Page 10 of Petals & Promises

“Sweetheart, if you’re trying not to create that situation, I highly suggest you don’t paint such a vivid picture like that for us,” Yun warned, a low, rumbling sound mixing with his words.

Twisting my head to look at my Alpha, I saw his brown spice-colored eyes zeroed in on me. In their depths was equal part hunger and dominance. As much as I wanted to stare into them forever, I knew it would only spark the flame I’d just put out, and none of us could afford that.

“Someone said something about Peter Pan?” I squeaked out, slapping a pillow over my face. “I think now would be a great time to watch something so wholesome and absolutely not at all suggestive.”

“I don’t know, those mermaids, though…” Warrick commented in a teasing tone. Peeking over the pillow, I glared at him. “Teasing, Care Bear. I’m just teasing.”

Soon, we were all lost in the world of lost boys and fairy dust before I fell asleep in my nest of couch pillows. Who knew I would actually need an entire bin full of pillows to get comfortable after this surgery? Lucky for me, I had some amazing Alphas who didn’t bat an eye at taking the entire thing to go.

seven

Bailey-Rose

My surprise Gareth promised was delayed a few days because of crazy weather. It was being flown in, and with all the canceled flights, it took a bit for the airlines to sort themselves out. Despite all that, today was finally the day, and Gareth got confirmation my surprise had landed and was now en route to our home.

I was so excited I couldn’t keep still, so I did my walking for the day out in the backyard. After three days of rain, it was nice to be outside feeling the fresh air and sunlight on my face. Before the incident, I hadn’t spent much time exploring the property, but now it was a good excuse. From the back patio, you could see the pool, but what was hidden was a small garden the groundskeepers looked after. There was also a walking path along the border of the property paved with compacted gravel.

“What’s Numoland like?” I asked Vili, who’d joined me on my stroll. “You’ve been in Preidon for three years now, right?”

“Yes, my kitten, it three years last month,” Vili answered. “Numoland is vast, green, and many mountains. They say we hardy people because we live off the land. I say when you good to the land, it good back to you.”

“Do you miss it?”

Vili slowed to a stop, and since we were holding hands, so did I. He looked up at the sky and closed his eyes as if he was drinking in the peace our quiet surroundings offered. “I miss places and things sometimes, not people. The people there should stay there. Let me live free here.”

Stepping closer, I rested a hand on his chest. “You mean your family should stay there and leave you alone?”

In the sunlight, you could see more of the copper tones in Vili’s strawberry-blond hair which always seemed to be mussed. It had me curious to see if it might be curly if he let it grow longer. Lowering his gaze to meet mine, I couldn’t help but smile at the joy in his caramel-colored eyes. His golden-rimmed glasses only helped to set off his features while making him look smart and sophisticated—which he was.

“Would it upset you to know it is family?” he asked, using his other hand to stroke along my jawline. “You lucky, my pretty lady, to have family who truly loves you. Not all have this in their lives. A short time, I had true love from one person, then she died. I pray and pray she my real mother, but she wasn’t. It took time to accept my family is who they are, but I not like them, which made them angry. Now that I think about it, I should be happy… by sending me away, they gave me you and the others.”

Bending down, he softly kissed my lips, but I wanted more. Grabbing the hair at the back of his neck, I kept him from pulling away as I popped up on my tiptoes to deepen the kiss. Seeing what I was after, I felt his smile against my own as he scooped me up so I could wrap my legs around his waist.

“You must be good,” Vili warned. “Only kisses, my kitten.”

“I’ll take kisses all day long if they are from you,” I whispered.

Vili wasn’t willing to go all in on this make-out session I was trying to instigate at first. When he realized I wasn’t going to shatter, he became bolder until he finally gave in. The feel of his hands gripping my ass, holding me tight to him, had me moaning. I rolled my hips, trying to find the friction I needed, but that came to a halt as the movement pulled at my healing incision. Tomorrow, Dr. Arbour was coming to take out my stitches and give me a progress report, but I knew he wasn’t going to give me the all clear.

“What did I say, kitten… only kisses,” Vili scolded, feeling my body tense up. He gave me one more life-altering kiss before setting me back on my feet. “Come, let’s finish the walk… surprise should be here by then.”

Just when I didn’t think I could be walking higher than cloud nine after a good make-out session, we rounded the corner of the house. The guys were in the driveway talking with a man who had a golden wooly mammoth sitting next to him. There was no leash keeping the dog at his side, but it was clear to me that the fluffy monster wasn’t going to budge an inch.

Vili led me over to the group and out popped a little black and white dust bunny from between the bigger dog’s legs. The little guy wagged his tail and was all wiggles as he slowly crept toward me. Using Vili as support, I dropped to my knees and offered the back of my hand to the happy floof. Instantly, he snuffled my hand and quickly licked it before bounding back to the much bigger dog.

It took everything in me not to squeal with delight and shatter everyone’s eardrums, but I managed to pull it together. “Your dogs are beautiful. What are their names?” I asked as Vili hoisted me up by my armpits.

“Well, little lady, this here is Waffles, and the tiny fella is Nugget,” the man answered and extended his hand. “My name is Hank, Hank Sharp, and these two aren’t mine.”

“Oh?” I questioned as Hank gave Waffles a hand signal, which had the dog standing and approaching me.

If Hank said anything after Waffles bumped his large head against my hand asking for pets, I didn’t hear it. The fur under my hand felt like silk on the surface, but it was incredibly dense, allowing my fingers to sink a few inches into his fur. Sweet brown eyes looked up at me, and he gave an approving chuff before pulling an about-face, then plopping his wooly butt next to me. I felt him lean against me as if offering his support so I felt more stable standing here.

Looking up, I found everyone watching the interaction with smiles and a pouting Nugget in Hank’s arms. “What?” I asked.

“Well, Miss Thatcher, the thing about this breed of dog is they have to choose the person,” Hank explained. “It’s one reason they aren’t used for this type of work all that often. That’s why I make it a rule there is no exchange of paperwork until a meet and greet is done. You, little lady, now have yourself a medical alert guard dog and lifelong loyal companion in Waffles.”

My jaw literally fell open at his words. I glanced down at Waffles then back at the guys, finding it hard to believe this was truly happening. “This is for real… right?”