Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45092 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45092 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
She pursed her lips, silently begging him to let her feed herself. This was so humiliating.
Brock lifted her chin with one finger and narrowed his gaze at her. “My father, Arion, and his father all have mates. Though our younger brothers are still waiting for their mates to come of age, they are not ignorant of what it means to take care of a Little girl.”
“I can feed myself,” she whispered, a last-ditch effort to plead her case.
“I’m certain you can, but for now, you’ll let me do it, Little doll.”
Her face flamed brighter. She couldn’t bear to look at the other men. No one was saying a word, though, as if they weren’t even shocked by this odd display and didn’t find it the least bit out of the ordinary.
“Would you rather sit in my lap and take another bottle while I get caught up with the other Alphas?”
She shook her head. That would be worse. “No, Sir,” she whispered.
He offered her the fork again, and she opened her mouth to accept it.
He beamed. “Good girl.”
She still felt ridiculous, but if it pleased him that much to feed her, maybe she shouldn’t be so contrary.
Brock cut up a sausage link on his plate next. He stabbed a small section, lifted it to his lips, blew on it, and offered it to her.
Her tummy did a flip as she watched him continue to cut up food into small bites, including the biscuit and the fruit. He even cut the strawberries in half as if she might choke on a whole one. It was overbearing and endearing.
“Aren’t you going to eat, Daddy?” she asked before realizing she’d called him Daddy in front of everyone. No one flinched at that either.
“I will when you’re full, Little one.” He lifted another bite to her lips. This time a strawberry. “Careful with the tines. I don’t want to poke you.”
Another tummy flip. He was so overprotective. The urge to squeeze her legs together was strong, but she was afraid to remove them from where she had wound her ankles around the legs of the highchair.
“Please tell me there’s coffee in that pot,” Elias said as he rose from the table.
“There is,” her Daddy told them without taking his gaze off her.
“Get me some, too,” Damon responded.
The silence was broken as all five men rose to fill mugs before returning. By then, Suzette was full. “No more, Daddy,” she murmured.
He smiled, leaned in to kiss her forehead, and set a strange cup on her tray before reaching underneath to release her hands. After tugging her highchair closer to him, he cupped the back of her head and brought his lips to her ear. “You didn’t eat enough. I want you to drink all of your milk. And, Little doll, keep your hands where I can see them.”
She flushed as a soft gasp left her lips.
He kissed her parted lips before he turned to face the table. As he picked up the fork to start eating, he said, “Update me.”
His father glanced at Suzette and back at him.
Brock sat up straighter, swallowed the enormous bite of food he’d just shoveled into his mouth, and looked around at all the men.
Suzette didn’t move or breathe. It was clear Owen was suggesting with a look that they not discuss pack business in front of her.
Surprising Suzette, Brock focused on Arion. His tone was odd when he asked, “How long did it take for Jezebel to forgive you when you kept secrets from her about her own safety?”
Suzette sucked in an audible breath at the mention of her friend.
Arion winced. “It wasn’t pretty.”
Suzette was kind of proud of her friend for sticking up for herself against this massive mate of hers. If their connection was anything like the bond Suzette felt with Brock, Jezebel surely found it nearly impossible to disobey Arion.
Brock shifted his attention to his father. “Do you leave mom out of everything pack related?”
Owen sighed. “No. Of course not. You know I don’t.”
“Do you?” Brock asked Talon next. “Does your mate, Carina, sit demurely in another room while you meet with other Alphas?”
Talon smirked. “Hardly.”
Suzette was stunned. Her Daddy was sticking up for her.
Brock took another bite, chewed, and swallowed before clearing his throat. “Our mates are naturally submissive. There’s no denying that. Until yesterday, I couldn’t have begun to understand.” He gave a nod toward Elias and Damon. “When you two claim your mates, you’ll fully grasp what I’m talking about.”
Both men nodded. They weren’t boys by any stretch of the imagination. Suzette was twenty. Brock was thirty-seven. She guessed Elias and Damon to be approximately thirty-five, which meant their mates were undoubtedly girls Suzette might even know. Girls who had not yet met the age of maturity required by pack law before being claimed.
Brock continued, “I feel the intense Dominance I’ve heard about all my life. It’s deeply imbedded in my heart and mind just like Suzette feels the submission. She will fight it as all mates do at first, but she won’t win.”