Page 69 of The Barren Luna

“I can’t wait to go back home,” I sighed wistfully at the thought of my beautiful mate. How was she doing? Was she feeling better? Did she miss me like I missed her?

“So you’ve said.”

“Oh, drop the stoic façade. Like you don’t miss your mate,” I shot back but his face remained impassive. “By the way, when will you and Penelope come visit us? Other than meeting her briefly at the trial, I’ve never even properly spoken to her.”

“We’ll see.”

It was like pulling teeth, which I was used to with him and it stopped bothering me a long time ago. This time, however, I did wish he could be a bit more open with me, since I would have loved to get the perspective of someone who had been widowed and now had a second chance mate – I had hoped his experience would shed light on some issue Regina might be struggling with. But aside from simply saying it had been unexpected and that the timing of meeting her had been less than ideal, he remained annoyingly tight-lipped about the whole thing.

“I don’t get you, Dom.”

“You’re not required to.”

“How in the world does young Penelope put up with you?”

His jaw tightened at that. It was hardly noticeable, but I noticed it.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, she’s a young female, basically left alone for months at a time in a new pack, mated for the first time to a widowed wolf who rarely talks, and when he does, it’s almost never about himself. That can’t be easy for her, especially since she might be insecure about being your second mate.”

“You think that’s something she would mind?” He looked oddly vulnerable for a second.

“The not talking or the second mate thing?”

“Both.”

“The not talking, definitely yes. The second mate thing, that depends on you, Dom, on how much you've shown her that she's now the only one for you, and how loved and valued she feels.”

Was that panic I detected in his eyes?

“I had a lot on my mind lately. As soon as I deal with some things, I’ll have the time to work on our mating more.”

“What things? Dom – don’t tell me you’re still on that? It’s been over a year!”

“Leave it alone, David. I’m not discussing this with you.”

“Fine. It’s your life, Dom, and I know you won’t come crying to me when you ruin it so go ahead.”

???

When I finally reached my pack, I was barely able to stand from exhaustion. I had driven for 22 hours straight, stopping only for short coffee and bathroom breaks. My last week at what was formerly the Spruce Mountain pack was pure hell. I couldn’t sleep, I had trouble eating, and my wolf was extremely agitated. I couldn’t bear the thought of being away from my mate for even a moment longer. As soon as I entered the palace, I was almost knocked over by her scent and felt goosebumps forming all over my arms. It was like finally breathing again after having been underwater for more than a minute. I inhaled as deeply as I could and let her essence flow through me.Regina. I sensed her coming before I heard her feet hitting the tiles as she ran towards me. It seemed like she had missed me, too.

We were hugging and pressing and squeezing each other, and I was stroking her hair, and her face was wet for some reason; I could barely keep my eyes open but I looked at her for as long as I could, and she was a vision with her now slightly longer hair pinned with some shiny blue hair clips that made me smile because I knew she had bought them herself. We saidI missed youandI love youandlook at youandyou’re back,and finallycome here. My name was on her lips and it brought me even closer to passing out.

“David, why are you so out of it? Did you drive all the way here without stopping?”

“Mhm,” I nodded into her neck.

“Are you crazy?”

I didn’t even respond, I just rested more of my body weight on her shoulder.

“Okay, that’s it. You need to shower and then sleep. Come on.”

She dragged me to our room, where I was instructed to undress as she turned on the shower. She got in with me and I didn’teven think anything sexual of it, that’s how exhausted I was. Gina started soaping my back and gently scrubbing my arms and shoulders, just running her small soapy hands all over me. I could feel the stress and worry leaving my body together with the foam running down the drain. We were both naked, slippery, and hot from the water, and it was getting harder to tell where I ended, and she began.

My mate led me to our bed and after she dried me off, we just laid there, holding each other tightly, before she sort of arched her naked body into me as her fingers traveled into my hair. We just gazed into each other’s eyes for several long moments, until she came up to kiss me. Everything else ceased existing, even David and Regina as separate entities; we were now completely melted together in that kiss that transcended the purely physical aspect of the act. That kiss saidI love you, I’m yours, we’re in this together, we are one forever. She kept running her fingertips over my shoulders, over my back, over my jaw, leaving trails of fire in their wake, and I was now only skin, hungering for more.

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