Linked By Fate

Chapter 8

The birds chirping outside woke me. My body felt heavy, but in a good way. Looking over, I'm face to face with a sleeping Riley. Last night was beyond anything my imagination could have cooked up. His hands, lips, body on mine drove me insane. No one mentioned the intense passion, the overwhelming connection that took place when two fated mates claimed each other. It was so strong that I blacked out each time we did it, which was three times total, by the way.

Not wanting to wake him, I placed a soft kiss on his cheek, and carefully slid out from under the covers. Having slept naked, I went about finding something to wear today so I could go make breakfast for him. A quick shower would help to loosen my tight muscles. Riely had me in positions I never knew existed. It kind of hurt to remember that I was not his first, yet he was mine. I cried a few times during our lovemaking whenever I thought about it. Now that we're mated, I will not be able to hide my feelings or emotions from him.

Turning on the water so it could heat up, I caught my reflection in the mirror. During the night, my physique went through some changes. I'm still curvy and thick, but any excess fat that was on me has disappeared. I have definition and abs in my abdominal area. My breasts have tightened up to the point where they perk up nicely. My thighs and calf muscles are on point. In other words, I looked hotter than hot. Riley's sperm ain't no joke.

Showering fast, I got dressed in a pair of ripped jeans and a tank top, wanting to show off my new body to my man. Pulling on a pair of socks and slides, I gave myself one more look in the mirror. My butt even sits up more than it did before. What is in Riley's sperm that causes such profound physical attributes as those on my body? He deserves an award or something. It's really amazing.

Finally, making it to the kitchen, I pull out the eggs, spinach, tomatoes, onions, and ham, preparing to make a delicious quiche for breakfast. In my element, it doesn't take long to have everything chopped, mixed, and seasoned in the crust that was oven ready. Having preheated the oven while I was working, the quiche was ready for the oven. After setting the timer, I went about cutting up some fruit to go along side the quiche. Riley is very particular about his diet during the season, so well-balanced meals with a lot of protein, veggies, and fruits will be on the menu for the next five months or more, including the playoffs.

Sitting at the dining room table off from the living room, I powered up the laptop to finish up the work I missed this week. It was fairly easy work. The essay for my literature class was finished weeks ago, so that was one less thing that would interfere with my time with Riley. I wanted to make many memories while we are here this weekend. There won't be another chance to come here before Christmas.

A shiver runs down my spine as I sense Riley's presence behind me not soon before his head drops next to my ear. "Good morning, sweetheart. It was heartbreaking to wake up to your sweet scent, only to find you were not there. I was looking forward to cuddling with you and doing naughty things before breakfast. It seems that I did not get enough of you last night."

I gasped in surprise when he bent down further to suck on my neck. "Mmm, sorry baby. I wanted to fix breakfast for you. You put in a lot of work last night and needed your rest this morning. We have nothing special planned today, so we can maybe have a little workout later to help melt away some of the calories we're about to take in. How does that sound?"

Turning my face to his, Riley gave me a heated kiss filled with so much promise that I almost said to heck with breakfast. Heat pooled in my belly as my s*x parts throbbed for him. My best friend is kissing me and causing so many dirty things to race through my mind. A tiny part of me is still scared to allow myself to feel this way towards him.

"Hey, where did you go just now?" The concerned look on his face had me freezing in place. I forgot that fast about him being able to feel my emotions through our mate bond.

I was about to answer, when there was a sudden knock at the door. We looked at each other because no one knew about our being here except his parents. Giving me a quick kiss and also reminding me that we would talk later, he moved to answer the door. Rising up, I followed behind him to see who it was. Opening the door, we are faced with the appearance of Julie. She has an overnight bag in her hand. Why can't this girl take a hint?

"What are you doing here, Julie? How did you know I was here?" The tone in his voice was too nice for me. She stepped inside, trying to kiss his cheek, but he stepped back in the knick of time.

