Chapter 6 Kingston
KINGSTON
I grabbed Merrick’s hand, not wanting to let go.
But I also didn’t want him to lose his job. I held on with four fingers, then three and two, and finally the last one lost touch with him. My bear howled, the sound echoing in my ears and heart.
Please don’t let him go. We might never see him again.
I know where he is. He can’t get out of the building without me seeing him.
I repeated what I’d said in my head. It sounded creepy, not that my bear noticed or cared. If it’d been up to him, I would have tackled Merrick and marked him.
I stood in the ballroom, encircled by a swirling mass of people chattering, dancing, and drinking. But after catching sight of Bex, I tore over to her, scooped her up, and kissed her. Surrounded by gaping mouths and a shocked silence, I thanked her and left.
It was freezing outside, but the knowledge that I’d found my mate kept me warm and comforted me. I shouted, “I found him.”
Someone yelled back, “That was the point of the ball.”
I promised to stay and at the time I meant it. But now that I had fresh air clearing my head, I knew what I needed to do and it required a quick trip home. I’d be there when he got back and crossed my fingers he would be too busy at work to notice me gone. I drove home on autopilot.
Merrick said he’d won an all-expenses-paid trip to the mountains. He was going to cancel, maybe because of me. Perhaps I was assuming too much, but as his mate, I figured I could invite myself along.
Not bothering to lock the car, I charged into my home and yanked clothes, toiletries, winter gear, and chargers out of closets and drawers.
I hesitated as I trailed my fingers over the drawer that contained Merrick’s shirt.
It had two homes: one in my desk at the office and the other in my walk-in closet here at home.
Five years I’d kept that shirt, and I hadn’t washed it.
No one but me knew it existed. Heck, Merrick had probably long forgotten about it, especially as his life had revolved around his brother’s medical condition.
Pulling it out, I placed it against my cheek and told it that it had kept me from falling into despair, though I’d been close.
“I’ll never throw you away. In fact, I might have you framed.”
But for now, I tucked it into my duffle bag just as the phone buzzed. It was my father asking why I’d left the ball early.
I couldn’t say I was taking a holiday, as he’d explode and he’d be suspicious. I never took a holiday, and neither did he. But I could give him enough of the truth to make him think I’d met my mate tonight.
You did!
Yeah, it wasn’t a lie.
Thank you, Father, for insisting I go to the ball. That sounded very Cinderella-ish. It was everything I imagined, and now I’m taking a break from work. I’ll be back soon with wonderful news.
He replied with !!! And I turned off the device so he couldn’t call me.
Twenty minutes later, I parked at the back of the atrium where the ball took place and waited outside the service entrance in the snow. The minutes ticked by, and I paced in frustration, wanting to speed up time.
Staff began to trickle out of the building in ones and twos. They stamped their feet and blew on their hands and spoke of being exhausted but pleased with how much they’d earned.
Each time the door opened, my heart rate picked up before slowing in disappointment when it wasn’t Merrick. But finally he was here, shrugging on a coat as he searched the waiting crowd.
“You’re still here.” He fingered my jacket. “Did you change in the car?”
I enveloped him in a hug and wondered if I could have a couple’s jacket made so we could be skin to skin while keeping warm.
“I have a plan.”
He smirked. “Does it involve me coming back to your place and getting naked?”
“Not exactly.” His face fell, and I added, “but I’m hoping we can do that tomorrow in the mountains.”
“Huh?”
“Were you going to cancel your trip because of me?”
He snuggled into me, wrapping both hands around my waist. “Yes, I don’t give a damn about a prize-winning holiday when I have you back in my life.”
Perhaps I was being presumptuous inviting myself along, but I couldn’t be parted from him for days or weeks.
“You should go.”
“What?” He pummeled my chest in what I hoped was frustration before cupping my face. “No. I’m not leaving you.”
I peppered kisses over his cold cheeks. “You don’t have to because I’m coming too.” I added that if there was a surcharge, I’d gladly pay it.
Merrick giggled. “Ummm, you want to drop everything, leave your very important job behind, and come with me to a too-small cabin in the mountains?”
“Does it have a fireplace?” He nodded. “Can we order food from the resort?” He nodded again. “Single bed or larger?” He extended his hands as wide as possible. “Hmmm, appears it’d fit two.”
“But…” I kissed him and stopped the flow of words. When he pulled away and our breath fogged in the short distance between our lips, he asked if I was kidnapping him.
“Maybe. Are you willing or do I have to throw you over my shoulder and toss you in the trunk?”
He placed his wrists together. “Do with me what you will.”
Scooping him up, I dashed to the car. Wrapping Merrick in a warm blanket, I drove off and headed for the highway. I told him to sleep and I’d wake him when we arrived, but he refused, saying he didn’t want to miss a minute of my company.
I stopped along the way to grab burgers and fries after Merrick’s belly grumbled, and we fed one another as we sat in the parking lot. The chewing and swallowing was accompanied by giggles, hands on thighs, and greasy kisses, things that we’d been denied for five years.
“Didn’t they feed you?” I’d bring it up with Bex if the staff weren’t treated properly.
“Mmmm,” he said with his mouth full of beef and bun. “But how could I eat when I had pictures in my head of you eating me?”
“Merrick!” I considered doing just that right here, right now, but decided a warm room and a snuggly bed would be more comfortable.
“That pixie who organized the event. She kept eyeing me when I walked past.”
I’d probably never know what happened tonight and who was responsible for linking the chain of events, but I’d better send Bex flowers. It wasn’t adequate, but what did I get for a pixie who’d made my dreams come true?
Merrick eyed the folded shirt I’d placed on the console. “Is that for me?”
“It’s not for you, it is yours.” I handed it to him, and when he unfolded it, he stared at it and began to cry. Oh shoot, what if this shirt was important to him and held special memories and losing it had almost broken him?
“You kept it?” He did what I’d done countless times and put it to his face.
“This was all I had of you.”
He twisted his body so that he was facing me. “That wasn’t all you had.” He reached for my hand and placed it over his heart. “You had this, my heart. You captured it the moment you caught my eye the first time you walked into the bar.”
I couldn’t stop the tears from falling, and I leaned over and kissed him as his tears mingled with my own. He laced our fingers together, and I leaned my forehead on his.
“If we’re hoping to be in the cabin by morning, we should get going.”
There were few cars on the highway and even fewer as we began the climb up the steep road that led to the resort.
“I don’t know a lot about shifters, so let me quiz you. Do you hibernate?”
“Never, but I might if you stick around.” Sleeping together through the winter tucked around my mate sounded like a win.
“Will I get to meet your bear?”
Yes, as soon as possible, please.
“He’s eager to make your acquaintance.”
“Last one. What does he do when you’re having sex?”
My bear put his paws over his ears.
“He dives down deep inside me where he can’t see or hear anything.’
“Good to know because he’ll be doing a lot of that during this trip.”
We should’ve talked about mating and our future, but we had a week to do that. Right now I was reveling in being with my mate and not thinking of my family’s reaction to me mating a human.