Page 157 of The Broken Aztec Princesses

“Hmm. Smells like pecan pie to me.” I shrugged and cuddled closer. I hadn’t slept at all last night, so sleep claimed me quickly.

The dream I had was weird, but not unpleasant. I was in a field behind the pack house. It was night time and the full moon was high in the sky. The temperature was mild and I could hear wolves running everywhere around me. I kept expecting fear to hit me, but I was fine. I walked to the edge of the forest and sat on the cliff overlooking the river that ran between Crescent Moon and Guardian Moon, and lay back to watch the stars. For a dream, this one was rather boring and serene.

“Wake up, Little Warrior,” Chris’ voice in my ears brought me out of the dream.

“Hi,” I whispered when I opened my eyes and found him looking down at me.

“You have a good dream? You were smiling.”

“It was... nice? I was just laying on the grass, looking up at the stars.” I pulled my hand up and brushed the hair from his face.

“Will you choose me today?” he asked.

“Yes,” I answered immediately, puckering up my lips to accept my kiss, but he didn’t bend. “Don’t cheap out on me, man. Where’s my kiss?”

He laughed. He tried to bend down to kiss me, but pulled back up because he was laughing too hard. I smiled, patiently waiting for my kiss, but the man couldn’t stop laughing.

“I love you,” he told me before finally giving me my kiss.

My heart sang at his words. I pulled him down until he was leaning on his elbows, deepening the kiss. He was careful not to put his weight on me because he didn’t want to crush me, but Iwanted to feel him. If I couldn’t have him the way I wanted him, I needed to feel his body on mine. Before I could pull him down to where I wanted him, Chris pulled his lips from my mouth and trailed small kisses down my neck, then he buried his face in my neck, breathing heavily.

“Why do seagulls fly over the sea?” he asked, giving my neck a tiny kiss.

“Why?”

“Because if they flew over the bay, they would be bagels.”

I bit my lip, though I could feel my whole body trying to shake to let go of the laugh. He pulled his head from my shoulder, and looked down at me.

“No laugh?” he asked.

I shook my head, unable to speak without giggling. He narrowed his eyes at me, and then sat back on his knees and started tickling me.

“No! Stop!” I cried, unable to control the bubbles of laughter as he tortured me mercilessly.

He lay down on the bed as I tried to catch my breath. He pulled me to his side.

“What time is it?” I asked a few minutes later.

“Almost nine,” he answered, drawing little circles on my lower back, lazily.

“Last night for Elim. What are we going to do for him?”

“I forgot it’s the full moon, so he said he just wanted to hang out. He said Lu—Bells told him he could set his projector in the little living room up here, while Cade celebrates the new pack grounds with his pack.”

“You texted him already?” I asked.

“No. The potion is still working for a few more hours. I mind-linked him before I woke you up.”

“How are your hands?” I suddenly asked.

He brought up his free hand. He’d removed the bandages already and, while there were a couple of raised lines, it was already healed.

“Good job, Titan.” I patted the solid chest in front of me.

“I’ll go shower and then we’ll go sneak some food from the celebration?” he asked.

“Sounds like a plan. I’m famished.”

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