Chapter Twenty-Seven
Twenty-Seven
Tegan
The full moon crested the night sky, bathing the field in bright white light. Tall grass swayed around me, the light breeze pebbling my bare skin. Off in the distance I could hear something—the faint rustling of footsteps—slowly moving closer.
My heart kick-started, beating so fast I could feel my pulse pounding in my ears. The rustling moved closer, making the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Fear overwhelmed me. My instincts took control, and I started to run.
My feet pounded against the earth and my lungs screamed, but whatever it was that was following me—hunting me—slowly closed in. It leapt out of the grass, the moonlight catching the silver fur spanning across its broad back.
Instead of slamming into the ground, I was gently lowered, wrapped in a strong pair of arms. A cool nose pressed against my neck, a purr resonating out of its chest and into mine—as if it was trying to soothe me.
I inhaled deeply, fighting to catch my breath, only to be met by a familiar scent. Atlas’s familiar scent.
“Tegan,” he said, my name rumbling out of him like thunder.
I dug my hands into his fur, baring my neck to him.
Almost like I was asking for something.
He trailed his tongue over my skin, paying special attention to the place where my neck met my collarbone, before he sank his teeth into my neck, sending searing pain radiating through my body that—
BEEP.
BEEP.
BEEP.
I bolted upright and whipped my head from side to side. The dark room and unfamiliar surroundings made me feel disoriented.
“Tegan,” Atlas mumbled, his already-deep voice more gravelly from sleep. “It’s just my alarm. Do you feel up to going to the gym? We can swing by your house and grab your workout clothes.”
Shit.
That was right. I’d spent the night with Atlas.
I’d fucked Atlas Oberon and stayed over at his house.
Slept cuddled next to him in his bed.
I thought it was a dream.
But the slight discomfort I felt between my legs confirmed that it was, in fact, not a dream.
Atlas had wrecked me last night, wringing orgasm after orgasm from my body.
I’d never had a partner who was so attentive when it came to pleasuring me. Not to mention how thorough he was with aftercare.
“Would it be a big deal if we skipped the gym today?” I bit my lip and focused on Atlas as best I could in the dim lighting.
“Uh…” The indecision in his voice was obvious.
“Do you ever miss a day?” I asked. I tilted my face closer so I could gauge his reaction.
“I mean…I do. Sometimes…” He trailed off and scrubbed a hand over his ear. “I, um, I have some issues. When it comes to my body image and exercising. Just stuff left over from my childhood and from my ex.”
Anger flared up inside of me. I knew he had issues with his body image and anxiety surrounding his diet, but I didn’t know she’d played a part in it.
How the fuck dare she.
For a long time I struggled with my body, but I’d learned to love it. Every stretch mark and cellulite dimple.
I wanted that for Atlas, too.
“Hey,” I said, and grabbed his hand. “It’s okay. I used to have some of those issues, too, and I think I can help you work through them.” I kissed the back of his hand, the soft fur tickling my nose and lips. “Let’s go to the gym today, but if you’ll let me, we can work on this together, okay?”
He smiled and nodded his head in agreement. “I’m just dropping all of my emotional baggage on you.”
It was my turn to smile. “I’m here to help you carry it.” I leaned in and kissed him. Just a peck, positive I was rocking some serious morning breath. “Come on. I have my workout clothes in my car.”
“I’ll get dressed and go grab them for you. Maybe on the way to the gym we can grab a coffee. How does that sound?”
Yeah, he did have some baggage. But didn’t we all?
It didn’t make me any less enamored with him.
Not only was he handsome as sin, but he was one of the sweetest people I’d ever met in my entire life.
“That sounds perfect.”
“Great,” he said, and rolled out of bed with a groan. He stretched his naked body, his muscles rippling with each of his movements while his massive cock hung limp between his legs.
How the fuck had that thing fit inside me?
I was tempted to lift up the blankets and check on my pussy, but I’d have time to do that later when Atlas wasn’t watching. You know, just to make sure everything was still intact.
He turned his back to me and walked toward the closet, giving me a perfect view of his ass. And holy shit, was it perfect. I was correct in my earlier assessment that you could bounce a quarter off that thing.
