Chapter 5 #2
Which means I had unintentionally included Ryder. Or maybe it had been intentional.
“That’s adorable,” Caedmon murmured and offered me a rare smile. “Besides that, are you all set up?”
I nodded as Julian hopped up and Caedmon sat down next to me.
“Good, now you can purchase some stuff online.”
“Caedmon,” I whispered, feeling hesitant because I had no idea how to explain to him that I still had no money to my name.
“Not worth the fight, little wolf!” Dakota called from my room where they were still working on my ‘surprise.’
“What’s not worth the fight?” If I didn’t have money, I literally couldn’t buy anything.
“The fight on him buying you stuff,” Ryder explained.
Oh. Now I understood.
“I do not need you guys spending more money on me,” I assured him. The laptop was one thing—that had been very clearly a gift—but picking out something didn’t feel the same. Plus, I had never bought anything online before, so I wouldn’t even know where to start.
Caedmon eyed the computer and then looked back at me. “I don’t know how to explain this.”
“Explain what?” I felt suddenly self-conscious.
“I am gonna leave you to this,” Ryder mused before coming over to me. He tilted my jaw up and I felt my heart slow, squeezing painfully at the idea of him leaving. “I’ll be right back. I am going to go to pick up some extra clothes… If you want me to stay, that is.”
I did. Even though I was confused and we needed to talk about that freakin’ mark… I really did.
I nodded, his eyes warming before going towards the elevator bank. I turned back to Caedmon, his gaze still focused on me with confusion.
“What were you going to explain?”
Caedmon tapped his fingers against the computer before speaking quietly. “I need you to buy stuff, Effie, specifically with my money. I need you to have nice things, because if you don’t, I don’t feel like I’ve done my job as your mate. I don’t feel like I’ve provided for you.”
I nibbled my lip. “Are my things not nice to you?” I knew they weren’t, probably, but hearing it still hurt.
Caedmon shook his head. “No, mon ange, it’s nothing to do with that… You and what you own are perfect. Even if you had million-dollar items, I would want to replace them with objects I bought you… I know it’s fucked up, but beside the obvious, it’s one of the only ways I can show you how I feel.”
I had to admit, despite being a little awkward—like myself—when it came to emotions, he was really trying at expressing how he felt, and it made me feel far more secure about all of this.
“You don’t need to buy me stuff to be a good mate.”
“I know that, in theory.” His jaw tightened. “I just am not able to actually get over it. You don’t have to buy a lot, I just need you to buy something.”
I wanted to give him what he wanted, to make him happy…
I looked at the computer screen. “I have no idea where to start.”
Caedmon seemed to relax slightly, and he pulled the laptop onto his lap before pulling up several websites. I swallowed nervously, looking at the prices, before glancing back at him. “Can we start off a bit smaller than this?”
After a few more clicks, an array of new sites was pulled up, and I found myself more comfortable with the prices by far.
I had to wrack my mind about what to buy, but after about a half an hour I had a decent amount of items in the cart.
I had managed to find some jeans, most of which were a lighter color and high-waisted, as well as some colorful tops, both loose and tight…
but that wasn’t my favorite part. No, my favorite part was the shoes.
I had always loved my shoes, mostly because I could draw on them when I was bored, but I hadn’t realized how many different types there were that were already colored.
I managed to find some white shoes with fabric markers, as well as some Vans and high-tops that were decorated with bright swirls.
Then I found an adorable pair of purple combat boots with blue laces that matched my hair, making me feel a thrill of excitement I hadn’t expected from a material purchase.
I was starting to understand why people liked shopping so much.
“I’m glad you are finding stuff,” Caedmon stated from next to me. I smiled up at him, wondering how he hadn’t gotten bored of watching me yet.
“Do you know if they sell patches here?”
“Patches?” He looked confused.
“Like the ones you can sew onto your clothes? I sometimes do that. My favorite pair of jeans have butterflies on them.”
Caedmon typed something into the search bar, and when he pulled up a bunch of iron-on patches, I nearly squeaked in excitement…
and proceeded to put a ton of them in the cart.
I could add them to everything. I finally felt like I was finished and handed the laptop over to Caedmon.
His gaze ran over me for a moment, his eyes warming with affection before he stood up and went into the other room.
