No matter how valid that fear and trauma were.
“I understand that. I absolutely do.” She gave me a hurt look, but the anger was gone. “And I wouldn’t have objected or tried to interfere. Please don’t go behind my back again.”
Shit, her being disappointed in me was so much worse than yelling or breaking things like I was used to. “I’m sorry. I won’t.” I cleared my throat and squirmed when she simply gave a sharp nod. I decided to tell her about going for a run and talking with Gerald.
“So you weren’t with Kenneth this whole time?” she hedged, some of the tension I hadn’t noticed leaving her shoulders.
Oh shit.Oh fuck. She thought I was talking to her ex-husband for hours.
Yeah, she should absolutely be disappointed in me.
“No,no, Aurora. I think—I talked to him less than ten minutes. If that. It was… I just needed to see him myself.” I moved over by her and didn’t move until she stopped what shewas doing and looked up at me. “I don’t like that you suffered this long wondering and upset. Next time, call me. I would have immediately come to you and fixed this. I’m really sorry.”
She pursed her lips and I gave her a soft kiss. “Thank you for saying that. I truly feel you believe that and you care for my feelings when you act this way.”
I cupped her cheek. “Nothing is more important to me than you, Aurora. Nothing. You’re my mate. I don’t want you to ever worry about anything with me and have questions. Everything stops and I come to you.” I gave her another kiss and then let her have her space.
She cleared her throat again and then did something that made all the blood pool in my groin, something she’d been doing to be bolder. “Yes, well, then I will accept what happened after you apologize fully after dinner. I think this is a matter that should be handled with many more kisses and all over.”
“Absolutely. I couldn’t agree more,” I replied and tried not to purr.
Dinner was great, but I couldn’t hide my anticipation. She was undoubtedly clued in because she was clearing her throat the whole time to the point I almost worried she was hurting herself.
I asked her to leave the dishes and promised to handle them later. All the cleanup.
She chuckled nervously. “One of the women of my support group says that’s how her mate always gets her to be intimate. He takes things off her plate so she has time and takes care of her to… Oh.”
“I would have done it anyways,” I muttered, feeling awkward that I fit some trope.
“Yes, you help all the time, but we do it together,” she mumbled, picking up on the tension as well.
And that was the last thing I wanted.
I swooped her up into my arms, chuckling when she let out a cute yelp. She smacked my chest and told me to quit it even as she chuckled and flushed. She loved it. She loved that I would carry her off to be spoiled. Sweep her off her feet like the princess she was.
No, Aurora was so much more than a cliché, but she wanted the princess treatment. She’d been denied that when she’d literally been set up to be one basically as a coven leader’s life.
But that was all in the past. This was about us.
About our future.
And I was a man who treated women well.
No, not women… My mate.
I apologized in the best ways and promised her that only she mattered to me. I kissed all over her body and gave her a few orgasms before fingering her. She really liked that now which gave me hope. She still couldn’t touch my dick extensively, but it didn’t seem to scare her as much.
And that seemed only to be about the size now, not the rest. Not being scared I would ever hurt her or violate her.
That was everything to me.
“Green light,” she whispered when I pulled my fingers out of her sated pussy.
I froze, thinking I’d misheard her. I blinked at my fingers coated in her delicious juices and then slowly stared up at her. “We don’t have to.”
“Please do it before I chicken out,” she mumbled.
Oh, my sweet, sweet mate. Ihatedthat was how she felt and that was the mood for our first time… But I also knew it took all of the courage in the world for her to be this bold. I knew it was the best it would be after her abuse.
