Chapter 4
Effie Harlow
Flowers. The scent hit my nose before I even opened my eyes.
It wasn’t one particular flower, from what I could tell; it was just a gorgeous aroma that seemed to saturate the room.
It wasn’t overwhelming, though, and I inhaled, taking a deep breath as I stretched out my body, soft silky fabric brushing over my skin.
A small sigh of contentment left my lips as I snuggled further into the soft cloud pillows underneath my head.
Everything was peacefully quiet, and my brain seemed to be functioning in a hazy, wonderful state that was nearly euphoric.
I didn’t crave to break out of it, but the more I woke up, the more I began to remember yesterday. The more I began to wonder where my mates were and why they weren’t all in bed with me.
I blushed, burying my head further in the pillow. Really? All of them in bed? Did I really think I could handle that? I could barely handle Caedmon’s mouth on me without passing out.
A knock on the door had me blinking my eyes open and sitting up, a dip in my brow forming as I wondered briefly if I was dreaming.
I mean…that only made sense. Why else would the entire room be filled with flowers?
The entire space, from the dark wood floors to the high chandelier-accented ceiling was covered.
Pink. Lavender. Blue. It was gorgeous, and I looked around the blue bed I was sleeping on, the sheets wrapped around me like a nest, to see if I could even get out of bed.
Three paths existed—one towards the door, one towards what I assumed was the en suite bathroom, and one towards the windows.
A window span that gave the illusion I was truly in the skies, the entire city next to the glistening, icy lake laid out in front of me.
Wow. The view left me stunned, and I sat frozen in the luxurious bed, not positive what to do with myself—
A second knock sounded on the door.
“Come in!” I called out, scrambling from bed.
I crouched down and picked up a vase of purple roses, unable to help myself from inhaling their delicate scent.
I let out a happy hum before turning towards the window, feeling distracted by all the beauty around me—everything from Grant Park to the icy horizon of the lake.
So much so that I didn’t realize that Caedmon was standing right in my space until his fingers hesitantly brushed my cheek.
I snapped my gaze up towards him, my skin flushing from the thoughts of what we had done yesterday, as a big grin formed on my lips. I couldn’t help it. I felt extremely connected to him, and not just because of marking him. Although that sure as heck helped.
“Morning, mon ange,” he murmured, his voice smooth and slightly accented, rolling over my skin and causing chills to break out.
“Morning,” I responded, my eyes darting down the navy suit he was wearing.
Caedmon was beautiful—there was literally no other way to describe it—and he was always dressed like he owned the world.
Heck, maybe he did. It was obvious he had taken a recent shower because his rich brown hair was styled back and slightly damp-looking.
His olive-toned skin seemed to almost glitter with gold, and despite his eyes being an emerald shade, they seemed to shift with a fiery light.
His lean, cut muscles looked exceedingly appealing dressed in his perfectly fitting suit, making it feel as though he was consuming the entire space around me all at once. The man was intoxicating.
Despite his refined style, there was a wildness to his energy that clung to him. It caused my wolf to perk up because she could feel the connection between us and him. I also could feel the warning air of energy that told me he was a true predator, despite how he usually treated me with softness.
Not always, though… My body felt his touch from yesterday still, bringing forth a blast of desire that rolled through me, causing a low rumble to break from his throat as if he could sense it.
Surprising me, he dipped his head and seared our lips together.
Any hesitancy was gone, and I let out a soft moan at the way he took control of the kiss, of my mouth.
Relief flooded through me. I hadn’t even realized it, but there had been a large part of me that had been worried he would regret last night.
But when he pulled back from the kiss, I knew that was far from the case.
“Wow,” I whispered and then blinked, realizing there was a vase of flowers between us. Flowers that were now partially squished. “Oh, crap.”
“Good thing you have more.” He chuckled softly, causing me to smile. I noticed there was a slightly nervous edge to him.
“These flowers are beautiful, Caedmon,” I noted authentically and looked around. “What’s going on? Where are we? The city, obviously, but why?”
“I promise I’ll explain.” He gently removed the flowers from my hand and placed them down before running a hand over my jaw. “How did you sleep? Do you feel okay?”
