43. Caleb
I missed Emily.
It’d been two days since we’d last held each other, and I hadn’t intended to stay away so long. However, when I’d dropped by to visit her at Zach’s, no one was there. My first instinct was to worry, then I reminded myself that she was safe. In fact, I felt proud that she was already out and about with the pack.
I had to admit I’d been worried about Emily adapting to the situation. She wasn’t particularly feeble or cowardly, but she’d literally been dumped into an entirely different world. It would be reasonable for her to feel all sorts of things, from awkwardness, to isolation, all the way to raging at her life. But so far, she seemed nothing but graceful.
However, as happy as I was for her, I still felt her absence and was trudging across the campground to Zach’s far earlier than was polite. At least I had the wherewithal to pause up the road, scenting the air to see whether they were awake or not. I smelled the telltale deliciousness of a hearty breakfast, and I heard the slight scrape of silverware on plates. My stomach rumbled, and though I knew I was rude to just enter a meal without an invite, the door opened before I could march off.
It was hard to sneak up on wolves.
“Mornin’,” Zach said, drawling in that Midwest slant of his.
“Morning,” I said.
“Ya gonna just stand there or come in?”
“Am I invited?” I asked.
Zach gave me a look before heading back in, the door open behind him.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” I entered, making sure to close the door. Sure enough, Emily sat at the table, cutting into an impressive stack of pancakes.
Ah, it looked like the classic wolf appetite had hit her. Not entirely unsurprising, given the antics we’d been up to last time we were together.
“Caleb!” she exclaimed, her face lighting up, “Good morning! I missed you yesterday!”
I knew that wasn’t exactly a stunning revelation, but it still made me feel warm and fuzzy in my chest. “I swung by, but you were out.”
“Oh! That must have been when we were visiting Lavender and her baby.”
My eyes went wide when I remembered Lavender Green, a girl unfortunate enough for her parents to name her after two separate colors. She was a couple years older than me, and had even babysat me once when my grandfather and the Garricks were out of town.
“Lavender’s got a kid now?” I knew I’d been away from the pack for a long time, but the news made it startingly real.
“Yup, her and Jason just had their first little one,” Daphne said, amused by my obvious shock.
“Wait… Jason, as in Jason Ashburn?” He was the superstar quarterback at the city school he and Lavender had attended. Even though Lavender was pretty, she wasn’t that high on the social ladder.
“Ha, no!” Daphne said. “Jason McCormick.”
“ Jason McCormick?!” I repeated as I sat down at the table. I didn’t mean to sound so bowled over, but if I was thinking of the right guy, Jason joined the pack with his parents when I was twelve. He was a nice enough kid, a year older than me but scrawnier than a matchstick. He’d also had a pretty intense stutter.
“He grew into himself once he got his wolf,” Zach said.
“Lavender says he makes her laugh,” Daphne said. “Emily here might have saved the baby’s life.”
Naturally, Emily flushed bright pink at that, nearly choking on her pancakes. “I wouldn’t go that far.”
“Well, I will, then,” Daphne said teasingly. “We all thought, including Lavender’s doctor, that her little girl had a bad case of colic. Turns out she’s allergic to generic formula. Something about the protein in it.”
I couldn’t say I was surprised. Anywhere Emily went, she improved the lives of those around her. She inspired me to be a better person. It was a shame I’d waited until I was in my thirties to get my shit together, but better late than never.
“Hey, you should try some of the pancakes,” Simon cut in, the first thing he’d said since I arrived. I got the feeling he was cautious of me, but I didn’t take it personally. I was sure he’d heard a thing or two about my unwholesome reputation, even at his age. “Me and Emily made them.”
“Oh, did you?” I grinned at Emily, who was looking increasingly embarrassed by the second. It seemed my girl could handle quite a lot, but genuine compliments sure did get her goat.
Dammit, not my girl. Not. With each passing day, each shared, intimate moment, it became harder and harder to remind myself of my guardian position. I never should’ve slept with her. It kept blurring the lines, but now that I’d had a taste, I was utterly addicted.
