Chapter 26

Amelie

Gideon walks away, and I drop to the floor, trying to hide for a moment. "Well, things are going smoothly." Inari's emotions are at an all-time high as she cannot wait to spend more time with our mate.

"You think so. I kind of feel like it was a disaster. What was that word vomit from me! And what was that confession about! So, I guess he had a crush on me and watched me walk around naked and dreamed about it. That last part should bother me. Why doesn't it bother me!" Inari is in a blissful state.

"Because he is our mate. He should dream about you." I let out a deep breath and lookup. On the edge of the counter, I see the bundle of violets. A smile takes over my face.

I stand up, pick up the bundle and lean forward on the counter, smelling the smashed violets. "You know he got these for me but was too embarrassed to admit it and even tried to hide them. Poor things got smashed pretty bad." I untie the white ribbon holding them together and start to separate the flowers from the stem. I pull the blackberries out of the fridge and sugar out of the pantry.

"I think you are right. He's sweet but a bit clumsy." She is still basking in the lingering eucalyptus scent.

I stop what I am doing for a second, "I think you are the only one who would describe the moon goddess's elite warrior Alpha as clumsy!"

"Hey, being clumsy in love and being clumsy in a fight are two different things. Being clumsy in love makes him endearing," I couldn't argue with her on that point.

"Defending him already. Whose side are you on?" I'm still working on making the syrup for tomorrow.

Inari sighs at me, "His otherwise you would be hopeless." We laugh together. I was scared at first, and truthfully speaking, I still am, but I am hopeful that the path shown to me today will be filled with happiness and love. I still have my guard up, but I am willing to try.

I focus back on cooking. I finish making the violet sugar in the mortar and pestle. I add the violet sugar, blackberries, and a little water to a pot and slowly smash the blackberries as I bring the mixture to a boil. I pull it off the heat and strain out the blackberries' flesh and put my finished syrup in a jar to use tomorrow. I'm already impressed with Gideon in this short afternoon together.

Tate hated what he called weird food and would never eat risotto, and he would never eat anything that had flowers in it. Gideon has a reputation of being the most imposing Alpha's around, but he's so gentle with me.

"Oh, that smells lovely! Is that for tomorrow morning?" Celeste sits down at the counter stool.

"Yeah, it's blackberries and violet syrup for pancakes tomorrow." I smile just thinking about the little purple violets.

Celeste looks at me, and I can see a bit of tension release, "He's a good man who's been through a lot and has seen a lot of awful things with his pack duties. He needs someone who can make a home for him that he longs to come back to. You have been through so much and deserve someone who will protect you and your heart." Tears start flowing from Celeste's eyes. "I'm just so happy you won't be alone and have a chance for long-lasting love in your life. Call your mother then after, call your sister." She dries her eyes and stands up.

"I will thank you for always being by my side and loving me no matter what." Tears well up in my eyes now.

Celeste nods at me, "That's what true mothers do. You will feel the same way I do soon." Then, she turns and walks away.

She is right; I will be a stepmother soon to twin girls. I feel between all 4 of my parents, and I have some great examples to live by. I pull out my phone and call my mom. I head to my room to clean up before dinner. I'm not cooking tonight. Celeste has invited Becky back.

I talk to my mom for about an hour. Then I call Hope as well. I tell them all about Gideon and me, and they both are excited. My mother, Luna Anne, knows Gideon well and approves of him as my mate, "Hey, I'll call you tomorrow. I'm going to take a quick shower before going down for dinner. I love you."

I just want to do a quick scrub down. I'm not going to wash my hair; I pin up my hair and start the shower. I undress and get in the shower.

After a few minutes, I turn around when I hear an "Ahem." I whip around, and it's Gideon. His eyes are flashing red. I quickly cover my black scar with my left hand. I'm not embarrassed about my body, just my scar. I turn around.

I turn off the shower, and I don't know what to say. So instead, I reach my right arm behind me. "Can you hand me my towel?" The shower door opens, I look over my shoulder, and Gideon steps into the shower, still clothed and towel in hand. I turn my head back.

He takes the towel and wraps me in it while also wrapping me up in his arms. My breathing gets heavy as I can feel his firm chest against my back. Sparks are trailing up and down my body. I am on fire, and he knows it. He leans down and whispers in my left ear. "Don't ever hide yourself from me. You're my blessing from the goddess." He kisses down my neck and stops when he gets to my scar. I'm still holding my hand over it. He removes my hand, "I'm sure we'll do something about this." He kisses the black scar a tingle runs through me. I moan; I'm turned on, and I know he can smell it.

I don't say anything. I can't; my mouth won't move; I can only moan. He kisses all the way to my pack mark, "This will change too." He moves to my back, "Here will be your Luna mark." He kisses the spot on my left shoulder blade, and a gasp leaves my lips. He turns me around to face him. I'm barely holding the towel. Almost all of my chest is exposed, but at that moment, I didn't care. He leans down again, kissing where my heart is, "This is where Rose and Daisy's marks will go along with all our other children. So, you see, Amelie, I will clam all your marks. You are my blessing." He kisses me with so much hunger I know I am dripping at this moment. He is pulling me tighter I can feel how rock hard he is too. I have never wanted a man as I do at this moment.

He suddenly stops. I am disappointed and in a complete lust-filled hazy, "Gideon." It left my mouth dripping with my thirst for more.

"Don't say my name like that right now. I won't be able to hold back. Get dressed; we must meet everyone for dinner. I'm going to rinse off with some cold water." I nod my head. We step out of the shower stall.

I am about to walk out of the bathroom when I turn around and look at Gideon. I take the towel and throw it at him. "Here, you will need this," exposing my entire body to him. He growls. I turn around and look over my shoulder at him. "You better hurry. We might miss dinner." I close the door.

I walk into my closet and drop to my knees. Oh my, what was that. I am not going to be able to resist him. I become putty as soon as he touches me. We are going to be sleeping in my bed together. How much willpower do I have? I gather myself I need to get dressed and act normal around everyone. Is this how normal mated couples are? I was not like this before. I get dressed in a casual burgundy sweater dress that hugs my hips with knee-high tan suede boots with a 3 inch stacked heel. I let my hair down and shake it out. I keep my makeup light, just some mascara. I sit on my bed and think. What he just said in the shower keeps running through my head. If I am his blessing, he is mine. What am I scared of? He is not Tate, and I can feel he is genuine. I know my father and stepfather respect him. As I'm mulling over everything in my head, Gideon comes out of the bathroom.

He only has on the towel, and it's hung loosely around his hips. I devour him with my eyes starting with his sandy blond hair, his bright green eyes, his straight nose, square jaw with a bit of a five o'clock shadow. I keep going down to his broad shoulders, down his chiseled chest, perfect abs going into a V before being cut off by the damn towel.

He walks over to his suitcase. He knows he has my attention; he pulls out his clothes and drops the towel. Do we really need to go to dinner? Crosses my mind. Look at that sculpture of a man. He looks at me over his shoulder, "Like what you see?"

I smirk, "I guess it will have to do." Cocky ass, he knows he looks good, and it's getting harder to resist him by the minute. He chuckles a bit and gets dresses. We start walking down to dinner. As we are walking, I think how we went from kissing in the clearing like teenagers to naked taunting in the span of a few hours. Yet, it didn't bother me at all. Maybe this is what the mate bond was truly like. Perhaps I just needed to give in to the pull.