“Wonderful,” I admitted, sounding a bit breathless. “Really, really good.”
A flash of heat ran across his gaze as I felt that connection between us surge, drawing my attention to his hand. I’d marked him.
I grasped his hand and ran my thumb over the bite mark, its presence making me feel a wave of possessiveness and pride. A sad sound came from Caedmon’s throat, my eyes darting up to find him watching me with an intensity that instantly had me on high alert.
“What?” I whispered.
“Nothing.” His jaw was tight and eyes dark.
I stilled my hand and pulled in my bottom lip. “Is this about me marking you? Should I not have? Caedmon, if I had thought—”
His lips pressed against mine in a hard, firm kiss. I tried to deepen it, but he stilled me, and I could feel a small shudder go through him as he tucked me under his chin and spoke quietly. “I am beyond okay with you marking me, mon ange.”
“Then why did you seem upset?”
“I was worried that you regretted marking me.” His voice was steeped in agony.
“Why would I regret it?” I asked, confused.
“Because…” He seemed to struggle for words. “Fuck. I’m not sure how to explain it, I just thought you would. I thought you would be mad that I marked your skin as well. I thought that maybe you had done it in the heat of the moment—”
“No.” My voice was quiet but firm. “I wanted to mark you, Caedmon.”
His magic constricted around me as he grasped my jaw and examined my face, trying to shield his emotions. “I left bruises on you.”
I knew he meant my hips; I could feel them there.
But it didn’t bother me, rather the opposite…
So I told him that. “I like…” I struggled with my embarrassment for a second before pushing past it, not wanting any misunderstandings.
“I like that. I like knowing your fingerprints are on me. That I’ll see them. ”
“Fuck.” His snarl was deep and caused my entire body to light up with pleasure.
“Caedmon.” My voice was breathy as I tried to go up on my toes…
only to be interrupted by a knock. A frustrated groan came from my lips as Caedmon flashed a smile, the heat more intense in his eyes but his overall mood far more relaxed.
I think he had been really, really worried I would regret what had happened.
But how could I? He was my mate, and despite our problems, I felt that in my soul.
“I would normally ignore them if I hadn’t been the one to call them here.” He sighed and shook his head.
“Wait, what’s going on?” I had assumed it was one of the others.
His eyes flashed with that unsure light, and he spoke in a softer tone. “I want to spoil you. More than you probably even realize…”
“The flowers?” My smile grew.
“One thing of many.” He chuckled, looking tense. “I want you to completely relax today, to just focus on that. Nothing else. I promise, I… Well, we have everything else handled.”
Well that sounded amazing. I was guessing that meant ignoring the fact that I was missing school today, along with everything that happened last night and the all-important aspect of what was going to happen now?
You know, it wasn’t the worst idea.
“Okay.” I nodded slowly before biting my lip. “But can you tell me where we are?”
“Ryder’s penthouse in Chicago.” He stepped back, walking towards the door through the forest of flowers. “We came here last night instead of staying on campus.”
“Everyone is here?” I asked happily.
“Yes.”
I tilted my head. “Wait, how did the rest of the night go with shifting? I was worried about you.”
As he reached the door, he offered me a soft look. “Ryder has a room here for training, I didn’t end up shifting, but I did hang out in there for a bit just in case.”
I nodded, feeling relieved that everything went okay. Caedmon finally opened the door, revealing two women with trays of food that they brought towards the bed. I stepped to the side, my eyes wide at the feast they laid out.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t completely relax yet because there was still one thing on my mind. My other mates. I mentally made a note to ask him if the others were all okay—especially Dakota. I needed to see him.
“He will be here soon, most likely,” Caedmon suddenly said. My brows went up, and he shrugged. “I figured you were wondering if he was okay. He is, by the way.”
“Thank you, I was worried,” I admitted as he approached and laid a kiss on my forehead.
“Eat some breakfast. I’ll go tell the others that you’re up.”
“You don’t want to join me?” I asked curiously, maybe even hopefully.
It was totally hopeful.
His eyes glittered. “More than anything, but I have something planned for this afternoon that I have to get ready.”
“Oh.” My smile grew with excitement. “Okay—Julian!”