“I want your name clear too.” She hated the stains he wrongfully carried on his name.
“Maybe one day it’ll happen, but I doubt it. It’s enough that you believe I’m innocent of the accusations. That you’ve never doubted me. Not even once.” He kissed her gently but hungrily. When she reached for his cock—which was hard, of course, since she was naked—he closed his hand around her wrist. “Later. As soon as we’re done here, I’m going to get you out of the shower, dry you off, get you dressed into your sweats, brush your hair, and then lay with you.”
“Uh . . . why?” His plan didn’t sound even half as good as what she had in mind.
“Because you’re mine, and it’s my job to take care of you.”
Looking into that implacable gaze, she knew he wouldn’t back down. While she was disappointed that there would be no sex, she also felt cherished that he would treat her this way. “Fine. But I expect multiple orgasms later.”
He smiled. “I love a woman who knows what she wants.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
It wasn’t every day that you saw a grown Alpha male having a stare down with a toddler. But going by the concentration and resolve on Nick’s face, Ally suspected he would be damned if he’d look away first. The twinkling of the colored fairy lights that hung on the trees surrounding the tables and dance floor reflected in Nick’s and Kye’s eyes, making the whole staring-down scene seem eerie. Roni, Marcus, Bracken, Zander, and Jesse were all doing their best to stifle grins of amusement.
Pausing at their table, Ally smiled. “Why are you snarling at Kye?” The little boy, who greatly resembled Trey, was sitting on Roni’s lap.
Without looking at her, Nick replied, “I’ll stop when he stops.”
“He’s a baby alpha.” Bracken took a swig of his beer. “Every instinct he has tells him there’s a dangerous predator in front of him and that he must battle for dominance.”
Jesse glanced around before asking Ally, “Where’s your mate?”
“I left him with Shaya while I came to get more cake.” Ally gestured to the plate she was holding. The huge cake had been specially made for the mating ceremony. Everywhere, people were laughing, dancing, eating, and drinking. They were also still enjoying the freedom to come and go from their territories as they pleased.
“The cake is gorgeous, isn’t it,” said Roni. “I ate so much of it, I’m surprised there’s any left.”
Marcus gave his mate a mock scowl. “Let’s not forget you ate mine too.”
“And mine,” added Zander. Roni just sniffed.
Hearing a string of curses, Ally looked to see that Bruce was stealing food from the buffet. Kathy and Grace—a Phoenix mated female—had been good enough to cook all of it and had also tried outdoing each other in the process. Both females attempted to shoo him away from the table.
Having no success, Kathy glared at her daughter. “Roni!”
Blinking in surprise, Roni demanded, “How is this my fault? God, you’d blame me for the fall of Eve if you damn well could.” Roni was probably right, though Ally was coming to suspect that Kathy only used her daughter as a scapegoat to keep her on her toes.
Suddenly Eli came storming over, pointing his cell phone at his sister. “Oh my God! I can’t believe you did that!”
Leaving the siblings to argue over whatever prank was now being played, Ally headed to her mate. She had to smile at the sight of him holding a chuckling Willow, who was tugging hard on his hair. “Everything okay over here?” Damn, he looked edible in that gray shirt and those dark pants.
Derren tickled the little girl under her arm, making her release him with another chuckle. “She likes to see me in pain. She’s a sadist.”
“My daughter is not a sadist.” Shaya took her daughter with a playful huff.
“She shoved a breadstick up Greta’s nose.”
“Because she senses evil.”
Derren blinked. “I can’t argue with that.” With another huff, Shaya walked away to join Stone, Brad, and Wyatt. Glad to be alone with his mate, Derren yanked her against him and took a moment to sip and nip at her lips. “I missed you.”
“I was gone five minutes.”
“And in those five minutes, I was repeatedly assaulted by an infant. You weren’t here to protect me.” He hungrily devoured his mate with his eyes as she scooped some of the chocolate cake into her mouth. She looked truly amazing in that silk, midthigh coral dress with her hair slightly curled and hanging loose around her shoulders. He just wanted to lick every inch of her. His wolf wanted to take a big bite.