there. “Marcus, it’s always a pleasure to see you. Sit, eat.” Kathy ushered him into the chair beside Bracken, laid a plate of food in front of him, and handed him a mug of coffee.

Retaking her seat at the other side of the table, Roni snorted. “You get better treatment than any of us do.” Kathy fussed over him as he ate, continually topping off his plate and beaming each time Marcus complimented her cooking.

Caleb leaned into Roni and spoke quietly. “Wow, he’s good. Your mom’s not easy to win over. Just explain one thing to me, though. If she likes him so much, why didn’t she look happy when Marcus kissed you? And why has she sat him so far away from you?”

Full, Roni sank into her chair. “She thinks females should save themselves for their mate.”

“Got ya. My aunt’s the same. She still thinks my uncle was a virgin when they met.”

“What makes you think he wasn’t?”

“Well, he once—” Caleb was suddenly plucked from his seat by the back of his T-shirt. Then Marcus sat beside her, wearing a very wolfish smile. She just shook her head.

“I hope you’ll look out for my Roni,” Kathy told Marcus, briefly running her hand over Roni’s hair. But it wasn’t an affectionate move—it was patronizing, like Roni was “delicate.”

“I will, although I’m pretty sure she can take care of any threat herself.” Marcus liked Kathy Axton, but he didn’t like the way she treated Roni. And he really didn’t like the way Roni’s face fell each time her mother said or did something that insinuated she was weak.

“Yes, but I need to know my baby girl’s safe.”

Roni almost growled. The term “baby girl” was said with dismissiveness, as if she were a vulnerable, helpless little girl.

“There are a whole lot of dangers out there. Roni doesn’t take them seriously.”

Roni released a tired, frustrated sigh. “If you’re talking about the stranger who tried to drag me into his car when I was eight, let it go already. I got away, didn’t I?”

“Not before stealing the candy he was trying to lure you with!”

“He had my favorite lollipops!”

“For someone so intelligent, you can be very careless with your safety at times.” Kathy shook her head. “Is it any wonder that I worry about you? When you have children of your own, you’ll understand.”

“But that’s just it, Mom, I’m not a child.”

“Says the person who had her brother in a headlock not so long ago,” muttered Janice.

Roni snarled at her. “Oh, yeah, bring up old crap.”

Kathy clucked. “It’s this immaturity that worries me. Going on a hunt is dangerous. I hate to think of you in such a situation. I tried talking some sense into her, Marcus. I tried convincing her to let Eli go in her place, but she wouldn’t listen. She never does. I need to know she has someone watching out for her, making sure she doesn’t put herself in harm’s way.”

Enough was enough. Roni slammed her mug on the table. “I think you’ve delighted us long enough with this whole ‘trying to insinuate to Marcus that I’m weak and not worth the effort’ thing, don’t you?”

Kathy rolled her eyes. “Pay no attention, Marcus. Tantrums are a regular thing with my Roni. She can be very petulant at times.”

Okay, that got Marcus’s back up. Roni was anything but petulant. Painfully awkward at times, yes. Totally without social skills, yes. Vengeful and vicious, yes. But not childish. And if Roni was right and this was Kathy’s way of trying to put him off Roni, he needed to make it clear that it wouldn’t work.

Marcus pursed his lips. “Petulant?” He shook his head. “I can’t say that’s a word I’d associate with Roni. She’s an extremely capable person. Excellent in a crisis. Takes her responsibilities very seriously. And she stays calm when faced with a dangerous situation. If it wasn’t for her, Kye would have been kidnapped.”

Those words got him looks of approval from Eli, Shaya, and Derren. Nick was staring at him with a weird expression on his face, but at least he wasn’t scowling.

“I’m ready to leave.” Roni wished Marcus would stop defending her. Each time he did it, she liked him that little bit more. That wasn’t good. He wouldn’t be around for the long haul—he wasn’t for her, he belonged to someone else, and no amount of jealous growling from her wolf would make a difference.

It was as they both went to stand that Nick suddenly spoke. “Hold up. There’s no need to leave so soon, is there?” It wasn’t really a question. Nor was it a friendly invitation to stay. In fact, there was a sly tint to her brother’s tone that made her wolf’s hackles rise. “Stick around for a while.”

She tensed. “Nick, what are you doing?”

He folded his arms across his chest. “Well, it seems to me like you two are dating. Am I right, Marcus?”

Marcus narrowed his eyes at the Alpha. It was obvious that Nick had emphasized the word “dating” to communicate that he didn’t want his sister being just someone’s bed buddy. Nick was trying to force him to publically state his intentions toward his sister right there and then, to either up his game or walk out the door. He clearly thought Marcus would do the latter. It would be the sensible option. To stay when such a dare had been thrown at him would be to take a step toward a relationship that was anything but casual.

Instead of recoiling at the idea, Marcus found himself considering it. In the past, he’d kept things short and simple because females had wanted feelings from him he wasn’t sure he was capable of, feelings he wasn’t sure he’d even recognize if he did feel them. Roni didn’t lay demands on him, didn’t expect anything of him, and didn’t make him feel trapped. She made him feel . . . comfortable. Relaxed. Accepted. He didn’t want to give that up, and he knew perfectly well that nothing about what he had with Roni was simple anyway.

“Yes, you are right.” Marcus covered Roni’s mouth with his hand before she had the chance to object.