For now, she’s tucked away in bed, completely oblivious to the rest of the world.
I sit on the foot of the bed, dressed in sleepwear that feels far softer against my clean skin, grounding me in the fact that it’s all over now. After being forced to worry and stress about what might happen for far too long, I can breathe again, and the future seems far clearer now.
The shower eventually turns off, and a few moments later, Caleb returns to the room with a towel wrapped around his waist, dark hair still damp with water droplets scattered across his skin. The dirt and blood are both gone now, and for the most part, it isn’t obvious that he fought for his life not that long ago. Still, he looks tired.
His eyes go to me immediately, and that exhaustion goes to the back burner as he approaches.
“You’re still awake?”
I nod, admiring him silently before glancing down at my hands. “I’m not ready to sleep yet, even if I should be.”
At that, Caleb’s expression softens with understanding, and he kneels down in front of me, placing his hands on my hips. “You’re still worried I’m mad about you using magic, aren’t you?”
The words come out gentle and almost knowing, making me feel like I’m being at least a bit silly for clinging to the thoughts. But I nod, because he’s exactly right.
“Lila, anger is the last thing I feel right now. At least, anger towards you,” he says, holding my gaze like I’m the only thing he wants to look at moving forward. His thumbs soothe over my skin, eyes raking over me briefly. “You had every right to protect what belongs to you. Just like I did.”
Something in me still wants to stew in the fact that I could’ve risked his life by interfering, even from afar, but at the way he touches me, and at the flicker of interest that settles in his dark eyes, I can’t bring myself to.
I sigh and ease a bit more into the bed, letting my hands move slowly along his forearms. “I just don’t want you to be ashamed of me for something I can’t control about myself. Or about Astrid.”
“Shame? Not even close,” he hums, seeming to lean into my touch a bit as his attention comes with an undercurrent of something warmer and more charged. He moves a bit closer, sliding one hand up my back while the other grips me still, pressing his face against my sternum. His words fan against my skin, “Sure, I don’t fully understand it yet, and I’m a bit hesitant to completely welcome magic into my life. But you were fierce out there. You were and are exactly the mate I’ve always wanted.”
My heart beat quickens at the words and his attention on me, not afraid to cling to me in the aftermath of everything. I swallow hard, gliding my palms along his shoulders. “You mean that?”
“I do,” Caleb says, softly kissing the valley of my breasts, suppressing a shiver at the way my pulse thrums in response. Hehuffs quietly, as if he’s trying to regain control over his urges, but he just muffles a deep sound in his chest and kisses me again. “And I’ll spend every day proving it to you, not because I need to, but because I want to.”
His hand slips beneath my loose top, slowly heading upward and caressing my curves while his mouth moves lower, kissing through the fabric.
My exhaustion seems irrelevant as I melt into his touch, not willing to fight it for even a moment.
A thrill runs up my spine as he softly cups my breast, feeling the breath that escapes him at the contact, along with the way his shoulders seem tight with barely contained desire. His thumb brushes over my nipple in a reverent touch, making me inhale sharply from the rush of pleasure it brings me.
“I’ve been craving you… so deeply,” he murmurs, sounding almost breathless while he sparks more sensations through me before resuming his trail south, gently guiding me to lean back.
Propping myself up with my hands against the bed, I watch the way he kisses me and moves down my body like I’m something to be praised and worshipped. As if this is his true purpose in life. Something about it makes my skin feel hot all over.
“I never stopped wanting you,” I say, words wrapped in confession while I drink in his touch on my hips and down my stomach. My hips lift once he pulls the flimsy fabric of my bed shorts down, and the brush of his lips against my inner thigh makes me shiver. “Even back then. You were all I wanted—”
My breath hitches from the tug on my hips as I’m drawn closer to the edge of the bed, and his mouth finds the apex of my thighs with a low growl. A soft sigh escapes me at the feeling ofhis tongue against me, paired with his lips and his strong grip on my hips.
Hot, blinding static moves through my vision, pulling a moan from me before I can even stop it. I shudder at the way he feasts on me, more like a starving man than anything else.
The pleasure is overwhelming, making me squirm and pull back to ease off it, but Caleb doesn’t let me pull away. Instead, he loops both arms around my thighs, pinning me to the bed while he continues his ministrations, seemingly reading my body perfectly. He knows exactly what I need, making me arch from the mattress.
“Caleb...”
He hums, softly kissing my sensitive flesh before moving his lips back to my inner thighs, nipping occasionally. “You’ve given me everything I’ve ever wanted… so let me pleasure you like you deserve.”
Those words make my heart flutter, and they send another wave of desire through me. My entire body is soft and pliant for him, unwilling to go without feeling that promised bliss.
So I nod, breath unsteady.
That’s all he needs.
Caleb’s back on me in an instant, lips and tongue not exploring, but already pinpointing every perfect place and rhythm that pushes me closer and closer to the precipice only he can bring me to.
My hand goes to his hair, gripping tighter when he adds his fingers to the mix, gently coaxing me along and adjusting his speed as needed.
