Chapter 12
“Marlie, is everything okay”
Ishuffled around a little on the bed. “Yes, yes, that feels good,” I replied, knowing full well it was a half–lie. I mean, it didn’t feel bad, but I wasn’t as into it as I had been the past few times we’d mated. I was distracted, and my mind kept boomeranging back to the mate bond and wondering why Cain hadn’t bitten me yet.
Can continued to kiss my neck and run his hands through my hair. Suddenly he stopped.
“You’re just so quiet. Are you sure you’re good?” he asked, concerned.
I pushed myself up on my elbows, and Cain rolled to the side. “I’m just distracted, is all. Nothing to do with you,” I assured
hirri
Cain nodded and kissed me on the forehead. “No worries, then. Want to get a glass of wine or something?” he asked.
I was sort of shocked that Cain wasn’t offended that I was having trouble getting in the mood. In the past, men would take it really personally when I confessed I was distracted or not entirely turned on.
I smiled at him. He really was a catch, in more ways than one. Not only hot and caring, but so self–assured!
I nodded. “Sure, a glass of wine would be great. There’s a bar down in the lobby, right?”
Cain leapt out of bed and started to pull his pants on. “Yeah, let’s just go hang out for a while. No pressure.”
1 pulled my own clothing back on, and Cain and I made our way down to the lobby. As we stood in the elevator, I awkwardly glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, and then looked away. This felt so cold and distant compared to the way we’d been interacting before. It was probably just the fact that I was going out of heat.
reached the lobby and walked right over to the bar. One other couple was seated there, sharing a bottle of wine. The gendeman nodded at us, and the woman smiled. As Cain and I sat down, I overheard a little of their conversation. They were discussing wedding venues and trying to decide on a wedding date. I gulped, suddenly feeling self–conscious. Then again. I told myself, maybe this was a good thing. Maybe it would prompt Cain to think more about the mate bond. We ordered a bottle of white wine to share. Cain poured me a glass and proposed a toast. “To us,” he cheered, clinking his glass with mine. He then kissed me on the check sweetly. Maybe this was it? Maybe he thought, as human–oriented as I was, that he needed to make the mate bond more like a human marriage proposal? I braced myself for what might come neXL. But much to my frustration, as soon as we toasted, Cain changed the conversation away from anything related to us.
“Do you ever watch human sports?” he asked, gesturing towards the TV.
Hooked sideways at the couple next to us, hoping Cain would take the hint. We had to be careful what we said in front of these people. Calling sports “human sports was definitely a red Lag
“As opposed to what silly, horse sports? I joked back, perhaps atle too loudly.
Cain reared his throat, “Right, yeah, I guess that came out funny Do you watch sports he repeated
I shrugged “Sometimes I watch football when my friends are into it. But I’ve never been one to follow a team myself.”
Gen nodded. “Yeah, I could see being into wrestling or boxing. You know, individual sports like that. But team sports have
er endly appealed to me
Candid seem like one to be interested in wrestling. He was certainly built like a wrestler, and I could easily imagine him aking someone down, even his human forin
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Chapter 12
We sipped on our wine for a bit, and I tried to think of a covert way to bring up the mate bond again. As I listened to the other couple continue to talk about weddings, I decided to play up that angle.
“So have you ever thought of getting married?” I asked, knowing full well this was a very forward question.
Cain nearly spit out his wine. “I. uh…” he stammered.
I wasn’t sure whether his hesitation came from the fact that werewolves really mate bonded, rather than actually getting married, or whether I’d just made him uncomfortable,
“Well, my parents have been together for years, and they seem very happy,” he finally said. “So yes, I can see myself doing the same one day.
I took a sip of my wine and nodded.
“How about you?” Cain asked, flipping the script around on me.
“Absolutely. I love the idea of raising youngsters of my own. I mean, I get to interact with a lot of little ones through my job. but I feel like it’s not the same until you have your own.” I explained, being careful not to use the term “pups” when referring
To young ones.
Cain nodded. “So, tell me more:
about your work, Cain replied
I was frustrated that he changed the topic away from marriage and kids so quickly. It was clear the topic made him uncomfortable.
“Well, I began, trying to swallow my frustration, “I have a truck filled with books called the BookMobile. I drive it from err town to town, helping to introduce the young ones in the towns to literature and reading”
Cain’s eyes lit up. “Ah, I think I have heard of that! Were you in… In Massachusetts last fall? A buddy of mine out there mentioned something about a BookMobile!”
