15. Aerin
15
AERIN
I ’m not entirely sure what wakes me in the middle of the night until I roll over and reach for Mack.
He’s not there.
I pry my eyes open, rubbing sleep from them as I sit up. “Mack?”
Silence.
His scent is recent, and I can hear him breathing. Just… not up here.
Slowly, I get up and make my way downstairs, briefly pausing on the landing to eye the closed nursery door. It’s tempting to stick my nose in there, but I’m sure whatever surprise Mack has for me will be amazing. It’s the only reason I’ve held back on sneaking inside. I want him to show me.
He’s in the kitchen, sitting at the dining table, a map spread over the surface, a notepad, pen, and his phone beside it.
And he’s fast asleep, arms folded, chin resting on his chest.
As I study him, my heart is bursting with love.
He must have come down here soon after I fell asleep to figure out how to keep me and the baby safe after the pack meeting. I caught him looking at me, frowning, clearly concerned, but when I asked him what was wrong, he just shook his head and said nothing.
How have I been so lucky as to find a man like Mack?
Crossing the kitchen on my tiptoes, I pour myself a glass of water and take a seat beside him. I set my water aside and pull the notebook and map closer so I can see what he’s been planning.
And I blink, my eyes widening with surprise.
He was not down here doing what I thought he was.
I flick through the notebook filled with messy scrawls, unfolding a piece of paper that falls out. It’s a real estate listing of an old farm outside of town, which is for sale. Setting aside the listing, I scan the notebook, curious what his plans for it are because it’s clear he must want to buy it. It takes no time at all to discover that it’s a notebook full of ideas to build a home for a pack.
Plenty of forest for runs
Space for each couple, so we’re not constantly tripping over each other. Need a bedroom, living space, and bathroom
Have Gregory & Jude close so Aerin won’t have to walk far to see them
Bigger nursery
Playroom for all kids
Actual meeting room
Games room
A lake or pool of water we can enjoy in summer
Plenty of outbuildings or space to build them
When Mack stirs, I quietly close the notebook, return everything where I found it and get up from the table, walking over to the sink with my glass of water.
I lean against the counter as I sip my water, and I recall all of Mack’s subtle hints these last few days. And now I understand what he must have been planning.
To be a shifter is to have a pack around you. I might not have felt like I belonged in either of the packs I briefly called home, but in the Boones and the Dacres, everyone lived in a big house together. It would be the same in packs everywhere.
A pack lives together, and they play together. Not only for safety, but because wolves are social creatures and we tend to be as well.
When I came here, everyone seemed content to live their separate home lives and come to Mack’s house to celebrate an event or have meetings.
But that isn’t the shifter way.
Now Mack has plans for a bigger plot of land with a house that will fit everyone, including an outbuilding for Penny’s blooming cake business if she wants it, and a nursery for all the kids we would want. Adela and my grandparents don’t live too far away, but if we all lived under one roof, it would be easier for them to play an active role in Thumper’s life.
I wouldn’t be driving over to see them. No one would be driving to see anyone. We’d all live together, eat together, play together, and be more of a traditional pack.
I love this house and I am happy here, but being able to have our kids grow up together, and to be closer to everyone is something I would love even more.
Mack said something about his nursery surprise covering a large expanse. Is this what he had meant?
What I don’t get is why he hasn’t told me.
Does he think I don’t want to leave this house even after I told him as long as I’m with him I don’t care where I live?
Probably.
My gaze settles on Mack. He’s still deep asleep and will probably have a sore neck if I leave him to sleep like that for much longer.
Smiling at the man I love so much, I place my empty glass in the sink and walk over to him.
I cradle his jaw with one hand. “Mack?”
He startles awake, his eyes wide, instinctively searching for danger. “Aerin?” he blinks owlishly at me. His eyes dip to my stomach and his forehead creases in concern. “Is it the baby? Is something?—”
“Is fine. As am I,” I interrupt.
I sit astride him, frame his face with both hands and give him a soft, slow, and sweet kiss. I pour out all my love for him, holding nothing back.
He breaks the kiss, eyes heated. “Aerin?”
I smile at him. “I just want to show you that I love you.”
“Because I’m dreaming this?” A sweet smile stretches his lips as he strokes his hands up and down my back.
“This is real,” I tell him softly.
He draws me closer when I kiss him again.
Slowly, he slides his arms around me and angles his head to deepen the kiss.
I’d only meant to show him I loved him and appreciate all he does for me. But when he tugs the hem of my nightshirt, I do nothing to stop him.
He lifts me slightly, and I break the kiss. “Mack?”