“We made cookies yesterday, too,” Emily said. “Sorry you missed it.”
“Don’t worry,” I said, unable to help myself. “I’m sure I’ll get plenty of opportunities in the future to try out Emily’s cookies.”
At that, Emily nearly choked on her pancakes, shooting daggers my way as Zach cleared his throat. “I think that’s enough on that matter,” she said tightly.
“Sure. Would someone like to pass the pancakes?” I said innocently.
Simon gave us all a suspicious look, no doubt able to tell something had happened, just not old enough to figure it out yet. Nevertheless, I got my pancakes and had a delicious breakfast. Once I finished, I helped load the dishwasher before returning to Emily’s side.
“You want to go for a walk and tell me everything I missed yesterday? You had quite the adventure.”
“Sure,” she said, beaming at me like I was the sun itself. God, I didn’t know if she was good for my ego or bad, but my pride inflated whenever she smiled at me like that. “Let me just grab my jacket.”
“Are you sure you need it?” You never knew with internal shifter temperatures.
“Um, I think so.”
“Better grab it just to be certain, then.”
But before she could head up the stairs, Zach called her name from the kitchen. We both paused, and it felt like we were a couple of teenagers who’d just been called to the principal’s office.
“Yeah?” Emily replied.
“Daphne told me last night that in a week or two, once we’re sure you’ve got a better handle on your wolf, she’d like to invite your parents over for dinner. Just a simple meal, nothing with the full pack. A… test drive to see if they’d mesh around here.”
My eyes went wide at that particular revelation. Zach, our head alpha, was talking about allowing humans into the camp. Not just a human traveler making a mistake for one night and ending up in one of our fringe cabins, but humans coming in as pack members?
Phew. A lot had changed since I was young.
But that wasn’t a bad thing.
“No joke?” Emily said, looking as taken aback as I was.
“I wouldn’t joke about something like this,” Zach said firmly. “Don’t get me wrong, I want to make sure you’re safe first. We don’t need your wolf getting agitated or overwhelmed and bursting out.”
“Right, no, I totally agree,” Emily said, nodding along happily. “Thank you! So much!”
“Eh, we’ve been creatures of habit for far too long. Some things are best left to our forefathers.” Zach let out a sigh, and for a split second, I saw all the weight on his shoulders. While I was an alpha and proud of it, I felt incredibly grateful to not be in charge of the whole pack. That wasn’t a path I was meant for at all.
If I had my way, my destiny would be staying at Emily’s side however long she needed me. As her guardian or as her?—
Caleb.
It was difficult, but I cut off all the romantic thoughts tumbling into the forefront of my mind. I didn’t need to ruin our walk. Besides, I wasn’t going to be some creepy guy who drooled all over my charge instead of valuing her as a person. The sex we had together was great, but Emily was so much more.
She was funny. She was kind. She was patient. She was brilliant. I’d never met such a?—
“Ready?”
I blinked, realizing Emily had already gotten her jacket and was standing there, grinning at me brightly. I couldn’t believe I was lucky enough that she was so excited just to hang out with me.
“Ready,” I said. I felt tempted to offer her my arm, but with so many eyes on us, I chickened out. Instead, we strolled through the door.
Neither of us said anything for a beat. I got the feeling Emily was adjusting to shifters being able to hear within a huge radius. It helped that she was a full-fledged wolf herself now.
But when we were far out enough, Emily let out a squeal and threw her arms around my shoulders. I was surprised by the hug, but I happily accepted it, wrapping my arms around her waist.
“I can’t believe it! I thought it was going to be so much more difficult to get my parents here!”
“Honestly, I did, too,” I admitted, holding Emily longer than I should’ve. But when I set her down, her smile was bigger than ever.
“Let’s celebrate, shall we? Do something special?”
“Something special?” I murmured. It was still pretty early in the day, so there weren’t exactly a ton of things to do outside a walk . I didn’t say it out loud, but she’d just proposed the closest thing to a date we’d ever have. “You ever have maple taffy?”
“You know, Wakwi mentioned that, too. No, I haven’t. Doesn’t sound like breakfast, though.”
