Chapter 21 #2
He couldn’t breathe like that. Neither could she. But she kept licking his lips until he came back to himself. Until the steady pound of his feet slowed. Until he pressed her against the siding of someone’s home and held her there while he breathed.
And still she whispered to him. “I’m fine. Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
“Alyssa.”
One last time. Spoken with a finality that told her he was calm now. Or at least more rational.
“Are you hurt?” she asked again.
“No. You?”
He was patting her down as he spoke, checking for wounds.
His touch was frantic, but thorough, and she let him do it mostly because she could see how he moved, too.
She watched for where he was tentative or jerky.
She looked for scrapes or bruises and found a few, but none that was deep.
Same for him as he touched her face. He probed gently at the swelling on her jaw and temple, but she covered his hand with hers.
“I’ve gotten worse playing basketball with Vic.”
“You’re safe now. He’s dead.”
She jerked. “Vic? Vic’s dead?”
“What? No. Vic’s fine. Joey’s dead.”
She winced at the memory that flashed through her mind. But with it came a huge wave of relief.
“I’m sorry,” he said as he stroked her cheek. “I’m sorry you had to see that. That he—”
“Don’t care about the visual,” she said. “Glad that he’s gone.” Then she stretched up to place a kiss on his mouth. “Thank you.”
“Wasn’t me. Vic grabbed the gun off the thieves. They would have noticed if I had one.”
She chuckled. Trust Simon to correct the details. “Doesn’t matter. You saved me, and I—”
He kissed her. Hard. Fast. Thoroughly. She returned it a thousand-fold and soon they were panting for another reason. But then he pulled back and she held onto his shoulders to keep herself steady.
“You’re mine now,” he said. “You know that right? You said you loved me. I saw it, and now you’re mine. Mated. Mine.”
So he had seen. She was glad. So glad that she said it again. “I love you. I always have. And I’m glad we’re mated or whatever—”
Her words were lost in another desperate kiss. It was like he was trying to imprint himself on her. Or her on him. It didn’t matter. They were together.
But then he slowed. Eventually he stopped as they separated to breathe.
And in the quiet, she spoke the question that had been hovering in the back of her mind.
The one she’d tried before but they’d been interrupted.
But now, after what they’d just been through, she couldn’t imagine not knowing the answer.
“Do you think, Simon, that maybe…you know…” Lord, it wasn’t like her to get tongue tied, and he clearly knew it. He drew back with a frown.
“What?”
She took a deep breath and forced the words out. “Do you think you could love me, too? In time?”
He stared at her, his face expressionless. Then his eyes widened in shock as he dropped his forehead to hers. And then the most amazing sound came out. A chuckle. A low chuckle that turned into a laugh.
“Simon?”
He sobered at that, but he was still smiling as he answered. “I thought you understood. Mating is love. Think of the most amazing feeling you’ve ever had. Like, I don’t know, the first time you tasted ice cream or had a really good orgasm. That full body tingle that comes with intense pleasure.”
She frowned. Okay, so she understood that. But that wasn’t love in the way she was thinking. But before she could express that, he continued.
“Mating is like that only with need underneath. And it’s hunger, desire, and lust, too. But it’s also the kind of love that lasts for decades while kids and grandkids and great grandkids come around. That’s what finding your mate is like.”
She stared at him, shock echoing through her soul. He loved her like that? She didn’t think that was possible, not in the short time they’d been together. But she saw it in his eyes. He really felt like that. About her.
“What if it doesn’t work out between us?”
“I’ll still love you, but from a distance. If that’s what you really want.” His voice broke on that, but she didn’t doubt his words.
“What if I get Alzheimer’s or go crazy?”
“I’ll care for you every day. And I’ll love you every moment.”
She shook her head. “That’s crazy. You can’t have formed a bond like that already.”
He grinned. “I can. I have. And don’t think you can run away and it will fade. It won’t. This is locked in now. It’s done. And…” He took a deep breath. “I really hope you meant it when you said you loved me.”
She smiled. “Of course, I did. I do. I love you.” She was prepared this time for his kiss, but she lifted her hand up to stop him. She didn’t want to get distracted again. Not just yet.
“Simon, wait!”
He froze, his entire body expectant.
“Could you maybe say the words back to me? Just once?”
He blinked then grinned. “I love you, Alyssa. I love everything about you. And I’m going to love you with everything I am until the day I die. You’re my mate, my everything. And I really need to take you back to someplace safe so that I can show you how much pleasure a man can give to his mate.”
“I think you already covered that last night.”
He chuckled, and again it was the most beautiful sound. “Honey, you have no idea how much better it can get.”
“Then okay. Let’s do that,” she whispered. She might have said more, but he was kissing her. And she was kissing back. And they kept kissing until flashing red and blue lights illuminated them. Plus the bright spotlight of a high-powered flashlight.
And when Alyssa was going to ignore that, Simon abruptly broke their kiss to glare hard at the interruption. Then the spotlight pulled off their faces and she could finally see Detective Kennedy with his hands raised in an I-surrender gesture.
“I was just trying to see if you’re okay.”
Alyssa giggled, embarrassment making her spout words that she would normally keep inside. “We’re mated.”
“Yeah,” the cop said with a smirk. “I figured that out. Yesterday.”
She grinned, but rational questions were pushing to the fore of her brain. “How are you here? Is everyone else okay? How bad is the damage to my building?”
“Looking for you. The wounded are already on the way to the hospital. The rest are all fine. Including that high-as-a-kite hybrid. And as for the apartment building.” He exhaled with a sigh. “Fire’s there now, but the damage is pretty bad. You have insurance, right?”
She nodded, feeling a little sick inside. “I do. But my whole life was in there.”
“No,” Simon said as he touched her face and brought her around to look at him. “Your life is here.” He touched her chest, right above her beating heart.
She mimicked the gesture on him. “And here.”
He nodded. “We’ll figure out the rest.” Then he smiled. “Besides, I’ve been trying to think of what to do with the rest of Nanook’s money. Why not use it to build again? And maybe in a better neighborhood.”
“No!” she said, her voice sharp. “This neighborhood is my home. And those people are my family.” Then she smiled. “But I like the idea of rebuilding.”
“Good. Because I like the idea of making you happy. No matter what.”
She smiled and together with Detective Kennedy, they started walking back toward what used to be her home.
She knew there would be lots to do. She had a whole building of people who needed to relocate.
They had statements to make and details to iron out.
Plus Detroit was still under quarantine, so that was going to make everything more complicated.
Even so, she smiled like a giddy school girl. He loved her. And she loved him.
“I think I can get used to being mated,” she said with a smile.
Simon drew her close and whispered into her ear.
“As soon as I get you alone, I’m going to…
” His words were graphic and very detailed.
They made her blush hot and giggle while Detective Kennedy tried to look anywhere but at them.
And all the while, Simon kept talking. Damn, the man was very logical and very thorough.
And she loved him all the more for it.
Then his words slowed, though his hold on her body remained intimate. And when his words stopped, she looked at him, a question on her lips. It died the moment she saw his face. It was wrinkled up in disgust.
“The water,” he said flatly. “It’s still bad.”
Kennedy straightened, his nostrils flaring as he inhaled the air. The fire truck was dumping gallons of water in a thick stream onto her laundromat. And though Alyssa couldn’t smell anything wrong, she believed that their grizzly noses could.
Meanwhile, Detective Kennedy was turning toward them, tilting his head close as he spoke in a low tone.
“About that,” he began. “I have an idea…”