Read Online The Mating Game: Big Bad Wolf by Georgette St. Clair - Free Book Online

she is your mate?” his mother said eagerly.
    He let out a rumbling growl of annoyance. Why had he just said that? He didn’t need to encourage his mother any further.
    “You heard him. His mate,” Marge said to Harriet, nodding with satisfaction.
    Daisy leaped to her feet and hurried to the door. “Bye, all! Thanks for a lovely dinner!”
    Daisy walked out the door with Ryker, and when he shifted, she did too.
    This time he took it easy, strolling along the dirt road that led back to his house. He told himself that he was just being thoughtful – he wouldn’t want to make her run on a full stomach. Or did he want to see how she liked the quiet country road and the pack lands? Was she a city wolf at heart, or could she ever come to enjoy living in the country like this?
    She seemed to enjoy it, frequently sniffing at the air and the ground, strolling slowly, in no apparent hurry.
    When they got to his front door and shifted, she smiled and said, “Lovely land you’ve got here. Way more relaxed than my family’s lands. They’ve got everything mowed and trimmed to within an inch of its life.”
    “I know my family dragged you to their house to interrogate you,” Ryker grumbled as they walked into the living room.
    “It was fine,” Daisy said. “I actually enjoyed it.”
    “You mean they weren’t completely crazy?”
    “Oh my goodness, beyond crazy. Crazy doesn’t even begin to cover it.” She grinned at him. “You wouldn’t believe the kinds of questions they were asking me. Your mother told me that she could have her husband build us an extra-sturdy bed if we needed it. Wanted to know if there was any chance of grandcubs yet. Said she’d be fine with designing a wedding dress with a larger waistline if necessary, no judgement, but she hoped she’d get to pick the middle names.”
    Ryker turned red and spluttered. The fact that Daisy was still here was proof that miracles still happened.
    “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” he muttered, hurrying to the fridge to grab a beer.
    “More than a little,” she said with a grin.
    Then her face went serious as he sat down next to her, handed her a beer, and downed half of his in one long, desperate swallow. “I feel bad about lying to them, Ryker. They’re good people. I mean, I did try to remind them that we just met each other and all that, but then your cousins kept chiming in with stories about how their parents married after dating for a week, and…”
    He heaved a sigh. “I know. I’ve never seen my mother take to a woman the way she has with you. In fact, on the rare occasions I introduced her to anyone I was dating, she’d snarl at them and walk away.”
    “What?” Daisy said, appalled. “You’re not helping!”
    He cleared his throat. Now he was starting to feel really bad about it too. “Okay. You’re not lying to her. It’s true that we just met and we haven’t made any commitments. And she’s been a crazy, nosy momzilla for years. It’s not your fault.”
    “I guess,” she said doubtfully.
    “So should I offer you dinner?”
    She patted her stomach. “Not unless you want to see me literally explode. It won’t be a pretty sight. Your mom sure can cook, I’ll give her that. It almost makes up for all the crazy.”
    “Almost,” he said.
    “So, which rom-com shall we watch first?” she said. “I’ve got an enormous collection. I think we could pull an all-nighter. Didn’t your dating profile say you loved rom-coms?”
    “Um…uh…well…”
    She let him stare at her in open-mouthed dismay for a good ten seconds.
    “I’m kidding! I know your mother and your uncle made up your entire dating profile. Why are you staring at my face, by the way?” she asked.
    “Well, you’re incredibly sexy and beautiful. And also you’ve got a smear of blueberry jam on your lip.”
    Before she could say anything, before he could stop himself…he leaned forward and kissed it off her.
    She tasted sweet, and she stifled a low moan