Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
the morning after
IVER
The best way to wake up, hands down, is next to my fated mate.
I open my eyes to find Chey’s golden hair splashed out on the pillow beside mine, her chest gently rising and falling in her peaceful slumber.
I take a few minutes to just look at her, in awe of how goddamn beautiful she is and how lucky I am that she’s mine.
She’s radiant. Ethereal. A fucking goddess.
She’s also a warrior. She slayed her demons last night right here in this bed, and I’m so fucking proud of her for facing her fears and conquering them.
With how much she’s been through, I’m sure there’s still a long road of healing ahead, but I plan on being there every step of the way to hold her hand and remind her she’s worthy of love.
I love her. That might sound crazy since we’ve only known each other for a couple of weeks, but I can’t deny the way I feel.
Our connection and chemistry are undeniable, and our bond is the realest thing I’ve ever known.
Cheyenne Clark is in my blood, my bones, etched into my fucking soul.
She’s my missing piece; my other half. The one fate knew I needed.
I would’ve waited forever for her, and now that I’ve finally got her in my life– in my bed– I’m never going to let anyone hurt her again. She’s mine, and I’m hers.
Her scent is all around me– on my pillows, on my sheets, on my body.
I hate to shower it away, but I’ve got meetings lined up this morning with our pack enforcers, which means I need to peel myself out of bed and get moving.
Maybe if I’m quick enough in the shower, I can get Chey to cover me with her scent again before I leave.
I’m careful not to disturb her as I slide out of bed, tiptoeing over to the bathroom and quietly closing the door behind me.
Stepping over to the glass-enclosed shower, I crank on the water and wait for it to heat up, testing it with my palm between the other steps of my morning routine and getting in once it’s to temperature.
The hot water pelts my skin as I step under the spray, steam already building on the cold tiles underfoot.
Shifters can handle temperature extremes a lot better than humans, and I like my showers scalding.
Closing my eyes, I stand underneath it for a minute or two just soaking in the warmth, blinking them open again when that familiar tugging sensation erupts in my chest. I glance toward the bathroom door through the glass wall of the shower as Chey opens it and peeks inside.
Our gazes collide instantly. She sinks her teeth into her lower lip, a blush rising to her cheeks as her amber eyes drop tour my naked body.
She’s wearing my t-shirt, and though the fabric swallows her small frame, it’s hot as fuck to see her in something of mine.
It’s definitely a look I could get used to.
“Good morning, beautiful,” I croon, slicking my hair back with a palm as I aim a grin her way. “Wanna join me?”
She hesitates, like always, but that moment of hesitation is getting briefer every day.
Her knee-jerk reaction to intimacy was avoidance, but she’s slowly trying to un-learn those habits.
Her eyes meet mine again as she purses her lips in consideration, then she answers by reaching for the hem of the t-shirt she’s wearing and pulling it off over her head.
A low growl rumbles in my chest as my gaze roams her naked form. She’s stunning. I touched all that gorgeous skin just last night, but my fingers are already twitching to touch it again.
A coy smile curves her lips as she steps over to the shower, and I pull open the glass door for her, extending a hand in invitation.
She places hers in mine, the door swinging closed behind her as she steps in to join me.
Then I turn my hand over in hers, a silent signal for her to guide my touch.
She brings my hand to her hip as she steps in closer.
“I’m now a believer in beauty sleep, because I swear you get more beautiful every day,” I murmur as my fingers close around her hip, pulling her in.
She snorts a laugh, rolling her eyes. “Stop.”
“It’s true,” I chuckle, twisting us so our bodies are beneath the shower spray.
Water cascades over her suntanned skin, droplets catching in her eyelashes and forming a little river in the valley of her breasts.
She tips her head back to let it run over her face, and I just watch her for a moment, completely mesmerized.
I don’t snap out of it until she blinks her eyes open again, and I quickly reach for the loofah and body wash, pretending I wasn’t just staring at her like a creep.
“I hope you know how much it kills me to wash my scent off you,” I mutter as I squirt some soap onto the loofah and lather it up.
“Well you were the one in the shower first, washing mine off,” she scoffs.
“Trust me, I didn’t want to,” I grumble. “I don’t plan on washing those sheets ever again.”
“Gross,” she laughs, swatting at my arm with the back of a hand.
I hold the loofah out toward her, arching a brow in question. “Can I?”
She smiles softly, nodding.
Stepping in closer, I take her by the hand and glide the sponge up her arm, gently cleaning her skin.
“If you want me to stay over again, then you’d better wash your sheets,” she teases as I start soaping her up.
My gaze flickers up to meet hers. “If it were up to me, you’d never leave.”
She rolls her eyes, making a scoffing sound in her throat. “Don’t you have important Alpha stuff to do today?”
