You're Not My Mate

Swimming with Wolves

Aurelia POV

Liam carries me back up to the bedroom and settles me on the bed. I roll my eyes at him. “I can walk, you know. You should be keeping your strength.” I say, jabbing his chest with my finger. He pulls me into a hug. “I’d carry you everywhere for the rest of my life for that sweet strawberry smell.” When he talks like that, I swear it pulls directly on my heart strings.

He gets my phone from the table and passes it to me. “I’m just going to be down the hall in my office, baby. If you need anything, I’ll be straight here.” I lean closer to him and give him a peck on the lips. “You go work. I’ll come see you soon.” I promise. He nods, rubbing his nose in my hair, making me laugh and then leaves. I pull out my phone. Who to phone first? It has to be Lucia. 

The phone rings for literally 2 seconds when she answers. “OH MY GODDESS. WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? TELL ME EVERYTHING. ALL OF IT.” I laugh and fill her in on everything.. We are girl friends after all. She squeals, oohs and aahs in all the right places. “Oh girl. He sounds dreamy. Well, for you. I have my dreamy love monster.” I can’t help but join in her laugh. “You’re coming home for your party this weekend, right?” “Yes. I’ve even convinced Liam to dress up for it. He’s fetching his Alpha and Beta and I’m going to get those 2 to dress up too. I don’t know whether to invite their wives?” I ask out loud, wondering if they would be up for it - would they all be allowed to leave the pack house? This hadn’t actually occurred to me. And maybe Liam’s sister? “Could you give me two seconds?” I ask. “Sure, girl.”

I mind link to Liam.

“Liam?”

“Missing me already, sweet baby? I’ve only been gone 20 minutes.”

I chuckle and hear him sigh.

“I love your laugh. What do you need baby girl?”

“For my party.. Could we invite Cruz and Marcus’ wives? And your sister?”

“Of course. I’ll link them now. Or would you like to?”

“No, no. You ask them and then can you get them to meet us later so we can talk through it all?”

“Of course, sweet baby. I know they’ll be thrilled. Thank you for thinking of them.”

“I love you. See you soon.”

“Love you, baby girl.”

I cut the mind link. “Sorry, I just wanted to get Liam to ask them for me. I’ll update you..” I cut off. 

“It’s a yes for the girls. We’ll fly Friday, land Friday evening. Love you baby.”

“Thank you, love you.”

“Ok, it’s a yes for the girls. Could you add them to the numbers for me please?” “Sure, girl! It’ll be great to meet more of your new pack. Hey, are you going to call Junus?” She surprises me. She’s the one who always encourages me not to tease him or string him along and tries to keep us apart. “I had thought about it. Do you think he’ll wanna hear from me?” “Oh girl, he’s walked around moping ever since you left. He’d love to hear from you.” “OK. Anyway, we will fly Friday and get to you Friday evening. Ready for the party Saturday!” She squeals in delight. “Yes, girl! We still getting ready together?” “Yes!” We both shriek, excited to see each other again. Thank Goddess these walls are soundproof or Liam would have probably jumped in. 

We say our goodbyes and then I scroll down my phonebook to ‘Juno.’ I bite my lip, and then just hit dial. We didn’t leave on bad terms, why am I nervous? He answers even quicker than Lucia did. “Boo.” He sighs. “Ahh, Juno, my favourite campfire.” He laughs. “How are you, Boo? Everything OK? Settling in?” “Yes, missing you though. I’m back on Friday. I can’t wait to see you!” “Oh Boo, me too! It’s only been a couple of days and this place feels empty without you! You excited for your birthday?” “Yes. Do you have your costume?” “Yes. I hope you like it, because I don’t.” And we both burst out laughing. “Why did you have to choose Grease?” He groans. I whine through the phone and he laughs. “Fine, whatever my Boo wants.” I grin. Even when he finds a mate, I hope he never stops calling me Boo. 

We catch up - me skimming over certain details - for over 30 minutes. And then I can hear Dominik in the background calling him. “I gotta go, Boo. Don’t forget our promise.. We’ll talk everyday?” “Every day.” I promise. We say our goodbyes and then he goes. I decide to text my mother a quick update that we’ll be bringing extra numbers and be home Friday and then head out of the room down the hall. I follow the sweet smell of hot cross buns and know I’ve found his office. I can hear him screaming inside, and something feels off with him. Without even thinking, I just walk in. 

