Page 83 of Wolves & Watercolors
“What are you doing?” Hazel asks. Marigold breaks into a round of giggles.
“Making my red sauce,” she says, scowling as she turns back into the kitchen.
“Sorry, can we help?” Marigold chokes out.
Crickett turns back and narrows her eyes. “Alright, get in here.”
She puts us to work chopping tomatoes, mincing garlic, and washing fresh herbs. Hazel stands in the corner and sways to keep Timber sleeping.
We’re still cooking when the boys find us. Jasper comes in first, a charming smile softening his features when he sees his partner with tomato guts on the apron that hangs over her belly. Slate is next, and he goes to Hazel silently, kissing her soundly before peering down at his daughter.
“We’re going to bed. Good night!” Hazel calls, following her mate out.
“Good, clear out my kitchen,” Crickett says, shooing us out.
“Can I stay?” Ember asks, crossing her arms defiantly.
Crickett softens. “Of course. Here, check on the caramelizing onions, will you?”
We leave them to cook, following Jasper and Marigold out of the diner’s kitchen and down the metal steps.
“How did you guys end up cooking in the diner during girls’ night?” Cedar asks quietly.
Shrugging, I wrap my hand around his arm. “No clue. We were trying to pilfer snacks. You know how I get without enough snacks.”
He looks down at me, his expression analytical. Without warning, he scoops me up.
“I can walk!”
“But I like holding you,” he says.
We pass the skeletal structure of our new cabin and head into the trailer we still occupy. “Did you check the art show?” he asks, setting me on our bed.
My mouth falls open. How could I overlook my show tonight? It’s my third one since moving, and each one was bigger than the last. Nerves churn in my stomach until I’m nauseous. “I can’t believe I forgot.”
He hands me our shared laptop and I log into the online bidding system. Scrolling through, I pause when we reach my pieces. “Holy shit!”
Cedar peers over my shoulder. “Your work is the best thing in that gallery. I bet the price gets even higher.”
“Either way, this is incredible.” I blink at the screen. Jarrod wasn’t kidding when he said he could sell my work for triple, but this is way more than triple.
“You deserve it,” Cedar says, his hand lingering on the top of the laptop screen. Taking my hands off the keyboard, I allow him to close it. He sets it aside before leaning over me and placing a kiss on my cheek, and then one on the corner of my mouth. I turn, seeking his lips with my own.
“My beautiful mate,” he growls, moving his mouth to my throat and licking over the claim mark. My hand goes to his jaw, tilting his head so I can get a good look at the magical tattoo I accidentally manifested across his skin. It’s grown over the last few months, the vine dripping down over his collarbone. I don’t mean to push any magic into him, but it tends to happen when we are intimate.
Hungry to see more, I tug his shirt off. My fingers trail over the mark, and then down over his newest tattoos. Splashes of watercolor cover his pec, swirling down to connect with the botanicals inked across his ribs.
His hand goes to my hip, his thumb rubbing over the tattoo of his paw print that Slate applied a week after we moved in together.
“I love you,” I say, smiling at his glowing dusty blue eyes.
“Me too,” he says, lifting the edge of my shirt. I raise my arms, allowing him to strip it off.
“Show me.”
His touch ignites a burning low in my stomach, stoking the buzz of my magic. The forest around the trailer is growing out of control, but I can’t help it. As he lays me back and strips me bare, I release some of it through the trailer and into the grass and brush around us, spreading it as wide as I can to temper the results.
“That feels good,” he murmurs, reacting to the sensation of my magic through our bond. The last of the excess magic drains out of me, leaving gaping desire. Feeling my need through our bond as strongly as my magic, Cedar’s movements become frenzied as we come together. His utter devotion leaves me breathless.
