Chapter 26
ROY
A fire flickered in the fireplace. After staying up most of the night, we’d slept until noon.
After another thorough fucking this morning, my mate was beyond sated.
So blissfully satisfied, I had to help in the shower because her legs wouldn’t hold her.
Now, she was curled under a blanket by the fire sipping coffee while I made pancakes and heated a package of sausages I’d found in the freezer.
My wolf was content, the desperate need to claim had been soothed. Oh, I wanted to fuck her again. And again, but the sharp tug to mark was gone.
Mark had a kitchen well stocked with canned and dry goods, so last night, I’d made us a midnight meal and now had found everything I needed for breakfast.
“Breakfast’s ready, but stay where you are, sugar.” I walked over to the couch with two plates stacked high with warm pancakes and sausage.
“Mmm, thank you.” She set down her coffee mug and accepted a plate.
I settled beside her, soaking in the pleasure of this little moment of domesticity. No crowds. No concrete. No tight, confined spaces. Only me and my marked mate. I’d sated her sexual needs, and it was now time to sate her hunger. It was my job to provide for her, and I always would.
The fact that my wolf was happy with this… doting… was a surprise.
We were all in with Brooke, and this was a preview of what life might be like if I could convince her to come back to Montana with me.
I stared at her as she ate. I couldn’t help it.
She was mine!
The fire gave her skin golden hues. She smelled like soap, caramel, and, now, me.
“You look beautiful,” I murmured as her lips closed around a bite of pancake.
“Eating?” she asked, her mouth full and her eyes sparkling. “With my hair wet and no makeup?”
My gaze raked over her. “Yes, eating. Wet. Dry. Naked. Clothed. You’re perfection.”
She turned on the couch to drape her legs over my lap. She was wearing a t-shirt that we found in a dresser that no doubt belonged to Mark, a fact which might have bothered me if I hadn’t just marked her. I stroked my hand up her bare thigh, balancing my plate in the other hand.
“Mmm. This is delicious. I was hungry.”
I worked her hard to build up an appetite.
Brooke ate another bite. “Do you live with your two brothers?”
“No. But all three of us live on the same mountain. I have a cabin large enough to house my woodworking shop.” I looked around.
“Like this place, but bigger. We could move that stuff out and build a separate workspace.” I hoped it wasn’t too soon to talk about moving in together.
“Or we could move down the mountain to Cooper Valley. So long as I’m on land that abuts the mountain, I’ll be okay. ”
Fuck, I hoped my PTSD issues weren’t going to mess up this relationship. If they did, I’d figure it out. There was no choice. If she decided to stay in Denver, I’d make do.
I mentally sighed. I could try therapy. Take up Ironman competitions to keep my wolf subdued. Anything as long as we were together.
Right?
“It sounds nice,” was all she said then flicked a gaze my way. “When you were telling me about the PTSD, you said you joined the military because your family was fucked up.”
“Yeah. I’m close with my brothers. It’s just us up on the mountain. Summer now, too. Boone’s mate,” I reminded.
She nodded, so I continued.
“My mother died giving birth to me.”
Brooke gasped and set her plate on the coffee table. She shifted up and onto her knees and took mine from me and set it down, too. Then she climbed in my lap and set her hands on my shoulders. I had no choice but to look at her.
With her this close, she was all I saw. Her dark eyes laced with concern. Not pity, no. She was mine, and she wanted to be there for me as I shared the worst. It made it easier. So I pushed on.
“Our father was, well… an asshole. Growing up it was hard. He had aspirations of one of us taking over the pack. Being alpha. So he tried to get Boone to challenge for it. It didn’t work out. He tried again with me, and he was ultimately banished.”
She frowned. “Alpha?”
“Rob, the leader of our pack.”
“Rob banished him because he stirred up all kinds of shit. I’ll just leave it at that. We all said good riddance.”
“He’s your dad, though.”
“Not everyone has loving parents,” I admitted. “Your mom sounds like a piece of work.”
Brooke laughed. “Oh, I know. My mom loved me, but she definitely never put me first. I mean, maybe in her mind seducing a string of men to take care of us financially was all for me, but it didn’t feel that way.”
“I’m sorry, sugar.” I pulled her close, so our foreheads touched.