Her stomach growled.
He sighed.
“I can’t help it. We’ve worn me out. Otherwise I’d stay here and jump you a few more times.” She wriggled her butt.
“Sleep first.” His voice was gruff.
She grinned. Neither of them had slept much—she hadn’t let them. Once she’d had him, she couldn’t get enough of him. Her wolf wasn’t much help, either. Even sore and tired, she ached for Mal. “Tired?” she asked, stroking the arm around her waist.
“Yes.” His hold tightened.
“You sleep. I’ll eat.” She tried to move his arm. “I’ll come back.”
He was immovable.
“Please?” Her stomach grumbled, loudly, for good measure.
He sighed again. “We’ll eat.” He released her slowly and he tossed back the covers. “Then sleep.”
She glanced back at him. “Too tired to make love to me but not too tired to eat?”
His eyes opened. “I never said I was too tired.” He pressed the stiff evidence of his desire into her hip.
She sat up, stretching.
His fingertips traced her spine. She shuddered when his lips pressed open-mouthed kisses against her side.
“I thought we were going to eat,” she mumbled, already sinking back into a state of hypersensitivity. His touch had an immediate effect on her. And she liked it.
“We are,” he said. “Just looking at my handiwork.”
She stared down at the discolored patches on her skin. “Aren’t you a little old for hickies?”
He shook his head. “Nope.”
She stood, tugging on Jessa’s cast off yoga pants and sweater.
“You’re wearing too many clothes,” he said, still sprawled on the bed.
“For eating? With the pack?” she asked, hands on hips. “Come on, Mal. You need sustenance if we’re going to keep this up.”
His brows rose.
She grinned. “I’m hoping we are.”
He was up and dressed before she’d finished braiding her hair. But when they headed toward the kitchen, he gripped her hand in his—tight.
“What is it?” she asked, his unease contagious.
“Easier,” he managed.
She wasn’t sure what he meant, but she squeezed his hand. Touching him made everything right with the world. While she didn’t have the same anxiety about their new status and the pack’s reaction, Mal grew more agitated with each step.
Dante saw them first. “She’s up.” He seemed surprised. “That’s different.”
“Not that we wanted you passed out in pain,” Anders added. “We just thought that’s how it happened.”
“I’m relieved you were wrong,” she agreed.