"Come on, no kiss for me. I'm sure Cooper can handle a little kiss. We used to kiss all the time." Julie looked at me with a smirk. "

Walking over to Riley, we met in the middle for a repeat of the kiss he gave me moments ago. His fingers dug into my hips as I bit his bottom lip, letting him know that I was not pleased with her presence. The timer I sat for the quiche went off, interrupting us. "It'll be time to eat soon, okay," I said before walking away, but not before leveling Julie with a glare that could freeze her into a statue if I had that type of power.

I could feel Riley's eyes taking me in from head to toe as I walked towards the kitchen. He did not hide it either, letting out a deep growl that had me throbbing again. Why the heck is she here?

"What's with the overnight bag? I know you don't think your staying?" I questioned her as I pulled the quiche out of the oven, letting it sit for five minutes before cutting it.

"I heard my mom talking with Rita. Hearing that Riley was here, I came to give him one last chance to reject you and come back to my side where he truly belongs. You're not mated yet, so there is still time." Her words have anger sizzling inside of me.

Riley came over to stand behind me, placing his arms around my waist. Whispering in my ear, "Cooper, what happened to your body? Your curves are more profound, as are other parts of you. Did this come from my feeling you up with my sperm last night?"

A moan escaped me as he rubbed his hard-on against my butt. "Yeah, you have some super sperm or something. Thank you for the upgrade."

"If you're trying to piss me off, it's working, Riley." Julie snaps from the door of the kitchen.

"What I do with my mate is not your concern. No one invited you, so deal with the consequences of your actions." While he went in on her, I ran my fingers along the bite mark I placed between his neck and shoulder. He visibly trembled from my touch. "As for the statement you made about it not being mated, you're wrong. We are 100% a fated pair in every way possible."

That made Julie's nasty side come out even more. "How does it feel to know that you weren't his first, that I was with him before you? Bet that hurts a lot."

Riley's grip on me tightens because I'm sure he can feel the pain I feel from her words since they were true. "Not as painful as it is for you to know that I'm the one wearing his mate crescent and his claim bite. I'm done being nice. You need to head back home away from me and my mate. Your tricks are not going to work. You're not wanted nor are you welcomed here." The dominance of my personality pushes up to the surface inside me. Playtime is over. "Riley Jasper is my fated mate as I am his. We are one another's forever, and I am happy about that. I'm happy that the Fates chose my best friend, the person more important to me than my own self, as my mate. You are his past, I am his present, his future, as he is mine. Now, would you kindly leave or do you need to be physically removed?"

Moving back towards the front door, Julie turns, "I'm leaving, but I refuse to let him go. This isn't over?"

As she left, I turned to Riely, "A restraining order needs to be put into place when we get back home. It's obvious she isn't gonna stop." His response, however, is not what I anticipated. "She's just having a hard time of it. We were together for two years. Julie needs time to accept things and move on."

Shocked, I stared at him with a look of disbelief. It's right there in front of me and I failed to see it. "You still have feelings for her, don't you? Why else would you say something like that? This is unbelievable. I gave myself to you, mated with you because I thought that you wanted me, had feelings for me. Turns out I'm a handy replacement for your ex in bed. Us being fated means nothing to you, does it?" Tears burn my eyes as I rushed to leave the kitchen.

"What are you talking about? It's not like that at all. I'm trying to have a little compassion for her. Is that wrong?"

Rounding on him, I let him see the tears, anger, and pain that were flooding me at the moment. "Yes, it's wrong. The girl just said that she is not giving up on coming after you, my mate, and yet you still want to have compassion for her, befriending her. The morning when we found out we were mates is when you should have cut all ties with her. Do you think I don't know that you still talk with her, text her? You're doing nothing but giving her false hope, or is it more than that? Instead of worrying about her feelings, maybe you could think of mine for once. You know me, your fated mate, your best friend. The one who keeps getting pushed to the freaking side for the sake of your ex. I'm done playing second fiddle to her."

I left him in the kitchen dumbfounded. The pain that flooded our mate-bond had me on the floor of the bathroom in tears, balled up in the fetal position. It was not supposed to be like this. He was supposed to put me, put us before her. As he banged on the door of the bathroom, I cried until I couldn't cry anymore, then I let my eyes close, surrendering to the darkness that surrounded me. I never should have gotten my hopes up.

For the first time in ten years, I felt like slitting my wrist.