Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
Cormac
Ilie Lucky down on his bed, facing him toward the wall.
“I have to get him in a Pull-Up,” Charlotte says, resting her hand on my back as she leans around me to peek at him.
“I should have thought of that,” I whisper, stepping out of her way.
“Give me just one minute. Don’t leave.” She kneels next to his bed and smiles at me over her shoulder.
I nod, wondering if I was out of line to carry him up here without asking. I thought I was taking the initiative in showing I’m not afraid to help with his day-to-day care, but perhaps I overstepped.
Charlotte gets him into the diaper, tosses his underwear and pants on the floor near the bed, tucks him in, kisses his forehead, and makes her way to the attached bathroom.
The water turns on, and I assume she washes her hands.
I linger near the doorway, preparing my apology speech. It doesn’t take long for her to appear at my side, and she links her hand in mine, dragging me from Lucky’s room. We head down the hallway into the pack bedroom, and she kicks the door closed behind her.
“Thank you for all the books.” Her hands land on my hips, and she backs me toward the pack bed.
My head tilts, and my glasses slide down my nose.
I shove them up again and say, “Of course. I hope you find a few that you like. I picked up some of my favorites and a few recommendations I found online.”
“They’re from you. I’m going to love them.” She gives me a solid shove, and my knees hit the edge of the bed.
I wobble, trying to keep myself up, but it clicks that she wants me lying down, so I let my back fall to the mattress. My legs hang off the edge of the bed, and my hands move to cradle her waist as she climbs on top of me.
“I’m sorry if I overstepped by bringing Lucky upstairs without asking,” I say, clearing my throat. Her matching pajama top has ridden up, and I brush my thumbs over the soft skin of her abdomen. “I only wanted to show you that I’m available to help take care of him.”
“No need to apologize,” she whispers, leaning over me. “I thought it was sweet. I hope you know how much I appreciate you, Cormac.” Her hair falls around my face as she leans down to kiss me.
My glasses push into my cheek, but it’s only a minor inconvenience.
I smile as she pulls back to breathe. “That was a nice surprise.”
She laughs. “This will be even better then.” She moves to grab the bottom of her pajama top.
I rest my hands over hers, stopping her from pulling the material up. “You don’t need to have sex with me to thank me for your gifts or looking after Lucky.” The expression that crosses Charlotte’s face leaves me very sure I shouldn’t have said that.
“Okay…”
“I want to care for you in all ways, but I don’t believe I’ll ever have the same level of sexual needs that my brothers have.
That’s not to say I wouldn’t be open to giving you whatever you need.
I am always available for you. I just don’t want you to think that you need to be sexually available to keep me happy.
” I nod, smiling and hoping she understands what I’m trying to convey.
“I would be just as happy cuddling you to my chest as we talk or nap together.”
Charlotte’s head wobbles kinda side to side and eventually up and down.
“Okay, that almost left me feeling self-conscious, and I’m not sure why, because I understand what you’re trying to say.
” Her teeth dig into her lower lip, and she thinks for a few seconds before she speaks again. “Do you enjoy kissing?”
“Yes, with you, I do.”
“Did you feel pressured to have sex with me?”
I hum. “No, not in the way you’re concerned about. I wanted to try it, and I want to continue being intimate in a variety of ways moving forward. I may have put some pressure on myself to hurry things along because I didn’t want to be left behind, but that had nothing to do with you.”
Charlotte’s face softens. “I understand what you mean more than you know. Okay, would you like to cuddle with me while I try to get in a quick nap before Lucky wakes up?”
“I do.” I stand and wrap my arm around her lower back.
She falls against my chest as I relocate us to lie on the bed up by the pillows.
I pull the blanket over her back as her cheek rests against my pec.
It takes a bit of focus, but I get the hang of purring faster this time than any before.
Perhaps it’s one of those skills that needs to be exercised for it to become easier.
“I’m afraid I may have mucked things up between us.
I do want a sexual relationship with you.
I want you to be my wife, with all the things that come along with that. ”
“You haven’t messed anything up. I promise.” She runs her fingers over my chest, which is comforting, but I’m not sure I believe her.
I likely should have just kept my mouth shut.
Fucked her.
Bitten her.
Then I wouldn’t feel like the world’s biggest idiot.
