Page 30 of My Pucking Life

He thinks it over to himself for a moment before he answers me, “I say wait until the right moment. She's your best friend, and I trust her, but don't rush it. Maybe don't show her for a little while, and give yourself time to process everything we have going on before you tackle another obstacle?” he suggests, and I nod, because he's right.

Standing by the side-by-side with my arms crossed across my chest, I stare at the little oasis my mate made for me and allow the time we spent here to wash over me. I know we have to leave and head back to the real world, but I definitely have an attachment to this place. “When can we come back?” I ask longingly, and we haven't even left yet.

Roman laughs, wrapping his arms around me and resting his head on my shoulder. “Well, we have a lot coming up, but as soon as we have even an extra evening, I promise to bring you back.”

I nod, turning my head around to plant a soft kiss on his lips, any more than that and I'll really never be able to leave. The time we spent here was a blissful blur of a unity and lust-filled haze. Roman explained to me that it's natural for a newly-mated couple to have intense desires for quite some time. Even not mounting him right here and now is a constant struggle of my willpower. Everything he does, every move he makes, I can smell him, I can feel him…Shaking away the need trying to once again consume me, I pull myself out of his arms. “If you don't quit touching me, I won't be able to leave.” I try to laugh, but it comes out all breathy.

His eyes dilate, but he also visibly shakes himself free of the desire consuming us. “As much as I would love to, we really do need to return. We need to get your tonic from the healer at home, and we need to set our plans in motion,” he says lightly, pulling me into my seat and fastening my seatbelt.

“What tonic? What plans?”

He smiles, and the world threatens to stop spinning. “A tonic that you'll need to take once a month until you're ready to have pups.”

“Oh!” My cheeks flame. “We definitely need that tonic.”Shit.“I didn't mean it like that. I just. Not ready. Yet. That.” My words won't come out in the right order or in a way anyone can understand.

He makes it to his seat, stops, and turns his body to move my head so that I'm facing him, “Leera, breathe. I'm not ready either. I want the danger to be gone. I want to enjoy time with you. There's so much time for us to make those kinds of plans. I'm very happy with just you, even if you never decide to be ready for pups,” he finishes with a kiss on the end of my nose, and I can feel his sincerity thrumming through our bond, and it immediately calms me.

I nod and allow my thoughts to run away from me on the drive back to the car, where I try to help him load up our things, but he's too much of a big, strong man to let me help.

Brat,he teases. I can hear the smile in his voice, but I realize he's responding to my thoughts again.

“Shit. Haven't you mentioned someone putting their walls up to block people out? Shouldn't I learn how to do that? OH MY GOD, have the men been able to hear my thoughts?” The worry starts to rise again. The thought of our most intimate moments shared with the entire pack.

“No, sweetheart. I gave everyone a heads up, and they had their mental shields in place until I gave the all clear. But, yes, we'll need to work on that.” He just keeps smiling. I wish I could be annoyed with him for smiling at me like that all morning because I know it's at least partially amusing for him, but he's so damn pretty to look at when he's smiling like that.

I must have kept that thought to myself because it definitely would have gotten a rise out of him. It would seem that part of the trick to keeping my thoughts to myself is being genuinely aware of my mental processes. Before, I could just think whatever I wanted, and the only giveaways would be when my face decided to have its own form of subtitles. Now it's a strange kind of awareness. It's too hard to explain, but I think that's the key.

As the car pulls away from the place I'm coming to love so much, I ask, “And the plans?”

He reaches across the car, resting his hand on my thigh while he keeps his attention on the road. “The plan is for us to go to Sabbax. Willa texted me with everything you two talked about and what we would need to do. She also offered to join us on the trip and help us out once we get there.”

A smile blooms across my face knowing that she'll be coming with us. The men are more than capable, but it'll be nice to have someone that belongs there on our side. “Don't you guys have a bye-week coming up?”

He nods as he says, “We do. In a few weeks, we'll be off for a week.” He rubs my thigh, almost as if he's in thought. “A week should be long enough.”

“It wouldn't take longer than that, would it?” I turn towards him in the confines of the car, which moves his hand further up my thigh, threatening to distract me again.

He pulls his hand back enough that it's not all I can think about before he continues, “A week here would be nearly three weeks in Sabbax. Time passes differently in each realm. Similar to your time zones, except the time actually moves differently as well. I've always found it strange that Earth is home to the creatures with the shortest life spans, but time moves faster than so many others.”

I'm trying to take in the information he's throwing at me without coffee. “So we'd be gone from here for a week, but it would feel like three weeks in the witch's realm?” He nods in confirmation. “And how different is time in Zabella…for when I'm ready to…you know…”

He squeezes my thigh to pull myself from turning to the overwhelming thoughts in my mind. “Yes, I know. And when you're ready, it passes even a little slower than in Sabbax. A week here is about four in Zabella.”

I plop back into my seat in wonder, having another moment where I don't entirely believe this is all real. “Well, I guess any time we want to take a vacation, it's smarter to visit one of the realms and get the most bang for our buck.” I have no idea why THAT is the thought that came to mind, but here we are.

His laughter fills the vehicle, and I find myself laughing with him.

“I hadn't thought of it like that, but I suppose you're right. Except for the vampire’s realm. Time moves even faster there than it does here. It's why they can move so fucking fast,” he snarls, and I can't help myself when a squeak of laughter escapes me. “And why is that so funny?” he turns to ask me, the question brewing even in his beautiful eyes.

“Oh.” I cough to try and kill the laughter. “I just…didn't realize you weren't a fan of vampires.” I try to leave it at that, but he urges me to continue by again asking why that's funny.

I narrow my eyes at him, waiting to see if it clicks. I can see him searching his thoughts for what I could be referring to, but he must come up blank.

“Lucky for you, I really was always a Team Jacob girl,” I tease.

His laughter once again fills the small space we're in, and it's so infectious I join him. I don't know how long we laugh together before spending the rest of the drive home in the most comfortable and loving silence, basking in our mate bond.

22

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