“Not if you wanna hang out,” I murmur as I rub the loofah over her gorgeous tits. “All I’ve got going is weekly check-ins with my pack enforcers, but my Beta can easily cover those.”
She purses her lips in consideration, chewing on the inside of her cheek.
Shit, maybe I’m being too persistent. We already took a big step last night– a fucking monumental one, considering the circumstances– and I don’t want to push my luck and mess this up. She may need space to process, time to decompress…
“I could probably hang out for a while,” she smirks, and I release a breath I didn’t even know I was holding.
“Yeah, cool,” I reply, grinning like an idiot. I swear I used to be smoother than this.
She doesn’t seem to mind, beaming a smile right back at me as I continue soaping up her body, moving to the left side.
She flinches when I run it over the mark at the base of her neck, averting her gaze as I slide it down to the scars on her bicep.
Trailing lower, I take her hand and clean her inner left wrist, the pad of my thumb following the sponge to trace the ridge of her scar.
“You still haven’t told me about this one,” I murmur.
She gives a little shake of her head. “I don’t like talking about that one.”
“It’s okay, you don’t have to,” I reply reassuringly, reaching up to tuck a wet strand of hair behind her ear.
Her amber eyes flicker up to meet mine. “I should, though,” she rasps. “It’s something you probably need to know.”
My brows draw together as I stare back at her, giving a little nod of encouragement.
“I already told you about the two scars from him,” she mutters, her lip curling in disgust at the mention of her abuser. “But this one…” she glances down between us, her fingertips trailing over the line running up her inner wrist. “This one’s from me.”
My heart trips over its valves, throat tightening. “You?” I choke, pain tearing through my chest at her insinuation.
Chey nods numbly, still tracing her scar.
“After that night, I tried to forget, but I couldn’t.
And then I just… I didn’t want to live with the pain anymore.
So, I took a knife, and…” she trails off, swallowing thickly.
“Every time it healed, I cut it open again, until I’d lost so much blood that my wolf wasn’t able to heal me anymore. ”
“I’m so sorry, Chey,” I grit out as I wrap my arms around her, voice gravelly with emotion. Pulling her in close, I press my lips to her forehead, squeezing my eyes shut as my mind reels with the tortuous thought of losing her.
I can’t lose her.
“I barely had a pulse when Javi found me” she mumbles, continuing.
“He got the pack medic, they gave me a transfusion, and they brought me back. I was so mad at Javi when I woke up, furious that he took my choice away and didn’t let me just die.
But then I saw how much pain he was in over what I’d tried to do, and it was the wake-up call I needed.
He gave me a reason to live.” Her lips curve in a soft smile as she pulls back to gaze up at me, cupping my cheek. “And now I have another.”
As careful as I’ve been with always allowing her to make the first move, I can’t help myself.
I’m so overcome with emotion that I lose all self-control, yanking her body against mine and slamming my lips down over hers.
I swallow her little squeak of surprise, but I’m not met with any resistance, her lips parting to let me in and her body going boneless in my grasp.
I kiss her hard, searing her lips with my claim.
I will protect this woman at all costs.
She’s mine.
I nip her lower lip with my teeth as I pull back to look into her eyes again. “Nothing will ever hurt you again, okay?” I pant, bracketing her face in my palms. “Not even yourself. I’ll make sure of it.”
Her amber eyes turn glassy as she blinks back at me, nodding.
“And these battle scars of yours?” I add, reaching for her left hand and raising it between us. “They’re beautiful.” I press a kiss to her inner wrist. “Just like you.”
She laughs through a sob, throwing her arms around my neck and burying her face in the crook of my neck. “How are you so perfect?” she whispers against my skin.
“You’re perfect,” I growl back, relishing in the way it feels to hold my mate in my arms. This is what I was built for. To comfort her, to protect her, to love her.
“I’m glad you think my scars beautiful, because I don’t,” she sniffles, wiping at her cheek as she lifts her head to look up at me. “I hate looking in the mirror and seeing that mark.”
“We could replace it with mine,” I suggest, winking.
Her lips spread into a grin. “Iver Anderson, are you suggesting you want to be bound to me for the rest of your life?” she asks teasingly, cocking her head.
“You’re damn right I do,” I growl.
She giggles as I nuzzle into her neck, throwing back her head as I press kisses against her skin.
“Well, when you do it, I want it on this side,” she muses, bringing her fingertips to the junction of her neck and right shoulder. “I don’t want your mark anywhere near that other one.”
“Done,” I agree readily. “Any other requests? You want like a candlelit dinner beforehand, a dozen roses, that kinda thing? I could grand gesture the shit outta this, baby, just say the word.”
Chey barks a laugh, shaking her head. “Just shut up and kiss me, Iver.”
I lean in and crush my lips to hers, scooping her up by the backs of her thighs to straddle my waist. Her legs wind around me as I claim her mouth, and the two of us make the most of our day playing hooky, starting in the shower.