This incredibly sexy man just kept surprising me in the very best ways. His confession made it easier for me to admit, “I...um...I’m a virgin, too.”
His hold on me tightened as he pressed his face into the crook of my neck. “I’m so fucking happy to hear that, baby. Shifters don’t feel desire for anyone other than their mate, and the same tends to be true for their mates even when they’re human. But so often, human mates are completely unaware of why they aren’t attracted to anyone else and aren’t still a virgin when they finally meet the one.”
I’d never expected that I would end up with a man who had such a strong but also positive reaction to my virginity. I kind of assumed it would make guys second-guess being with me. It was a relief to know that Zeke valued the fact that he would be the only man I’d ever slept with, and even more so that I was the only woman he’d ever want to be with. The whole fated mate thing was kind of incredible, especially since it seemed that I was the possessive type when it came to Zeke. But his reaction showed me I was in good company. “You don’t have anything to worry about there. I’ve never even had a boyfriend or gone on a date with anyone.”
His hold on me tightened again, and I shifted on his lap. A sharp pain radiated up my arm to my shoulder, and I let out a small whimper. “C’mon, let’s get you in a hot bath to help loosen up your muscles so you’re a little less sore tomorrow. Once I’ve got you settled in the tub, I’ll grab you a pain reliever and something to drink.”
“A bath sounds amazing,” I agreed.
He stood with me in his arms, and I wrapped mine around his neck. I caught glimpses of his home as he carried me through the living room, up the stairs, and down the hallway to a large bedroom decorated in dark blues and grey. He passed the California king-sized bed and brought me directly into the bathroom. After he set me on the vanity between the double sinks, I stared at the oversized Jacuzzi tub and separate rain shower in awe. “Wow, this is gorgeous. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a tub that big before.”
“I put it in for you,” he said as he bent over to play with the knobs until the water pouring out of the faucet was to his satisfaction. He opened a small door on the cabinet built into the bottom of the tub and pulled out a bottle of bubble bath, dumping in a capful before putting it back. Then he looked over his shoulder at me and caught me staring at his butt. He winked at me and added, “I wanted my mate to be comfortable in our home, so I tried to keep what you might like in mind while I was picking stuff out. My niece discovered the tub when they visited last month and took several baths each day.”
“I can see why she enjoyed it so much. You did an excellent job,” I complimented as I traced my fingertip over the marble top of the vanity, grinning at his explanation for the bubble bath since it was difficult to picture him in a bath full of bubbles.
He brushed a soft kiss against my forehead before reaching over my shoulder to open the medicine cabinet. “I’m glad you think so since I did it all for you.”
“Seriously, what did I ever do to deserve a guy like you?” Zeke seemed too good to be true.
“You don’t have to do anything other than be yourself,” he answered as he shook a couple of pain relievers out of the bottle and handed them to me. “You were born to be mine, and I’ll always treasure the gift you are.”
He had the art of the perfect answer down pat, making me swoon before I popped the pills in my mouth and swallowed them down with the glass of water he gave me. Then I handed it back and looked at him expectantly. He cocked his head to the side, and I blurted, “The tub looks like it’s just about full.”
“Good catch.” He crossed the room to turn off the faucet and returned to my side to help me off the vanity. “You should get into the water while it’s still hot, or else it won’t do much good.”
Although he’d gotten naked in front of me without blinking, my cheeks filled with heat at the thought of stripping out of my clothes in front of him. “Are you going to at least turn around while I get in?”
“Shit, sorry.” He flashed me a sexy grin as he walked over to the doorway. “Nudity isn’t as big of a deal for shifters, and I forgot it isn’t the same for humans.”
“Oh.” I wasn’t sure what else to say since I hadn’t expected that to be his reason for wanting to see me strip.
Zeke stopped and turned to face me again. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. It’ll be a big damn deal for me from now on. No way in hell do I want anyone other than me to see your beautiful body.” He swept his hand down in front of his chest. “And I’m all yours, so I’ll be careful about who’s around me when my clothes come off before shifting.”
I grinned, happy with how he just put everything all out there. “Thank you.”
He returned my smile before walking away. The door was still open, so when he was out of my line of sight I hurriedly stripped out of my clothes and climbed into the tub. The bubbles were thick enough to cover my body, but I still let out a surprised squeak when Zeke strode back into the room. Shifters were real, I was the fated mate of a sexy wolf, and I was naked in a tub only a few feet away from him. It was a lot to take in.
“Is it like this with all fated mates?” I asked as he dropped a big T-shirt on the vanity.
Pulling my knees up to my chest, I covered myself a little more. “Like what?”
I was acutely aware of the fact that I was completely naked with only the bubbles stopping Zeke from being able to see my body. My nipples pebbled, and I felt a slickness between my legs that had nothing to do with the bathwater and everything to do with my overwhelming attraction to him. “This instant connection to someone you’ve just met who seems to have been tailor-made for you.”
“For the most part, yeah,” he confirmed with a grin, his green eyes gleaming with male satisfaction. “So you think I’m perfect for you?”
“I mean...I don’t really know much about you except that you can shift into a wolf, are the sheriff, and have a niece. But from what I’ve seen so far—which has only been about an hour—yeah, you seem pretty perfect to me.”
“What do you want to know about me? I’m not the best at sharing stuff with people, but I’m an open book for you,” he offered.
I figured the whole getting to know each other thing would work best if it was a give and take thing. He’d mentioned having a niece, so I assumed talking about siblings was an easy place to start. “I’m an only child, but I didn’t feel lonely growing up because I had my best friends. How many brothers or sisters do you have?”
“Just one brother,” he answered as he bent over to pull some more bath stuff out of the cabinet under the tub. “He found his mate almost a decade ago when he was only eighteen. He was one of the lucky ones. I spent years being jealous of him and worrying I’d never find you.”
My heart raced at how grateful he sounded. I’d always known my parents loved me, but I’d never experienced romantic attention like he was giving me. “Does that happen often?”
“Before I met you, I would’ve said it wasn’t too bad because most of us find our mates. But now that I’ve experienced what meeting you feels like, I understand that even one shifter never being mated is too many.”