“Touch me anywhere except my hand,” I muttered to Torin from beneath a fake smile, “and I will make you wish you could reject me again.”

He grimaced, swallowing hard, but didn’t argue as he took my hand into his much larger one. I forced my smile to remain in place, even as a vision of ripping my shoe off and stabbing him through the chest with the stiletto heel flickered briefly through my mind.

No doubt I needed anger management help, but if that was the case, there was only one pack to blame for that. They were finally reaping what they’d sowed.

When we stepped out onto the main floor, lots of faces turned our way, nodding respectfully, but it wasn’t crowded yet, allowing us to walk uninterrupted. Which, unfortunately, gave Torin time to talk to me.

“At what point are you going to let go of your virgin status?” he asked bluntly—and kind of rudely, since this wasn’t really the time or place for a damn sex talk.

But hey, I wasn’t shy, and if he wanted to hash it out tonight, then he was about to get some real talk. “I’ll never give my body to a shifter until I think they’re worthy of it,” I said just as bluntly as the alpha. He opened his mouth, and I cut him off. “That doesn’t mean I hold myself above anyone else, because I don’t. What it does mean is I have a hand and a vibrator, and if getting off was my sole aim, it’s more than covered. With sex… I want a bond and a connection. I want mutual fucking respect. I really don’t think that’s too much to ask.”

His head jerked as he took a quick, frantic look around in the worry other shifters had heard my words. Apparently, this was personal business he wanted kept secret, and yet he was the one who’d brought it up here.

Dickhead.

“You always have to fight everything,” Torin finally said when he was satisfied that no one had overheard. “Even when we were children, you could never just let it be. Always picking at issues. Digging deeper. Sticking your nose where it didn’t belong, which is clearly a family trait. It got your father into trouble, and I just don’t want to see you going down the same path. We’re mated. That’s not changing. I just need to feel a deeper connection with you.”

Translation: My “dick” needs a deeper connection with you. Eye fucking roll.

More important than his poor “neglected” penis was the mention of my father. Lockhart Callahan had destroyed my entire life when he’d attacked Alpha Victor, a crime he’d been executed for. But at least his punishment had been over immediately, unlike my mother’s and mine.

“Tell me what caused my father to attack Victor,” I said suddenly.