Unexpected Journey

Chapter 60

Lucia Lorenzo's POV

"Is there a reason all of you are here?"

"What? Valerie replied, "No, we're just here to spend time with you.

"Yes! Blaine always seems to be bothering you, but what about us? Johnson continued.

Rose and Valerie gave Johnson a wide-eyed stare. He gave a what-did-I-do-wrong gesture in response.

"Oh, okay," I utter while laughing awkwardly.

To be honest, I had hoped to get a few more hours of sleep. Last night, Blaine experienced an identical nightmare, and as a result, we both woke up considerably earlier than usual. The good news is that we've discovered he only experiences these nightmares at full moons, so we can now plan for it.

Johnson glances at his phone before turning to face me again.

"Hey, Lucia! He grabs my hand and pulls me out of the hammock, saying, "We have to go to the front of the house right now."

"Why?"

My feet drag on the ground, almost dragging me to my front yard.

"Your car is on fire!"

"What? Oh my gosh.

My words stop as we turn the corner of the house, and I'm met with a visual. Blaine has a grey Jeep Wrangler full of bags, surfboards, and coolers. As he packs everything into the back of his car, his biceps protrude through his dark blue shirt. Not the car, but something was on fire.

"Are we going somewhere?"

He stared at me apologetically as he turned around.

He smiled and said, "I felt it was about time I took you out on a date."

I laughed, then threw myself down at him. He grabs hold of me, puts his arms around my waist, and spins me around.

"Where are we going?" I glance up at him and ask.

He said, "Well, I guess you'll just have to be patient, little wolf," and then he kissed the bridge of my nose. The thought of waiting makes me want to cry, but I force myself to be calm.

"Don't knock my sister up!" With a box of goods marked "Lucia" in his hands, Cyril yelled.

"Don't worry, Cyril, we're just going to practice," Blaine said, grinning as usual.

I grab hold of Blaine's arm and tug him towards the Jeep, as Cyril appears to be about ready to storm over here.

"Can you tell me where we are going now?"

Blaine turns on the car's ignition.

"Patience, little wolf, patience."

There are times when I feel like things will never get any better. One of those times is when I'm sitting in my mate's Jeep with the cool California coast breeze rifling through my hair. As we drive along Route 1, Blaine's hand is around my left thigh. We've already made a stop in Big Sur to have some dinner and snap some photos. I shared the photos Blaine took of me with my loved ones, and one of us became our desktop wallpaper.

I must have found hundreds of photos of myself when I was going through his photo album. Some show me sleeping, some are candid, but the majority are from the sporadic moments when he instructed me to posture and smile. I was kind of saddened by the realization that he had truly shot a lot of pictures of me.

"What's wrong?"

"I just realized I don't have enough pictures of you."

"Sweetheart, you're stuck with me for life; I doubt you'll need any pictures when you've got the real thing right here."

I almost roll my eyes, but instead, I choose to make things right. I grab my phone and snap a short photo of him. It's basic, with a picturesque vista of the seaside behind him as we travel. Though other men wear black sunglasses, he wears them in a way that makes them stand out from the crowd. His chest is covered in a tight shirt, and from this angle, his jawline appears even more amazing than normal.

He wrinkles his nose and sniffs the air.

Lucia?

"All right, I apologize! It's beyond my control."

"I'm not even doing anything right now."

"Driving is sexy; ask any woman, and she'll agree with me."

"I'll be sure to keep you away from chauffeurs and taxi drivers, then."

Being partially wolf has the drawback that other members of your pack may detect your level of arousal. I just want to be aroused; no judgment.

"Blaine..."

"Oh no, you don't do that. That tone has meaning for me."

"Oh, come on!"

"Right now, we have a rigid schedule. For us to arrive on time, I must drive constantly."

I never imagined that my partner would refuse me sex, but here I am.

"Anyways, please get better. After this excursion, I swear, you'll feel my presence for days."

Thinking of spending some time alone with Blaine makes me grin. Organizing the pack run and making sure there haven't been any reports of nightshade sightings in the area has been tough. I often find myself wondering how Alpha Gilbert managed to accomplish this on his own for so long. After a hard day, I can't imagine not having Blaine's support during the lengthy pack meetings and just my mate's companionship.

I let out a yawn as the restless night started to get to me.

"Sleep Lucia, I know you barely got any sleep after my nightmare," regretfully said Blaine.

I lay my hand over his and closed my eyes.

I woke up in front of the Pacific Ocean on a comfortable couch. Through the glass doors is a large deck with a hot tub and grill.

Whoosh!

"Blaine?"

My voice sounds scratchy. I think I slept the entire way to this place.

"Oh fuck!"

At the sound of Blaine's voice, I fall off the couch and find him at the beach house's entrance. The red cooler topples onto the floor, leaving a smattering of ice cubes behind. Blaine is on the ground as well, gazing up at the ceiling.