“It’s a good thing we ate breakfast, then, isn’t it?”
“Ha! You’ve sold me, alright? Lead the way.”
I did just that, although we did meander down Main Street. I knew the bakery opened a couple of hours earlier at the crack of dawn, but I wanted to miss the breakfast rush there for bagels, donuts, and fresh bread. Everyone could go to a grocery store in the city and get a regular loaf. Nothing beat specialty bread, still warm from the oven and made by a shifter.
“This isn’t gonna fuck up my teeth, is it?” Emily asked, staring at the bakery.
“Uh, it shouldn’t,” I said as I held the door open for her. Then a thought struck me. “Actually…”
“What do you mean, ‘actually’?”
“I just realized, you may have fillings. The more you shift, they’ll eventually end up just coming off.”
“ Really? ” Emily looked unfairly adorable when she was shocked. “My family could’ve saved a whole lot of money on dental work.”
“And here I thought you weren’t the type to get cavities,” I teased, walking past her up to the counter.
“Everyone gets at least one,” Emily said, but she changed the topic when I handed her a popsicle stick with a generous orb of amber at the top. “This is it?”
“Uh-huh,” I said, sliding a flat bag of the taffy into my jacket pocket. “Let’s walk and talk. We can stop anywhere you see that interests you.”
“Works for me.”
We stepped back outside, merely strolling, but our walk stopped when Emily actually tried the taffy.
Her eyes went wide. “Holy shit!”
“I know, right?”
“I thought I had maple taffy before, so I didn’t get why everyone was talking about it. This is nothing like what I had!”
“What you had was store-bought. This got made with sap gathered around here. It’s super fresh, too, gathered yesterday and boiled this morning.”
“Can we go and get more?”
I produced the bag from my pocket and handed it to her.
“Holy hell, I love y—uh, these ,” Emily corrected quickly.
My mind so desperately wanted to run away with that simple slip, but I held it back. Saying “I love you” to a friend was common enough. It wasn’t a literal thing, even if I wanted it to be.
“I’m glad,” I said, and I did something impulsive, perhaps something too intimate, when I leaned over and kissed the top of her head.
Fuck , the way her scent spiked made my cock harden. My pheromones surged, but I shoved them down to appropriate levels. The last thing we needed was to make the entire street smell desperate and horny.
“Emily…” I warned, not even sure where I was going with that sentence, and when she looked up at me, her pupils were wide as saucers.
“Yeah?”
“Do… do you want to get out of here?”
She smiled and offered her hand to me. “I thought you’d never ask.”
I was playing a dangerous game.
I knew that much, yet I didn’t care. When it came to Emily, it was like all consequences drifted to the side, and all I could think of was her.
God, I was so in love.
At first, I was tempted to just whisk her to the closest motel and bend her over until we were both panting and sated, but once driving distracted me, I realized Emily deserved so much more.
She deserved to get wined and dined, to get taken on a real date with no expectations. It killed me to think that the last date she was on had ended with her boyfriend assaulting her. I also hated how that was what brought us together. I knew that there was no true romance destined for us. Yet, I liked to imagine a world where I’d come into her life as an already established achiever, sweeping her off her feet in a whirlwind of romance and rose petals.
“Where are we going?” Emily asked finally. I admired her patience.
“I was thinking lunch and then a movie?” I didn’t know why I felt so uncertain now. When we’d left Camp Maplewood, I felt full of confidence, ready to temporarily run away with Emily so we’d have a break, if only for a day. “You said you wanted to celebrate, so I figured that’d be a good place to start.”
The smile that Emily sent my way removed any lingering uncertainty. “I’d love that. Thank you, Caleb.”
I reached over and squeezed her hand. “Anytime.” And I meant it.
“Do you have a favorite place to go?” I asked after a couple of beats.
“Let me punch it into the GPS. I used to go there as a kid all the time.”
I nodded, and it turned out it was only about thirteen minutes away. We didn’t chat much as I drove, but it wasn’t because of discomfort or awkwardness. I was just enjoying the radio playing low, Emily’s presence, and the rumble of the engine.
