Liv clearly didn't want to talk about it, so we all chatted about anything else we could think of while we ate and celebrated the victory that might cost our friend her soulmate.
When we got home,we headed for our room. Callum tossed an enchanted bath bomb into the tub while we stripped, and I climbed onto his lap in the water without hesitation.
He kissed me slowly, and I buried my hands in his hair as I kissed him back.His hands slid down the curve of my waist, and I pulled away, breathing quickly.
"Callum?"
"Yes, Kitten?"
"I feel horrible," I confessed.
"Why?" His hands were still on my hips, gripping me lightly.
"I told Jonah to fight. If I hadn't, he and Liv could be figuring things out right now. Instead, they're..." I shook my head. "I don't know what they are."
"Friends."
"Right."
Callum squeezed my hips lightly. "She wants friendship in a mate bond anyway. If you had told him not to compete, he may never have had the chance to find closure on the engagement Gwen broke off. He and Liv wouldn't be starting from a good place the way you and I did."
"You think stalking and manipulation were a good place for us to start?"
"We didn't start with stalking. We started with me taking care of you during heat."
"That's fair."I let out a long breath. "I have a confession to make. Imayhave decided to try to manipulate you into falling in love with me after you forced me to seal the bond with you."
Callum's eyes gleamed wickedly. "Good."
"What do you mean,good?"
"You deserve to be loved. How about we both agree to stop manipulating each other and just function as a team from now on?"
"That sounds perfect."
I leaned in and kissed him.
Hard.
"I really do love you," I said against his lips, as I pulled away.
"I know. But I loved you first, Kitten. I just didn't realize it."
I laughed. "It's not a competition."
His hands cupped my face and I buried mine in his hair, as he recaptured my mouth. Our tongues tangled and danced.
When I lifted my hips to line the tip of his cock up with my entrance, he filled me slowly,driving into meagain, and again.
We came together until I didn't know where I began and Callum ended, until we were one and the same. Until we were so lost in each other that I didn’t even want to find myself again.
Fate was right—we belonged together.
epilogue
CALLUM—A FEW MONTHS LATER
My painbarely registered as I strode into the same cafe I'd stormed with Liv the day I finally claimed my mate.