He looks up with a furious look in his eyes but his eyes soften when he sees that it’s me. He’s on the phone, beetroot red with veins almost popping out of his temples. I rush around and stand behind him, lean my head against his and massage his shoulders. Instantly, I can feel him start to relax and his voice quietens down. “Look. That’s the deal. Take it or leave it. I’m done pissing around. Make your decision and then phone Cruz. Good day.” And he hangs up. His head pushes back over his chair to look up at me.

“I leave you for an hour and this is how angry I find you?” I ask, tutting at him. He reaches up to cup my face. “Hi baby. Thank you for my massage. It’s amazing how quick you can help me calm down.” I smile sweetly and flutter my eyelashes at him. “Do you want me to call everyone in now to talk birthday plans?” He asks. I nod, excitedly. He stands up as his eyes cloud over briefly, and then comes to stand behind me. He lifts me over his large leather chair and then places me to sit down. “The room is yours, baby.” I grin, feeling as powerful as an Alpha sat here behind his desk. Within a few minutes the room is full. Cruz leads in Clara-Jane, and then stands behind her, hugging her tight to his chest. Marcus leads in Talula and takes her to a seat on a chair in the corner of the office, and stands next to her, his hand stroking her hair.

Then, in bounds Lola. “Ahhhh!!!!! Thank you. I’m SO excited to see your old home. And for your birthday!” She screams, high-pitched, enough to make all our ear drums burst. “LOLA SIT!” Booms Liam behind me. She pouts and sits in a chair on the opposite side of the desk looking right at me, the excitement brewing in her eyes.

“Thank you everyone for coming, and thank you so much for joining me to celebrate my birthday this weekend. Liam has sorted the travel arrangements so I’ll let him fill you in for those details. But, I just wanted to go over the party briefly. It’s on Saturday night and we’re travelling there on Friday. The party is in our grounds and... It’s a Grease theme. So, I would love for you all to dress up.” I look around beaming. Lola is internally squealing with delight. Clara-Jane and Talula both smile at me. Marcus’s face has dropped and Cruz looks furious. “Uhh, sorry kid. That’s a no.” I look up at Liam with a sad smile, who then looks directly at Cruz then Marcus. “You will both dress up for the party. Do you understand?” “Yes, Alpha.” They both say. I grin. This has perks. “I can order the costumes if you’re nervous Cruz?” I ask sweetly. The girls burst out laughing.

The girls all agree to do the shopping for costumes. And then I nudge Liam to take over. “OK. I’ve sorted the jet, we’ll be flying Friday morning at 10. We should be arriving at Emerald Moon Pack by about 4PM. Best behaviour, please.” Everyone nods and Liam dismisses them. Lola jumps onto the table, leans over and squeezes me into a tight hug and then runs out of the room, squealing. I can’t help but laugh.

“OK, you’ve had your fun, now about that swim?” He asks, rubbing my shoulders. I nod and stand up, holding his hand to walk back to the walk-in closet and grab my bikini. I pull on a green bikini, and a green cover up over it and then head back to where Liam is sitting on the bed. He has on a pair of red swim shorts and that’s it. His abs are perfect, shaped perfectly for his body. I have to try very hard to keep from licking my lips. He chuckles at my face and I try to hide it behind my hair. “You can’t hide from me sweet baby, I can smell you, feel you..” I roll my eyes at him and offer him my hand. “Come on, let’s see who’s the better swimmer.” 

“Oh sweet baby. I love you, but you know it’s going to be me.” I burst out laughing but shrug. I’ve spent most of my life in the pool since Junus taught me to swim. There’s not much else to do when you’re the nobody of the Alpha bloodline. But I’ll keep that as my secret until we’re in the pool. We walk hand-in-hand down the stairs, out of the house into the garden with the pool. He slips off his black sliders and sits on one of the sun beds while I slip off my flip flops and pull off my cover up. I can sense a mixture of feelings coming from him so I turn around to face him. He’s growling with warning eyes. “PUT the cover up back on.” I flash him a mischievous grin. “I am not playing, put the cover up back on. We have to buy you some new swimwear. Maybe a wetsuit.” I wink and walk away from him backwards, then turn around to shake my ass at him before diving into the pool.

