Chapter 15 #3
“The woman who walked into this compound, ready to fight anyone who got in her way,” he said quietly. “The protector who stood between twelve terrified women and danger without hesitation. The warrior who would put herself in harm's way every time if it meant protecting this pack.”
His eyes settled on me standing there in nothing but his shirt, my hair loose around my shoulders.
“And this woman, too.” His smile softened. “The one who laughs without catching herself. The one who cooks with me, steals my shirts, and lets her guard down enough to just... be.” He reached for my hand. “I don't love one version of you, Angel. I love all of you.”
I swallowed hard.
“I don’t need you soft all the time,” he said quietly. “And I don’t need you carrying the weight of the world every day either. I just want you to be free enough to be your whole self with me. Whatever that looks like on any given day.”
That totally undid me.
I crossed the kitchen before I could overthink it.
Ty opened his arms easily when I pressed into him, and they wrapped around me with the same steady certainty they always had. I buried my face against his chest and stood there, breathing in his scent.
“Okay,” I muttered against his shirt.
“Okay,” he answered softly into my hair.
We stayed like that for a long moment before he finally said, completely serious:
“My new, better-than-before eggs are almost done.”
I laughed so hard my shoulders shook.
We ate together afterward at the kitchen table as morning light spilled through the windows. The eggs were actually better this time. I ate every bite without complaining once.
Before we could finish breakfast, a heat wave spiked.
I crossed the room and walked Ty to the couch. I put my finger to his lips and shook my head. I didn’t want to be talked out of it. I just wanted to enjoy this moment. I wanted to taste my mate. I wanted him to feel the desire I had for him on another level.
I placed a pillow on the floor between his feet and slowly knelt. I could feel his heart rate increase and his breathing sharpen. I pulled his shorts down slowly and traced my hands up his thighs. He was already at attention, and he smelled divine.
My mouth was on him before I could think about what was right or wrong. I needed to taste him, all of him.
The moans coming from his mouth and the heaving of his chest told me he was enjoying every moment.
The more I sucked the wetter I got.
“COME HERE”
The tone of his voice stopped me in my tracks.
He reached down and lifted me as he lay down on the couch.
“TURN’
I could feel Kai at the surface and that turned me on even more.
Before I could think about my next move, he had us perfectly positioned. His tongue was inside me, and his hands were grabbing my ass, holding me steady.
I opened my eyes and went back to tasting that sweet essence that drove me crazy. We loved on each other until we collapsed together on the couch.
After another round in the shower, I could barely keep my eyes open. He laid me on the bed, kissed me, and everything went dark.
A few hours later, I heard him come in.
“Get dressed,” he said.
I narrowed my eyes immediately. “Why?”
“Because I said so.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the only one you're getting right now, Angel.”
By the time he led me down the east hall toward the old, unused office space, I already knew something was going on. Then I saw the silver bow hanging across the door and stopped walking altogether.
“Tyrell.”
That deep laugh slipped out of him instantly.
“Open the door, Angel.”
I looked at him once more before slowly pushing the door open.
Then I forgot how to breathe.
Dress forms stood near the windows. Fabric lined the shelves by color. A large cutting table sat in the center of the room, with sketchbooks, design boards, and a massive sewing machine beside it. One entire wall held framed copies of old sketches I thought I had lost years earlier.
My studio.
My hands lifted slowly to my mouth before I realized they were shaking.
I had not taken design work seriously for years. Somewhere between survival and training, I convinced myself that part of me belonged to another life, a softer version of myself that no longer existed.
Standing there, looking at this room built around a dream I had stopped reaching for, the grief of missing it hit me all at once.
Tears blurred my vision immediately.
I turned toward Ty, who stood quietly behind me in the doorway.
“You deserve your dream space.”
That broke whatever control I still had left.
For the first time since he met me, I ran toward him without hesitation. Fully open. No restraint. No caution. I launched myself at him with both arms outstretched, and he barely had time to catch me before my legs automatically wrapped around his waist.
He held me easily while I buried my face against his neck, crying harder now.
“I thought I lost this part of myself,” I whispered.
Ty’s arms tightened around me immediately.
“No,” he said softly against my hair. “You just needed somebody to remind you she was still here.”
Something inside me settled hearing that.
Not because he built me a room.
Because he saw the part of me I had stopped believing deserved space to exist, he made space for her anyway.