“You sure we won’t get in trouble?” Emily asked as we pulled into the parking lot. I saw that it was a cute little mom-and-pop diner I’d never been to before, but it smelled pretty tasty.
“Eh, I doubt anyone will notice we’re gone,” I said with more authority than I should have. It wasn’t like we were going out overnight, and last anybody knew, we were going on a walk. There were perks to not having any jobs or responsibilities beyond keeping an eye on Emily.
“If you’re sure.”
“Don’t worry. If anyone raises hell about it, I’ll take the brunt.” As I should, because even if I’d lost her, Kaia and Emily would always be my responsibility.
“Okay…”
I could tell she had her reservations, but thankfully, they eased from her scent—and hopefully her mind—as we went inside and ordered. There weren’t a lot of people there, so our food came up pretty fast. It was absolutely delicious. Simple but seasoned perfectly and cooked well, exactly what I liked. For a moment, I was worried our pseudo-date would be over before it began, but then Emily mentioned something about the Maillard reaction. When I asked about it, I was treated to a fifteen-minute mini dissertation on exactly what it was and why it made things taste so nice.
Honestly, I could’ve sat there and listened to her talk about sugar caramelization for hours. But eventually, her stomach won out, and she was no longer content to take one bite every few minutes between bouts of explanation. Another time, then—it was wild to me that technically, we had the rest of our lives to just hang out together. For the entire first chunk of us knowing each other, it felt like a time bomb was hanging above our heads. At the moment, there was the Black Hawk Pack to worry about, but that was it.
Oh, and Gray.
The thought of him made me wrinkle my nose, and Emily looked up from the patty melt she was devotedly scarfing down. “Is something wrong? I smell something bitter.”
“Heh, you caught that, huh?” I was still impressed by how fast my charge had adapted to her entirely new biology. I remembered a couple of my friends telling me about how they broke down and cried, their ears hurt so bad. I knew another girl who had intense migraines for a month after she first shifted because of all the scents assaulting her nose.
Thankfully, Emily had skipped all those unpleasantries, which was only fair considering how traumatic her life had been so far.
“Something up?” she asked. “Are we in danger?”
I just shook her head and gave her what I hoped was an assuring smile. “Nah, just had a random thought about someone I don’t like. Nothing to worry about.” Instead, I focused on Emily. She was better, anyway. “I’m feeling a milkshake. How about you?”
“Oh my God, that’s a brilliant idea!”
We ended up loitering at the diner for another hour and a half. Luckily, none of the staff minded. It helped that we ordered an obscene amount of food, as well as my own weight in coffee. I fully intended to tip well.
Or at least I did until Emily pulled out her credit card.
“What are you doing?" I blocked her as she tried to place it in the little trough the waitress had left for us.
“Uh, paying for our meal?” She seemed bewildered. I couldn’t blame her, given that I was so hard-up for cash, I’d stolen her jewelry. I was still miserably ashamed about that. I didn’t deserve her forgiveness, but I wasn’t going to complain about it, either.
“Ah, you don’t have to worry about that. I was given a stipend of pack funds.”
I saw how her eyebrows shot up. I’d painted a pretty bleak picture of the pack before, and while I hadn’t lied, my view was colored by years of semi-voluntary exile. That hadn’t been fair of me.
I had a lot to make up for, didn’t I?
“For what?” she asked.
“A lot of reasons. Partially for funds I need as a guardian, partially the inheritance Thomas left me, partially reparations for the blame they placed on me for your disappearance. There were some… nasty rumors that I was the one who made you vanish.”
Emily sucked in a deep breath. I realized she was about to say exactly what she thought of those people, but I didn’t want our fake date to go in that direction, so I pivoted.
“Ready to go catch a movie?”
“Oh,” Emily said. “Uh, sure! Anything in particular you want to see?”
“I’m going to be honest, I have no idea what’s even in theaters. I was hoping you knew what you wanted to see.”
Emily let out a bark of laughter. “I’m a med student on the dean’s list and doing as many extracurriculars as I can to get into a good internship program. I never know what’s being shown in theaters.”
