Chapter 8 Kingston
KINGSTON
There was a warm weight nestled into my side, and I smiled without bothering to open my eyes. Merrick, my mate, who wasn’t a mate in name only. He was marked, we both were, making it impossible for anyone to separate us. The anyone that came to mind was my father.
Though I needed coffee, I stayed where I was, relishing the new path my life was taking. But eventually the need for caffeine outweighed staying in bed, at least for the minutes it took to brew a pot of coffee.
I extracted myself from the warmth without waking my mate, and though he did roll over, he didn’t protest my absence. After slipping on a robe, I didn’t move but stared at him as if I were scared he was going to vanish.
But as I gazed around the room, I grimaced. Our clothes from last night were scattered across the floor. My jeans were on the floor, and I wasn’t yet able to see his shirt, while our shoes had been kicked off in different directions.
Though coffee was my priority, I could tidy up while it was brewing. Yes, we were on holiday, but we deserved to be in a clean and tidy space and not a disaster of tangled clothes and bedding.
Focusing my attention on the untidy room, I forgot about the coffee and folded the clothes, including the now-found shirt, and put them on top of the dresser. Next, I gathered up the cushions and pillows from the sofa and bed.
Why do people put so many pillows on the bed and then toss them off before getting in?
I didn’t have an answer to that conundrum because I’d always wondered the same myself.
“King, what are you doing?” A yawning and bleary-eyed Merrick appeared in the doorway. He was adorable, with his hair sticking up, and I considered taking him back to bed.
I thought it was kinda obvious, but I grinned and replied, “Tidying up.”
He squinted at the clock. “It’s eight in the morning.” He glanced outside at the gray light. “Yeah, morning. We’re on vacation, and you’re cleaning?”
“No. There was no cleaning.” I waved a hand toward the pile of folded clothes. “I was organizing.” I picked up one more pillow. “Go back to bed.”
“I will. But I’d like you with me because this is the shifter version of a honeymoon.”
He’s not wrong, my bear pointed out.
“We can organize later.”
I hesitated. Of course I wanted to snuggle with Merrick, but the messy cabin bothered me. In the five years I’d been alone without him, I’d kept myself sane by maintaining strict routines. That was what I could control when my personal life was a three-act tragedy.
But my mate’s pink cheeks, his rumpled hair, and seductive smile drew me to the bed.
“I’m all yours, but…”
Merrick pulled a pillow over his face and groaned.
“I’ll put the coffee on first.”
He tossed a pillow at me, one I’d just picked up. “Now? Who needs coffee the moment they wake?”
It’d been ten minutes at least since I got out of bed and thirty or more since I opened my eyes, but I didn’t quibble.
“I can’t function without it. You’re a coffee drinker, so surely you understand.”
“Not really. I ease into the day by waking up slowly and enjoying the time in bed, doing nothing.” He stretched, bringing my eyes to his mating mark. “Coffee is for later when I’m awake enough to enjoy it.”
He shooed me away, telling me to get my butt in gear, make coffee and skedaddle back.
I started the coffee and breathed in the scent of caramel while wandering into the bedroom. “What’s the plan for today?”
“Plan?” He quirked a brow. “I was thinking sleep, sex, more sex, and more sleep, and we’ll add some eating in there.
” He winked. “I’m talking room service, though I’d be up for any other sort of eating.
” He lifted the bedding and inspected his cock.
“But watching the snow fall while we’re cuddled in bed could be a plan.
Or the hot tub on the deck is beckoning. ”
Hmmm. I’d hoped we would take advantage of the activities and scenery the resort offered, especially as it was close to Christmas. “There’s a winter hiking trail that has amazing views.”
“Hey. We just mated, and we’ve been apart for so long. Don’t you want to make up for lost time? We can do nothing. It’s not a crime.”
“I know.” But mating cemented our bond, and I couldn’t sit still when we were perched on a mountain, surrounded by forest and a snow-covered valley at our feet.
The coffee maker beeped, and I held up one finger before racing out and pouring myself a cup.
Back in the bedroom, I focused on my mate, cocooned in rumpled bedclothes, and outside, the snow was drifting onto the ground.
A couple of kids from a nearby cabin had been attempting to make a snowman but were having a snowball fight instead.
“It’s hard for me to do nothing.”
He held out his hand and dragged me onto the mattress. “Tell me, have you always been so regimented?”
Now was the time for truth-telling. I took his palm and placed it on my cheek. “No.”
Tell him, my bear insisted. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.
“Let me guess.” He pulled me closer for a kiss. “This habit began when you lost me.” His eyes locked on mine, and I squirmed. We’d spoken of my devastation at not finding him, but this was forcing me to open up and reveal how my life had changed when we were apart.
“Losing you broke me.”
Merrick gasped, and he blinked away tears.
“I thought I’d never find you again and the rest of my life would be empty with a constant ache at missing you. So, I regulated my life.”
I explained that it suited my college and working life. I got excellent grades, and my father was beyond pleased at my work ethic. But there was nothing else, just rigid order.
Merrick pulled me under the covers. “I’m here, and our lives are entwined. So,” he slapped my thigh, “I’m going to learn all your organized and can’t-sit-still habits, and I’ll show you how I’m happy to do nothing for hours, when I have the time.”
“I like that plan.”
“Me too.” Merrick squeezed my cheeks and chuckled. “That’s a plan I can get behind. I love you even though you make coffee before you’re fully conscious and you organize our life while we’re on vacation.”
Him laying out our differences got me thinking. “What if we’re too different and can’t muddle along?”
“Hey, do you think I care that you fold my clothes and make coffee before my eyes are open? It’s not a deal breaker. Being without you was torture, and nothing can break our bond, even if you do want to make the bed while I’m still in it.”
I pulled him close and sniffed his hair, allowing his scent to fill my lungs and calm me. “You do make the bed though, don’t you?”
His eyes grew wide, and he slapped a hand over his mouth. “Sometimes I don’t. Shocking, I know.” He shrugged. “But I’m going to mess it up again, so why bother.”
“I might drive you bonkers.”
“Okay, and I’ll do the same to you, and we'll manage. But we’ll be together, figuring it out as we go.”
“How about we stay in this morning and maybe go out after lunch?”
“We can do that.” He cuddled in to me. “And perhaps I’ll drop my clothes into the hamper this evening instead of leaving them where they fall.”
I retrieved my coffee, but it was cold. I grimaced, because much as I loved coffee, I couldn’t abide when it wasn’t piping hot.
“Go and make another one, and when you return, I’ll let you make the bed.” My mate smirked. “And then I’ll get back between the sheets and roll my naked self around.”
“Ummm, maybe I don’t need that coffee just yet.”
“Oh yeah? Why is that?” He pulled the bedding down to reveal his arousal. Taking my hand, he wrapped it around the shaft. “How about this for a plan?”
“I’m in favor.”