I didn’t think I’d seen anything more masculine in my life.

Around all this dainty, ancient furniture, all these antiques and little objets d’art, he was so solid and real. Enough that it made me wonder why the sofa hadn’t creaked under our combined weight.

In his dark navy suit, he looked like what he was.

A leader.

His face, so handsome with his broad forehead, those green eyes that reminded me of peridot, the strong jaw and chin, those softly pouting lips, and that beak of a nose? All of it made me feel like I was looking at a Hollywood movie star who was in the middle of an interview with the press.

His suit clung to him to perfection, hanging off his shoulders while cutting into his trim waist, tight hips, and those pants of his revealed just how tall he was. Shiny black leather shoes contrasted with the rich navy, and he was, I thought, a man who invited a woman to undress him without him even having to say a word.

I swallowed, aware that my mouth was full of saliva. Drooling wasn’t a good look, but dayum, Eli was fine.

Beyond fine.

Like twelve out of ten fine.

And I’d seen the goods beneath. I knew the curtains matched the drapes, as it were.

I also knew that, on a good day, I was pretty top notch myself. I was a bit curvier than what might have been fashionable, but it had never stopped men from eying me up like I was their mama’s roast dinner.

And Eli was no different.

When he’d seen me walk into the council room, his eyes had flared wide, then there’d been a simmering heat that had settled inside him, making his entire being glow a bright, hot, lustrous red. It was tinged with pink, not black, and there was no mistaking just how he felt when he looked at me.

I smiled at him, unashamed and unabashed at my interest in him, and he arched a brow, evidently surprised by my response.

I wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but it definitely wasn’t sexual appraisal.

If anything, I realized he looked like he was prepared for negotiating.

But what was there to negotiate?

I arched a brow right back at him, then murmured, “You guys have been very good to me, but I don’t think you’ve told me the whole story.”

He frowned, and I got the sense it was hard for him to stay sitting. He wanted to leap up and pace, but he didn’t.

I wondered if he realized his aura throbbed with his desire to move.

A natural fidgeter, I thought, amused. One that often had to keep himself under control.

Either that, or he was someone with so much abundant energy that he had to keep himself on constant lockdown.

That fit more, to be fair. Especially considering his role in the pack.

“If you start drooling, I’ll walk out.”

Austin’s wry comment had me grinning and shifting to look at him. I sank back into the uncomfortable seat and slowly crossed my legs. Amused when his eyes dropped from mine and he followed the movement, watching the very appropriate and not at all high slit of my skirt shift, I felt more empowered than I ever had in my thirty years of living.

I felt like Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct.

That was how he looked at me.

Like I was flashing him more than just a bit of leg, like I had the promise land between my thighs.

And hell, maybe for these three men, I did.

Maybe what went down between my thighs was a golden promise land.

Amused, touched, and turned on, I let him stare at me until I cleared my throat. When he looked at me again, his eyes contained barely banked lust, and I wanted to tell him not to bank it, to come and spend it all on me, but I figured something was holding them back. Something I didn’t get.

And that was why we were here.

“So,” I began, my voice rusty. “The reason I’m okay with almost all of this is because I like paranormal romance books.”

Ethan snorted. “Seriously?”

I arched a brow at him. “You got a problem with that, bud?”

“Considering she hasn’t once freaked out on us, I don’t think you should have a problem, Ethan, if Sabina’s appreciation of that kind of thing makes her accept the insanity of her new life.”

Eli’s formal tone had me hiding a snicker. He really needed to chill out. Or was it that? Did he need to chill out, or just be reminded that there was more to life than this?

As I stared at him, stared at his suit, stared at the room, thought about the house, thought about his office and the council and all of it?

Yeah, he needed some softening.

He needed someone to show him there was more to life than this.

And fuck, the man needed a new sofa. One that didn’t make a cardboard box look comfortable.

“I’ve always loved them,” I admitted, feeling no shame. “But in those books—”

“Mated females get ravished.” Austin beamed at me, his joy beatific, even if his eyes transmitted how down he was for the ravishing. “We heard your thoughts.”

“Oh, so you did,” I said dryly, then I pulled a face. “So, where is it?”

“You spent most of our time together this week as a she-wolf, Sabina,” Eli pointed out softly.

“Yeah, but—”

“Hate to break it to you, angel, but things don’t work like they do in the books.” Ethan folded his arms. “We’ll ravage you, all right, but—and it’s a big but—it has to go down in a certain order.”

I pouted. “Why?”

“Because it does.” He shrugged. “We’re not just shifters, we rely on the Mother’s word to see us through. That means we have to do things on her schedule.”

My brow puckered. “Explain?”

“All mate bonds are consecrated in front of the totem.”

Eli’s statement had my eyes widening. “You mean we have to do it outside in the woods?”

“Do it?” He laughed, and the sound filled me with warmth. I hadn’t heard him laugh that much this week. Only when I’d been back in the woods, trying to walk, had he laughed, but it hadn’t been at my expense, just like I’d made him happy or something.

And maybe that fit.

Especially when, looking at his life, I didn’t think he had much to be happy about. Money didn’t make someone happy. Sure, it was nice for the pocket, but not for the soul, and I figured Eli was walking proof of that.

He had a sadness about him, something that ran deep, and it ran deeper even still than grieving over his mom.

“We’ll do more than ‘do it,’” he rasped, fire flickering into his aura once more, telling me he was getting agitated.

And in the best possible way.

I licked my lips. “Is that a promise?”

“It’s a vow,” he rumbled.

That had me raring for action. Twelve years of celibacy were about to be blown to the wind, and I couldn’t goddamn wait. “So, when will we visit the totem? I mean, I know we’re going tomorrow for the challenge—”

“Are you sure you want to go to that?” Ethan asked, his face was filled with concern.

For me.

Kali Sara, it had been a long time since someone had been concerned about me. Even my friends in the carnival probably weren’t asking where I was. Sure, they’d be curious, but that was the life. One day, we were there, the next, we weren’t. Mostly, they’d be quibbling about my trailer and who got to call it theirs from now on.