“Good. Then it’ll be a surprise for both of us.”
“It will, won’t it? Nicer than some of the surprises we’ve had lately.”
“You can say that again.”
“Okay, it’s certainly nicer than some of the surprises we’ve had lately.”
“You think you’re clever, don’t you?” I teased, narrowing my eyes.
But Emily just reached across the table and patted my hand. “Oh, I know I am.”
She managed to hold her sincere expression for five seconds before we both broke into peals of laughter. God, it was so nice to let loose with each other .
When we eventually recovered, we headed to the closest theater according to the GPS and picked out some action movie or another. But I hardly paid attention to it, just soaking up the moment and Emily’s presence next to mine. It was easy to pretend that way, to imagine we were just a normal couple enjoying a normal date.
When it finished, most of the day was gone, and the two of us found ourselves standing in the lobby.
“Is it time to go back to Maplewood?” Emily asked. I wasn’t imagining things—she felt disappointed. I was, too. We’d had such a low-key, wonderful few hours together that I wasn’t exactly anxious for it to stop.
“Probably,” I said with a grimace.
“What if…” Emily trailed off.
“Yeah?”
“What if we just, uh, didn’t ?”
I didn’t even try to fight the grin that split my face in two. “You wanna pretend it’s the ’90s and go to the mall? Granted, it’s not a real mall, but blame the economy for that.”
Emily snickered. “You know what, why not? We’ve got some good outlet malls around here. You chased me into one once.”
I shot her a rueful smirk. “I recall that situation rather differently.”
“I’m sure you do.”
We drove a short distance to the closest mall and ended up buying ice cream cones as we walked along the storefronts. I was well aware that wasn’t exactly a typical food for the winter, but I barely felt the cold, and Emily had her jacket tied around her waist. She was coming into the natural heat of her new wolf form.
It was just so… benign, but also so lovely. I didn’t have to watch our backs for Black Hawk members or even Gray’s men, not with Lincoln Hills finally protecting us. I should’ve gone to them far earlier, but I’d dealt with things on my own for so long, I’d just assumed they had no interest in helping me.
Still, as much fun as we were having, and getting a nice break from random pack members approaching us and introducing themselves to the new member of the pack, the sun started sinking into the sky. We’d already lapped the entire outlet mall, including the parking lot, when Emily stopped and looked up at the sky.
“I don’t want to go back,” she murmured.
I turned to look into her face, trying to read what was going on in that intricate mind of hers. “Did something happen? Do you not like the campground?”
“No,” she said. “I like it a lot more than I thought I would, it’s just… I’m not ready to go back. I like this little bubble we’ve made. It makes it easier to forget about all the pressure, about the Black Hawks, and everything else.”
Emily unwittingly echoed my own sentiments, and the responsible part of me, the part I so often liked to ignore, said we should return back to Maplewood post-haste before anyone noticed our absence.
But another part screamed something else. For me to be brave, a little crazy, even. To be greedy.
“Then let’s not pop the bubble,” I said.
“What do you mean?”
God, the way she looked at me—butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth. “I mean… we could always get a room somewhere and hang out.”
She looked surprised, but I sure didn’t miss how her eyes glinted. “ Hang out ?”
I nodded and reached out for her hand, hoping she’d give it to me once more. She did, and I started gently guiding her towards a luxury beauty store that had lotions, body scrubs, and an insane number of candles. Normally, such a place was a scent nightmare for a shifter, but I’d tolerate it to get something specific.
Emily, to her credit, didn’t question me and seemed plenty content to just see what I’d do. But when I ended up buying a couple of body oils inside, a slow grin spread across her face.
“What do you need those for?” She batted her eyes at me.
“You’ll see,” I said, still holding her hand.
I let her go once we got to my truck so I could open the door for her like a proper gentleman. I may have been only a recently redeemed fuck-up, but it was the least I could do.
The mood in my truck was giddy. I kept looking over to Emily at the red light, and whenever our eyes met, she’d blush. Occasionally, she glanced at the body oils I’d bought, and I could tell her mind was spinning with possibilities. I was content to let her stew in her own curiosity.