I open my eyes and look around. The water in this pool is so clear. I’ve been building up my breathing over the years and I know I can hold my breath for at least 5 minutes under here. I consider staying under here to avoid getting in trouble with Liam. I laugh as I remember the look on his face. I start to swim up to the top and a big whoosh of water knocks me to the side and Liam’s face appears in front of mine.

“How long do you plan on staying down here? I thought you were drowning?!”

He reaches out to cup my face, panicking. I laugh and lean forward to kiss his lips. He kicks his legs and pulls us both to the top of the pool and takes a huge breath. “How do you stay underneath the water so long?” He asks, bewildered. I shrug. “I never had anything else to do growing up. So, I’d just spend everyday in the pool.” “By yourself?” I think back. “Hmm. Sometimes Juno would come in with me and Lucia. But she used to moan about getting her hair wet.” I roll my eyes remembering. He nods but seems sad.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, looking between his eyes to try and figure out what I’ve missed. He shakes his head. “Nothing. And I haven’t forgotten about your very inappropriate bikini.” I laugh, pull his head close to mine and show him my memory of his face with my bikini. I try and pull away but he holds my wrist to stop me moving. He pulls me back to him and leans his forehead against mine.

Liam POV

Watching her memory of my face when I see her in her bikini almost makes me sad. She remembers seeing rage, but that’s definitely not all I was feeling. So I figure I could try and show her. With her forehead against mine, I close my eyes and try my best to think back to seeing her in that little bikini and how amazing she looked, how lucky I felt for having her as my mate, how much it turned me on seeing her round ass squeezed into that little bit of green material, and how jealous I felt not wanting everyone else to see how amazing she is.

She pulls away and looks at me. “This is AMAZING.” I laugh but have to agree, I pull her in close to kiss her forehead. “You are so very special to me, baby.” She runs her hands through my wet hair, her grin covering her whole face. “I have a question for you actually.” And she pulls away to look at me closely. I’m surprised. “Yes, sweet baby?” “Well, when your wolves were on our land before the meeting. My father said that.. Um..” She bites her lip and I can sense her fear and sadness. What was wrong? I pull her close and hold her to my chest. “What’s wrong? Were you scared? They meant no harm, I promise.” “No, it’s not that. It’s just..” “Show me.” I ask. She shakes her head.

I’m surprised. “Why won’t you show me?” I ask. She looks up at me biting her lip, with tears in her eyes. “Please show me.” I plead. I can see how torn she is. But then she shakes her head more determined. “No, it’s just... My father said that they kept looking at me in my bikini. Was that you?” My eyes narrow at the thought of others eyeing up my sweet baby in her bikini. But I shake my head. “No, nobody reported anything to me about someone in a bikini. I had a few males with me who are desperately seeking either a mate for themselves.. Or for me.” I roll my eyes remembering when Cruz and Marcus made it their personal mission for about 6 months to find me a mate until I ordered them to stop.

“I promise, they were just intrigued. They had a telling off, I promise.” I laugh, pulling her close to my chest again. “I don’t want you to feel scared. Or that you can’t tell me anything. I want all of you. I’ll never stop loving you, as long as I live. But I want it all.” She nods, pulling back to wrap her arms around my neck. “Do you promise you’ll include me in everything too? Never hide anything from me and keep secrets?” I c**k my head to the side. I’ll protect her with my life, and it’s natural I’d want to hide something from her if I thought it would upset her. But looking at her sweet face and the innocence I nod. “If it’s important to you, I promise.” She nods, smiling and then kicks her legs to move her body onto her back to float on the top of the water.

“You couldn’t hide anything from me anyway. I can just read your memories.” She laughs, I give her a gentle nudge away with my foot, laughing back with her. Seeing her breasts floating around next to me makes my d**k throb. What I would do to take her again, right here, right now. But I knew there were eyes and ears everywhere in this f*****g house. And I wanted her moans all for myself. Theodore paces back and fore. He’s restless, wanting to meet Crimson. Not so much restless, as desperate to take her for himself. It was our wolves that have the mating process, so whatever I feel, is 100x stronger for him. “Theodore, I’ll speak to her later. And see when you can meet Crimson.” He growls happily at me.