It took me a moment to realize he’d left me completely alone… And being alone was such a rare occurrence now that it felt odd. When had my life gotten so crazy? How had I so quickly adjusted to having people around me? Lonely had been my norm for so, so long.
Stretching my hands above my head and letting out a small yawn, I walked towards my bedroom and called out to the guys.
Immediately, Julian appeared in the doorway. “Hey you.”
“Hey.” I went on my toes to peek around him. “Can I go in there?”
“Not yet,” He lifted me up by the waist and carried me towards the couches again. “Just sit your pretty butt down and I will come get you in a moment.”
“You think I have a pretty butt?” I teased.
Julian’s eyes flickered down my body. “Every part of you is pretty, Effie, but yes, you have a fantastic ass.” Then he was gone and back in my room, leaving me to my flushed face and giddy excitement.
After being let down for so long, the conviction he had when admitting his attraction to me left me in a state of bliss.
Feeling a bit tired, I laid out on the couch and stretched, letting out a happy sigh as my muscles, which had been tense from the past few days, completely relaxed.
I was so sleepy that I must have dozed off and barely heard the low rumble that escaped someone’s chest, which caused me to open one eye to find Tore standing above me, his eyes heated on my form.
I blushed and scrambled to sit, his massive frame still over me completely.
“Fuck,” he grunted and looked skyward, taking a deep breath before offering his hand. I hopped up, and my eyes widened as I felt how hard he was against my stomach, my sharp intake of breath eliciting a growl from his throat.
“Tore,” I whispered, but he didn’t let me go. I didn’t want him to. I could feel his animalistic energy against my skin, and I found myself wanting more than anything to tease it out… Even if that was a dangerous idea.
“Sorry, lil bit.” He shook his head as if trying to shake something. “Go check out your room, we finally finished.”
Julian and Dakota slipped out and walked towards the kitchen, making me arch a brow at Tore, who smiled. “They insisted I show it to you myself. They helped, so I’m not sure why…”
“Because it was his idea!” Dakota shouted, making me squeeze Tore’s hand as the man’s ears turned pink. It made me feel far less bad about blushing all the freakin’ time.
“What was your idea?”
He ushered me into my room, and I felt my mouth open in shock before a smile took over my face.
Stepping further into the space, I looked up at the long white shelf that now hung above my bed with small lights along it, highlighting the items on display.
My snow globes. All of them were lined up and perfectly within sight for me to view whenever I wanted.
It was gorgeous… Absolutely perfect.
Tears filled my eyes as I looked at Tore.
“If you don’t like—” he said hurriedly, misinterpreting my tears.
I literally flung myself at him, wrapping my arms around his neck as he easily lifted me, catching my tears against his skin.
“I love it, Tore. I love it so much.”
He had no idea what this meant to me, and somehow that made it so much better.
Hours later, around eight in the evening, I found myself wishing that we’d gone to class today and that it hadn’t been canceled. Mainly because it was so hard to focus on what I needed to, which was homework for the classes I had missed Tuesday, Wednesday, and now the online assignments from today.
I was trying hard to not feel panicked over it and instead began to organize myself like I used to while sitting in my room alone for hours.
After I had my binder all separated out with these adorable floral dividers and folders, I took the time to look over each syllabus once again, before deciding that I needed to focus on my Monday, Wednesday, and Friday class schedule first since I had those tomorrow.
“Ryder?”
My questioning tone had the man looking up from where he sat next to me, the others quietly doing homework as well at the kitchen island.
I found it so peaceful just to sit here and work, especially after everything had happened recently.
The moment of solitude to gather myself was very much needed.
Although, there were still a million questions buzzing in my head, and I knew I wasn’t the only one feeling the need for a breather.
I could sense the tension running throughout my mates.
“Yes, kitten?” Ryder’s voice and that nickname sent chills up my spine.
“At class on Monday, you said there was going to be a quiz on Wednesday. Do I need to make that up? Or will I take it in class tomorrow?”
Ryder blinked at me, almost in confusion, before he ran a hand over his face. When he began to laugh, a strained one at that, I looked nervously over to Caedmon, who was regarding the man with an odd expression.
“I don’t understand why you’re laughing.” I nibbled my lip. Had I asked something stupid? It felt like it, and it didn’t feel good to think he was laughing at me.