What I was planning wasn’t particularly complicated or even groundbreaking, but I thought it’d be nice, especially after going through two of her first shifts and experiencing a wolf run. After all her hard work, she deserved a little pampering.
I, for one, was excited to do just that. My inner wolf wanted to care for Emily, to protect her and ease her worries. If I had the opportunity, I’d take it. At least I was smart enough to choose a hotel that wasn’t the same brand Gavin used. The last thing I wanted was for her to think of him. I couldn’t scrub him out of existence, but for the moment, avoiding triggering her was the best I could do. I made sure it wasn’t a dive motel, but a respectable enough place that we didn’t have to worry about getting bed bugs.
It was a short affair, heading to the elevator and getting to our room. If the person at the front desk noticed that we had no luggage and only a small shopping bag, she said nothing. Granted, working at a hotel, she met all sorts of people, and a majority of them were either sleep-deprived or deeply unpleasant.
Once we were in, I went straight over to the thermostat and turned it down. It was winter, so they had the heat cranked. I’d learned from experience that any shifter in those temperatures would soak the sheets in sweat, and while that was fun in certain circumstances, doing it because of an old HVAC system wasn’t one of them.
“Do you wanna hop in the shower?” I wanted to give Emily the least amount of information possible without her feeling like she was in the dark.
“Are you going to join me?”
My whole body responded to her mischievous face, my cock twitching in interest, but somehow I managed to resist temptation. That was particularly hard to do when I recalled the last time we’d shared a shower together, right before I helped her through her first fully sexual experience. I’d treasure that for the rest of my life, but I needed to stop thinking about it if I wanted to stick to my plan.
“Not this time,” I said. “I’ll shower after you.”
The disappointment on her face nearly made me cave right then and there, but I stayed strong. Emily was in the bathroom, so meanwhile, I went about setting the body oils on the nightstand and grabbing some extra towels from the closet, which I laid on the bed. From there, I washed my hands and arms thoroughly in the sink just outside the bathroom, then picked out a relaxing playlist on YouTube to put on in the background.
Was it a full spa experience? No, but I’d taken care with this, and I hoped Emily would appreciate the effort and know she was worth it.
She took her time in the shower. I tried not to think about the hot water sliding down those gorgeous curves of hers, about my hands sinking into the softness, my fingers leaving indentations, reminders of what we did together. But I should’ve known that Emily had a little something up her sleeve for making her wait to see what my purchase was.
She came out of the bathroom without any sleeves at all. Just a single hotel towel barely wrapped around her, and her gorgeous smile.
God, she was so fucking hot. Everything about her was art, carefully rendered by some creator I owed my salvation to. I could stare at her forever and find something new to celebrate, something to cherish and keep in the deepest parts of my mind.
I was a lucky man. Our path towards each other hadn’t exactly been orthodox, yet I’d go through it ten times over if I could meet Emily as an adult each time. The two of us were equals, with strengths that offset the other’s weaknesses.
“Hey there,” she said as I inhaled. Her smirk told me she knew exactly how much she’d gotten to me, but I wasn’t going to let her derail her own surprise. Instead, I stood up from the classic hotel cuck chair and let my voice drop into a deep rumble.
“Lie down on the bed,” I said as a suggestion, not an order, but I still let her feel the weight of the words. Wanted them to graze across her skin, heady and full of promise.
“O-okay,” she murmured, lying across the towel while facing up. I could feel a little apprehension from her, so I wanted that to cease immediately. As I pulled the chair towards the edge of the bed, I placed her feet in my lap and poured some of the body oil into my hand.
“Tell me if the pressure’s too much or too little,” I said before slowly spreading the slippery liquid across her feet.
The sigh that escaped Emily’s lips at my mere touch was borderline pornographic. I had to sternly scold my dick to calm the hell down in response. This wasn’t about me, it was about taking care of Emily. Showing her a mere modicum of what she deserved.
I started applying pressure, gently at first, gliding up and down her foot to gauge her reactions and find her tender spots. It was easy to pick up changes in her heartbeat and scent whenever I hit a place that was especially sore or a little tender.
