CHAPTER 77
MURR
I love returning home to my mate. Even before I can see the building the females have claimed as their own, I can smell Dakota’s light, perfect scent on the breeze.
It fills me with joy, and when I fly overhead, the females are seated by the fire, waving up to me.
My cats emerge, crying and ready to be fed.
Was ever any male drakoni so loved by his clan? My heart is full.
Tossing down the dead deer, I tear the carcass apart with my claws, shredding it so it is easier for my cats to eat.
The cats mew and clamber toward their meal, pausing to rub up against my haunches as they move past in a show of affection.
I shift quickly to my two-legged form, eager to hug my mate.
She appears with a wrap for my loins, but when I try to hug her, Dakota squeals and skitters away. “You’re covered in blood!”
I glance down at my arms. She is right—I am splattered in gore up to my arm-spikes.
When I had no company other than my cats, it was easy not to think about being messy.
It didn’t matter, but Dakota covers herself in layers and they will smell of blood if I touch her.
I nod, shaking my arms as if that will clean them. “I wash.”
“I’ll help you,” she says, and indicates I should follow her inside.
When we get to the back of the building, she turns a knob set in the wall and water pours out.
She’s shown me this once before, and I could manage it on my own.
But when Dakota picks up a towel and wets it, then moves towards me, I realize she wishes to bathe me herself. The warmth in my chest grows and grows.
I hold an arm out for her, and she takes my wrist carefully. Dakota glances up at me as she wipes my skin. “The others made a room for us so we can sleep together.”
It’s impossible for me to tell how I am supposed to respond.”…yes? Is good?”
“Oh, it’s good.” She chuckles. “It just surprised me is all. We don’t have to escape every time we want to touch each other, just be a little quieter.”
Her touch is gentle, and she wipes my skin clean with tender, thorough motions. It makes me feel like I am her prized possession, and I like the feeling. “Murr quiet,” I murmur, thinking of last night. “Dakota not.”
She chuckles, smacking me lightly with the wet cloth. “I can be quiet.” Her gaze flicks up to my face and she hesitates. “Do you have any regrets?”
Regrets? Over what? I must be misunderstanding something. “Explain.”
Dakota hesitates, then begins to speak. “You and I being together. Taking me as your mate. I just don’t want you to have regrets after last night.”
“Why regret Dakota?” I still feel as if I am missing something in this conversation. “Murr wife Dakota.”
“Yes, but as Aggie pointed out, I’m a bit of a mess. I’m anxious and I worry over everything. And I have a daughter. And I guess two old ladies, too. I just don’t want you to feel like you’ve become trapped into a situation.”
“No trap.” Everything she has mentioned, she acts as if they are bad things instead of things that bring me joy. “Murr know Rabbit. Know Aggie and Dottie. Know Stella.”
She laughs again, her expression rueful. “Stella is actually the least problematic of the three.”
I take the wet towel from her hands, and this time, I pull her into my arms. She doesn’t resist, tucking her head against my chest. “Murr happy,” I tell her, stroking her mane. “Happy yesterday, big happy today.”
“Happier,” she corrects. “And I’m glad. I love you. I just wanted to make sure.”
“Tonight, Murr show,” I tell her, tipping her chin up with a shorn claw so I can see her strange pale face I’ve come to appreciate so much. “Murr kiss everywhere. Murr hold wife. Big happier.”
“You know what? Your English is close enough.” She smiles up at me and tilts her head ever so slightly, in the way that tells me she wants a kiss. “I’m glad you picked me, even if I don’t understand it sometimes.”
“Murr always pick Dakota,” I reassure her. She has been alone for so long it will take her time to realize I am not going anywhere. I lean in and brush my lips over hers, and her mouth is as sweet as it was hours ago. Sweeter, even.
She smiles up at me between kisses. “I’m going to hold you to that. Also, how do you feel about shorts?”
…shorts?