Page 16 of Mated

“You’re not going to tell me?”

“I’m going to tell you everything,” he says. “But you are half-asleep, and I want you to be entirely asleep. You need your rest. There’s plenty of time to explain all the intricacies. I doubt you’d take it all in now anyway.”

Even if I wasn’t feeling like I’d been run over by a truck, I wouldn’t have the nerve to go against Cain’s will. I can sense his mood, and I think maybe I understand what he means when he says he can feel my intentions. I can feel his as well. Right now, for instance, there is a silent response to my little rebelliousfeeling. He arches a brow at me ever so slightly and crooks a finger.

I get that tingling feeling in my lower belly and between my legs again as I get up to do as I am told. Moving feels quite terrible. I ate dinner with the blanket wrapped around me, and I take the pseudo-garment with me as I follow him back to a bedroom.

CHAPTER 4

Cain

I will feel much better once I have her off to sleep. She ate well, which is good, but I know her body has a great deal more recovering to do. The next few days will bring a lot of coddling for her. I am looking forward to looking after her. In just a few hours, she has become the entirety of my world.

There is infatuation, there is love, and then there is what I am feeling right now, complete and obsessive devotion. I cannot stop looking at her, memorizing every line of her face, every quirk of her micro-expressions. I like the way she flushes a little when she glances up and sees me looking at her, and the way her cheek dimples slightly when she smiles. She is an entire universe of beauty, and I want to appreciate every bit of it.

She walks with slow, pained steps, so I scoop her up into my arms and carry her to the bed, tucking her in under the blankets. She smiles up at me shyly and tries to hide a yawn unsuccessfully.

“I don’t think I’m tired,” she lies in the way little girls who want to stay up late always lie.

I understand how she feels. Going to sleep when there is this connection to be enjoyed does seem perverse.

“Get settled, and I will explain some of the history of our species to you, so you can understand who you really are, and why you only discovered as much today.”

That is a good deal, and of course she accepts it.

At that moment, my phone rings. I debate not answering it, but I see it is my brother, and I know I can’t ignore it. Something might be wrong somewhere that will matter at some point.

“Yes, Abel?”

“Bardo has been to see me. He says your mate is a DD?”

I glance down at Kira. She is listening to everything I am saying, and she can probably hear the voice on the phone too.

“We can talk about this tomorrow,” I say.

“We can talk about it now. I’m downstairs.”

“Then go home.”

“I’m not going home. This is big, Cain, and you know it. We need to discuss how we are going to handle this.”

“Tomorrow.”

Abel is the most stubborn person in the world besides me. I can tell by the stony silence at the end of the line that if I don’t go down, he’s going to come up, and I don’t want him or anybodyelse in the apartment with Kira and me. I want her to go to sleep. I want her to recuperate. I want her all to myself.

“Don’t go anywhere,” I say to her, pulling on a shirt and some pants quickly. I lock the apartment securely even though I know she is in her human form and not likely to bolt again.

I find Abel in the parking lot beneath the building. We cannot conduct pack conversations on phones that can easily be tapped, and we certainly can’t talk inside the apartment where Kira could hear something that would hurt her feelings.

Abel is leaning against his Dodge Charger, his arms folded across his chest, his expression solemn.

“Is it true?”

“It is.”

He lets out a low whistle and shakes his head. “My big bad brother’s fated mate is a dilute domestic.”

“Careful,” I warn him. “I won’t tolerate any disrespect. She is my mate. It’s done.”

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