Page 65 of Same Difference
His words made perfect sense to her. Delta reached for him, and he dropped the rag on the floor and pulled her into a hug.
“Don’t throw me away again,” she whispered thickly.
“Never.” He cupped her cheeks and eased back, searching her eyes. “I’ll never throw you away again. I know what that feels like. I’ll never put us through it again. It’s you and me.”
“We can’t be Arranged again,” she murmured, a drop of moisture falling out of the corner of her eye.
“Then we’ll do it old school. Even if we can’t register as a mated pair, it will be real to us. You want a ring? Show me pictures of what you like. We can get married like the humans do. You want a claiming mark like the Old Ones did? We can do that too. You are mine, Delta. You were mine from the first time I saw you. I just didn’t know what it meant. I wasn’t ready. Not really.”
“You’re ready now?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
She pursed her lips against the mushy smile as he wiped the moisture from the side of her eye. “I’m ready too.”
“Then say it.”
“Say what?”
“Say you forgive me. I need it. I can’t sleep without it. I can’t eat. I can’t think. Set me free.”
“You’re free,” she said, repeating the words she’d said to him before. Only this time, they meant something good. They meant something bigger. He was free of the guilt. “I forgive you. I won’t make you pay for it anymore.”
He pulled her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss there, then cupped her cheek, rubbing it with his thumb. “We’re going to do this.”
The stretch of her smile felt so damn good as she rested her hand against his, keeping him here, just like this. She wished she had a camera too. She wished she could capture a picture that would do the love etched into his face justice.
“Do you think we should go back to the Pack meeting?” she asked.
“Hell no,” he said through a grin. “Fuck the Pack tonight. I’m going to make us dinner and fuck you again here in a couple of hours.” He stood and made his way to her duffle bag and pulled out his oversized T-shirt that was still stuffed in there. He brought it back to her and spread it out over her hips like a blanket, then grabbed a pillow and settled it under her cheek.
She watched the strong planes of his back as he built a fire across the room.
“You have no clothes.”
“I have some in my truck,” he murmured.
“Maybe you should keep some clothes here,” she offered softly, testing.
He cast her a look over his shoulder. “Do you want to shop for a house with me?”
She shook her head ‘no’ and watched the hope cool in his eyes. He returned his attention to the fire he was lighting.
“I want us to live here.”
He looked back at her again, and the hope was back. “This den is your choice?”
She smiled and nodded. “Our den. We could fix it up together. I feel like I found myself while I’ve been here. I like when you are here too. It feels right having you here with me. I like it even better than your last house. That den was yours. This one, we can build up together. This one is for us.”
He looked around the room and stood. Nathan inhaled deeply and ran his hand down his beard. He nodded. “I can fix it up for you. I can talk to Liam about what it would cost to buy it. We can make it work.”
“Offering me rings, and making promises,” she teased. “I think you like me after all.”
The door of the wood stove was still open, and the flickering fire cast gold highlights across his skin. He looked like a demigod here.
“I like you after all,” he agreed. “I want to know everything about you.”
“Will you be patient if I ask if you’re okay?”
