Page 34 of Saving Lauren

I sniff. “Don’t make me cry.”

D’Var just holds me close, his scent and his warmth make me relax. I take a deep breath, then one more. The mark sucks, but I am safe and back home. I carefully free myself from his arms.

“It will be fine,” I firmly state. “I am safe and I’m with you. That is good enough for now.” I yawn. “Time for a shower?”

CHAPTER 18

D’Var

“Iam taking L’Ren to bed," I tell my crew. I lift L’Ren off the bed and carry her to our room.

“You know, I think I can walk now,” she tells me, I just grunt and stalk towards the hallway. I make it to our room in no time and go straight towards the shower. I put her down and she tentatively takes some steps.

“Are you okay in here, L’Ren?” I ask. Worry clouding my mind. I want to give her privacy, but I do not think I can bear to be apart from her. I take two steps towards the door when she makes a small whimper.

“D’Var?” she softly says. “What is happening right now, my chest hurts by the thought of you leaving the room, I literally can’t bear to be apart from you.”

Walking back to her, taking her hands in mine. I kiss her fingers, not caring how dirty they are.

“This is the bond, my Zarra. It suffered when you were taken, and it is trying to repair itself.” She swallows and then she looks at me.

“Stay, D’Var. Please stay with me,” she says.

I nod and I bend down to kiss her lips. “I will start the shower, so you can relieve yourself, is that ok?”

She blushes and bites her lip as she nods her agreement.

The shower is short and clinical. We are both exhausted, the bond is riding me hard to take care of her, to show her a softer side of me. When we are both dry I dress her in one of her long shirts, then put on my sleeping pants.

She yawns and I lift her up, put her under the covers then slide in next to her. I let out a sigh of relief. When I feel her contentment settling inside of me through our bond, I know that I am finally whole.

Lauren

I wake up the next morning feeling warm and well rested. I snuggle into D’Var’s hold, not wanting to open my eyes. I feel his morning erection poking into me, only to realize that is not the only thing I feel. I feel… contentment, sleepiness, but also worry.

“D’Var?” I murmur.

“Yes, my mate,” he replies.

“Are you worrying about something?”

“I worry about you,” he says pulling me even closer. “I worry how you are feeling, I worry if your leg has healed right, and I wonder how you are feeling after those fucking Sterno took you.”

I blink when my ordeal comes back to me, engulfing me with sadness. D’Var gasps.

“I… I feel you inside of me, L’Ren,” he exclaims in wonder. Chasing away my overwhelming sadness with his surprise.

“Can you feel me?” I ask.

“Yes, I can,” he nuzzles my neck. “Being able to feel your mates’ feelings is the first step in completing the bond.” He pauses to kiss my neck.

“What happens next?” I wonder.

“Feelings, then thoughts. At first it will be harder to control, we will broadcast everything to each other. That will fade with time and training.”

“So we can be in each other’s head, only when we want to?” I ask.

He nods. “Yes, though if thoughts or feelings are overwhelming, you probably will broadcast them anyway.”

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