The day after they’d put an end to the Thirteen, the rest of the pack—Shawn and Serena, Christine, and Ollie—had flown into Glasgow, and though Regulus grumbled at the sheer number of people in his house, the vampire honestly seemed to enjoy the company. When he wasn’t helping Ewan learn to control his urges.
“Come on, sweetheart. Let’s give the man some space to work.”
Despite Tierney’s assumption, Peter and Sameen hadn’t done more than kiss yet. Well, there’d been some groping. Perhaps a bit of grinding. But she hadn’t been ready for more.
It didn’t matter how much his balls ached or how many times he’d rubbed one out in the shower after her nerves had gotten the best of her. Peter would wait for her forever if that’s what she needed.
“Can we talk? About...the future?” he asked when they reached their room and Sameen immediately went to the window and parted the drapes. Sheneededto see the sky whenever she could, and when the power had gone out after a bad storm two nights ago and they’d woken to complete darkness, the terror in her voice...it had shattered him.
“About the mating? I already told you—”
“No. Not about that.” Peter joined her at the window, linking their fingers as they both stared out over the manicured lawn to the tree line. “Farren lost most of her pack when we were fighting Fergus. Two, he killed, and the third...well, we might never know. All she has left are Tierney and Ewan, and neither of them want to be her beta. Ewan...well, even if he did want it, him being a vampire and all...it complicates things.”
“I don’t understand.” Sameen turned to face him, her dark brows furrowed. “What does that have to do with us?”
“Farren asked me to be her beta.” As he said the words, he straightened, the sense of pride he’d felt all day both baffling and rewarding. “I shouldn’t accept. I wasn’t born a wolf. That’s the rule. But she seems to think the rules don’t matter.”
“I thought wolves didn’t usually change packs once they’d picked one. That’s what Tierney said.”
“We don’t. But...” Peter stared down at the floor, at the hem of his jeans brushing his bare feet. “I wasn’t the easiest guy to live with after the fire. Not after we got Cade back, not when Caitlin showed up after Katerina had forced her to kidnap Mara...” He ran a hand through his hair and lifted his gaze to meet his mate’s. “We’re a family. They forgave me long ago. But forgiving and forgetting are two different things, and while I’d give my life for any being in this house...I talked to Liam and Shawn today. They gave me their blessing. And Cade gave his before Farren made the offer.”
“Would that mean we...have to move?” Fear darkened her eyes, and she gripped his fingers tighter. “I was just getting used to—”
“No.” Peter slid his hand up to cup the back of her head and ghosted his lips over hers. “Farren...she wants to stay here. There are too many memories for her back in Doolin. But even though we’ve two packs in this house, we’re all one family. Cade’s pack—” He stopped, the very idea he wasn’t part of Cade’s pack anymore so foreign to him, it brought a lump to his throat. “Cade’s pack would move back to Dublin. Into Liam’s family estate. Seattle has too many bad memories for Mara now, and Doolin has too many for Caitlin and Liam. Dublin...it’s a fresh start for everyone, and it’s only an hour’s flight.”
“So, Farren and Eli, Tierney, Ewan, and the two of us?” she asked.
“And Regulus. He’s not pack, and he wouldn’t be here all the time. I’ve never met a man who loves his travel more. But he’d stay for a while. Until Ewan’s stable, and he promised to come back often.”
Sameen fell quiet, and nerves tightened in Peter’s gut. “If you want to go somewhere else, just the two of us, or if you’d feel more comfortable if I stayed with Cade’s pack, I’ll do it, Sameen. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”
“I don’t know enough of the world to tell you there’s nowhere else I’d rather go,” she said quietly. “But I do know I feel at home here. Farren’s warmed up to me, Tierney’s like my big brother—even though I think I’m older than he is—and while Regulus still scares the crap out of me, I trust him after he helped me when Celia...when she...”
“Shhh. Don’t go there, sweetheart. She’s dead, and we survived.”
Sameen nodded and snuggled against his chest, her ear pressed to his heart. “You’re my home, Peter. Wherever you are is where I want to be.”
* * *
Late that night,after dinner and two helpings of Sameen’s brownies, Peter led her up the stairs, his entire plan to snuggle with her in the massive bed and introduce her to her very first superhero movie.
But as he opened the wooden panels that hid the flatscreen from view, his mate emerged from the bathroom, and the remote fell from his hand to bounce along the thick carpeting.
A silk sheath in a bright teal draped her body, dipping low between her breasts and falling to mid-thigh. The hard points of her nipples under the silk drew his gaze, and when he was finally able to look up, he found her lips parted, and desire churning in her eyes.
“Sameen...?”
“I know it’s not the full moon.” She took a single step closer, and he wanted to sweep her into his arms, but this had to be her decision. She’d been through too much, and as she couldn’t remember if she’d ever had sex before, the woman who stood in front of him was essentially a virgin. “But, I’m ready.”
“Are you sure?”
“Maybe.” Her nervous laugh didn’t reassure him, but then she reached for his hand and led him to the bed. “I don’t know what to do.”
“You don’t have to do a thing, sweetheart. Just tell me if anything I do makes you uncomfortable.”
Peter shucked his jeans and flannel shirt, leaving him in a pair of black briefs, stretched out with his back against the headboard, then patted the mattress. He and Sameen slept together every night, her in one of his t-shirts, him in his briefs. But this was different. This...there was no going back from this.
Sameen fitted herself to his side and he cupped her cheek, tipping her head so he could press a chaste kiss to her lips. She draped her arm around his shoulders and kissed him back, and by the time she pulled away, he could scent her arousal, and his cock strained against the cotton barrier between them.