Atlas returned to the side of the bed dressed in a pair of basketball shorts that hung low on his hips, with a white tank top draped over his shoulder.
I stared at the muscular build of his body and clenched my thighs together tightly. I couldn’t possibly be getting turned on after the pounding I’d taken the night before. It should be illegal for one wolven to be so good at handing out orgasms.
“I’ll be right back,” he said as he bent over and placed a delicate kiss on my forehead.
“My keys are in my bag on the island,” I said when he pulled away, his body swaying as his tail wagged happily behind him. A smile spread over my face. That fucking tail got me every time. “Thank you.”
“Anything for you, sweet thing.” Atlas pulled on his tank top before turning on his heel and walking out of the room. I stifled a whine at the thought of him having to wear actual clothing in my presence. He was sheer perfection, and I didn’t think I’d ever get tired of ogling him.
As I hoisted myself to my feet and headed toward the bathroom, I was reminded of our conversation last night.
I hated the fact that the opinions of one stupid ex could do so much damage to such a sweet guy.
Atlas was something special. He deserved to be cherished and valued for who he was, not for the wolven someone else wanted him to be.
His flaws, his imperfections—those were the things that made him unique.
I’d just finished washing my hands when Atlas snuck up behind me in the bathroom, making me jump. I hadn’t heard him coming.
“Atlas!” I gasped as I tried to catch my breath. “You scared the shit out of me.” Super stealth must be a wolven talent or something.
He grabbed my hips, leaning over me until the fuzzy gray fur of his face tickled my ear. “I could look at your naked body all day long.”
My cheeks flushed as I glanced at our reflections in the mirror. We were so different, but there was something about us that fit. Something that worked.
Atlas trailed a claw down my side, stopping at the pinprick indents left on my hip the night before. “Did I hurt you, Tegan?” His warm breath tickled my neck, and his voice lowered an octave. “Did you like it?”
I moaned and leaned into him, not caring that every roll and imperfection was bared in the mirror for him to see. “Y-yes. I—I liked it.”
His dark chuckle sent shivers down my spine, and he tilted my head so that I was looking into his golden eyes. “Good.”
Atlas pressed his lips against mine and I opened for him, our tongues fluttering against each other, obviously unconcerned about morning breath.
“Shit,” he groaned as he pulled away. “The gym is looking less and less appealing by the minute.”
I laughed and reached for my workout clothes. “No way, buddy. You got me up and out of bed. We’re going to the gym. And,” I added, “I believe I was promised a coffee.”
But the fact that he’d even be tempted to skip the gym for me meant that he was open to change and undoing the damage his ex had done to him.
Sure, he could work out and focus on his diet. But it had to be on his terms. In a healthy way that wasn’t obsessive or overly restrictive. In a way that didn’t make him feel guilty.
We stood side by side at the double vanity and brushed our teeth. I caught Atlas sneaking glances at me every chance he got, his fluffy tail wagging from side to side.
We were so into each other that it was almost sickening. Yeah, it was soon. But sometimes fate intervenes in the form of ruined wedding cakes, and you just have to listen.
“The Busy Bean okay for coffee?” Atlas asked when we were loaded in his truck.
I grimaced slightly. “I mean, we can stop there, but expect Brian to mean mug the fuck out of you.”
He chuckled. “Why is that?”
“After the wedding, he stopped by the bakery and asked me if we were dating, and we weren’t yet so I told him no. He took that as an opportunity to ask me to go out with him sometime, and because I was interested in you, I told him I was too busy with the bakery to date.”
“Damn. He’s going to spit in my coffee, isn’t he? I didn’t know you were the most eligible bachelorette in Briar Glenn.”
“I absolutely am not. And even if I was, it doesn’t matter now because I’m with you.”
Atlas pulled into one of the parking spots in front of the Busy Bean. We hopped out of the truck, and when I opened the door to the coffee shop, Brian’s head snapped up.
“Hey, Tegan. What are you—” Brian started, but his voice tapered off the second Atlas stepped inside behind me. “Oh,” he said, staring at Atlas and me.
“Morning, Brian,” Atlas said. He grabbed my hand, twining our fingers together. “I promised Tegan a coffee before we started our workout this morning. She needed a little energy boost. Didn’t you?”