I don’t know how long we’ve been out here but it’s starting to get dark. I know we’ve definitely missed lunch. But she looks so peaceful just floating around and I’m happy to sit and watch her little body float around. She flutters her eyes open and drifts towards me. As she gets closer I pull her body down under the water, against me and kiss her forehead. “I love you, so much.” She flashes me the most amazing smile. “I love you too, my big Hot Bun.” I groan and roll my eyes, praying nobody else hears that. She giggles and it’s enough to take away any other feeling.

“We better go in for dinner, don’t you think?” She asks. I pull her up my body as she wraps her legs around my waist. “I think we better dry off first, don’t you think, sweet baby?” She nods, biting her lip. “Want a race first?” My eyebrows shoot up. “A race?” She knows I’m the Alpha, surely? And she wants to race me? I laugh. “OK.” She tries to pull me to the end of the swimming pool and I follow her. “OK on the count of 3, we push off from the wall and swim up to the other side. First one there wins.” I struggle to listen to what she says, the excitement in her eyes and how happy her little face is takes all of my attention. 

“Are you listening?” She asks, crossly. I nod, smiling sweetly at her. “OK. 3..2..” I get ready to kick my leg off the wall and position it ready. “OW.” I panic and spin around to her to see what’s wrong, what’s hurt her?

“GO”

“Oh you minx!”

She faked an injury to get a head start. I’m shocked, but swim after her as fast as I can. As Alpha, every part of me is heightened, especially my speed. I catch her foot just as she’s about to touch the side of the pool and pull her back through the water towards me. “No!” She pouts when I pull her face to mine. “You, sweet baby, are a big cheat.” She throws her head back laughing and wraps her legs around my waist, I put one of my hands behind her back to help keep her up against me, and the other I let fall under her ass cheek, squeezing it. I walk her towards the end of the pool to push her up against the wall. And she stretches her hand back and touches it. “I WIN!” She shouts proudly. “Seriously?” I ask and she grins wickedly, nodding. 

Aurelia POV

I glory in my victory. There was no way I’d beat an Alpha officially, and I knew pretending to be hurt would distract him enough to give me a head start. But I hadn’t realised just how fast he is for how quick he caught me up. I kiss him gently on the lips, with my legs still wrapped around his waist. His abs are so hard against my body, so perfect. He pushes me up against the wall, squeezing my ass cheeks, but before we can take it any further my stomach rumbles and we hear Lola screeching “DINNER WILL BE READY IN 10 MINUTES!” 

I can hear him mumble “c**k block.” And shake his head. I reach up, brushing his wet hair out of his face. His face is angled perfectly, just like a Roman God. I stroke it gently with my thumb. “Come on, let’s get dry and inside and have dinner.” I stick out my bottom lip pouting but he flashes his teeth and bites down on my bottom lip.

“Sweet baby, I did warn you.”

I laugh and he gently tugs it once more and then licks and kisses it. “Come on, as much as I would love to bury my d**k inside you right now.. I don’t want everyone else to hear your o****m. Just me. And I’ll have you screaming tonight.” I blush at his words. He lifts me and pushes me up out of the pool and climbs out next to me. He picks up a towel out of my bag that I brought down and sits behind me, wrapping me up in it, drying me off. I have to admit, lying in the pool all day has actually worn me out, and I can feel myself falling asleep against his chest. He chuckles and I shake myself awake.”Sorry.” I murmur. He laughs again, and lifts me to my feet. “Do you want me to carry you to the bedroom to get changed?”

Usually I would protest, but instead I just lift up my arms as an invitation. He bends down and lifts me up, carrying me bridal style all the way through the house and up to our bedroom. I trace circles on his chest, admiring how strong and hard it is. I’m almost sad when we get to the bedroom and he puts me down. I wrap my hair up into a bun on top of my head, hoping it dries naturally. I hate using the hairdryer. And then pull out a pair of high waist skinny jeans and a stone grey bodysuit. I put them on, pull out a necklace with a wolf on it, one that Junus gave me for my 18th birthday. And then slide into a pair of heeled, open toe ankle boots.

I walk back into the bedroom just as Liam is pulling on grey sweat pants. He has a black tight t-shirt on that clings to all his muscles. I can even see the outline of his abs. I walk over to him and push him back towards the bed, and straddle myself on his lap. “I like this t-shirt, a lot.” I whisper as I kiss my mark on his neck. “I’ll wear it everyday.” He nuzzles back into my neck, making me giggle. His eyes cloud over briefly and then come back to me. “Time for dinner. We’re being summoned.” I stick my tongue out at him.  He flashes his teeth and I suck it back in before he can bite it. I stand up, offer him my hand and we walk down to dinner together.

