“Yeah. I do.”

Share his bounty? Maybe somewhere along the lines I had missed the part about words exchanged in a mating ceremony, but I almost wanted to burst out laughing.

“Naya James, do you promise to honor this man and do as you’re told?”

“Excuse me?” I gasped, ready to stand up.

He chuckled. “That gets ’em every time,” he said to Romeo. “Sorry, that’s just a little mating-ceremony humor.”

“You’re getting less funny,” I said.

He cleared his throat and took on a serious look. “Naya James, do you promise to honor this man, stand by his side, protect his good name, and always be loyal?”

I frowned. “What about love?”

The Councilman shrugged. “That’s always been optional.”

“Indeed,” William remarked in a judgmental tone.

The man scratched at his white beard. “Not everyone mates for the same reasons. Do you want to negotiate the rules, or shall we proceed?”

“Well, just for the record, I promise to do all those things and love him.”

“Yeah, me too,” Wheeler quickly said.

“Too late,” Denver quipped in a low voice. “You flubbed up on that one, bro.”

Trevor elbowed him in the side.

The Councilman handed us his little book. “Sign your name, and you are hereby officially mated.”

“Isn’t that romantic?” Lexi said in a flat voice, her chin still tucked in the palm of her hand.

I winked at her. “Romance comes in all forms, darling. This couldn’t be more perfect.” I signed my name and handed the book to Wheeler. “Maybe someday you’ll get around to having a nice wedding,” I suggested.

When Austin’s face reddened, I smiled surreptitiously and stood up to kiss my new life mate.

Wheeler pulled his glasses from the pocket in his shirt and put them on. I blinked in surprise, as he hadn’t mentioned it to me, but I had suspected as much. They were sexy—a rectangular pair of black frames that made me want to drag him back to the heat house. He read the page in the book carefully and then signed his name. When he looked up, he folded the glasses and set them on the table. “No more secrets. Call me four-eyes and have your fun with it, but I need them for reading, so get over it.”

With a snap of his wrist, Wheeler flung the book on the table and snaked his arms around me, scratching my chin with his whiskers as he planted a kiss on my mouth. A little tongue action slipped in and I moaned, squeezing his nipples through the thin fabric of his shirt.

He sucked in a sharp breath. Everyone clapped and made noise, and our two guests slowly stood up to leave.

“Let’s save the foreplay for later, kitty cat,” he whispered in my ear.

“We’ll just be on our merry way,” the older gentleman said. “Be good, you two. I don’t want to see you in Shifter divorce court.” He cackled, and I peered over Wheeler’s shoulder to watch them leave.