“Yours is looking really good.” She ran her fingers along the woven fibers that I’d knitted together and I couldn’t help but imagine what it would feel like to have her fingers running along my body, my neck, my chest, my abdomen, and lower.
I could feel my cock stiffen and I felt helpless in stopping it.
Taylor shifted her weight and froze. “Am I, uh, hurting you?”
“No,” I grunted.
“I can get up if you want.” She made to do just that, but I wrapped my arms around her to keep her where she was.
“Don’t go,” I pleaded.
Taylor relaxed and settled back against me, but instead of her back being to my chest, she settled on her side so she could look up at me with her deep brown eyes.
“I’ll stay as long as you want.” Her eyes were searching mine, but for what I didn’t know.
I wanted to tell her I’d always want her to stay, that there’d never come a day when I’d tire of her presence. But that would be cruel. She didn’t want me as her mate, and I wouldn’t make it difficult for her to leave when the time came.
“Thank you.” I smiled down at her and squeezed her against me before letting my arms relax again.
We continued with our knitting until dinner, where all I could think about was how our cuddling practice was about to escalate to something much more...Kissing.
Chapter 20
Taylor
“Did you all make or find some Valentine’s Day gifts?” Gabby asked as she glanced at her mate out of the corner of her eye.
“I may have found something.” Tarak gave her a coy smile.
I had spent the morning and early afternoon gathering Brexl’s favorite sweet berries, mushrooms, and tubers. They were currently drying out in the sun, and tonight I was going to store them in a decorated pouch. My plan was to present them as a ‘just in case we get stranded together’ survival kit. I wouldn’t mind getting stranded with Brexl again. It might be nice to have another few days of alone time without him being injured, of course.
“What about you two?” Gabby asked us.
I was leaning against Brexl when she asked the question, and I was impressed by how casually he put his arm around me and pulled me to his chest. Maybe our cuddling practice did help.
“I found a gift of Valentine for my mate.” The low tenor of his voice reverberated through my skin, making me want to squirm. Heat filled my cheeks. I liked hearing Brexl call me his mate. I liked it a lot.
“I, uh,” I stuttered, trying to pull my thoughts together. “I found him something, too.”
I patted his arm and smiled up at him. He returned my smile and then shifted a little. I could feel his hard cock press into my ass. I don’t think I’ve ever sat on his lap without him getting aroused. I didn’t mind, though. I secretly liked having that much of an effect on him. It did make me wonder, however, how tonight was going to go.
Would we have to cut our kissing practice off early, so he could privately get some relief? Would he want to push past his arousal to keep kissing? Could I resist the urge to give into my own arousal?
Cuddling with him had been pleasant in a comforting kind of way. A warmth filled my soul when I was next to Brexl. He offered me safety not just in body, but in spirit too. I really felt like I could be myself around him, maybe more than anyone else here.
Our incident earlier had been embarrassing, but it had helped break my bad habit. I felt confident now that I could be with Brexl and also be myself. I just wished he wanted to be with me.
Earlier, when he pleaded for me to stay on his lap, there was a look in his eye that told me he wanted to say more, and I had held my breath, hoping he might confess that he did want a mate after all. But no such confessions were made, and we had gone back to our knitting.
“Alright, so for tomorrow, Ashley, Anusha, and Fatima are going to work together to set up the miniature golf course. Drovo is going to craft a canoe for couples to use on the stream, and Axon is going to mark a safe walking trail for the couples to use with his webbing. Then the day after that will be Valentine’s Day!”
Gabby raddled off the list of preparations that would take place.
“It will be a great day,” Tarak assured his mate with a smile.
“Savrix, may I join your table?” Sozu asked as he placed a fist on his chest and bowed.
“Of course,” Tarak waved the young sirret over and he sat down on a cushion near our table.