Dinner is very different here. Instead of a plated meal, Jordan cooks loads of different foods and plates it up buffet style on the table. Everyone is sat mouth watering, waiting for us to arrive - or rather, waiting for the Alpha to arrive. When we walk in, everyone stands until we take our seats at the top of the table. When we sit down, everyone else takes their seats. Liam leans over and starts piling all different foods onto my plate. There’s ribs, steak, mashed potato, garlic bread, pizza. I hold my hand up to stop him. How much does he think I can eat? 

“So, Alpha, what are the plans for this week before Friday? Do you need me to go into the office?” Marcus asks. Him and Liam start discussing plans. I eat my way through my plate, finishing it all. Some staff hurry in and take away the empty plates and then start fetching dessert out. There’s bowls of strawberries, apples, fruits, watermelon, pineapple, strawberry cheesecake, chocolate fudge cake and vanilla cupcakes. Liam and Cruz are now discussing travel plans and who will remain in charge of the pack while we are gone. My mind is too tired, and I don’t know enough about the pack to be offering opinions right now anyway. I pick up a strawberry and go to eat it until Liam’s mind link makes me jump.

“Do not eat that.”

“Why? Is it poisoned?”

I panic and drop it back onto the plate.

“Strawberries are for our bedroom. Just me and you. We’ll take them up with us.”

My internal mouth drops open but I try and stay composed on the outside. He doesn’t miss a beat and goes straight back into conversation with Cruz. I decide to have some fun and pick up a strawberry, biting into it and sucking it as I pull the top off. 

“Sweet baby. I swear I’ll take you over my knee if you carry on.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“I would. In front of everyone.”

“Mmm. But these taste so good.”

“OK great, Cruz. I’m sure my father will be happy to run the pack in our absence, reach out to him this evening to make sure he’s back by Thursday for an update before we fly. You ready to go, baby?” He asks, turning to me. “Two minutes, I’m just enjoying these strawberries. Jordan has a knack for picking the fresh ones.” His eyes go black and I clamp my lips together, letting out a soft moan as I eat the strawberry.

“Bedroom. NOW.”

“Yes, Sir.”

I flutter my eyelashes at him. “Please excuse me. I’m exhausted. I’ll see you all later.” I stand up, and Liam stands with me. “I’ll come with you, baby.” “Oh, it’s OK. You haven’t had dessert yet. And if you have stuff to sort with Cruz and Marcus, I’ll see you in a bit.” He purses his lips at me, and then picks up a bowl of strawberries. “Cruz, please sort with my father.” He nods, chuckling to himself. As soon as we walk out of the kitchen, I run up the stairs with Liam chasing me. I know I’ll never outrun him though.

Liam POV

She’s going to be sorry teasing me through dinner with those strawberries. And her smell. And her mouth. Who am I kidding. Just looking at her is enough of a tease for me. As soon as we left the kitchen she broke into a run, so of course I had to break into a run after her. I could easily catch her, but I decide to let her think she can outrun me for now.

When we get to the bedroom, she opens the door and rushes inside, shutting it behind her. I knock the door politely. 

“Who is it?”

“Sweet baby girl. Open this door before I knock it down.”

“Oh, you big bad wolf. If you break that door down, we won’t have anymore privacy until it’s fixed.”

“I have strawberries. Please let me in.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Every time she calls me sir, my d**k throbs and aches for her. As soon as she opens this door, I swear I’ll f**k her mouth. She opens the door, slyly popping her head around the door. I look at her suspiciously. What has she done? “Come on!” She shouts at me, trying to pull me in. I step inside and she slams the door shut behind me. I turn to her and she’s wearing a small black babydoll outfit, with a pair of black stockings and red high heels. “Do you like it?” She asks, her eyes looking for reassurance on my face.

I walk up against her, and pick up her hand, resting it against my d**k through my jeans. “What do you think?” Her face lights up. I bend down and grab her ass, before pulling her up. She wraps her legs around me as I push her up against the wall, sucking and biting her neck. “I’ve wanted you all day since I saw you in that bikini. This is gonna be fast, and hard. Hold on.” She nods at me, gasping for air.