I could tell Cain was trying not to mention specific pack names because the other couple was so close to us.
“Cheskane?” I whispered in his ear. “Yes, I was there in September!”
“Cool” Cain replied.
As we finished up our wine, I told Cain a little more about my work with the BookMobile. I described how I’d bought the truck and converted it to a library after college, and how traveling in it had allowed me to see more of the country. I tried to steer the conversation back towards marriage and kids, but he didn’t seem to be interested in the topic. Eventually, I gave up. The tipsiness from the wine took over, and I found myself leaning against him and kissing him at the bar.
“We should probably get you back upstairs!” Cain giggled self–consciously as I kissed his neck.
“Okay.” I agreed, getting up from the bar.
Cain and I made our way back to the elevator, which thankfully arrived in a timely manner this time around. About halfway up, he playfully poked me in the behind, and I laughed, turning around to do the same to him
The wine had, indeed, helped me relax. The idea of the mate boid was still in the back of my mind, but I was at least able to push it back and get into the mood with Cain
We shuffled into the hotel room, bumping into the doorway on our way in. The door locked behind us, Cain pulled my shirt off over my head and once again began kissing my chest, sweetly
I tried to stay present in the moment, but I couldn’t help but reflect back on our time together in the park. As Cain kissed down my chest and towards my belly button, I pictured how our wolves had thrashed about together in the pine needles. The experience had been so rough, but so tender, all at the same time.
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Chapter 12
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I usually liked to transform before or during sex, but for some reason tonight, I wasn’t really feeling it. Apparently Cain wasn’t, either. We climbed onto the bed, still fully in our human forms, and made love beneath the sheets like married couples do in movies. It certainly wasn’t bad sex, but it lacked a certain playfulness and wild arousal that we’d had earlier. I just kept trying to picture us in the woods, making love beneath the pine trees.
Cain finally climaxed and laid down beside me. I straightened the covers over us, and tried my best to fall asleep. He was asleep within minutes, a gentle snore emerging from his lips. But I didn’t have as easy of a time relaxing.
I looked at this man beside me, his broad chest heaving with every breath. His one arm was still resting behind my neck in a kind and caring way. I could not deny how incredibly attractive I found him, even now with my heat waning.
I turned to the side and tried, once again, to fall asleep. But images of us rolling around in the pine grove kept flooding my mind. I remembered how Cain had been surprised that was my first time mating in nature. Was that normal? I was 26 years old. I’d reached sexual maturity over a decade ago, but I was just now mating in nature for the first time. Wow, Marlic, you really are lame.
As they often do late at
ight memories started flowing back into my mind. For some reason, I kept thinking of my first day of school as a young pup. The very first day, we started a class called “humanizing that had focused on helping us blend into the human world. We’d learned what words not to use around humans. We started working on controlling our transitions and holding in our tails while in public. At the time, of course I had not questioned this class. I was just a pup, doing what was expected of me. But now, as an adult wolf, I had to wonder. Had this been the start of over–suppressing my wolf side? Now that I was on that line of thinking, I couldn’t help but think of other situations in which I’d had no choice but to humanize myself. All through college, I barely transitioned. Living around humans, I was always self–conscious. I used to long for holiday breaks so I could go back to my family’s pack not just to see them, but to enjoy the freedom of being a wolf again.
Then, there was the time I bought the BookMobile. I had purchased the van from an older gentleman way out in the countryside. I had tried so hard not to schedule the pickup on a full moon, but that was the only day he was available. The whole time I was inspecting and preparing to buy the van, I’d had to hold my fur in and focus so hard on staying in my human form. Wouldn’t it have been nice if I could have just spent that day in the woods, and then looked at the BookMobile another day?
I sighed and rolled over, hoping I wouldn’t wake Gain in the process. He shifted and mumbled something. I then took the opportunity to slide out of bed and move to the other one. I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts right now that the idea of sleeping with another wolf beside me felt claustrophobic.
From the other bed, I was barely able to make out Cain’s figure. For some reason, this distance seemed comforting right now. Maybe I was moving too fast. Jackson and I had just broken up. Perhaps this was all a big mistake, and instead of focusing on finding my mate, I should be focusing on finding myself.
w
Who are you really, Marlie? Who is the wolf you’ve kept hidden for so long?
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18:20 Fri, Oct 25
