Free Scorch: A Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (The Tribe Series) by Terra Wolf, Ally Summers

back and I ground my hips to hers, desperate to be under her skin. Desperate to taste every inch of hers. Desperate to know she had changed my life.
    “Mine. I swear, Francesca…” but the words trailed off as I pulsed inside her.
    I collapsed on top of her, slick with sweat, but content. I tangled my fingers through hers and kissed her hand.
    “I think I like being married,” she breathed.
    “It’s not so bad,” I joked.
    “Maybe you should have shown up sooner.” She paused. “We could have had this sooner.”
    I kissed her neck. “We have it now. You’re everything to me.”
    “I didn’t know it would be like this.”
    “Like what?” I propped up on my elbow, tracing her collarbone. I loved every inch of skin on her body.
    “Two shifters. Fated mates. Before you, I didn’t even know this existed, and now I feel like the missing link in my soul has been filled. You filled it. This is my life now. For the first time in my life, I see my future.”
    The guilt punched me in the stomach. Future? There was a list I had to fulfill. A list of other mates. Other wives. Other cubs to create.
    “How about that breakfast?” I jumped from the bed and headed for the shower. “Want to get a little wet first?”
    I didn’t know how long I could keep the list from her, but I knew I would as long as possible. I wanted to be the man she thought I was. The man who had saved her from misery. The one who gave her a heritage. The one who finally gave her a family. Why couldn’t I be that man? Why couldn’t I be the shifter to love her for the rest of her life?
    I turned on the water and felt her arms wrap around my waist. “Do you think we can both fit in this tub?”
    I laughed. “Oh yeah. Come on.” I pulled her in under the stream of hot water.
    “So what kind of looks are we going to get at breakfast?” Francesca dabbed drops of shampoo in her hand.
    “You worried they heard you?” I teased.
    “Me? You’re the one with the beastly growl. Mine is so quiet.”
    “Is that so?”
    She nodded. “I’m as quiet as a kitten.”
    “Then I must have been doing it all wrong.” My eyes flared.
    She shook her head. “Oh no. What are you doing?”
    I dropped to my knees, pressing her against the wall with my palms.
    “You can’t. Stop,” she moaned as her hips tipped toward me.
    “I’m making sure everyone in this entire place hears how I can make my wife scream.”

24

Francesca
    I watched my husband across the breakfast table. Husband was such a funny word. Everyone at breakfast kept their eyes on their plates of quiche and fruit. Drew had kept his promise in the shower. I screamed louder than I ever had. I was still blushing and my legs were still shaking.
    “What do you want to do today?” Drew asked over a pitcher of orange juice.
    I felt like we needed to talk quietly. “I have to study. Exams are tomorrow.”
    “Darlin’, it’s our honeymoon. I was thinking something a little more recreational.”
    I stared at him. “After exams, I can do anything. But I have to take them and turn in my final paper with Alexa.”
    He chewed on a piece of bacon. “All right. And what am I supposed to do while you study?”
    I smiled. “Watch me?”
    He laughed. “Depends on if you study naked or not.”
    I kicked him under the table. The older couple might have canes, but it didn’t mean they were deaf.
    “Ouch,” he grumbled. “I’m not kidding.”
    “Are Case and Josh still in town?” I asked.
    “Doubtful. They have to get back to their own mate situations.”
    “Situations?”
    Now it seemed important to him that we had company. Sure, he didn’t care about embarrassing me about sex, but once we talked shifter, he was hush hush.
    “Are you done with breakfast?” He eyed my plate.
    I nodded and followed him up the stairs to the bridal suite.
    He closed the door. “Look, we can’t talk about those things in front of other people.”
    “But you sure as hell don’t care if they hear me come three