linked to his, she tried to stop it, but the delight filled her bloodstream. That was when they ran into Mercy, who was on the hunt for Alexei to talk about something else. She took one look at them and shook her head, her lips tugging up at the corners. “I have no knowledge of your whereabouts for the next hour and I feel the strange compulsion to cover your shift for the same period.” She glanced pointedly at her watch. “Time’s ticking.”
“I owe you one!” Alexei called back with a grin as he and Memory took off.
“You can babysit the triplets in return!”
“Mercy has triplets?” Memory’s eyes widened.
“We call them pupcubs.” Alexei ducked into a corridor to avoid a group of passing packmates, then tugged her back out after the risk passed. “Alphas say her two boys will shift into wolves, her baby girl into a leopard.”
He winked. “Babysitting’s actually a hotly contested item among the two packs. Last week, Mercy’s brothers absconded with all three of them, so this week, Riley’s sister’s staked a claim. And we’re here.”
Hauling her inside their quarters, he shut the door behind her and pressed her up against that door. One hand at her throat, he kissed her with the slow deliberation of a connoisseur. Shivering, Memory slid her hands under his T-shirt and kissed him back the same, tasting her golden wolf lick by lick, touch by touch.
He shifted back at one point to tug off his T-shirt, then her top, then lifted her up so she could wrap her legs around his waist, her back to the door. Arms around his neck, she drew him back into their languid playtime of a kiss, her breasts crushed against his chest. Big hands curved around her rib cage, moved down to the dip of her waist.
She was beginning to fill out under the care and attention of not just her wolf but her pack. Food appeared in front of her anytime she was seated somewhere for five seconds. The other day, little Ben had broken his muffin in half and given it to her. Well aware by now what food meant to a wolf, Memory had sat down next to him and shared the gift in the spirit it was given.
As for Alexei, he tempted her with treats every single day. “I love you.” She spoke against his lips, her smile bone-deep. “My gorgeous, growly, wolf.”
“Grr.”
Grinning, she arched her throat so he could kiss it, and he took full, voracious advantage. She petted the muscled silk of his shoulders, moaned out his name, tugged up his head for more kisses. Slow and languorous, they took their time, the slide of skin on skin a pleasure to be savored. Alexei traced the scalloped edge of her striped sea-green bra at one point and smiled. “I have something for you.”
Memory ran her nails through the fine hair on his chest. “I know. I can’t wait to have it inside me,” she said, feeling young and naughty and confident.
Dipping his head, he sucked her nipple into his mouth without warning. Her back arched, her fingers clenching in his hair. A scrape of teeth through the satin of her bra before he released her. “You’ll get that, too,” he promised with a slow grin that melted her bones, then carried her to the bed and dropped her onto the mattress.
Turning over onto her stomach, she watched him open the built-in closet and pull out a small delivery bag. “You’re not the only one who knows how to use the Order button,” he said with a smug smile as he walked back.
Memory wanted to pounce on him, but he was so proud of whatever he’d bought her that she sat up on her knees and accepted the bag. He watched her with wolf eyes as she tore it open to retrieve a box marked with the emblem of a lingerie brand. Teeth sinking into her lower lip, she opened the box . . . and grinned so hard her face ached.
“Told you I’d replace it,” said her wolf.
Memory picked up the pink lace bra, identical to the one he’d torn off her their first time together. He’d even gotten the size right. Just like he had with her sparkly sneakers. Because her wolf noticed her and what mattered to her. Not only had he found the right bra, he’d gone one step further and ordered the matching panties, which she hadn’t originally bought because the bra on its