Page 139
“You did so good,” I murmur, pressing soft, gentle kisses to her damn temple. “So, so good. My perfect Mate.”
She buries her face into my throat, lips warm and soft where they press against my skin.
Scent-marking me.
I Scent-mark her back, unwilling to do anything that might pull us out of this moment. I don’t care about the mess we’ve made, the problems waiting for us, my Pack, her father, or anything else. All that matters is now.
I’m eternally grateful that Soren was kind enough to give us this moment alone. I don’t know if I could have done the same if our roles were reversed.
Eventually, Idril pushes up from my chest. She blinks sleepily, and her lips curve into a shy smile. But something’s… off. She’s not looking at me. Her eyes are on my shirt, where her fingers are busy knotting and unknotting the fabric, twisting the cotton anxiously.
“Hey,” I whisper, placing two fingers under her chin and urging her to look at me. I reach out and lay my other hand on top of hers, stilling her movements. She jerks, like she isn’t even aware of what she was doing.
Fuck, what’s happening?
“Are you alright? That wasn’t too much, was it? Because we can slow down. I don’t want you to feel like—”
“No!” She shouts, cutting me off. Then repeats in a softer voice, “No. It wasn’t too much. I just… didn’t expect it, is all. I wanted to do it, though. I do… want it. I want you.”
A single tear falls from her lashes and trails down her cheek. She sniffs, swiping it away angrily. “Sorry, I don’t know why I’m crying. I’m not sad.”
“No, you’re not sad,” I agree. “You’re overwhelmed, which is normal. All of this—all these emotions—are totally normal. As long as you don’t regret it.”
“I don’t regret it,” she promises, and I believe her. I can feel it through our Bond. She’s overwhelmed, yes, but not regretful.
I stand, and this time she wraps her legs around my hips automatically. I don’t plan on carrying her around like this forever, but right now my Omega needs to feel close to her Alpha—and I care more about what she needs than how it looks.
“What are we doing?”
“Just wait,” I tell her with an indulgent smile. “You’ll probably enjoy this part as much as you did the orgasm.”
“I don’t think anything could feel as good as the orgasm did,” she replies dubiously.
“Oh yeah?”
“I didn’t know it would be so… everything.”
Grinning, I push open the door to the bathroom and flick on the lights so she can see when I raise my eyebrows and reply teasingly, “Everything, huh?”
To my absolute delight, she throws back her head, releasing a startled laugh. The sound is like feeling the sun on your skin after years of nothing but clouds and rain. Light and beautiful and free.
And in my opinion, a thousand times better than the orgasm.
I set her on the cool marble counter, then walk over to the tub and twist the faucet until the water is the perfect temperature for her. Ensuring it’s nice and warm for her. Then, I pour in some scented salts that’ve been on a shelf in the closet for ages.
Pretty sure they’re the ones Silas bought a few Christmases ago. The year he fell for some ad claiming their bath products cured the common cold.
No one had the heart to remind him vampires don’t get the common cold.
I escape into the closet to grab another pair of shorts and change. Once I’m done, I snatch the dirty shorts from the floor and return to the bathroom where Idril watches in confusion as I toss them into the trash.
Right on top of the lingerie Vae bought for her.
I’m going to punch him—again—for being so fucking presumptuous. I mean, what the hell was he thinking, buying my Mate lingerie?
“Why’d you throw those away?” Idril asks with an expression of horror on her face that’s straight up fucking adorable. I cross the room until I’m standing in front of her, planting my hands on either side of her thighs and caging her in.
Fates, it feels amazing being this close to her. Just knowing I can reach out and touch her feels like a gift.
