Page 17 of Delivered to My Elves

Callon whisked away my bowl, and Aerin replaced it with the most gorgeous slice of apple pie I’d ever had the pleasure to see. Golden flaky crust, apples tender and with just a hint of spice. And the vanilla bean ice cream lifted the whole experience into nirvana. My eyes closed, my entire focus on the delight melting in my mouth.

I might have moaned.

Chapter Fifteen

Callon

Misty tried to quell her yawns but they came at shorter and shorter intervals. Our mate was tired. Not only could I see it in the physical sense, but as her mate, I’d begun to pick up cues through our tiny-but-budding bond.

“What?” She laughed. “What’s that look for, Callon?”

“You’re tired, Misty. You’ve been yawning since dinner. I was smiling because you’re cute, trying to hide it.”

Her blush was immediate and struck a chord in my chest. “I’m sorry. I was trying to stay awake. I just got here.”

Aerin reached out and grasped her hand but let go quickly. “There’s nothing to be sorry for. Can we escort you to your room?”

She nodded. “Of course.”

We walked behind her until we reached her room. She stepped inside and turned around. Goddess, my resolve of not touching her until she wanted us to crumbled by the second and would completely obliterate if she gave us the slightest hint of want.

“I…” she started. “Are we supposed to start tonight? Trying to get pregnant?”

With one of my hands, I grabbed the frame of the door. For us, this would be more than getting her pregnant or having a family. She was our mate now. When we had her for the first time, it would be us solidifying the bond—making love to our mate.

She had no idea what she was offering so freely.

“We have time, sweet female.” My body vibrated with need. Not all sexual. I would’ve given anything to simply go into her room, her den, and offer her comfort and safety as she slept. Butthat wasn’t part of the deal we’d made before she arrived—before we knew she belonged to us. “Get your rest. You’ve had a long day.”

“Oh…okay. Good night, then.”

We stood there for a few moments. We stared into her deep-brown eyes and she flicked her gaze between the two of us. Her blush had spread to her neck and the top of her chest. I would bet it fingered out all the way to her breasts.

“We’ll see you in the morning, Misty,” Aerin said and was the first to break this standoff between us. I followed him. Hearing her bedroom door close made me release a long breath.

“Bourbon?” I asked as we made our way to the living room.

“Please.”

I poured two glasses and handed one to him. Our mate was a shifter and so, in this house, there wouldn’t be a place we could talk with the surety of not being heard. Wasn’t her fault she had preternatural hearing. The burden of privacy, if we wanted it, was on us.

Aerin, of course, read my mind and I trailed behind him out the front door and sat beside him on the front porch.

We sipped from our glasses and let the winter wind chill us out.

“Shouldn’t she know if she was our mate? She’s a shifter. They don’t glow except to us, but they have the sense. She only glows for us.”

Aerin shook his head. I knew my bond brother. “Yes? I don’t know. I’m still reeling over the facts. She came here to be a breeder and now she’s our mate. What if that’s all she wants, Callon? What if being a breeder and a mother to our children is as far as it goes for her?”

I sighed. I’d thought about the possibility as well. “Nothing changes for me.”

“How? How? Everything changes now that she’s our mate.”

Shrugging, I shook my head. “Not for us. We will treat her as we planned to. With love. With respect—honor. Care. Honesty. Trust. In my mind, she’s my mate and I will treat her like we are in a bonded, marked relationship.”

“I will too.” We drank our bourbon and sat there, watching some of the elves around the colony go about their night chores. “Of course, I will. I’m gonna love her as hard and deeply as she’ll let me.”

I chuckled, thinking about how damned lucky we were. “She’s beautiful when she blushes.”

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