It was funny how shifter anatomy worked. I knew that if we just let her be, her body would repair any muscle damage or inflammation that had built up over a couple of hours. But even if that was the practical solution, it wasn’t romantic, nor tender or mindful. I wanted Emily to know that even if it wasn’t entirely necessary, I would always take the extra time to make her world nicer.
“Oh my God,” she breathed as I swiped my thumb along her heel, my knuckle at the top. The room was already filling with pheromones that screamed happy, content, relaxed, which made my inner wolf rumble in my chest.
I spent a good long time on just her feet, focusing on one, then the other, while also spending time on her ankles and lower calves. I’d planned to go on to the rest of her body, but I realized she might not want my hands first touching her feet, then everything else. I hurriedly washed my hands in the sink outside the bathroom before hurrying back and working on her thighs.
Emily had delicious thighs, the generous kind I wanted to sink my teeth into. However, I knew biting was not on the table for right now. That’d be for a situation where a little less relaxation and a whole lot of physical activity was on the table.
Bit by bit, I worked over the front of her body, using techniques I’d picked up with previous play partners or from watching YouTube videos when I couldn’t sleep. It was amazing all the information one could find online. It was so different from when I was a kid.
I took my time, reveling in getting to touch Emily, to feel, to travel along every single plane of her body, each curve, each dip. It was a leisurely promenade of sensuality, something that harkened back to our first shower together, yet was so much more.
“Are you ready to roll over?” I murmured once I finished rubbing her left hand, my charge now effectively a happy puddle on the bed. God, what I wouldn’t give to be in this moment forever, just the two of us, relaxed and unbothered by the world outside.
Satisfaction bubbled up at the way she had to blink twice before she responded, but with a great deal of effort, and some help on my part, she rolled onto her front. Once she’d gotten settled, I got to work on her neck and shoulders. She was a student, and a dedicated one at that, so I’d no doubt a lot of tension got built up in those areas.I was right.
I dedicated myself to working out the knots, the adhesions, and those little spots that required more technique than I had training for. I did my best to ease each one. It was easy to fall into myself, focus on my breathing, how I moved my hands, gliding the oil along Emily’s body, following the muscle lines. Finally, my inner wolf and my alpha felt quite satisfied, able to provide for their mate for the first time. I didn’t chide myself and try to shy away from the fantasy. At least in the moment, I let myself believe the lie that we were true mates and she would forever be mine to hold, to support, to cheer for.
I couldn’t say how long the massage lasted. I honestly could’ve gone for even longer, but I could feel towards the end that Emily was growing slightly restless.
“Are you alright?” I murmured, surprising even myself with the low rumble that escaped my mouth.
Emily nodded, but I could still pick up an undercurrent of… was that desire coming through?
“Did you want something more?”
Emily nodded, and I relished the way her blush started at those cute cheeks and spread all the way across her face, then down her neck. I liked to think that even if I wasn’t a shifter, I’d still read her moods like the back of my hand.
“As you wish,” I murmured, leaning down to press a single kiss to her lips.
I meant it to be a quick moment, a brief, romantic assurance, and then Emily’s hands came up, cupping my face as she deepened the kiss. There was no way on God’s green earth I was going to shut her down, so I went right along, and I was not complaining.
Our lips together were so hot, so filled with want, but there was a slow, sticky quality to it, an indulgent laziness I could get behind. The kiss had no goal, wasn’t a pit stop on the way to something else. It just was.
It seemed so insane to my inner wolf that we’d found the perfect mate, but were holding ourselves back. He didn’t understand the nuances, the complications that came with my being not just her guardian, but the guardian who’d failed her twice. All the animal knew was that he felt attracted to Emily—she was good and strong, and deserved someone to care for her thoroughly and completely.
It was hard to argue with that logic, however lupine it seemed.
After a great deal of effort, I pulled away from her lips, but only slightly. I didn’t do it to break contact—oh no—it was so I could kiss my way down her chin and neck, weaving a worshipful trail down her body until I was kneeling at the foot of the bed, my hands gripping her thighs that I’d just spent so much time tenderly massaging.
