I pulled up the pair of pajama pants with a green apple print.
My eyes misted over and I grinned. I couldn’t have picked better myself.
Ronan was quiet, not seeking praise or validation as I tore through the rest of the presents he’d already bought. More comfy pants and sweatshirts with quirky prints, slippers and thick socks, books based onStarlight Dominionmissions, a game console, a laptop…
They were all brand new, but I couldn’t help but feel like I was digging to find artifacts of my old life. Parts of myself I’dforgotten even existed. Pieces of the puzzle to my soul that were slowly coming back together to form the picture of who I really was.
Lastly was a large box, the recognizable scent of Cindralis soaked into the cardboard.
I gave him a questioning, excited look, and he just nodded, handing me a pocket knife so I could cut through the plastic strapping.
Now I was really shaking, opening the flaps and revealing the contents.
A cauldron—black, shiny, and new.
I sniffed, my chest seizing.
“I’m trying to find your old one,” Ronan said, his voice quiet. “But, just in case, I wanted to make sure you could do magic again. I’m sure re-seasoning it will be a bitch, but—”
I leapt off the floor and straight into his arms, crying into his shoulder.
“Thank you,” I sobbed. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
Whether it was the mate bond, his extensive “stalking,” or just Ronan’s personality, he saw me better from our short time together than anyone ever had in my whole life, including my parents.
It wasn’t that I needed gifts, either. If Ronan was broke, I’d still want to be with him. But after years of changing myself, hiding myself, trying to fit the mold of the woman Victor wanted me to be in his own twisted devotion to the mate he lost, I felt free.
And loved for who I really was.
* * *
“Suck it, demon!”
Ronan’s lips rumbled as he exhaled and fell back against themattress in defeat. “I swear I used to be good at this.”
I danced in my spot, watching the animation of my little car do a victory lap, the cartoon cat driver fist-pumping out of the window.
We were on day… I forgot, of our “mate” moon. Maybe three?
It didn’t matter. I was going to enjoy the bubble and try not to count the seconds until it would burst, and cold reality would pour back in.
Ronan kept true to his word and let me pick everything we did, and did I ever take him up on that offer. Yesterday had been an at-home spa day, complete with face masks, bubble baths, and manicures—his nails looked fabulous in black. Today was all about video games, a mix of classics and releases that had come out in the past five years.
He had even let me choose his own meals so we could split them.
The smell of bacon and maple syrup lingered from the empty plates on the table, sticky trophies from our “breakfast for dinner,” and the room was a total mess of clothes since neither of us felt like cleaning, and we didn’t want to let the maid in, either.
We hadn’t done anything physical aside from cuddling and a few kisses, though. This, too, Ronan was letting me dictate.
And while I wasn’t necessarily afraid of being intimate, I was really just enjoying the non-sexual intimacy we were cultivating. Lying in bed, both of us reading, music playing softly in the background while our legs entwined under the blankets…
I’d never felt so peaceful before.
Or so proud that I could still kick ass atKitty Kat Kart.
“Alright,” he said, pulling himself back up. “Rematch. This time, I get to beTurbo Tabby.”
“Nu-uh, I called dibs. You can beLady Purrington.”
