Looking up at him, she chuckled. “Yep.”

With his hand spanning her throat, he kissed her. Slow and deep. Drinking her in, making her rub up against him like a cat. He ended the kiss with a sharp bite to her lower lip. “Sleep.”

She fisted the cock that was now hard and ready. “But you want me again.”

“I always want you.”

“Prove it.”

If she insisted. He rolled her onto her back, hiked up one leg, and plunged deep inside her.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Having finished his midday perimeter check, Ryan was about to return inside the caves when he found himself suddenly surrounded by Taryn, Jaime, Shaya, Roni, Grace, Lydia, and Hope—all of whom looked sober and determined. Marcus stood behind them, pinching the bridge of his nose. Now what?

Taryn took a step toward Ryan. “We should talk.”

Talk?

“Don’t worry.” Jaime gestured to herself and the other females. “We will do the talking. You just need to listen.”

Sighing, Taryn placed a hand on his arm. “You know me, Ryan, I don’t like to interfere in other people’s business”—he almost snorted at that—“but I’m making an exception here.”

“We wouldn’t poke our noses in if it wasn’t necessary,” claimed Lydia. Again, Ryan almost snorted. The females in front of him were all nosy and meddlesome. Well, except for one. He arched a questioning brow at Marcus’s mate.

Roni raised her hands. “I didn’t really want to get involved. But I like you. And the girls are right. You’re missing the truth.”

“By a mile,” added Hope.

Shaya nodded. “You’ve left us no choice but to step in.”

“To be honest, Ryan, I’m surprised that we have to,” said Grace. “You’re a smart male, you listen to your wolf, and you have extremely sharp instincts. You shouldn’t need us to point out what’s so damn obvious.”

Having not even the faintest fucking clue what they were talking about, Ryan looked at Marcus.

The male enforcer sighed. “They think Makenna’s your mate.”

Oh. “So do I,” Ryan said simply before heading for the cliff steps.

Taryn hurried after him. “Wait, you do?”

He grunted.

“Why haven’t you told Makenna?”

“I have.”

“And?”

He halted, turning back to the females. He wasn’t going to be able to escape this conversation. It would be best to get it over with. “She’s not convinced.”

Jaime cocked her head. “But you are, aren’t you?”

“I know she’s my mate. I don’t need the pull of the mating bond to tell me that.” His wolf growled his agreement.

Frowning thoughtfully, Grace tapped her fingers on her cheek. “Something’s obviously blocking the bond. Do you know what it could be?”

“She fears mating,” replied Ryan. “She hasn’t explained why.”

“It’s not uncommon for people to fear it.” Lydia sighed, a grim twist to her mouth. “But I think, having watched you two together, that she does want it to be true. Has she said as much?”

He shook his head. But he believed that Makenna wanted them to be mates.

“Maybe she’s afraid to hope in case it turns out that you’re wrong; she might worry you’ll then leave her.” Marcus slanted Roni a meaningful look. “Some females can get dumb ideas like that.”

“I’m not wrong,” Ryan stated.

“But if you were, would you leave her?” asked Hope.

“No.” Ideally, he would have preferred to avoid imprinting on anyone. But if that was what it took to bind Makenna to him, fine. “She’s mine and nothing will change that.” It had been two weeks since he’d first spoken those very words to her. He’d said them again early that morning when he dropped her off at the shelter. She’d looked no more convinced then than she had the first time. But she’d looked like she wanted to believe him.

Marcus slid an arm around Roni’s waist. “Yeah, but does Makenna know about your parents? If she did a background check on your family when looking for guardians for Zac—”

“She knows,” Ryan confirmed.

“Then she’ll probably find it difficult to believe that you’d consider staying with someone who wasn’t your true mate,” said Marcus.

Ryan inwardly stilled. He hadn’t thought of that.

Frowning, Taryn shook her head. “No, she knows Ryan cares for her.” She raised a brow at Ryan. “You have told her that, right?”

When Ryan didn’t respond, the females all sighed, shaking their heads at him.

“A big problem is that you and Makenna haven’t really had quality time as a couple,” said Shaya. “Both of you have been putting most of your energy into Zac, the shelter, and fighting off Remy. Everything’s been intense and stressful, which doesn’t exactly go hand in hand with a budding relationship.”

“You need to take her on a date,” said Hope.

Shaya’s eyes widened. “Ooh, yeah! You should take her out to dinner.”

“Or for a boat ride,” suggested Lydia.

“Or ice skating,” said Jaime.

“Or on a picnic.” Grace pointed at him, stern. “Make sure you take her flowers.”

“And maybe write her a poem,” said Shaya.