Spectrum (Stone Society #14) - Faith Gibson Page 0,29
you.”
Stella couldn’t allow herself to think about Zeke dating Sheila. That was just too weird. At least they hadn’t slept together. Stella would never, ever tell her mother who Zeke really was. It would not only be strange, but hurtful. She held out her hand, and Zeke sat on the sofa next to her. Stella threaded their fingers together, smiling at her handsome blond. “It does suck that we missed out on all those years, but we have each other now.”
Cyrus gathered their dirty dishes. “I’m going to put these in the kitchen, then I’m going for a walk on the beach.”
“Thank you, Brother.”
As soon as Cyrus was out the back door, Stella asked, “How do you complete the bond? You said something about a bite?”
Zeke touched Stella’s unmarred cheek. “Yes, if you decide to accept our mate bond, I bite you.”
“I’ve read romance books with shifters, and anytime a claiming happens, it’s during sex. Is that the case here? With us?” Now that Cyrus was out of the room, Stella wanted to strip her clothes off and get horizontal, even with the pulsing headache. She had never found any of the men she dated irresistible. Never thought of herself as wanton, a term she laughed at in her romance novels. But here she was, ready to climb Zeke, her headache be damned.
“From what I’ve heard, that is usually when it takes place, yes. But it doesn’t have to be during sex. One of the King’s cousins bit his mate when he thought she had died to connect himself to her forever.”
“Wow, that’s romantic. And sad. Please tell me she lived.”
“She did, and now they are mated and married. Abbi’s is a sad story, one she will tell you when you meet her, but theirs is a story for the ages, much like ours.”
“You keep saying when I meet these women. Is there like some initiation for me to become one of the Clan?”
Zeke smiled and kissed Stella’s knuckles. “No, nothing like that. Tessa and Sophia are important to me. They both live in New Atlanta, along with two other siblings whom I wish to get to know better. I had hoped to visit them whenever we go to our house in Tennessee. That is, if you want to.”
“I’d like that very much. It has always been Mom and me and my two stepfathers. Neither one had kids of their own, and their parents lived out of town. My mom’s parents died when I was young. We never visited my father’s family after he passed, so I’ve never known what it was like to have a big family.”
“As odd as this sounds, neither have I. Even having fifteen siblings, I haven’t met all of them. With Sam and Tessa splitting watcher duty with me, then Sophia being added lately, I only met five of them. I would like to rectify that in the next few years. If you wish to continue teaching, we’ll travel during your summer breaks.”
Stella had yet to see the rest of the house, but if it was anything like the living room, she would love it. Plus, he had another house in Tennessee, so he had to have quite a bit of money. Not that money mattered to her. She only wanted to be loved well.
“What will you do now that all your siblings know the truth?” she asked.
“I like flipping houses. Buying something in disrepair and bringing it back to life has always been fulfilling. My home in Tennessee was one of the first ones I fixed up. I loved it so much I kept it.”
“Is that something we could do together?” Stella loved teaching, but she loved the thought of spending her days with Zeke more. “I mean only if that’s what you would want. I don’t want you to get tired of me.”
“Oh, My Love, there is no chance I’ll get tired of being around you. The fates choose our perfect partner. It will be harder to not be around you than to work side by side with you. Take Sophia for instance. Before she met her mate, Nikolas, she researched the full-bloods, detailing everything about their lives. Nik is the archivist for the Clan, so their interests fully align. Does flipping houses interest you? Because if not, we can find something we both enjoy.”
“I do love to watch home improvement shows, so yes, I think it is something I can see myself doing. And quite honestly, I don’t want to go back