Chapter 18 Ty
TY
Istifled a yawn and stretched carefully, doing my best not to wake Liza.
She’d stirred a few times but had fallen right back into a deep sleep.
Meanwhile, I’d been awake for at least an hour.
I had to piss so badly I wasn’t sure I was going to make it to the bathroom even if I somehow managed to fly there, but I couldn’t stand the thought of waking her up.
As excited as I’d been to shift with her, my wolf was even more so. Had I been one of those horny high school shifters, there would’ve been no stopping my wolf. It took every ounce of control I possessed to keep him from mating with her right there in the yard, though I’d managed. Somehow.
Because of that, I was now able to enjoy watching her sleep. As much as I enjoyed watching her sleep, there was also something to be said for sleeping next to her, her body curled into mine, her hand laid over my heart, and her head on my chest.
Waking up with her was almost as good. She was gorgeous, and my sheets smelled like her perfume. There was no way I would be able to go back to sleeping alone. Not even if I wanted to. God, what was this woman doing to me?
Last night had been an adventure, so I wasn’t surprised Liza was sleeping in. I’d lost count of how many times I’d brought her to orgasm, but the final one made her blackout. Since she was sexually fulfilled, her heat passed, and we both slept like rocks.
After waiting as long as I possibly could, I slipped out from under the covers and relieved myself in the bathroom.
After a glance at her to make sure she was still asleep, I went down to the kitchen.
She’d burned about three billion calories last night.
She’d be ravenous when she woke up. No person could withstand that much pleasure and not have a complete blood-sugar crash or end up partially dehydrated.
I sliced a few bananas into a bowl and added fresh strawberries, blueberries, sliced mango, and peaches from the fridge. Ramon wasn’t in it, and it was no secret that I couldn’t cook for shit. Fruit was going to have to do for now.
After filling a few stainless-steel water bottles to the brim and closing the lids tightly, I walked back up the stairs with my arms full. Now that the sex fog had cleared, the concern I’d had that stemmed from our run in the forest crept back to the forefront of my mind.
Our wolves had taken to one another immediately, which wasn’t a surprise since Fate was the one dealing the cards here. They had gotten along so well and bonded immediately, but that was not the concern.
The concern was the injured rabbit she’d somehow brought back from the brink of death.
We needed to have an open and honest conversation about that damn rabbit.
Either my eyes had played tricks on me or something miraculous had occurred, and there was no way I could deny she was the source of said miracle.
Although, I couldn’t imagine bringing this topic up would make either of us very happy.
I retraced the timeline of our evening. We had chased each other for hours, but then she’d suddenly dropped out of sight.
I’d followed her scent until I found her staring down at a dying rabbit.
Even from where I’d stood, I could hear the labored breathing and the decreasing heartbeat. My wolf had wanted that rabbit.
Then, out of nowhere, that little fucker had jolted as if shocked by electric paddles. The rabbit hopped out of sight as if it had never been hurt.
I’d stared in disbelief and even glanced around to make sure no one else had been around, because if anyone else had seen, it would be damaging to her. She was an anomaly. Thankfully, we were alone.
Liza must have healed that rabbit somehow; there was no other explanation. Nature didn’t work that way.
“Good morning, Tyson.” Mother’s voice pulled me out of my head.
She was dressed to the nines in a Prada pants suit and Gucci heels.
In all of my life, I’d never been able to figure out how a woman like my mother, who required so much maintenance, was such a morning person.
Most people would take some time to wake up, maybe read the paper and drink a cup of coffee.
Not my mother. The moment her feet hit the floor, she was raring to go and ready to conquer the world.
“Good morning.” I set the water bottles on the step and gave her my attention. “Did I wake you?”
“Don’t be silly.” She waved her hand in the air. “I’ve been up for a while, although I can’t say the same for your father. He needs his sleep, though, so do try to be as quiet as possible.”
“Of course.” I glanced up the stair in the direction of my wing, wondering if Liza was still sleeping.
The last thing I needed was for her to come down the stairs and have yet another confrontation with my mother. Who could ever predict how my mother would treat Liza?
She followed my gaze. “Please, tell Liza I had her car moved to the garage because rain is coming.”
Shit. So, she knew Liza had spent the night. I was an adult who’d had a number of overnight visitors, but this was the one who might kill my mother.