I lift up her babydoll. I knew she’d have no underwear on. It’s my favourite part about her. That quick and easy access. I lower her down slightly, while I unzip my jeans and lower my pants. I rub my fingers along her entrance and over her c**t, massaging her and feeling her juices wet her. And then, with one swift movement, I thrust my d**k straight inside her. I love the way her p***y wraps itself around my d**k. She’s so tight. Oh Goddess. I start slow, sliding in and out of her. And her legs grip me tighter. I love how even with her full strength, she’s like a little pup poking me.

But, I take it as the invitation that she’s ready. “I love f*****g you!” I growl, and I start thrusting in and out, hard and fast. All you can hear in the room are my balls slapping against her skin as I thrust in and out, and her muffled screams and moans. My d**k throbs every time it hears my name. I love the noises I can get her to make and the pleasure I bring her. I grip her hips tightly and she pushes down on me hard, I go even faster. I can feel her getting close, and that’s all I need. A growl rips through my chest, I grab hold of her hips and I hammer home, over and over, so fast and hard that I think my legs are actually going to give out below me. “OH s**t LIAM!” She screams as she hits her o****m. 

Her body shakes through it, and then she leans forward to bite her mark on my neck. “OH f**k!” I groan as a growl rips through me. I continue pumping as I empty all of my juices into her. When I know I’m completely empty I ease my grip on her hips, resting my head on her shoulder. “I will never get tired of this.” I half-warn her and I can sense her happiness flooding through the mate bond. “Me either. I love you, Liam.” I kiss her forehead gently. “I love you too, baby girl.” Our breathing starts to even out and I look down and see bruises on her hips where I’ve marked her from gripping her so tight. “Oh s**t. I’m sorry, baby.” I carry her to the bed and slide out of her as I put her down. “Oh baby, I’m sorry.” I hadn’t realised how carried away I’d gotten. She’s got bite marks on her neck. That was more intense than I realised. She looks up at me, wrapping her arms around me and lays down, trying to pull me on top of her. I feel conflicted.

“Please, come to me.”

I sigh, and crawl over her, then drop next to her and kiss the marks on her neck. They’re starting to heal already. “Why are you sad?” She asks. I look at her face and she’s searching through my eyes. Before I can even process what she’s doing she puts her forehead against mine and memories come flurrying to me. Is she looking for a memory? She tries to push me onto my back so I oblige, she crawls and lays on top of me. “I’ll heal in a few minutes. And that was the best s*x ever. You want a strawberry?” She ruins me. How can she be so sweet? And so unbothered about the marks on her skin?

She sits up and climbs off the bed to get the strawberries. She comes and sits on the bed next to me and dangles a strawberry over my mouth. “Eat.” She orders. The corners of my lips tug upwards and I open my mouth. She puts the strawberry in my mouth along with two fingers. I suck them all and kiss them as she pulls them out again. She does this with the next 4 strawberries. I sit up properly to look at her. The bite marks are healed on her neck already, and the bruises are yellowing, almost gone. She definitely has Alpha blood in her, she’s healing fast. Even faster than I would. That would usually take me a day.

She takes the opportunity to crawl over and sit on my lap, grinding softly against my d**k, facing me and feeds me another strawberry. I close my eyes. She’s going to destroy me when she’s in heat. I just know it. 

“You know, I have one of these in red too.” She wiggles her eyebrows at me. I pull her against my chest and breathe her in. “I’m going to buy you one in every colour.” She giggles softly against my chest and I kiss the top of her hair. I never want to see her hurt and knowing I had hurt her has made me feel guilty. Theodore has also been letting me know of his disapproval of hurting our mate.. “Please stop thinking. You’re my Casanova. But you’re also a bad wolf. And I love both sides. You didn’t hurt me. There was far too much pleasure for me to feel pain.” She grins at me. “Ah, sweet baby.” I pull her close and give her a deep kiss on the lips. She snakes her tongue into my mouth and our tongues dance together. 

I come up for air before she does. No wonder she could stay underwater for so long. She grins at me with her eyes still closed. I look at the clock on the wall and can see it’s almost midnight. “Come on baby, let’s go to sleep.” She nods sleepily at me, so I lift her gently and lay her down. I strip, switch the lights off, and crawl into bed behind her, pulling her close to me to spoon against. And I fall asleep dreaming of a future filled of Aurelia and strawberries.