26

"Tara?" I heard Grayson whisper my name again. It was so nice when he said it. His voice was deep and dark. The little vibration when he said it always sent a little shiver down my spine.

"What?" I murmured, nestling deeper into his shoulder. He should say it again.

"We're here," I heard him say instead. The next moment I felt him reach under my knees, lift me up and carry me.

"Where?" I mumbled.

"At my home." I had never opened my eyes so quickly. My head snapped up over his shoulder and I saw another wagon disappearing into the thicket of the forest. Only our suitcases were still there.

As I sat up in his arms and looked in the direction he was walking, I saw a wooden house with a large porch in front of a dark blue lake.

I wriggled out of his arms and he helped me to my feet. I expected everything. A swanky villa like my father's, the pack house, the apartment he lived in, none of that. There was nothing around us except a simple wooden house in front of a blue lake in the middle of the forest.

"You live here?" I asked, slightly dazed. I must have fallen asleep at some point during the flight, and more deeply than I ever thought possible. He must have carried me off the plane, put me in a car and I hadn't noticed anything.

"Yes," he said, taking my hand tightly in his. He was kind of tense, something I'd never felt with him before.

The house had only one floor, was made entirely of wood and couldn't be that old, judging by the color of the wood it was maybe a year old. It even smelled freshly beaten.

As far as I could see, the porch ran all the way around the house, otherwise you couldn't see anything through the floor-to-ceiling windows. It must be tinted windows because they reflected the trees in them.

"It is wonderful here."

"Do you think so?" he asked a little uncertainly and led me up the stairs to the porch. It was only when he stopped in front of the door that I realized how high one floor was. The door alone was easily three meters.

He felt the door frame and pulled out a small key, which he used to unlock the door. We stood side by side in silence for a while until I fasted my heart and went in first.

I entered a huge room whose back was completely glazed. I ran to the windows in amazement, looked across the porch at the lake. I could imagine only too well that he feels at home here. The calm, the nature that is omnipresent.

I turned and let my eyes wander around the room. To my right was a large kitchen with a kitchen island and eight bar stools in front of it. To the right of the kitchen ran a corridor that presumably led to the bedrooms. What a way to start the day when you come out of the bedroom and have such a panorama in front of your eyes.

To my left was a huge sofa in front of a fireplace. Everything was big, now Grayson was too.

"No TV?" I asked him amused and the initial confusion on his face quickly gave way to his stoic expression. Nothing seemed to bother him for long, he looked at me calmly and waited for me to continue talking.

"You have it really beautiful. I have no idea how you left this to come to St. Vincent of Ice. I would have refused." Grayson let out a small sigh as if he had been holding his breath and now he was walking towards me.

"Do you think so?" he asked again and stopped in front of me. It seemed really important to him that I liked it here. Just the thought of him caring made my heart skip a beat.

"Are you hungry?" He raised an eyebrow questioningly. Those dark brown eyes were so intense and clear that next to me I saw the lake reflected in them. I didn't want to eat anything and just stand there until the sun went down and even then I would still stare into his eyes in fascination.

"What is it?" I was actually open to everything, as long as we don't have to leave here.

"Nothing in my fridge, it's your choice. I'll order something for us," he shrugged. Sure, he hadn't been here for months, of course the fridge was empty.

I was glad he said to order and not that we were going out. I could well imagine locking myself in here for the next few weeks.

Having breakfast on the veranda in the morning, strolling around the lake in the afternoon and simply enjoying everything around me. Since I had already decided that I would quit university after this year, I hadn't even packed the papers for the upcoming exams.

"Surprise me," I grinned at him and he returned my smile. It made him even more attractive and I just couldn't get enough of it.

He tilted his head slightly and looked at me thoughtfully. Again and again his hand went nervously to his collar and fumbled with his necklace. He twisted the small pendant in his fingers until he let go with a sigh and brushed some hair away from my face.

"You should always wear your hair down, I like it." i hated her There were too many and they were always on my face. However, if he brushed a strand of hair out of my face more often, I would never ponytail my hair again.

