He wrapped his arms around her and sweetly kissed the side of her head. Their connection was forming and changing. The mark she’d placed on his neck was mixing another energy inside him, and the connection between them was being unlocked. He could feel how happy and content she was through their bond. He felt the same way.
Everything between them, in this moment, was exactly as it should be.
“I love you … my little mate,” Derrick whispered into her hair. He buried his nose against the crown of her head, breathing her in, letting her scent carry him into the most peaceful sleep he’d ever known.
CHAPTER 49
Lucie stirred slightly and smiled as she felt the warm, strong arms around her. She listened as Derrick made a small groan in protest of her movement. The flood gates were opened, and everything flowed between them. Not only their emotions, but their thoughts as well. There would be no keeping secrets from him. They could both see into each other’s minds.
He rolled the top half of his body onto hers and leaned down, pressing his lips against hers. “This is everything I ever wanted, Lucie. This feeling inside … this connection with you. I’m so happy, I feel like I’m going to explode.”
“I wasn’t sure about the soulmate thing at first. It seemed a bit invasive and scary. But this feeling inside … it’s comforting and reassuring. And I like knowing what you’re thinking.” A faint smile rested on her lips as he buried his nose into her neck.
“It’s strange. Everything seems so normal for you. My mark doesn’t seem to be changing you. Maybe it’s because of your pure blood?” He nipped at her neck playfully, growling against her skin. “Baby, I know exactly what you’re thinking right now, remember?” He lifted himself up and gave her a crooked grin. “And while I wouldn’t mind devouring you again, we’re both in need of real food.”
“Well, we need to get a shower first anyway, sooo …” Lucie didn’t have to explain. She watched his smile spread, since he already knew where her thoughts were.
“I’m good at multitasking.” His baritone voice sent a chill down her back. He scooped her naked body up against his chest, and jumped off of the bed. He carried her into the shower, where he showed her his multitasking capabilities.
Lucie put on some fresh clothes from her bag and Derrick mindlinked Jasper to bring him some clothes. She opened the door and welcomed Jasper inside, followed by Abaas. She remembered she’d told him to stay with Jasper.
“He’s in the bathroom if you want to bring him his clothes.”
“You look much better, Lucie,” Jasper said, reaching into the bathroom to hand the clothes to his cousin.
Lucie looked at Jasper’s face, which looked strained and worried. She looked up at Abaas, whose expression was blank.
“Thank you for everything you did for me.”
“Thank you for sticking up for me.”
A smile reached his eyes and she returned it. “Well, the djinn said I should treat you like family, but I don’t know if he realizes what that really means. I’m rough on my family. Speaking of which, how have they been with you?” She watched his expression return to blank, and she turned back to Jasper. Derrick walked out, buttoning up his shirt and his eyes also met Jasper’s. He could feel Lucie’s apprehension and thoughts, and it was nice to immediately understand what was going on. Heeven knew Abaas’ whole backstory. He should have marked her immediately. It would have really saved them so much trouble. He watched Lucie smile up at him in agreement with that thought.
“What seems to be the issue? I can see there’s a problem.” Derrick plucked Lucie into his side and looked between the two men.
“Things are a bit strained with Abaas here. I tried to make him go back, but he wouldn’t leave because Lucie told him to stay with me.” Jasper looked up to see Lucie’s green eyes storming.
Derrick rubbed her shoulders. “We’ll get it all straightened out. Easy there, killer.” He chuckled and nuzzled his nose into her hair.
“Abaas doesn’t need to be traveling and using up his energy. Not after he almost exhausted himself helping me. And that’s another thing.” She turned her sharp gaze on Abaas. “No more of that. No more risking extinguishing your soul on my behalf. You went against me there.”
“To save you, I can do just that. And I will do it again if I have to,” Abaas answered simply. “As far as your family goes, that’s okay. They don’t have to accept me. They’re allowed to hate me, Lucie. I was horrible to them in the past.”
“Well, that isn’t you now. You aren’t that person anymore. You’re our person,” Lucie said, motioning between her and Derrick. “And I’m angry that they can’t look past their own grudges. You risked your life trying to protect mine.”
“I think they’re just confused and hurt. They have scars of their own from me. Your grandmother almost lost your grandfather because of me. That half-fairy wolf man almost died in one of our first battles. Reiya lost her brother in our battle, only he ended up being resurrected, which I only know from listening to the vampires talk about it. My point is …” Abaasshrugged and held his hands out. “I did horrible things. I was horrible. You can’t expect them to suddenly like me after one good deed. I’m not someone who is worthy of their forgiveness.”
“You saved my mate back there. How is that not a person worthy of forgiveness? Besides, this family is looking for Alexa’s mate, right? The Kraken?” Derrick shrugged. “They shouldn’t be hypocrites about who they deem worthy of forgiveness and who they don’t.”
Lucie cupped her hand over her mouth as she saw Derrick’s thoughts in her head. She never knew about Ken’s past, only that he was Alexa’s mate. Derrick pulled her around into his chest, and he embraced her gently.
“Sorry, baby.”
She shook her head. “It’s better this way because I can see the whole picture. Finding out through your thoughts shows me everything, even the reasoning. I wonder if Alexa knows this about him. In either case, that’s her business. All the more reason for my family to be accepting. I know Uncle Levi knows everything about him, so the rest of the family would know these things, too.”
Just then, a loud gurgling noise erupted from Lucie’s stomach, making her face heat up, her ears turning red.
Derrick chuckled and kissed her forehead. “Like I said earlier, we need to get some real food.”
