Chapter 76
CHASON HARLOW
We spend the day on the couch trading stories and supernatural mishaps. While holding back a laugh, I let out a squeak. He’s demonstrating how he couldn’t turn his ears human and went to school with wolf ears.
“Honestly, it never crossed my mind that you’d have to practice shifting back. It’s a part of you.” I stroke his fur before he changes them back.
“Magic is a part of you, but I doubt you aced a scrying spell on your first try.”
“Touché.” I salute him. “I’ve blown up my share of cauldrons.” I chuckle, telling him about the first time I made a healing salve.
“I made dinner reservations.” He runs his fingers through my hair and around my ear, sending sparks of lust throughout my body.
“Will you be disappointed if we stay in?” I ask. My house has become our little haven from the real world, and I’m not ready to give it up.
“We can do whatever you want.” His lips drag along the side of my head, and I lean in.
“Are you sniffing me?” I push his forehead away.
“In my defense, you’re irresistible and inhaling you is less invasive than the things I dream of doing to you.” His smile reminds me of his wolf.
“Tell me about them,” I taunt, and his gaze becomes heated.
“First, I kiss you.” Rafe cups my neck, pressing our heads together, and I lift my chin, offering him my mouth. He groans as he nibbles my lower lip, then explores with his tongue. “You taste even better than you smell, like vanilla and caramelized sugar, warm and rich.”
I moan into his mouth and arch up into him. He kisses me thoroughly, as if it’s his endgame and not a prelude to something else. His weight settles on top of me, and I relish it, wishing our clothes weren’t in the way. I untuck his shirt so I can run my hands over his bare skin.
His muscles ripple over my fingertips as he grinds on me.
“Please don’t stop touching me,” he begs, and I have no intention of stopping. “You’re more than I dreamed I could have,” he murmurs into my neck, and I stretch to give him better access.
Rafe touches me reverently and lights me on fire.
The sparks his hands leave on my skin sink in, warming me everywhere: my bones, my marrow, and my heart.
I’m transported to another plane where a frequency hums between us, melding our magic.
Rafe’s a part of my consciousness, his essence one with mine. We’re whole and unstoppable together.
His devotion pours through the bond so intensely that tears spring to my eyes and my heart opens fully. I’ve lost track of who I am without him. I’m still me, but more. And that’s what I want with him—more. Everything.
“Is it true that you’ll knot me when you claim me?” I pant in his ear.
Rafe attempts to move, but I lock my legs around him. “When you’re ready, I’ll knot you,” he assures me.
“I like the sound of that,” I say, and his stomach rumbles, ruining the moment. I slap his ass. “Lucky for you, this morning’s Chason thought future Chason would be too depressed to eat, so after switching shifts, he made beef stew in the crock pot.”
“I’m sorry.” He grabs my waist and spins me to his chest so I’m staring into his regretful eyes.
Our bond helps heal the sting of rejection because of his self-recriminations.
I stand on my toes and kiss the stubble on his jaw.
“I know.” It’s as simple and complicated as that.
There are a million reasons to distrust him and one supernatural one to discard them all. Which causes me to step back.
He said it’s more than the mating bond, but he’s shackling himself to a basic witch, a beige bitch.
“It’s not true.” Rafe crushes me to him.
“You’re special. One of a kind. And I get that sounds cliché and corny.
” He cradles my head and continues. “From the moment you saw me, you weren’t afraid of my wolf.
Braver than most shifters who side-eye me, not sure if I’m feral.
You call me on my shit but kindly take me home as a stray and offer to find my sister after I’d deceived you.
The way you reassure your patients and assume responsibility awes me.
I could go on for days, but let me show you instead. ”
My pulse races with the fierceness of his declaration. They aren’t empty words. They represent his heartbeat, his convictions, his soulful passion.
“Let me feed my mate and take you to bed.” He walks us through the dining room into the kitchen.
We move around each other as if it’s a practiced routine, one we’ve done a thousand times. He sets the small kitchen table while I add seasoning and dish out the stew.
Rafe tugs at me to sit on his thick thigh with my legs between his.
“When you said you’re going to feed me, I didn’t take it literally,” I say and open my mouth for the spoon he’s holding out. With his arm around me and all his attention, I feel cherished.
“If my wolf had his way, you’d be naked twenty-four seven and never farther than an arm’s reach away,” he says with a straight face.
I cover my mouth so I don’t spit stew everywhere. “Oh, wolfie, lovebug, talk dirty to me.”
He kisses my neck below my ear and scoops another bite for me. “It’s romantic wolf talk.” Rafe laughs and my gut flutters, needing to hear the sound again. “I promise to do better than that.”
“Will you knot me tonight?” I obediently open my mouth again. Who am I?
“Chason, when you’re positive it’s what you want and trust me completely, I’ll claim and knot you. I’ll never deny you,” he murmurs, and it’s more than a statement—it’s a vow.
