“They already insisted on coming, didn’t they?”
He grins, flashing his canines. “What can I say?” He pulls me into a kiss, ignoring his mom’s wolf whistle. “I can hardly resist you. How am I supposed to resist an entire conspiracy of Ravenswoods?”
We kiss, and I know without a doubt that I am the luckiest shifter on the planet.
EPILOGUE
POE
My family warned me that once I was mated, things would move quickly. They weren’t lying. After all of us returned from Oak Harbor—our parents got along like gangbusters, natch—it didn’t make sense to keep living as a guest in Thorin’s house, at least according to him. After celebrating, then celebrating a little more, then cleaning up, then cleaning up again, we boxed up most of my stuff and took it to his place.
We haven’t been apart for a single day since. That is, until this week.
Thorin has continued to work with his team in Seattle, and they had a big company meeting at the main office. I couldn’t go with him, even though I finally hired someone for the shop.
While I can trust Daphne to run things when I need to take a few days, Bee Cave Buzzfest is this week, and we have a booth. Tech and art types depend heavily on caffeine and, as it happens, have a similar addiction toshiny things. It’s all Daphne and I can do to keep enough coffee and trinkets on hand.
All of which is to say I haven’t seen my beloved in three days, and I am about to go out of my fucking mind. His flight takes off in an hour, and he’ll be home late tonight, so I’m exhausting my energy running around the booth, checking out the festival, and coordinating with other local businesses, trying to stave off the deep longing for Thorin’s strong arms.
Not to mention his massive cock.
All the running around is almost enough to make me feel normal.Almost. Who would’ve thought that we still can’t get enough of each other after six months? It’s not the sex—er, notjustthe sex. I really do like being with him.
On top of that, the bond between us has only grown stronger. Even though Thorin’s way across the country, I can still tell when he’s happy or bored or missing me.
Did I take advantage of his boredom last night by jacking off to the thought of his broad tongue breaching my tight asshole? Possibly. I certainly can’t be blamed when he FaceTime'd me thirty seconds later and we finished together.
I’m just saying’, we’ve been having fun with this mated business. Even now, in the middle of rushing around, I can feel how anxious he is to see me. It’s as if his soul is traveling ahead of his body, too impatient to wait on air travel.
Thankfully, before I can get too morose, there’s a lull between sessions and we’re overrun with caffeineseekers and impulse buyers. I send Daphne off to take a break while I restock and reset the booth.
“Looks like they’ve kept you busy,” a deep voice says as familiar hands land on my shoulders.
I close my eyes and let out a sigh from the bottom of my toes. “Oh, thank Goddess. How are you here?” I ask, spinning in my beloved’s arms. The glow of his eyes and the iridescent shimmer in his hair does it for me every time.
“Got on an earlier flight.” He pushes aside his carry-on as I hop into his arms and wrap my legs around his waist. His eyes crinkle with his smile. “Couldn’t stand another minute away from you.”
I start talking and kissing him at the same time. “I’m so happy. You have no. Idea. I was. Going to go insane. Without you.”
He laughs between kisses and pulls me in tight. “I’d make some joke about you already being insane, but me too, baby. It was great to get up to Seattle, to see my people, but let’s never do that again.” Leaning in close to my ear, he whispers, “You should’ve seen the size of my nuts last night.”
“I did,” I whisper back, rolling my hips.
“I was in a bad way, even after our little FaceTime rendezvous.”
“Poor baby,” I say, patting his cheek. His pupils flare with passion, and I suddenly remember a very important detail. “So, if I know the location of a private bathroom for the vendors, would that interest you?”
Before Thorin can answer, Daphne walks up, a grin on her face.
“It’s good to see y’all are still as passionate as you were when I first interviewed.”
Thorin lets me down gently and I lean back against him, loving how my mate automatically surrounds me in his warm embrace. Puzzling at her words, I ask, “What do you mean?”
“It was pretty clear that you two’d been fucking right before I walked in.”
She holds up her hands when we both try to protest, and we know the gig is up. Gesturing at us, she shakes her head. “Just go home. I can handle this afternoon, and I’ll get Clark from the candy booth to help me with the breakdown tomorrow.”
Thorin and I exchange a filthy look, and he picks me up again. “You don’t have to tell me twice,” he growls, stalking toward the front entrance.
