King Hall (Forever Evermore, #1)(92)

Sighing, my nose wiggled. So much for being able to keep quiet…and the ear scratching had been so nice, too. I lifted on Ezra’s chest, hopped to the floor, and raced in front of Jack. I bared my teeth for a second, stopping him, then sped into the bathroom. After shifting in privacy, since I still didn’t bare all to all, I called, “He’s bi, not gay. When we were running, we met up with a drifter that’s staying here. He’s a wolf Shifter, too. They hit it off better than he and I did. End of story.”

I shifted back. The hell with it. I wanted my damn ears scratched.

Tail still hanging, I left the privacy of the bathroom and jumped back onto my bed. Almost everyone was staring at me with shock — yeah, someone had turned me down — and I whined. They stopped gawking.

Ezra patted his chest — one of the few that had worn a carefully blank expression — and I whined a little from my melancholy as I got on him, turning in circles on his hard chest until I found a comfy way to lie. He ran his fingers through my fur and shook my head roughly, ordering, “Quit moping. There’ll be more opportunities for an alpha.” He paused. “Although, don’t do it if they resemble Goliath. He really was too big for you.”

“She’s only moping because she’s going through a dry spell,” Nikki said, trying to be helpful. I closed my eyes in dismay. She noticed everything. Heard and saw way too much about a lot of people. Of course she had noticed that.

“I’m sorry?” Pearl asked, pausing the movie everyone had been ignoring. “What are you talking about?”

“Sugar, I don’t think Lily even knows what a dry spell is,” Jack muttered. “She’s got more dick lined up than she knows what to do with.” Crude, but factual.

“I didn’t say she doesn’t have her pick of Shifters,” Nikki countered. “I said she hasn’t been sleeping with them.” She blinked in the quiet following that, and her mouth gradually shut as she ever so slowly recognized that might not have been information I wanted out there. Nervously, she glanced at me, mumbling, “You know, maybe, I…” She nodded. “I’m wrong. I remember that guy…um…” She trailed off, her mouth bobbing noiselessly.

Okay, she was officially worse at lying than Pearl.

I closed my eyes again. This evening had gone from bad to worse.

Silence.

“Perhaps she’s sick,” Gideon whispered. “It’s not like a Shifter to not have sex.” Pearl had never spilled the beans to him about me, but a Vampire had just as much friendliness as a Shifter.

“No. She wanted it an hour ago,” Pearl mumbled, sounding thoughtful.

A rough shake of my head by powerful hands, and I blinked my blue eyes open to stare into green ones that were analyzing me before Ezra asked, “How long’s it been, sweetheart?”

As if I could answer him. Not that I would.

His eyes darted to Nikki.

She mumbled, “The kids at school say the last person she slept with was Felix.” She paused. “There’s lots of talk about it.” Her eyes met mine. She was even starting to look worried. “Did you fall for him?”

Everyone in the room froze, watching me.

All over again, Ezra shook my head, hard, and growled, “Shift.” I stared at him and, slowly, he blinked, before grabbing the edge of my comforter and throwing it over us.

I shifted.

My face buried in my hair and Ezra’s chest, I explained, “I didn’t fall for Felix.” I paused, licking my lips. “But, I’m not someone that sleeps with everyone and their brother.” Another pause. “Although, I did push the extreme when I first started having sex again after Dominic died. And, even though I didn’t fall for Felix, I realized I didn’t want to sleep with someone who fell in love with me after one kiss. Felix reminded me of what it was like to be with someone strong-willed. I don’t want to have a relationship with anyone, but whoever comes to my bed from now on is going to have their own mind and their own thoughts, not beg to know what mine are, so they can conform to them.” I sighed. “Never mind. You guys won’t understand. You’re mated, and the only one that’s not is a man-whore.”

“Hey,” Ezra grumbled instantly, sounding affronted, and grabbed a handful of my hair, lifting my head to stare me in the eyes. “I’m not a man-whore.”

I snorted. “When was the last time you had sex?”

Instant. “Last night.”

“And the time before that?”

“The night before.”

“And, before that?”

“Three days before.”

“And were any of those encounters with the same woman?”

“No.” Black eyebrows were gradually furrowing.

“I rest my case,” I muttered, tugging on my hair, which he didn’t let go of.

His brows finished scrunching with a slam, before lowering deeply.

“I think it makes sense,” Pearl stated. “Even though I’m mated, I remember what it was like to be single.” She paused, and sighed — someone must have been giving her a look, but I couldn’t see anything except Ezra’s glower thanks to his hold. “She wants her lovers to be men in their own right. Not a bunch of * followers.” She made a gagging sound. “Who would want that in their bed, anyway?” A pause. “Other than Ezra. He doesn’t have a preference.”