17. Chapter 17
Chapter 17
Julie
I sit on my couch with my feet up on the coffee table. Knowing Vatok will be here after his shift is over makes for good motivation to tidy up. There was a short period of time when he stayed with me most of the time, and I tidied up too, but since we had the small fallout, my place can use another round of tidying up.
What's he up to by now?
I stare at the clock, counting the minutes. From those days prior, I've recited the time slots for his shifts. Maybe we should have figured that out. If we admit to our feelings sooner rather than later, maybe we'd save each other plenty of headaches and heartbroken days.
I fix my ponytail, trying to focus on the present instead.
Now, I just have to wait for him to be back home. I want to hug him and tell him that everything's good now. I don't understand why a big guy like him has that little confidence in himself, but that reminds me of my early days in the bar, starting my job.
I think back to those chaotic nights, the clamor of laughter and clinking glasses echoing around me, the fluorescent lights casting a harsh glow on everyone’s faces. I remember the awkwardness of the first customer who dared to approach me. A wild mix of nerves and excitement coursed through my veins even when I thought about it. It took weeks before I felt at ease, learning to navigate the ebb and flow of the bar like a dancer on a crowded floor. Vatok wasn’t there then, not yet part of my vivid tapestry of memories.
Or maybe he was there, on and off. He just wasn’t the most attention-grabbing.
I frown and search my memory. How was I able to not notice a big kot'oll like him? And a handsome one?
As the clock ticks, I pull myself back to today. I stand and head to the kitchen, wiping crumbs off the counter and stacking the forgotten dishes. The rhythmic clink of ceramic against ceramic is oddly comforting, a gentle reminder of the days and nights that we spent together. The way he laughs at my terrible jokes, his brows furrow in concentration when he's deep in thought, and how he listens, really listens, when I talk about the absurdities of my day and silly patrons.
There's hope in the air, that electric anticipation as I imagine him walking through the door, the crinkle of his eyes when he smiles, the warmth of his embrace that feels like home.
I glance at the clock again, willing time to move faster.
There's no reason for me to be nervous about waiting for him. Yet...
I've never liked cleaning, let alone cleaning out of boredom. But I have to be doing something before I'll drive myself crazy thinking about him. Even with the cleaning, my mind is still noisier than I'd like.
I put on some music, cranking up the volume to drown out my spinning thoughts. I can't help but smile, picturing Vatok dancing alongside me, his towering form moving clumsily as he tries to figure out where to put his arms.
But I'm supposed to put on the music so that I'm not thinking about him for a brief moment. He refuses to leave my mind. How rude.
What would it be like to wake up next to him every morning? That's going to happen, right?
The thought quickens my pulse, and I allow myself a moment of daydreaming, painting vivid scenarios of breakfast conversations filled with laughter, of lazy afternoons spent in the comfort of each other's presence.
The music shifts to a slower tune, pulling me back to the reality of waiting. The soft notes reverberate through the air, echoing the fluttering in my heart. My thoughts shift to Vatok's soft yet hesitant expressions, his playful banter, and the way he sometimes seems almost vulnerable. It surprises me how much I care for him, how easily he’s become intertwined with my day-to-day existence, like the pieces of music surrounding me.
Before I know it, the door clicks open, and the familiar sound of his heavy footsteps wades. My heart races, flipping between excitement and nervousness.
“Julie?” his voice calls, resonant and soothing. My breath hitches at the sight of him framed by the door. His hair is slightly disheveled from hours of work yet striking as ever.
“There you are.” I beam as I rush to meet him, wrapping my arms around him in a heartfelt embrace. I cling to him like a koala grabbing a tree. And he really is the big and strong guy who's like a tree that will protect me. His warmth envelops me, and I breathe him in. "You have no idea how much I missed you."
Vatok pulls me closer, his strong arms wrapping around me. "You have no idea how much I missed you, either. You didn't have a shift to work. It was so hard to stay focused." He pats my back, holds my cheeks, and still keeps an arm around me.
His lips press into my hair, as I rest my face on his chest. My fingers gently stroke his back. I want to feel him, more of him, everything.
"I missed you so much," he murmurs, his voice a deep rumble against my ear. His grip tightens slightly, as if afraid to let me go. I lean into him, my body responding to the intensity of his touch with a rush of heat. Being so close to him, it feels like I can finally breathe for the first time in weeks. He hugs me so tightly that my feet leave the floor. The slight problem with being with a tall and big kot'oll.
As the silence stretches between us, I get lost in his intoxicating scent, in the way his body molds to mine like two puzzle pieces from other worlds. The hug lingers until I pat him for him to pull back. Not like hugging a human who will get tired. Vatok's a big guy and he can hold me up forever. For him, I'm lightweight.
