Chapter IX
1237 Words
Lycus' POV
Now that I had her hand held securely in mine, Baron was finally relaxing. He had wanted me to race straight to Fae and drag her back to the house and make sure she never left again. It had taken a lot of willpower to keep him under control. I avoided meeting eyes with anyone as I guided her into the house and back up to our room. The Anders had brought a tray of food up to our room for us and so I intended to stay in the room with my mate for the rest of the evening.
Closing the bedroom door, I drew her back to the couch, avoiding the bed entirely. We sat down and I turned to look her in the face.
"So do you want to talk about what happened?"
She shrugged, a slight flush coloring her cheeks. "I panicked."
"Because I told you my father decided he wouldn't pass the title of Alpha to me until I was mated."
She nodded without saying anything.
"And you think that I only want you so that I can be Alpha."
"Well, didn't you think that when you first saw me?"
"Actually, I'm surprised to say I hadn't thought about it at all until you mentioned Rose and Jerricka had called you Luna. I have been trying to talk my father into naming me Alpha for almost two years, but today all I could think about was you."
"Really?" She sounded a little hopeful.
I leaned toward her my lips barely a breath from hers and responded "yes" before brushing her lips with mine. A light breath of a kiss was all I had intended but her lips opened, her tongue sliding across my lip. I felt a growl rumble deep in my chest as my hand speared into her hair and I leaned back pulling her on top of me and deepening our kiss as she landed on my lap. This seemed to meet her approval as she was moaning. I forced myself to stay in control. Simply running my hand up and down her side loving the feel of her on me. She was incredible.
Her hand slipped under my shirt, her fingers digging into my abs. It was an incredible feeling. I moaned into her mouth, struggling to keep from flipping her under me and taking her on the couch right there. The taste of her was driving me crazy her scent was everywhere and I wanted nothing more than to sink deep into her while marking the perfect skin on her neck. I started kissing along her jawline, her head fell back leaving it wide open for me.
Fuck, she was amazing. I wanted her with everything in me. I ran my lips down her neck before gripping the back of her neck pulling her back down to bring her lips back to mine.
Eventually, I broke off the kiss. I wasn't sure I would be able to stop myself from pushing things further if I didn't stop now.
She laid her forehead against mine as we both struggled to catch our breath.
"Wow," She whispered.
"Yeah." I kissed her cheek and asked her "Hungry?"
Her eyes lit up, which made me laugh. "Well, the Anders brought something up. Want to take a look?"
"Yes!"
We spent the rest of the evening munching on the huge amount of food the Anders had brought and talking about books. We avoided the big subjects but I enjoyed getting to know my mate. She was smart, funny, and insightful. If she could learn to feel comfortable in our pack, I think she and I could have a great life together.
After a couple of hours of talking, I noticed my adorable mate stifling a yawn. "Ready for bed little mate?"
"I'm not lit..." her sentence was interrupted by a yawn.
"Uh-huh. I know you're not. Come on, let's get you to bed." I stood up, expecting her to stand with me, but she simply snuggled down into the couch.
Fae's POV
"What are you doing?"
I was surprised by his question. Obviously, I was laying down to go to sleep. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, our bed is ten feet that way." And he pointed to the bed as if I might have forgotten how to get there.
"Our bed?"
"Yes, our bed. When is the last time you slept in a bed?"
I yawned, my eyes drifting a little closed. "A few years ago I stayed in a shelter for a couple of nights. They had cots." I didn't look up to see what he thought of that, but considering the long silence, he was not enjoying the picture I had just painted for him.
"Yeah. You're sleeping in our bed." He sounded pretty determined. "Do you need to use the bathroom before bed?"
I nodded.
"Then go take care of that and let's get some sleep."
I wasn't sure how to feel but I needed to use the bathroom, so I got up and went.
After fighting the knotted belt off, my pants fell right off. I rolled my eyes and stepped out of them. After using the toilet, I brushed my teeth and washed my face. I was unable to resist the simple luxury of indoor plumbing. After I felt clean, I pulled off the shirt and helped myself to a fresh one from the drawer in his closet, then went back into the bedroom to rejoin my mate.
"Perfect. You changed for bed." He pulled back the covers for me to climb in. After tucking the luxurious sheets around me, he kissed me on the forehead. "I'll be right back." and he headed for the bathroom himself.
I couldn't resist sinking into the soft as butter sheets. I'm sure I had sheets as luxurious when I was in the pack but it was hard to imagine I had ever been able to sleep this comfortably. No need to listen to my surroundings while trying to sleep. It was such a foreign concept I didn't know if I would be able to sleep through the night. Especially not with him in bed with me.
What if he wants to mark me tonight? How will I handle that? I should have insisted on a different room.
Stop it. You know you don't want a different room. Just trust him a little
But what if he tries to mark me?
Then tell him to stop.
Oh yeah because that worked so well last time.
He's not like HIM and you know it.
Do I?
My inner argument was interrupted by the bathroom door opening. Lycus walked up to the bed, lifted the blankets on the opposite side of the bed, and climbed in, sliding close to me.
"Come here, little mate. Let's get some sleep." He pulled my back against his chest and laid his head on the pillow. "Sweet dreams."
I had tensed up when he reached for me, but if he noticed, he didn't say anything. He simply snuggled his face into my hair, kissed the back of my neck, and relaxed to go to sleep.
It was only a few minutes before his breathing became slow and even. The sound of him sleeping was like my own personal lullaby. I found my muscles relaxing and it wasn't long before I had drifted off to sleep.
- Writer
