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for my behavior earlier. It was rude and beneath me and you deserved better.
Welcome to Cascadia and to our family.
Grace touched the back of Lex s neck and Nina actually growled. She hadn t
meant to, she d just wanted to think a growl at that miniature Audrey Hepburn
and her freaking regal-looking clothing and those damned pearls.
Instead, Cade s gaze shot up and met hers and Grace finished touching Lex s
neck before standing back and stepping around him to look Nina square in the
face.
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Well, she might be no bigger than a Hershey s kiss, but Tiny there was a
fucking Alpha through and through. Amber-colored eyes took Nina in from head
to toe, cool and assessing.
You must be Nina. Did you have something to add?
If she thought she was getting an apology, she was out of her mind. No.
I d hoped to be surprised. I suppose I m too old to be surprised anymore.
She turned to Lex and nodded. Apology accepted. If you ll excuse me, I think
I ll go make some tea. Those eyes landed on Nina again. I could say it was a
pleasure to meet you, or something similar but equally false. But we both know
that d be a lie. Instead, let me say, I m here to stay. You get your rest, the
baby needs it.
She turned on her expensive little heels and left the room, head held high and
Nina sort of liked the little bitch.
Cade shook his head. Nina&
Don t you Nina me, Cade Warden. I was here first. I won t apologize for
watching over my dudes.
I m not your dude. Grace is right, rest up. I ll see you in the morning. He
turned and left and Lex looked at her with a sigh.
Beautiful, you know I can refuse you nothing. You know I adore you and the
baby you carry. But you can t go on like this. It s not good for you or the
baby. And she s not half bad you know. He s not yours.
She saw the hurt flash in his eyes and reached up to touch his face.
Alexander Warden, I love you. You. You know of course, Cade and I are fond of
each other and the tri-bond was very close for us. But the way I feel about
you has never, ever been in doubt. I m getting stretch marks just for you. I
even let you tell your mother tonight about the baby, didn t I? She ll never
leave me alone now. Her mother-in-law had the worst case of grandbaby lust of
anyone she d ever known. She had grandchildren already, two of them, and still
it wasn t enough. Beth was greedy.
You have to let go of him, Nina. She s good for him. It s the way of things.
Having him with us without a mate meant he led a whisper of a life while you
and I had a full one. That s not love. That s selfish.
She smiled. Her dude was wicked smart for such a big tool. I hate when you re
smarter than me. Does she have to be so fucking pretty and classy? All, I m a
doctor and I wear pearls and shit? And what, is she like one of those
miniature dolls the rich girls kept in glass cases? She s teeny! What s up
with that?
He snorted but the beginning of his smile returned. You re looking for things
to not like about her.
She s a Pellini, Lex. That s enough. They killed my brother.
She didn t have anything to do with that. No more than you had anything to do
with Rey when he broke the law. I adore you and I know you want what s best
for this Pack. You re going to have to get along with her. Hell, I d wager
you ll even like her. If you give her a chance.
Hmpf. Maybe.
Cade caught up with her in their room as she tossed a suitcase on the bed and
unzipped it.
I realize you re worried about your sister-in-law. I m a doctor, I know how
risky it is for humans turned wolf in the first week. But I don t share, Cade.
Period. I won t live that way. If that s what she expects, that expectation
needs to be eradicated. If that s what you expected, you need to say so right
now so I can leave. The eyes that greeted his sparked with fury.
She might look sweet but she got right down to the point. In truth the way
she d acted with Nina flipped his switch in a major way. She truly was his
mate, truly was an Alpha.
Grace, honey, I d kill any wolf who suggested sharing. I don t share either.
Jack got his taste but that s it forever. You re mine. I m yours. You re not
going anywhere. And hell, neither is she. You handled her just fine. She ll
respect your strength and when she thinks about it, she ll realize she s being
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silly and stop being a bitch.
She d better, Cade. She paused, staying there with the bed between them. Do
you love her?
He felt her uncertainty, her pain and could do nothing else but go to her and
fall to his knees. I love her, yes. She s my anchor bond and my
sister-in-law. More than that, she s my friend. She s been with me through a
lot of stuff. She s the other half of my brother. Lex and I may be at odds
every now and again but he s my best friend. He put his arms around Grace s
waist and breathed her in.
Her body remained stiff as she processed what he d said.
But that wasn t your question, was it? Do I love her romantically? Sexually?
Like I love you? He looked up into her face and she touched the side of his
jaw, softly, gently. No. At one time, I think I did. Or I thought I knew what
it was to love. Partly it was the link, I m sure Jack feels deeply for you and
over time that would grow. Partly it s because Lex and I are brothers. Our
feelings for each others mates would be complicated by our biological link to
each other. What I feel for you, Grace, nothing in the universe could have
prepared me for. There s no issue of choice, of choosing between you and
anyone else. I ve chosen. I chose the moment I saw you the first time. I don t
want you to hurt, Grace. If the idea that I would take my eyes from you for a
single moment bothers you, rest assured, that s not the case.
She got to her knees, facing him and kissed along the line of his jaw. Good.
Now I won t have to maim you in your sleep and start a whole new level of Clan
war. I love you too, or I wouldn t stay here and deal with this business. She
stood and held out her hand. Now, come on, we have a house full of people to
entertain.
I m so going to nail you when everyone leaves. He looked her over with a
wicked grin.
I m counting on it.
Chapter Eight
Grace bustled around the kitchen the next morning, her muscles sore in all the
right places. She reached up to brush her fingertips over the spot on her neck
where Cade had bitten and marked her as he took her from behind only an hour
before.
He d woken her up, hunger on his face and they d made love with silent
intensity as the sun came up and warmed the room and their bare skin. The man
was quite inventive in bed. Which was nice given her vanilla past. The sex
she d had before had been all right but fairly uninspired. Sex with Cade was
full of wonderful surprises and it was just a few days.
Well now, that s an interesting look on your face. Lex strolled into the
kitchen.
Good morning. Your brother makes me smile, what can I say? I m making
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