“I spent most of the morning jealous as hell that I’m the only one without a claiming bite. I should have—”
Her head pops up until she’s staring straight into my eyes. “You want a bond with me?”
“I do.”
“We don’t have to have sex for you to claim me,” she says softly. “We get to define how things go in our relationship. Not to mention, it’s extra sweet because I know you’re not lost to the fog or overtaken by your instincts.”
A low growl rattles out as I weave my hand in her hair, pulling her mouth to mine.
Hmm, perhaps I was trying to be too much of a gentleman. I have the sudden urge to roll on top of her and rut her into the mattress.
Charlotte shoves her tongue into my mouth, taking over the kiss.
My heart races.
She gave me permission to bond her, right?
That wasn’t just wishful thinking on my part.
Was it?
No, I don’t think so.
She whimpers, scraping her teeth over my lip.
It teases my senses, and I snap.
My canines dig into her lower lip, and her blood spills against my tongue. There’s very little to distract me from the agonizing wait for her to accept the connection, but once she does, I’m hit with a staggering wave of her contentment.
My emotions are never this extreme, and it will take some time to get used to feeling emotions that aren’t my own, but it’s also awe-inspiring to be able to experience how she feels about claiming me.
And even if I plunged my teeth into her, it very much feels like she just claimed her final mate.
Malachy’s scent flits through my mind, and he sends something that feels like happiness and congratulations through the connection. A second later, Patrick does the same.
I retract my teeth, licking over the bite to clean and seal it.
Charlotte brings her hand to my cheek and pulls back to breathe. A bright smile crosses her face, and my heart thumps erratically.
“You just made me so happy,” she whispers.
“Me too, love.” I nod, pulling her down to rest against my purring chest. “Try to get some rest. I’ll keep an ear out for Lucky.”
“Thanks, Cormac.” She sends something through the bond that feels like appreciation, and I choke up. That is definitely going to take time to get used to, but in a good way.
Lucky only sleeps for an hour, but Charlotte didn’t fall asleep for at least thirty minutes, so I carefully move her to the bed and go to collect the now-awake child.
“I peed a lot,” he says, pointing at his Pull-Up.
I frown, rolling my shoulders back. It’s time I officially put my money where my mouth is and handle Lucky’s care without waking Charlotte.
“Let me grab your clothes, and I’ll meet you in the bathroom.
You can leave the wet diaper on the floor while you try to use the potty.
” I smile, striding over to collect his pants and underwear.
“I think we have washcloths in that bathroom. Unless you normally use wipes?” I glance around, trying to spot them.
“I use toilet papers,” he says, running off toward the bathroom.
Won’t there still be pee stuck to his skin in that case?
Jesus.
Where the hell is my phone?
By the time we make it into the living room, Malachy and Patrick have assembled most of his other toys.
Lucky plays hard for hours, but even then, he’d skip dinner if we would let him. He acts a bit like Charlotte is torturing him when we sit down to eat, and as soon as he’s released from his booster seat, he runs back to play.
He’s tired and cranky as Malachy helps him dress following his bath, but I let them know I’ll take over for story time.
Charlotte already had a rough go of it getting him to behave in the bath. Once he’s clad in a Pull-Up and pajamas, he picks two books and settles onto his bed.
Malachy leads Charlotte from the room, and I sit on the floor next to Lucky’s bed, taking the books.
“Which one should we read first?” I hold them up so he can examine the covers as I read the titles, but he picked them, so I’m sure he knows what to expect.
“This one is about two dogs who go on an adventure to find their missing crow neighbor. Or we can read about the elephant who learns the importance of having all kinds of friends.”
“Hmm,” Lucky says, squinting as he glances between them. “The friend one first.”
“Very well,” I agree, placing the puppy book on my lap as I get started. It takes a bit of practice to learn how to keep the book tilted so he can see the pictures as I read, but we get the hang of it.
After the first story, he grabs his plush dinosaur, looping his arm around its neck as he rolls to face me. His eyes get heavy but pop open again often, like he’s checking to make sure I haven’t moved.
“Um, Cormac,” he says, and I pause reading the story.
“Yes?”
“Does we live here now?”
“Do you live here now?” I put the book down, reaching over to run my fingers through his hair. “I think so. Would you like that?”
“Yeah, I guess,” he says. “Finish my story.”
I chuckle, shaking my head.