I could feel the heat rushing from my chest up to my cheeks, because he did not just say that to Brian. “Yep,” I croaked, giving his hand a very aggressive squeeze, which probably didn’t bother him because he was a hulking wolven.
“Uh, cool,” Brian said flatly. “The usual for you, Tegan?”
I nodded. “Please.”
“And I’ll have a double americano. Iced, please,” Atlas added.
Brian aggressively tapped on the tablet in front of him, flipping it around to face us when he had the total.
I went to grab my card from my phone case, but Atlas beat me to it, adding a very generous tip before tapping his card on the reader.
Was he trying to add insult to injury?
We shuffled to the end of the counter and grabbed our drinks when they were ready.
I chose a table that was as far away from the counter as we could get. “You should have just peed on me in front of him,” I huffed. “Really marked your territory, ya know.”
Atlas sat across from me. “I mean, if that’s what you’re into, I’ll try anything once—” He shrugged.
I almost choked on my coffee. “Atlas.”
He started laughing his head off, and out of the corner of my eye I could see Brian staring daggers at him. I hoped Atlas wasn’t a big fan of coffee, because he was definitely making an enemy here.
“I’m sorry. I just couldn’t help myself,” he said when he finally regained his composure. “Listen,” he said, his expression turning serious. “There’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”
“I hope you’re not breaking up with me in a public place right after we had sex for the first time,” I joked, trying to ease the knot forming in my stomach. Usually when someone said they needed to talk to you like that, it wasn’t about something good.
He shook his head aggressively, holding out his hands. “Oh my gods, no. It’s nothing like that. It’s just—wolven things.”
“What kind of wolven things?” I asked.
“Do you remember what the moon looked like the night of the wedding?”
“It was some type of crescent, I think? I can’t remember which. It’s been a long time since I took earth science, so you’ll have to cut me some slack.”
“It was a waning crescent, and now it’s almost time for a full moon.”
“Ahhh,” I drawled.
“We won’t be able to hang out that night.”
“Why?”
“Wolven are different under the full moon. It’s just—I don’t know if I can trust some of my baser instincts around you, Tegan. Do you get where I’m going with this?”
“Baser instincts?”
“I don’t think I would ever hurt you, but I don’t want to do anything that makes you scared or uncomfortable.”
“Does that mean we’ll never be able to be together when there’s a full moon?” I asked. I mean, it was one night a month. But I still didn’t quite understand.
“It’s an important part of my life, and I’d like to include you in it sometime. If I can do it safely.”
“What do you do?”
“Run through the woods. Howl at the moon. Have sex.”
Well, that piqued my interest. I leaned over the table and whispered, “Like outside?”
He nodded. “Yeah.”
“Honestly, that sounds like an amazing time.”
Atlas gave me a soft smile—like my response was a huge weight off his shoulders. “It is. And one day, when we’re ready, I want to do it with you.”
My dream came to mind. It was almost eerie how my subconscious had conjured up that exact scenario.
“I’d like that. I really appreciate you talking to me about this.”
“Well, I wasn’t just going to go radio silent without explaining things first. For obvious reasons, I leave my phone at home when I go out.”
“If I was a wolven, you wouldn’t have to worry about any of this, would you?”
His ears dropped, giving me my answer.
“It’s okay,” I blurted. “I get it.”
As common as mixed-species relationships were, there was still a learning curve.
This was a first for Atlas and me, but I was glad we were having an open conversation about it instead of shoving it under the rug.
He could have just made up some lie about being out with friends and I would have been none the wiser. I appreciated his honesty.
He reached across the table, holding both of my hands in his while his golden eyes stared into mine. “Thank you for understanding.”
“And it’s just one night, right?”
“One night,” he said, holding up a clawed finger. “Do you think you can live without me?”
“I’ll do my best.” As much as I enjoyed spending time with Atlas, I felt like I’d been neglecting my friends a little bit since I started my relationship with him. The full moon would be the perfect time to make plans with them.
“If you can’t, there’s always Brian,” Atlas teased.
“Don’t you dare joke like that.”
“What? He’s not a bad-looking guy.”
“He isn’t, but that’s not the problem,” I said, folding my arms over my chest.
Atlas grinned. “Then what is the problem?”
I answered honestly. “He isn’t you.”