He chuckles. "How are you doing? Gotten bored?"
My heart skips a beat at the realization of... "Fuck... You must be hungry after your shift. I should have prepared something for you, yet..." I turn to the kitchen. At least I can cook him noodles or something. That's nothing like the precious and serious food I should have prepared for such a special day, but...
He pulls me back to him. "I'd prefer having my food on my bed."
His husky, dark voice sends shivers down my spine, buzzing its way to my pussy. I purr. "Am I the food?"
He runs his hand over my body. "Yes. You don't have actual food for me after all, so I'll have to take this."
"Sounds like such a compromise, huh?"
He laughs. I love the hearty vibration in his chest that makes it to me, warming me from the inside.
"Indeed, a compromise." He traces the curve of my waist. "One that I hesitate to call such, for it is better than anything I could ever dream to taste." The heat in his gaze is palpable, his eyes darkening with an intensity I've never seen before. He smacks me lightheaded with his words. The room is suddenly too hot, my skin tingling where he touches.
His hand glides over the small of my back, pressing me closer against him. I gasp as the weight of his body presses against me. My knees wobble under the sheer magnitude of the sensation. I'm so tiny in comparison, my curves molding into the hard planes of his chest. He's so warm, so solid.
His lips brush against my neck, feather-light touches that set my nerves alight. Vatok's hand reaches up to... my hair, gently tugging. My fingers clench against the fabric of his clothes, my nails raking over the muscles I can feel beneath.
"Julie," his voice is a low growl, a sound that sends energy spreading through my veins. "I want you. I want you in ways I've never thought possible."
"Please."
Vatok's hands move up to my lower back before slipping down to my ass, kneading the curves there. I moan. My heart pounds as his touch sends sparks down my body.
"Is that what you want?" Vatok's voice is a wicked taunt in my ear. "My mate." He rocks his hips into mine, his thick cock grinding against my thigh, igniting a fire within me. "To feel me inside you, for us to seal the deal?"
"Yes, please. I've been wanting this. Now there doesn't need to be doubts anymore. I'll know for sure that this is real." I arch my back, craving more of his touch.
"I like how that sounds. Real. You and me. Mates."
I nod. There are still things to be sorted out, but that can wait. As someone who works in a bar, I know for sure that if there's a will, there'll be a way.
Vatok's fingers slide across my skin, trailing from my collarbone down to the waistband of my shorts. I inhale his scent, musky with a hint of something uniquely Vatok. "Touch me," I whisper. "I want to feel all of you."
He picks me up with two hands, then moves the other to get my phone and his phone out of the pockets. "We'll have no distraction at all. Just the two of us."
It surely is handy with four arms.
He goes to the room with me steadily in his arms. I wrap mine around his chest. I want this. I don't even remember how much I actually missed him until now. It makes no sense to want someone this much. Maybe it's for his handsome face, or the hidden softness under the menace muscular build.
He says, "I think this is called a takeaway meal."
I laugh at that. "Silly Vatok."
"Aren't we both?"
He puts me on my bed and joins me on it. I sit up and get rid of his belt. "I don't think this is needed."
"Not sure if I'm supposed to be this excited." He quirks an eyebrow, his laugh rumbly against my chest.
I toss his belt to the side. It's just a regular belt, not the one he has on during his patrol, so it doesn't matter if the thing lands on the floor with a low thud. "Same for me."
I reach for the front of his pants, my fingers running over the thick, hard bulge. Vatok inhales sharply. "Julie..." The urge in his voice is barely contained, a low growl in the pit of his stomach.
"Someone's not that patient, huh?" Though I can't wait to feel him either. I want to grab him and ride his cock already, but maybe I should wait to make this even better.
"I've never been." He flips me over, putting me on the bed on my stomach. "I don't want to wait. It has taken us so long before we're finally mates for real."
"Hey!" I laugh and moan at the same time as he wraps his arms around me, locking my hands to my side while he strips me naked. "This is cheating!"
"What? To make my dinner naked?"
I wriggle under his strong body, but that's not very useful when it comes to getting out of his strong embrace. But it surely is working when he groans.
He hisses with a hint of a smile. "Stop rubbing against my cock with your ass."
"Are you complaining?" I shrug and get out of my clothes as he tugs on them. I move my ass, even more, rubbing against his thick cock. "Do you not like this?"
He cups my boobs and spreads my legs. "I like that. I like this too." He rubs the tip of his cock against my entrance. I'm already soaking wet. He knows how to mess with me. It feels like I'm exploding from the inside.
"Vatok..."
He laughs. "Maybe you're the one who's impatient."
"Yes, so fuck me already."
"Deal."