Shifted Love Volume 1 - Fiona Davenport Page 0,22
love with your daughter.” Allegra melted into my side, and I gave in to the urge to punctuate my point with a kiss on her crown. It was a small gesture, but it was still staking a claim, and it soothed my beast for the moment.
Allegra’s parents looked a little surprised at my answer, but they also seemed pleased by it. “Nice to meet you,” Allegra’s dad said as he held out his hand for a shake. I took it firmly, and he nodded, clearly happy with the exchange. “Call me Joe, and this is my wife, Hannah.”
“Why don’t we go inside?” Hannah suggested. Her demeanor had softened noticeably toward me, but I didn’t miss her eyeing my hold on Allegra. “It’s freezing out here.”
In an effort to extend another olive branch, I kissed Allegra on the forehead and murmured, “Why don’t I get our things and the gifts out of the car? It’ll give you three a little privacy to say hello.”
Hannah brightened at my suggestion, and I was pretty sure I saw another small crack in her armor. As I headed back to the car, a satisfied smile spread across my face.
I stretched as I woke and rolled over to take Allegra into my arms, but I found an empty space next to me. A scowl formed on my face as I remembered why I was in bed alone. Over the past two days, I’d worked my way into Allegra’s parents’ good graces. However, that had included sleeping in separate rooms. I hadn’t spent a night away from my mate since the day we met, and it was driving me crazy. It made me even more impatient to give her the present I had stashed away. I was also more than ready to come clean with her parents about what I was and deal with their reaction, whatever it would be. Allegra and I had decided to wait until after Christmas to give them the full story. She wanted time for them to get to know me first, and she didn’t want it to ruin the holiday if things didn’t go well.
A soft knock had me sitting up, but before I could call out for whoever it was to wait, the door inched open and Allegra’s sweet face popped inside. Her eyes swept hungrily down my bare chest and paused on my morning wood tenting the sheet. It had hardened even more the moment I’d felt her eyes on me, and I fisted the sheet on either side of me to keep from racing across the room and dragging her back to bed.
“Don’t look at me like that until you’re going to do something about it, baby,” I growled. Her eyes bounced back up to my face, and she grinned sheepishly.
“Sorry.” Then she beamed at me and did an excited little jump. “It’s Christmas, sleepyhead. Get your sexy butt out here so I can open my presents!”
I laughed because she was just so fucking adorable. “Give me a minute to get some clothes on, sweetheart. I’ll be right there.”
Her eyes narrowed, and her gaze swept over me once more, this time without the heat. “Are you sleeping naked in my parents’ house?” she whisper-yelled with a cute glare. I loved how jealous she got and how possessive she was over me. It was sexy as fuck, and it kept me from any worries I might have had about my caveman instincts when it came to her.
I shook my head as I rose from the bed. “I wouldn’t do that.”
She looked slightly mollified but still a little put out. “Wear some pajamas, would you?”
I grinned and winked at her. “You’re hot as hell when you get territorial, you know that?” Her cheeks bloomed with pink, and she shrugged.
“I don’t like the idea of another woman seeing you in just your boxers, not even my mom.”
I closed the distance between us and pulled her into my arms as I kicked the door shut. “You’re the only woman I want seeing me naked, baby. The only woman I’m interested in looking at me at all.” Allegra’s frown curved up into a sweet smile. “Besides that, you know I’ll always do whatever it takes to make you happy,” I reminded her. She nodded and leaned up for a kiss. Before I had a chance to enjoy it, or take it any further, she slapped me on the ass and broke out of my embrace. The next thing I knew, the door was