Page 84 of Losing My Siren Luna
He makes an unidentifiable face, then picks up a grape and pops it in his mouth.
“Mmmh. It's really sweet. You should try one.”
He presses one to my lips, and I end up eating it, feeling shy as he personally feeds me. He feeds each of us a few more grapes, and even somehow gets me to eat a few bites of a cookie before I have to stop him and tell him that I can’t eat any more. He looks quite smug with himself, and I realize he played me to get me to eat more food.
Maybe he wants me heavier? Maybe I’m too skinny for him? Leona was heavier in the hips and chest than me. A lot heavier. Like she said, I don’t have a desirable body for men. Maybe Lachlan likes a curvier woman, and is trying to help me meet his expectations.
That thought makes my overfilled stomach turn with unease. I was just feeling cherished and a little more certain about this new life, but now I have doubts once again.
“Are you alright, my wife?” Lachlan asks.
I hurried to fake a smile. “I’m fine. Just full and tired.”
He stared at me for a moment, trying to read my face. He then stands with a sigh, holding his hands out for me to take.
“Bed time it is, then. Unless your stomach is too full to sleep, then we could maybe take a brief walk through the halls?”
“No, I’m ready for bed,” I grinned quickly to hide my unease, taking his hands. He leads me over to the bed and pulls the covers back, kneeling and helping to remove my slippers like yesterday. He arranges the blankets around me before going around, blowing out the candles and lamps around the room before coming to lay beside me.
We lay in silence for a few minutes after Lachlan blew out the last lamp on his nightstand.
“Lira?” Lachlan’s deep, masculine voice fills the dark space, making the hair stand up on the back of my neck.
“Yes?”
“Can I hold you? I will do nothing else. I just want to fall asleep with you in my arms.”
I bite my lip, anxiety making my chest feel like it is swelling. “Just holding me? Like, hugging me?” I clarified, knowing holding me could have different meanings.
“Just hugging you from behind. I want nothing more than to go to sleep with you in my arms every night, and wake up the same way. I really won’t do anything else.”
I feel nervous, but Val is screaming for me to say yes, not having enough of her mate, I guess. The bond is making my skin itch from his request, wanting nothing more than to fill it.
“Okay,” I whispered meekly.
I feel the bed move beneath me as Lachlan moves closer to me. His strong arms wrap around me, one arm sliding under my shoulders and the other resting on my waist. My breath hitches for a second, but then evens out as his touch satisfies the bond.
“Goodnight, Elelira,” Lachlan whispered hoarsely in my ear, his voice raw and gravelly.
“Goodnight, Lachlan,” I husked back, then let the bond soothe me to sleep.
~
“Here, princess!” Cedric calls to me cheekily, swimming in loops around me in the water. I tried to keep up with him, but I kept getting frustrated and gave up. Without my fins, I just don’t have the strength or stamina.
I envy him for his freedom in the open sea and his being able to dive deep below the water’s surface to a depth where I can no longer see him. The water is majestic from below. The sun’s rays glittering the surface above fade to clear, cool currents teaming with life.
“Will you quit trying to scare me, Cedric? I know there is nothing down there that can hurt me.”
“And how would you know that?” He asks, lifting an eyebrow.
Oh no. I keep slipping up. “I just know. If there was, you wouldn’t be letting me swim out here, would you?”
His expression slips back into his easy smile. “No, I wouldn’t. You are right.”
I keep almost slipping up and letting it be revealed that I have lived this life already. Well, not this life. This life is far different from my first. The past week has proved that.
It’s been a week, and not only have I not felt betrayal pains, I have been living quite comfortably as the wife of the pack’s Alpha. I’m being treated as the true Luna, not just by Cherum and the Luna’s guard, but by everyone. Even Lachlan.