“Thanks,” I mumbled. I shifted the bowl of fruit to my other hand.
“Tyson, look at me.” Mother pinned me with her gaze. “Do you really feel that there’s a chance for the two of you? Even now that you know about the sins of your father’s past?”
I stared at her, wondering where she was going with her questioning. I hadn’t decided how to tell Liza what I knew about her past, but I also didn’t want to wait too long and risk my mother doing it for me.
She smiled weakly and continued. “I promise that it was never about Liza. I’m sure it seemed that your father and I disliked her because of her social standing or whatever other nonsense is being spread right now.
But the truth of the matter is that I couldn’t stand to think about what our family had done to that poor baby. ”
I wrapped my free arm around her. She hugged me back tightly, her arms snug around my waist, her head over my heart. My understanding was much clearer now than when Liza and I had first spotted each other.
“Honestly, I don’t know what I’m going to do with the information about our family, but I’ll figure it out. And, yes, I hope Liza and I have a chance. She means a lot to me.” I pulled away from her embrace and bent to pick up the water bottles. “I should get back to her.”
“Of course.” Mother patted me on the chest and smiled, her eyes a little misty. “We’ll talk more later. You need to tend to your mate.”
I returned to my room just as Liza rolled over and groaned softly. She sat up, her delicate, pale skin covered in love bites.
My natural instincts leaped to life, and I let out a low growl of pleasure at the sight of the red marks and her full breasts.
“Don’t be such a caveman.” Liza yawned and stretched her arms over her head. Her full, luscious breasts pushed forward, which had me growling again.
“You don’t seem so shy anymore.” I smirked.
“I suppose I’m not.” Although, she did blush and pull the sheet around her. “You saw and did things to me that would make it a little silly for me to be shy around you now.”
“Yes, I sure did.” My cock stirred at the memory of Liza’s legs spread wide, her back arched as she moaned with pleasure.
I moved to her side of the bed and leaned down to kiss her gently on the forehead. There was no way I would be able to kiss her while she was naked without acting on it. Instead, I gave her a chaste kiss and kept it G-rated.
“I brought you some fruit and water.”
She took the bowl from me and one of the bottles. “Thank you, you’re so thoughtful.”
Thoughtful. I couldn’t think of one woman who had ever described me as being thoughtful.
Not that I was an asshole. Far from it, actually.
I was known for being level-headed and kind, just aloof.
Most of the women I dated didn’t get to see the romantic side of me because I was out the door too quickly.
Plus, no other woman had left me so badly wanting more of her body and mind as Liza had.
“What do you have planned today?” Liza eyed me as she popped a few blueberries in her mouth. “I have all day free thanks to Cecily running her mouth. Two of my clients dropped me because of her.”
“What?”
Cecily Banks. The world was full of women like her: jealous women who had no conscience about hurting others when things didn’t go their way. That she’d done it to Liza didn’t bode well for Cecily.
Liza sighed. “She hired me to cook some meals for her, then belittled me from the moment I pulled into her driveway. She was flat-out rude, so I fired her as a client and told her I would no longer cook for her.”
“What the hell?” I jumped up from the bed and dragged my hand over my face. “So, she’s been gossiping to anyone who will listen, I’m sure. Cecily is such a bitch.” I blamed her entitled, rich girl upbringing. Not that I planned to allow such behavior to stand.
“You said it, not me.” Giggling, Liza rolled her eyes as she took a sip of water.
I didn’t laugh. “This kind of thing pisses me off. The only reason she’s treating you this way is because I didn’t fall into her family’s trap of matching the two of us together.
” I was certain her family had had their eye on making her royal since she was a child.
“She’s acting like a toddler who didn’t get a toy from the grocery store, pitching a fit to anyone and everyone.
I’m so sorry she’s letting her disappointment out on you. ”
Liza patted the bed. “Come, sit down. It’s fine. I have plenty of clients. I’m not concerned about my business, finances, or the opinions of women like Cecily Banks.”
This woman awed me. Never in my life had I met a woman who handled this type of situation with such maturity and grace. Her positivity only made me like her more.
“Well, it turns out, I have the day off.” I snatched a strawberry out of Liza’s hand before she took a bite.