16

“Honestly, as bad as this sounds… no. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but it felt like I was holding my breath, and something inside told me it wasn’t the right time. I didn’t realize it was my gut telling me it was the wrong femme, I just thought I wasn’t ready to be tied down. That we were young and immature, and I had so many more responsibilities. Looking back, I cared about her a lot, but I don’t think I loved her. I just didn’t know it until you and felt this way. With you, the need to mark you was a constant craving inside of me from the second we bonded.”

“Shame you took so long.” I sass him, lightening the mood a little and try to ignore the pangs of green-eyed monster when my man admits to caring for another femme in that way. I’m so stupid with this but I get my cute boy frown with full on dimples and a half smile in response as he brings his face up to mine from the side, to lock eyes. It helps ease my ruffled feelings.

“Baby, the best things come to those who wait.” He smirks at my mock outrage and bops his nose on the tip of mine.

“Never heard of ‘you lose, you snooze’…. You were almost eternally mateless, buddy.” I prod him in the arm getting a tight rib squeeze and a kiss to my nose for good measure.

“Never! I would have searched for you until the end of time. I wasn’t losing you, even if it took me years to find you. That….I was certain of.” Colton turns me in his arms, so I end up pressed frontally to his sexy physique and he leans in to kiss me properly. His lips grazing mine sensually as his hands find their way under my hair and he pulls me in for a full on make out session with tongues and lots of toe-curling mouth orgasms. I always loved that Colton’s kiss had the ability to turn me to putty in his hands and ignite every sensation, tingle and goosebump my skin is capable of. It’s his magical way of soothing whatever mood I have brewing and clears my rain of stress and worry almost instantly.

“We should get back to doing our job” I point out when he lets me loose and rubs his nose against mine. The intimacy between us is my favorite thing in the world, a bubble of content where I can inhale everything that’s him and my world feels whole. Sadly though, real life has responsibilities, duties and we are not even close to dinner yet.

“Or…. We could go upstairs and take a nap……. The energetic kind.” he winks, husky with his words and I eyeroll impulsively.

“Honestly, if I had known your libido was this overactive, I may have rethought marking you.” I giggle when I push him off, liking the fact that he hauls me straight back to him, always so eager to keep us joined by touch. Colton never likes to stray apart for long, the need to be beside me, hold me, overwhelms him and I guess it’s the same for me. Imprinting gives you this insane need to be together every second or else it doesn’t feel right. When we are close, or in the same space, we have to have contact, or it just feels wrong.

“It’s not my fault. My mate has me stuck in eternal haze and I think I’m broken… or else, it’s the vampy in you, all seductive and dazzling with your special gifts and you make me want to hump you five times a day.”

“Hmmm” I respond drily. He makes this Vamp joke often enough. In the grimoires in the halls under the homestead we found a whole lot about vampires dazzling humans with a need to have sex with them. While under their spell the vamps could feed not only their urge for blood without humans resisting, but their sensual natures ad their craving to screw everyone. Vampires are apparently as horny as wolves and it explains why hybrids like mine exist. “You know, we have to go eat with your mom. It’s the highlight of her day that we take our meals with her. And I’m not going to her rooms looking like you just mauled me… again.” I attempt to extract my body form his muscular arms and get nowhere with that. He’s too strong and I’m not really all that willing to be loose.

“It’s a good look on you, all flushed and satisfied. Chilling like you found heaven and haven’t come back down from the clouds yet. I like how you look after sex… it’s my favorite view.” He finally gives me some breathing space by stepping back to admire me while keeping our hands interlocked.

“I’ve seen myself. It’s more like red faced, sweating, unattractively rumpled, and breathless! Like you chased me around the upper floor for forty-five minutes and I might pass out at any moment. I hate your mom knowing what we have been doing. So, No! Dinner first, bed later.” I need to put my foot down when it comes to this or else he would never let me leave our bed at any hour.

“God, you’re bossy. You know my mom is aware that as mates, we ummm… mate. It’s kind of a perk of being paired up and it’s right there in the title.” He angles for a grope of my breast with one hand and I slap it away.

“Behave. If you start that we may never make dinner. I’m not playing!” I push him away properly, aware of how easily he always bends me to his will when it comes to sexy play and somehow always manages to coerce me upstairs for random daytime quickies. Not that I don’t enjoy what he does to me, but as I feel tired most of my day because of him, it does dampen my motivation to be productive daily. I have to be more assertive and learn how to turn him down from time to time. My sleep pattern demands it.

“I’m not hungry anyway.” he smirks, and I again slap the hand sliding out my way to get me back against him. We really do have to move or else we will be here all afternoon.

“Well, I’m starving, in fact, and I might just pass out from lack of nourishment if you don’t let me eat first.” I warn him with a raised brow and hold my hand aloft as he ignores my batting him again and goes for another boob caress. My breasts are apparently his favorite body part next to the obvious one between my thighs.

“Okay! Fine! Jeeze, woman! I get it…. Food first, socialize with my mom, deal with the duties I have to deal with for this afternoon and then…you’re all mine. You may regret not giving me this little ten-minute tumble come bedtime though, baby face.” He grins with that delish air, tweaking my nose annoyingly, and I sigh. I know he’s right and this refusal for a session will have a knock-on effect later.

With him it’s never ten minutes, ever, so quickie is not even a term I connect to what he wants to do. Quick for Colton is more like thirty minutes. No daytime rolls upstairs means tonight he will take hours to get his fill. Not that I’m complaining, I just really need sleep at some point in my life. Lately it’s taking its toll and I’m tired all the time because he has a severe lack of needing rest it seems, while I definitely do not get enough.

“We’ll see” I yawn almost to emphasize the fact that I’m shattered beyond belief these past weeks and he frowns at me, watching me for a long second. His expression dropping from cute teen teasing his girl, to suddenly mature husband worrying that his wife really needs to lay down.

“Maybe I might let you have a night off to rest. You look kinda beat. Are you feeling okay?” he lifts the back of his palm to my head in seriousness this time and I shrug and try to brush it away with a smile.

“I’m a wolf… getting sick is cured with a turn. I’m fine, just really exhausted lately. I think with all the early morning fun, the nonstop daily grind and our late night ‘mating’, I’m not getting enough rest. After six months it’s finally taking its toll.”

Colton stares at me with a somber expression for what feels like the longest time before finally frowning and pulling me back into his arms and hugging me tight. This time it completely lacks any sexual vibe and is just one of his tender holds.