Chapter Fifteen
Lily
Lily awoke hours later to the smell of bacon cooking. As the scent wafted to her from the open bedroom door, her stomach growled to let her know it was in dire need of food. Stretching, she felt a welcome ache between her thighs and let out a contented sigh. Declan had gotten just a tiny bit carried away and she was sore, but it was that ‘just had a really good fuck’ ache and she was okay with that. She tugged on a robe, not bothering with getting dressed, and headed out to the front of her small apartment.
Declan must’ve heard the whisper of her bare feet on the floor as she approached as he turned to watch her. “You’re sore.” He noted the slight stiffness in her walk.
“Yeah, but it’s a good kind of sore, so don’t you dare apologize. Please tell me you’re almost done cooking because I’m starving.”
“It’ll be done in a few minutes. I brewed coffee. It took a few minutes to find where you kept it. Why the freezer?”
“Keeps it fresher longer. There is nothing better than fresh ground coffee.” The sound that came out of her at the thought of having a cup of fresh ground coffee was almost a purr, despite the fact she was a wolf, not a cat.
Declan chuckled. “I’ll have to take your word for the freshness.” He pulled her in for a kiss before she could move past him to fix herself some coffee. “You look good with your hair all sleep-tousled.”
Lily rolled her eyes at him. “My hair looks like a rat’s nest when I first wake up. Being thoroughly fucked made it worse, but I just can’t find it in me to care at the moment.”
Declan swatted her ass when she moved past him. “It does not look like a rat’s nest, but you do have that thoroughly fucked look about you and I fully intend to give you that look as often as possible.”
Lily shivered at the growl in his voice. It did all kinds of things to her body. “Is this that famous shifter stamina you were bragging about when we first met?”
“You know it, doll.” He plated their food and set it on the table while she took her seat. “So, tell me the truth, Lily. That first night at the club, when you threw your drink in my face and said fuck you, you weren’t pissed at me because of what I said but because it turned you on and made you wet, didn’t it?” He asked the question once he was seated across from her.
Lily shifted her chair a little so she could prop a foot on his seat, between his legs, and extended her toes just enough to brush them across his crotch with a wicked little grin. “If I’m being honest, then yeah, I was turned on by it. I was still pissed at you for what you said, as if I was some easy little slut who would spread her legs just because you looked at me, but yes, your words made me wet.”
Declan groaned at the teasing touch. “Keep that up and you won’t be getting to eat any time soon.”
Lily gave him a mock innocent look and took a bite of the omelet he’d made. “This is really good.” She kept her foot brushing against him as she began to eat.
Declan grabbed her foot to stop it. “Eat your food before it gets cold, woman. You’re already sore, I’ll give you until tonight to recover.”
Lily laughed and pulled her foot from his grip to lower it back to the floor. She sobered after a moment. “Actually, I need to talk to you about something.”
“If this is your usual ‘I need time’ spiel, forget it, doll.” He cocked a brow at her.
“No, it’s not that. Emelise and I have been talking. She’s potentially getting an apartment today; she should hear back from the agent by this afternoon, and if she does, she has to go back to Phoenix to get her stuff out of storage. I have vacation time coming at work so I was thinking about taking the time off to drive up with her and help her clear out the storage unit. It’s a twenty-one hour drive, one way, so we’d be gone a few days. I just didn’t want you thinking I was running away. New Orleans is my home; I’m not going anywhere.”
Declan studied her. “That might be a good idea, actually. Some shit is about to go down between the Pard and those fucking jaguars, and I’d rather you not be caught in the middle of it.” He took a drink of coffee before he leveled his gaze at her. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about too. It’s about your father.”
Lily tensed. “What about him?”
“I think you should call him and talk to him, Lily. Just hear me out, doll. When he asked me to come down here and see if you really were living in New Orleans, he told me a few things. He said that if he’d known giving you such an ultimatum would make you run, he would have reconsidered it. He misses you, doll. He told me that you’re the only family he has left in this world and that, after your mother died, he wouldn’t have survived losing his mate if not for you. You kept him from following her because you needed him. I get that he pissed you off; Lord knows I’ve figured out he can be a hard-headed, arrogant son of a bitch, but he knows he was wrong and wants to make amends. Call him, talk to him. That’s all I’m asking you to do. You don’t have to agree to anything else—just hear him out. I think his fear of losing the pack drove him to make a rash decision that he has regretted for the last six years.”
Lily listened to him, really listened, and gave herself a little time to process what he was saying before she spoke. “Okay. I’ll call him. I do miss him because he’s right, he’s the only family I have, that’s blood related anyway, and maybe it’s time I get the chip off my shoulder and try to see things from his point of view.”
“If he tries to order you around, you can always tell him to fuck off and hang up on him. At least he won’t end up with alcohol stinging his eyes.”
Lily laughed. “I am never going to live that down, am I?”
“Not a chance, doll.” His laughter joined hers. He turned his attention to his food and scarfed it down.
Late afternoon found Lily walking through the apartment that Emelise was now renting. It had a nice little community patio area out back, pretty tile floors throughout most of the apartment, with a gleaming wood floor in the single bedroom. The bathroom didn’t have a tub but she knew Emelise was fine with that. Her friend wasn’t much for soaking in a tub. She’d once teased Lily about her love of baths because, as a cat, Emelise was happier with taking a quick shower. The exception to that was if she felt like going swimming. Then she didn’t mind being submerged in water. “I think it’s perfect for you, Eme, especially since the owner said you could paint the walls as long as you repaint them before you move out.”
Emelise flashed a grin. “I like it too. My first apartment, and I picked it out all on my lil ol’ lonesome,” she said with a mock southern drawl.
Lily laughed. “I know it drove you nuts living in that little house with your mom because she was so freaked about something happening to you if you lived elsewhere. You did good, girl. I like it. It has just enough character, and with some colorful paint on the walls, it’ll be totally you.”
“Now all I need to do is go back to Phoenix to get my stuff. Ugh, that’s going to be the not-so-fun part.”