I take the spoon and offer him a large bite. It would be insane to be disappointed. We barely know each other. He’s prolonging this for me.
“Hey.” Rafe catches my chin. “You told me you want to be chosen and be someone’s first priority. We’re building a forever, not fucking to satiate a need.”
I cluck my tongue because every part of me wants him inside me.
Rafe belly laughs again, and my toes tingle. “I’ll fuck you, mate. Make you howl like a wolf, and when you’re sure and not lust-drunk, I’ll claim you for the world to see.”
“Then hurry up and eat.” I rub my cheek against his stubble and can’t wait to feel it between my legs.
Rafe carries me upstairs and fulfills all my fantasies.
“The real world sucks,” I say under my breath. Work is one crisis after another, as if karma’s balancing out last night’s exceptional sex.
“Preach,” Ash agrees, and I jump, not realizing she’s behind me. “But some of us get a dream man too.” She winks and heads for her patient’s room.
My sore ass is proof I had a man in my bed last night who made it his mission to make me come more times than is logically possible.
It’s jolting to go from pure bliss to the chaos of life and death.
The upside is I don’t have time to think of Rafe or my feelings for him.
We rally to stabilize and admit our patients. No small feat.
But in the aftermath, Rafe’s my primary focus and it’s hard to shut out the bond. I worry that I’m not the type of guy who will keep his interest. That I’m never sure of anything. I operate on vibes and the moon, and that isn’t what he needs from a partner.
I go from standing at the computer to sinking into the nearest chair. Rafe sends a tidal wave of affection and loyalty through our bond, chasing my doubts away. It’s the equivalent of being wrapped in his arms and held to his chest so I can hear his heartbeat. He’s not holding back.
Tears sting my eyes because it doesn’t seem real. Rafe is steady and determined, my opposite. My entire life, I longed to count on someone worthy. Not even my mom gave me a sense of permanence, of home. I’m afraid I’ll wake up and it will be gone.
Our bond signals Rafe is near before he strides in, searching for me. I barely maintain my dignity and stop from throwing myself at him.
A smile lights his face when he sees me. Unconcerned about protocol, he rounds the nurses’ station and kisses me breathless.
“Hi, moonbeam. A snack delivery to get you to the end of your shift.”
I place the paper bag on the desk. “Hmm, your dick doesn’t come in a bag.”
“For you it would,” he fires back. “I won’t interrupt, but the thought of waiting three more hours to see you was too much,” he says, as if he didn’t sense me spiraling.
“I love the way you lie,” I quip, and immediately regret using the L word so I change the subject. “What did you do today?”
“I’ve been busy.” His deep brown eyes sparkle, making everything from my heart to my hands flutter.
“Busy, huh? Care to share?” I press closer.
“I’ll tell you over a late dinner. There are some things we should discuss.” His tone is light, but his words trigger my insecurities.
My phone rings. “That’s weird, the bank is calling me.”
Rafe pales and says hastily, “We should talk first. You don’t need to decide right away.”
I answer with my mind racing with outrageous possibilities. “Hello?”
“This is Roy down at the bank. Am I reaching Chason Harlow?”
“Yes.” My eyes are on Rafe, and his panic grows.
“I have the paperwork from Rafe Tru that needs to be notarized. He said we can do it tomorrow, but I drive by the hospital on my way home, hoping you’ll sign and wrap this up.”
“The emergency room is unpredictable, and I can’t guarantee I’ll be available,” I say, and Rafe wipes his brow.
“I’ll swing by, and if you’re not free, we can set up another time. Thanks.” Roy hangs up abruptly.
I arch an eyebrow and Rafe deflates.
“Can we talk somewhere?” He glances around, and I lead him to the supply closet and shut the door.
“I’m not trying to pressure you, I swear.
But you mean more than a mating bond to me, and I was brainstorming ways to show you how serious I am.
As far as I can tell, you have everything you want: a house, a job you love, and great friends.
It’s important to me that I add value to your life and not complications. ”
“Okay.” I wait for the facts before deciding whether to punch him or kiss him. As much as I sense his feelings, he hasn’t told me he loves me.
He speaks fast, and his urgency feeds my anxiety. “Part of me can’t shake the fear of something bad happening. The least I can do is make sure you’ll be financially secure if something happens.”
I rear back in shock. The call was from the bank, but still. “What did you do?” I ask without accusation.
“I took out an insurance policy, added your name to my bank accounts and the deed to my property in Colorado. We don’t have to live there,” he says quickly, “but you should decide what to do with it if…” he trails off. “You could sell it to the pack or whatever you want.”
“Woah, woah, woah, wolfie. You did all that today? For me?” My head’s spinning again, but not in a bad way.
“Yes, to plan ahead.” He catches me when I throw myself into his arms.
“For our future.” The magnitude increases my heart rate to a dangerously high level.