His hand lingered in my hair a little longer and his thumb gently stroked my cheek. This gesture was so loving that I wanted to throw myself at him immediately.

Before I could take a step towards him, he dropped it and ran his hands through his own hair several times, which suddenly seemed just as unruly as mine and curled wildly around his face in all directions.

"Come on Pebble," he hastily grabbed my hand and pulled me behind him. He opened the terrace door with a flourish and took big strides down to the lake with me. He was so fast that I had to take two steps when he took one to even keep up.

He stopped on the shore of the lake, kicked off his shoes and socks, and rolled up his trousers a little.

I was so perplexed that I just watched him take a few steps into the lake. It was still winter, but compared to Alaska, everything just felt like summer to me.

Grayson pulled up a sleeve, bent down, and reached into the lake. When his hand came out of the water, he was holding three oval stones and one by one he let them bounce over the surface of the water. He did it so skillfully that they jumped over the surface of the water many times until they sank into the lake.

He reached into the water one more time and came back to me with a rock in his hand. He looked down at the stone in his hand, lost in thought. "You wanted to know why I call you Pebble."

I looked at the stone, which could well be described as a pebble, but I didn't understand what that had to do with me.

"You have to do something for me, Pebble." He weighed the stone in his hand as if he had a difficult decision to make. Again and again he turned it in his palm.

"Sure. What is it?" I took a step towards him and closed his fingers around the stone with my hand. Grayson looked at me in surprise and then thoughtfully again.

There was a tension between us that was difficult to describe. I was so attracted to him, but his wait-and-see nature made it impossible for me to tell if he felt the same way.

His usually deep brown eyes began to glow slightly and took on a warmer tone. It was like time stood still around us. Grayson stood motionless in front of me, and then I saw it. The pain in his eyes, so intense it made my throat tighten.

"Would you take my chain while I hold you, Pebble?" he whispered so softly I barely heard. I looked down at my hand over his, felt his grip on the rock tighter, and nodded.

I took the last step that separated us and got on my toes as I grabbed his neck.

His heart was beating against my chest and it was like mine was trying to catch up with his. His chest vibrated against mine and as my trembling hands found the clasp, his arms wrapped tightly around my body.

I paused for a moment and looked into his eyes, which grew lighter and brighter until they shone gold. I had seen those eyes before, not on him but on a wolf.

I couldn't blink as fast as the tears welled up in my eyes. He was my mate. The last few months have passed like a movie in front of my eyes. Everything suddenly made sense. His caring, his distant nature and his so dominant protective instinct.

It was scary what awaited me. I was so relieved to finally know he was okay.

He pulled me tighter and his head cocked to one side. His eyes returned to the dark brown color I was so familiar with. Confusion spread across his face and he shuffled his feet restlessly.

"Pebble?" he asked me and I felt the small rock in his hand press against my back. He didn't let go of him any more than I did. I dropped my hands from his shoulders to his chest.

There was something I needed to know. Something my heart wanted to know so badly. I wanted to know what it felt like to kiss someone who had my heart without anyone telling me what to do.

"Would you kiss me Gray--" I couldn't quite get my mouth around his name as his lips captured mine without hesitation. His big, plump lips were hot and soft, demanding and yet so gentle. His rough tongue made my whole body tremble as it entered my mouth, unleashing a rush of emotion inside me that was almost unbearable. There was so much longing and sensuality in that kiss that the world started spinning around me.

He gently pulled away from me when I thought my feet wouldn't be able to carry me any longer. Maybe they wouldn't either if he wasn't holding me. He nibbled my lips tenderly and only his uncontrolled breathing told me he was just as excited as I was.

When I opened my eyes again, his had turned an amber hue. It was like the colors in his eyes were constantly remixing, like the rhythm of his heart beating hard against my chest.

After what felt like an eternity of just standing there and looking at each other, I ran my hands down his chest, up his shoulders, and wrapped them around his neck. I felt for the small lock and opened it.

I no longer had qualms or fear of what awaited me. It was like my crazy heart finally got what it wanted.