Epilogue
EPILOGUE
Abigail
The rumble of an old diesel truck outside the small therapist’s office makes me smile. Not because I like the truck, but because it means Thorn has returned to pick me up. I squirm on the chair, and the therapist shakes his white head. “We still have a few more minutes here. Abigail, focus please.” His tone is disapproving, but I can see the smile in his gray eyes.
I sit up straighter and listen as he explains the changes to my anxiety medications. A solid round of things I’ve been taking for the past three months. They keep me calm and have showed me that I can indeed speak. It’s the mechanics of it I’m trying to learn now with the help of my therapist and a vocal coach who comes in special for my treatment.
“This one, make sure you take with plenty of water, remember?”
I nod again and wave toward the window, then scribble on a small whiteboard in my lap. Thorn won’t let me do anything but take them exactly as you prescribe them, trust me .
Dr. Harrow nods approvingly. “A mate is supposed to take care of his lady. Let him handle the heavy lifting, and you worry about growing the babies.”
A terribly sexist statement except the sentiment makes butterflies flutter in my gut. I take the bottle of pills and slip them into my purse to join the others. My vocal coach, Dr. Shana, sits next to me. Her skin is a deep rich brown, and her smile still mesmerizes me when I see it. “Ready for the cool down?”
I nod, giving her the hurry-up motion with my hands. She chuckles, lines crinkling around her eyes softly. We go through a series of sounds, each one meant to strengthen my vocal cords and my neck to get my voice back in working order.
We do several rounds until my throat aches, and I have to drink a special herbal tea the doctor prescribed for the recovery process. They think I’ll be able to speak in full sentences within a month, and I’m still not sure how I feel about it. Thorn says he wants what I want and will be happy either way, of course.
For the last round, the doctor places her warm hands on the sides of my neck and massages gently as I move through the noises. It tickles my throat, but we continue until I’ve exhausted the small stack of index cards she uses to guide me through the drills.
“See you next week?” she asks, taking the cards off my lap.
I nod and sling my purse over my shoulder.
It takes a moment to clear the office and then wait in line at the payment desk. Since it’s a small village, everyone pays in cash and up front. But in exchange, nothing is exorbitantly priced or overcharged. It’s an interesting system to watch. I pay the clerk, and she hands me a receipt with a polite but distracted thank you as she moves to her next customer.
I head out of the building to the parking lot. Thorn’s truck is parked at an angle in the spots near the building, but he’s nowhere to be seen. I pull the tailgate down and sit, waiting for him to return from whatever errand he raced off on. I think about the sounds I’d made and feel a tension in my shoulders.
The act of speaking, of talking, seems like a dream to me. At the same time, it also makes me feel vulnerable. Will people judge me for not saying the words right as I get started? Will Thorn still want to take me in public while I’m trying to get a handle on the sounds again?
My old fears rise, but then I catch sight of him sauntering down the sidewalk. His wide shoulders barely fit in the white T-shirt he’s wearing. His jeans are loose but then cut across his muscular thighs in a way that is positively indecent to watch.
When he makes it to me, my mouth is dry, and my pussy is wet. His eyes flash as he lowers his sunglasses because he knows it too. “All done, little mate?”
All the doubts lingering in my head are blown away in the face of him. I simply nod and let him help me off the tailgate and then escort me to the passenger side. He opens that door too and helps me climb into the oversized gas guzzler.
He jogs to the other door and climbs in, the entire truck rocking under his weight.
“I appreciate the looks you give me, little mate, but I’d prefer to be in the sessions with you when you go. You know I hate to let you out of my sight.”
I squirm in the seat and then write on the whiteboard to show him. I know you do, but it’s private, and it makes me feel self-conscious when you are watching.
He gives me another scowl and then a glare, tossing his sunglasses into the back seat. “How can you feel self-conscious around me? I was on my knees licking your cunt last night. Nothing should make you feel that way around me.”
I shrug, unable to explain it. Of course, he wouldn’t get it, looking the way he does and being the biggest, strongest meanest predator in the woods. I write on the board again. Maybe once I get to the full sentences, you can start coming then. Until then, it’s only when I say.
For a second, he looks like he wants to argue, but then he drops it and lifts his hips off the seat to hand me a lumpy white wrapper.
I write on the board, and he peers over. Was this in your pocket?
“I had to put it somewhere so I didn’t ruin the surprise.”