He presses a kiss on the corner of my mouth. “I don’t think I’ve ever made love to you here before.”
“No?” I loop my arms around the back of his shoulders.
“But I think I want to.” He slips his fingers under the band of my panties and brushes my core.
I release a moan, gripping his shoulders as I tilt my head back, my eyes fluttering shut. “Mack?”
He strokes me again. “Hmm?”
“We’re going to break this chair,” I warn him.
He grins. “Then we break it.”
Suddenly, I have to kiss him. My mouth clings to his as I caress his bare chest and slide my hand under the waistband of his sweatpants.
“Aerin, love, there’s only so much of that I can take.” He groans as I stroke him, his breathing getting deeper with each pump.
I feel him swelling, growing harder in my hand, making it impossible to let go of him. “Before you do what?”
He lifts me slightly and yanks his pants down before he brings me back on top of him. “Before I have to be inside you.”
We’re looking right at each other when he nudges my panties to one side and clasps my hips with both hands.
“We shouldn’t do this here,” I whisper as we lean toward each other.
It’s the middle of the night. No one will walk in on us, but one sniff and the rest of the pack will know exactly what we did here.
He smiles slightly as his lips touch mine in an achingly sweet kiss. “Probably not.”
He rolls his hips as he urges me onto him, and slowly, he invades me, one perfect inch at a time.
He’s still breathing hard. So am I.
We hold each other’s gaze as Mack rocks into me. He controls the pace, lifting me a couple of inches, then drawing me closer as his lips feather over mine. The house is quiet, the chair we’re sharing creaks, and our breathing isn’t even close to being even as we move together.
It feels… perfect. Absolutely perfect.
My head falls back and I release a moan as Mack drags his tongue over my right breast, then sucks. He repeats the action on my left breast. I whimper, burying my hands in his hair and holding him closer. I am beyond sensitive there now, and Mack knows it.
We’re both panting as we rock and grind together, the wooden chair squeaking under our shared weight.
“Mack,” I gasp.
He picks up the pace as if he knows how close I am. And I am close.
Mack falls before me, pressing his mouth to my throat and groaning loudly as his cock jerks inside me. His release shoves me into my climax, and I explode.
His fingers tighten on my hips as I moan, and I feel him straining to go a little deeper into me as my muscles ripple around him.
Long minutes later, we work to steady our breathing.
I rest my head on his shoulder. “This isn’t why I came downstairs.”
He kisses the top of my head, and I can tell he’s smiling when he responds. “Well, I’m glad you did.”
Smiling, I lift my head. “Bed?”
“When my legs want to work again.”
I smile. “I’m surprised we didn’t break the chair.”
He laughs. “You know what? So am I.”
“Mack?”
“Aerin?”
I lift my head and meet his gaze. For the longest time, I’m not sure if I’m going to tell him that I know about his plans for a new home for the pack.
He runs his fingers through my hair, his expression curious. “Did I flick an off switch, love? What’s wrong?”
I flash him a quick grin. “No. But…”
“But what?”
“Home will always be you. And there is no other place I’d ever want to be more. You know that, right?”
Pleasure softens his deep brown eyes. “I do know that.” He kisses me. “Come on. Let’s go up to bed.”
“I know you don’t want to worry me, but please don’t take this all on your shoulders.”
The pack meeting went on for a long time and I know he must worry about keeping me and the rest of the pack safe. He might have come down here to plan a future home for all of us, but I have a feeling that wasn’t the only thing that drove him out of our bed in the middle of the night.
“I’m the Alpha. If responsibility belongs on anyone’s shoulders, it belongs on mine.”
“What use is a pack if you try to do everything on your own,” I counter.
His smile is faint. “When did you get so wise?”
“I don’t know. Maybe when something drove me to come to Winter Lake and fall in love with an Alpha who showed me what a pack is supposed to be.”
“This Alpha sounds impressive,” Mack whistles.
“That’s because he is.” I kiss him. “And he also looks exhausted from falling asleep at the dining table. Time for bed.”
I move to get up, but he stops me.
“What?” I frown.
“I love you,” he says softly.
My power, the fickle, frustrating thing it’s become lately, chooses now to flutter to life, and I see Mack’s soul. It’s pink with his love for me.
I smile. “I love you, too.”
He gathers me in his arms, easily lifting me. “Then how about I take you upstairs and show you again?”
“With a short pit-stop at the bathroom?” Because there will never be a time I don’t need the bathroom five million times a day.
“With a short pit-stop at the bathroom,” he confirms with a smile.