Page 129 of Crossed Fates
My breathless state gave her the opportunity to wiggle over my shoulder. I shouldn’t have been shocked when she grasped the waist of my jeans and flipped her legs up and over—essentially doing a backbend and landing on her feet behind me.
I choked out a laugh—just as I finally inhaled enough oxygen—as she sauntered into the kitchen, her hips and luscious ass swaying enticingly behind her.
My body already burned to feel our naked skin pressed together, to taste her delicious pussy, to experience the bliss of sliding in and out of her tight center.
I considered making another grab for her and dragging her back to the bedroom like a caveman, but she headed straight for the coffee maker. I paused to consider her, my instinct to care for my mate overriding my lust.
My wolf pushed hard for me to give in to the animalistic urges, but something about the vibes coming off of Makayla caused him to back off. It had been a long damn day, leaving us both exhausted. I’d been privy to her every emotion during her captivity, and while she’d been her usual badass self, she’d also had moments of terror for herself and for the other girls.
Although, I knew she’d never admit it out loud, so I allowed her a moment to gain comfort from her caffeine addiction. When she finished, I’d comfort her via my preferred method.
I followed her into the kitchen and gently guided her to the table, urging her to sit. She sank heavily into the chair and sighed.
I filled the machine with enough beans to make it black and strong, the way we both liked it.
When I finished and turned around, the lines around her eyes and the pucker on her forehead set my desire to the back of my mind, replaced by worry. While I waited for the machine to brew, I took a seat across from her.
“Are you all right?” Even the toughest person would have scars from what we went through last night.
She nodded, but I wasn’t satisfied. I sensed her turmoil through our bond, as well as her need to let it out in order to heal.
“Talk to me,” I commanded softly. I wanted to be gentle, but I also wouldn’t take no for an answer.
Alaric
Makayla blew out a breath.“Just thinking through everything. The auctions. The girls. I should have picked up on it sooner, you know? It was all related.”
“You sensed that relation.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t follow it all the way through. And to find out the trafficking wasn’t even the main scheme?” Her lips twisted to the side, and she shook her head. “It’s a bit of a blow. Because it shows there will always be layers to everything. And I’ve spent all this time focused on one aspect of crime, without factoring in the others. So I missed the obvious link.”
“You didn’t miss anything,” I argued. “You found the initial links. That’s what matters.”
“But we lost lives in the process.”
“And that will always happen,” I told her. “That doesn’t make it our fault, though. It makes it the faults of the monsters out there like Bortex.”
Just thinking about what he did to Savannah, to me, and to Makayla had me wishing we could have prolonged his death.
Alas, he’d died with a hell of a lot of bullets inside him. And Jude would be cremating the son of a bitch to ensure he didn’t return.
“Yeah, I know you’re right,” she said. “I’m just… I’m thinking about how my life is going to change. Not just for work stuff, and jobs, but also leaving my family. I might not have gone home often, but we were still close.”
I frowned, afraid of the direction this conversation might take. “Are you considering going back to your old home?”
She’d shared a heartfelt goodbye with Nathan and Asher before we’d left, and I hadn’t sensed any hesitation in her. Hell, I’d been the most hesitant of the pair because they intended to take Savannah back to their home realm. They had some advanced therapies they felt would help her. There was also her whole wavering link that I still sensed inside the hive mind, like she wasn’t meant to be here.
I wondered if that was what Nathan had felt about Makayla all these years. Had she blinked in and out, too? Her life strand connecting to me and my pack rather than her own?
She fingered the amulet around her neck and moved her head from side to side without hesitation, similar to what I’d observed from her goodbyes earlier. “I have the ability to visit, but I’m still a world away from them. Literally.”
Thank fuck for that, I thought, momentarily appeased by her acceptance to stay.
Her lips twitched, having heard my relief. But she didn’t comment on it, instead inhaling deeply as she considered me.
“It’s just a lot at once. The fully developed bond between true mates can be overwhelming, not that I have any regrets. I mean, it’s the most real and incredible thing I’ve ever felt, but it will still take some getting used to. Especially this whole hive-mind thing. Not to mention figuring out how to balance it all—my duties to our pack and my need to help humans.”
The coffee maker beeped, and she stood before I could. She headed over to take out a mug and fill it with steaming liquid while I silently observed her graceful movements. One of the most attractive things about my mate was her complete obliviousness to how fucking sexy she was doing even the smallest things.