It was hard for my mouth not to water at the view. She was already panting and flushed for me. Emily was exquisite, and I wanted her on my tongue immediately. Now it was finally time for my own reward.
Not that I’d pampered her in order to get something for myself. I’d have been perfectly fine for everything to have ended there. But since she’d asked so nicely, I was more than happy to comply.
“You want this?” I breathed over her pussy. It was partly to feed my own ego, but also a last-minute assurance that I was doing exactly what she desired.
“God, please,” she whimpered, her voice high and keening. “I’ve been wanting this since the diner.”
That got a rumble out of my throat as I slowly urged her thighs apart and onto my shoulders. The idea that she longed for my touch, that she’d been wet for my affection, did it. I knew I was sliding closer and closer to a ledge I wouldn’t come back from, but I felt ready to throw myself into oblivion. I didn’t care that I’d only ever been her guardian. Just this was enough for me.
Then my mouth was on her.
Entire symphonies could not compare to the breathless little gasps that escaped her mouth. If I could, I’d record it and play it anytime I was lonely or feeling inadequate, because honestly, when I heard Emily’s moans, it was hard not to feel like a god.
With that, I put myself into it, using the tricks I’d learned she liked, whether kissing, licking, knowing when to use my fingers, even my nose. I’d picked up a while ago that Emily liked periods of specific and intense pressure, with lots of focus on that pretty clit of hers, but only for a short while. So, I’d stop and focus on another area, otherwise the diminishing returns would stop any build-up from happening, and I wanted that tension. I wanted her to cum on my tongue like a fountain. I wanted her to scream in pleasure and nearly lift herself off the bed. I wanted her to be boneless and so relaxed that she’d fall into the deepest sleep she’d had in years.
“Oh my God! Caleb! Caleb! ”
When her hands found their way to my hair, gripping for dear life while she bucked so she’d meet my mouth, I knew we were there. I switched my grip, reaching just under her hips, and lifted her myself.
It was heaven feeling her writhe and contour under me, listening to all the beautiful sounds she let out. When she finally toppled into the bliss I wanted for her, it was a revelation.
“Fuck, Caleb! I-I-I…!”
She never finished that sentence, but I didn’t need her to. Soon, her voice couldn’t escape her throat as the climax wracked her body. I watched, gently bringing her down from it with kitten licks and kisses until she was a panting, sweating mess.
“Holy shit…” she whispered as I let her lay down on the bed, watching the way her breasts heaved.
“I take it you enjoyed our mini-spa experience?” I asked with a slight chuckle, getting up off my knees and lying next to her on the bed. I didn’t waste a single second pulling her close to me, kissing her gently so she could taste herself.
“What would you like for your turn?” she asked breathlessly, her gaze hazy as she looked up at me.
“My turn?”
She let out a little laugh like it was obvious. “Of course.” At that, she looked down, and I realized I was still achingly hard in my pants, the outline of my cock fighting its way through the denim. As crazy as it sounded, I’d forgotten just how engorged I was, and not because I was a saint. Just merely enraptured in Emily and all she was.
“No, I’m good tonight,” I said. “This was just for you.”
There was something so vulnerable in her gaze at that, and I even heard her heart skip a beat. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. We can play if we want tomorrow, but tonight? I’d like you to fall asleep in my arms.”
Her pheromones flooded the room, shouting Joy! Happiness! Contentment! Eventually, I’d help her learn to control those emotions. A person who didn’t know better would think she had romantic feelings for them, but it was alright. I knew where I stood, and it was still an incredible honor to be her guardian. One I’d never take for granted.
“I can do that,” she murmured, snuggling even closer, then draping one of her legs over my own. I felt like I was floating, and I wondered how I’d gotten so lucky. Was our situation ideal? No. But it was so… promising.
I was half-asleep myself when Emily whispered something, her voice unbearably soft.
“What was that?” I asked.
She mumbled something unintelligible, her eyelids still closed, but after a beat, she repeated it. “Thank you.”
“Anytime, Emily,” I said, meaning each syllable right down to my soul. “Any. Time.”