Chapter 2
Thomas
I should have seen it coming. I knew my mate well enough to expect it. Still, her dramatic desires for Christmas had taken me by surprise. I could only blame those damn Hallmark movies.
I smiled at the thought. Lily loved those things.
I didn’t think even she could actually pull off the full extent of her vision, but as long as it didn’t affect her or us negatively, then I knew I could let her have this.
It wasn’t unusual for her to get a grand idea and then bore with the details letting it fizzle out.
Because of this, I would put in the inquiry for help and form a Christmas committee for her, but I would not make a Pack announcement for any of it until I knew for certain she was going to pull it off.
I knew she just wanted the absolute best for our daughter. What more could a man ask for?
I would be as supportive as possible as long as she was happy.
A few phone calls later and my mother, sisters, and several of the women from the Pack were ready to hear Lily’s ideas. They had a meeting already planned for that afternoon.
“Well, that was fast,” Lily said as she threw her arms around my neck and kissed me.
Our Pack was used to witnessing our affections for each other. My mate wore her heart on her sleeve, and I stood a little taller with each kiss. But times like this, when we were truly alone, were even sweeter.
Lily was everything I never knew I needed in a mate. My opposite in so many ways, yet she complimented me perfectly.
I glanced down at the baby she had moved to the bassinet and wondered just how far I could take things without waking Cammie. Lily wasn’t exactly a quiet lover.
“No,” she said adamantly.
“What?” I asked innocently.
“You’re meeting the boys in thirty minutes. Whatever you’re thinking, there’s not enough time.”
“Babe, with Cammie around, I’m getting good at quickies.”
I dodged the pillow she threw my way, but the grin on her face was in opposition to the no she had emphatically given me.
I took the opportunity to lunge for her as she squealed. I landed on the couch next to her and then pulled her down on top of me as I silenced her protests with a kiss.
When she stopped protesting and moaned against my lips, the playful mood turned into something more.
My heart raced with excitement. It had always been this way. I loved this woman more than I knew how to put into words and I counted my blessings every day that she chose me.
Some would say that as a shifter mated to your one true mate, that there was little choice in the decision.
They would be very wrong. Our mating process had not been an easy one.
There was a time I feared Lily would never accept me.
We had overcome so much to get to this point in our lives, but I would do it over again a million times knowing she was worth it all.
She pulled back and frowned down at me.
“What?” she demanded.
I smiled and gave her another quick kiss. “I’m just happy.”
She eyed me curiously.
“I’m serious.” I wrapped my arms tighter around her and held her close. “I really am the luckiest man alive.”
She sighed as her hand roamed across my chest absentmindedly. Did she have any idea what her touch did to me?
“Well, it’s true, you are, but I thought you wanted a quickie before you left?”
“I always want that,” I said giving her a cocky grin.
“Then why did you pull away? Now you’re just going to be late.”
I laughed.
She rolled her eyes. “You’re always a horn dog.”
“I blame you for that. I did have some self-control before you stormed into my life.”
“Then why are we talking right now?”
I grinned realizing I wasn’t the only one craving even a few minutes of alone time.
Life had certainly changed a bit since Cammie’s arrival. Lily doted on our daughter constantly and refused to let anyone else watch her. Heck, she rarely left me alone with the baby.
She was an amazing mother though and made my heart squeeze every time I saw the two of them together.
There was something magical in the bond between a mother and her daughter.
You would think I would have known that, after all, my own mother had six of them.
Somehow this seemed different though, more precious somehow.
Since our mating, Lily and I had always had a healthier than average sex life. I couldn’t get enough of my mate, and I knew the feelings were mutual. The things that woman could do with her tongue made me instantly hard at the thought.
After we lost our first baby, she had changed a little. She fell into a deep depression. She tried to pull away from me, but of course, I didn’t let her sink too far. I was dealing with my own heartbreak in my own way, but my focus had been primarily on her.
In some ways that baby had helped us to grow impossibly closer. I learned a lot about the value of the little moments. And I found that I loved simply holding my mate as I realized I was doing now.
“You’re going to regret not taking advantage of this moment while she’s actually sleeping,” Lily said in a content voice.
I kissed the top of her head. “I will never regret a single moment of just having you in my arms.”
She pressed a kiss to my chest. “You know, for such a big important Alpha, you sure can be sweet at times.”
“Shh. That’s our little secret, Slugger. I do have an image to protect.”
I could feel her smile without even looking down as we laid on the couch just being together.
“You really are going to be late.”
“If I didn’t know better, I’d swear you were trying to get rid of me.”
“I do have a meeting to prepare for.”
I groaned. “How much is this going to cost me?”
“I’ll let you know later. But just remember, I do pay in sexual favors.”
“Promise.”
“Oh, I promise,” she said seductively.
I groaned. “I’m never going anywhere if you keep talking like that.”
“I’ve been thinking…”
“Yes?”
“Maybe Peyton would watch Cammie this weekend, just for a couple of hours.”
I jerked up so fast that my chin hit her head.
“Ow.”
“Sorry, sorry.”
We were sitting up once again as I stared into her blue eyes. “Are you serious? You’re not teasing?”
“It’ll just be a few hours, a trial really.”
I wanted to jump up and dance around the room.
I didn’t mind our clandestine quickies during baby naps, but it never felt like either of us could be one hundred percent into it.
We always had one ear listening for Cammie to wake up.
Of course, there was a certain thrill in that as if we were teenagers about to get busted by our parents or something, but a few uninterrupted hours with my mate sounded like heaven.
“Are you sure?” I asked, trying not to get my hopes up.
She nodded. “I, well, I already arranged it. So don’t make any plans for Saturday night.”
“Babe, I’m already making lots of plans for Saturday night.”
I kissed her, surprised when it became heated quickly. My tongue coaxed her lips to part before sweeping inside practically devouring her.
My hand moved to her hip and then up, up…
“Wait,” Lily protested. “You’re making my head foggy with lust. It’s only three days away.”
“I’m not going to last three days, Lil.”
“Well, I’m certainly not telling you that you won’t see any action before then, but you’re already five minutes late. If they show up here looking for you and wake the baby, I swear…”
I kissed her with a smile on my lips.
“I understand.” Then I shrugged. “I’ll call and cancel.”
“You will do no such thing.”
I groaned. “I’d rather be with you.”
“You had your chance for that, now it’s passed. Go on, get out of here.”
I laughed. “Man, the honeymoon really is over, isn’t it?”
She stood up and walked over to check on Cammie. I wasn’t even certain that she realized she was doing it. Satisfied that our daughter wasn’t permanently scarred or anything she looked back and winked at me.
“Only until this weekend.”