I peel the wrapper off the cherry-flavored popsicle and suck it between my lips. It’s a little melty from his body heat but still delicious.
He lets out a low growl deep in his throat, and I glance at him.
His eyes watch my mouth, and I make a little show out of licking the frozen treat and then sucking it between my lips.
“Keep it up, and I’ll be buried in you right here, right now.”
I shake my head and hold the popsicle between my lips while I write. Not if you don’t want to get arrested for public indecency.
He snatches me off the seat and onto his lap before I can properly protest. “I’ll show you indecent.” The popsicle goes out the window, and then his lips are on mine. The cherry syrup in the popsicle makes us both taste sweeter, but then it clears away to something that is deep and heady and all him.
I sigh and settle against his chest, letting him lead the kiss, and then finally pull away before we get in trouble from the sheriff again.
He kisses the top of my head and hugs me into his chest, content to sit there in the afternoon sunlight with me on his lap cradled in his arms. I’m content to…except…there is something I’ve been wanting to try for a while now. Something I’m scared he’ll reject and excited for him to witness.
When I lift my head from his chest, he lets me, but then settles his hands around my hips, telling me in no uncertain terms he’s still in charge here. I drag the board between us and scribble. I missed you.
He nods, the picture of masculine ease. “Of course you missed me, and I missed you.”
My heart beats frantically in my chest as if it’s trying to spare me this humiliation except I know how he feels about me. It’s in every single thing he does for me. Bringing me a popsicle to help my vocal cords after my appointment. Putting sugar in my coffee mug in the morning. Warming my towel for me while I’m in the shower. He shows me in so many ways how he feels that it’s practically nothing to say the words out loud.
I lean into his chest, spreading hands wide and flat to feel him beneath me. Then I meet his eyes, take a deep breath, and say, “I love you.”
He blinks once, and his eyes mist over for a second, then clear just as fast. When he cups my cheeks between his giant hands, it’s reverently. “I love you too, my precious little mate. More than I’ll ever be able to tell you.”
I swallow hard, the tears already gathering in my eyes. I blink them away and lean in to kiss him. He isn’t gentle or decent in the slightest. He takes my mouth like he’s laying siege, and when he’s through, there will be nothing left of me but a pile of rubble. Well, this rubble might be perfectly fine with that.
I wrap my hands around his biceps, letting him take me wherever he wants to go. Anywhere for him.
A knock on the passenger window makes us pull apart. Me with a flaming red face, and Thorn with a huge grin. On the other side of the window is the old village sheriff, glaring through the small gap Thorn made to see him with. “Can I help you, sheriff?”
His voice is deep, like a low drum, to match his white handlebar mustache. “Don’t you two have a bed at home where you can do that? Children are running around these streets.”
I cover my face with my hands, and Thorn just grins until the man walks away. The whiteboard lays abandoned on the other seat, and I snatch it up. The second time in two weeks!
“If you're embarrassed to be seen with me, mate, then maybe next time, we should do something that is actually embarrassing.”
I slide off his lap, and he lets me go. Take me home, and you can finish what you started .
He starts the truck, which rumbles to life loudly. “That sounds like a deal, but for my adherence to the town’s decency laws, I want you to tell me you love me again while you ride my cock.”
I gape at him while he pulls out of the spot onto the road through town. Since he can’t read my board while driving, I wait until we get to the house before I answer.
With the vehicle safely in park, I slide out of the truck and charge around to his side. He is already out of the vehicle, ready to meet me.
I shove him into the truck, and then he growls low and scoops down to pick me up under the ass. “Feeling full of yourself, little mate? Do I need to show you who is in charge again?” I give him a smile and a nod. This earns me a smile in return. “You just love poking the wolf, don’t you?”
I lick his lips in one smooth stroke, which startles another low growl out of him, and then he hikes me higher and carries me into the house.
We don’t make it to the bed. He plants me on the counter and strips my pants off in less than a minute. “Open for me, mate.”
I spread my thighs and let him step into the cradle of my body.
“Say it again for me,” he whispers against my neck. “Please.”
I clear my throat, causing it to sting for a moment. “I love you.” It comes out a bit raspy, but he doesn’t seem to care. He shudders and then lifts his face to mine.
“I love you too.” Then he drops to his knees on the tile and pulls my hips to his face. “Let me show you how much.”
Thank you for reading Unwilling Mate, Levi’s story is up next in Undesired Mate . Keep reading for a sneak peek…