Page 44 of The Prince's Mate

Leaning down, I kissed him, and he returned it quickly, his lips warm and soft against mine. Maybe I should just stay. Who needed food anyway? I was sure I could manage on Caelan's kisses alone.

Ro'Shassz made a gagging sound, loudly, and I pulled away from Caelan with a huff, shooting daggers at the snake who hissed right back at me. Wow, he was in a mood today.

"What's got your panties in a twist, Ro?" Caelan teased.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe it's the fact that I spent the whole morning listening to the kid I helped raise going at it with you?" he sassed back, and Caelan's eyes widened while my cheeks heated up.

I quickly scrambled off the bed and grabbed Ro'Shassz, holding his mouth closed with my hand. "Don't be gross, Ro. You could've left."

Ro tried to speak, but all that came out was unintelligible grumbles. Reluctantly, I loosened my hold, and he glared at me. "And you could've used the silencing ward."

"There's a silencing ward here?" Caelan asked, looking around the room as if it would be visible.

"It's Damien and his mates' room. Of course there's a silencing ward," Ro said with a roll of his eyes. Dammit, I really didn't need the thought of my dads using that bed in my head.

"Come on, Ro. Let's go food shopping and leave Caelan in peace," I said, and Caelan shot me a relieved smile as I practically dragged Ro out of there.

"Ease up, kiddo," he hissed, and I sighed but let him go. He slithered up my leg, shrinking in size as he went, and then curled up into my pocket.

"Let's go!" he called out.

Poking my head into the bedroom, I blew Caelan a kiss.

He'd fallen back into the bed, and he waved at me before pulling the covers up to his chin. "Come back soon," he told me, and I smiled.

"I'll be as quick as I can," I promised. Grabbing my phone and wallet, I left the apartment, taking the stairs instead of the lift.

I was going to buy enough food to last me till next morning, and then I was going to spend every moment in bed with Caelan.

I might have to send Ro back to Otherworld for the day, though. For his own good.

Caelan

Since Walker had told me to stay in bed, that was what I did. I didn't feel sleepy, but it'd been a while since I'd just lazed about in bed, and it actually felt pretty great.

We should do this more often. Just take some days off to spend in bed. I was sure Damien wouldn't mind. Actually, I was pretty sure he'd be ecstatic at the idea of Walker and I going on a vacation.

When Celeste had first told me what Walker meant to me, I'd been terrified of Damien and his mates' reactions. I'd been so sure they'd misunderstand me or doubt my intentions toward Walker. But while it'd taken them a while to accept it, they had accepted it, accepted me.

When we returned to Otherworld, I was going to drag Damien to my gym and spend some time catching up with him. After my relationship with Walker, it was our friendship that took the brunt when I had to leave Otherworld, and now that things were good with Walker, I wanted to repair my friendship with Damientoo, to go back to the way things used to be, even if he was now technically my father-in-law.

I cringed at the thought, and I was pretty sure he would react much the same way. Then again, maybe he would get a kick out of the whole thing. It could go either way with that man.

Sighing, I turned on my front and buried my face into the pillows, breathing Walker's scent in. God, I was acting like a lovesick fool. Walker would be back soon, and then...maybe I should finally tell him the words I'd been keeping buried for a while now.

"I love you," I said out loud and then shook my head. Maybe it was too soon? For Walker, at least. I'd loved him for a long time, and I'd been in love with him for quite a while too, ever since I returned to Otherworld.

But it hadn't been long since Walker found out about us, since we actually started dating, and the last thing I wanted was to pressure him into saying something he didn't mean.

Maybe I should wait for him to say it first. It would be hard, but it had to be the better option.

Would it be completely weird if I talked to Damien about this?

My phone buzzed, and I grabbed it from the nightstand, unlocking it to find a text from Nox.

Nox: Hey, Caelan. How's the wooing going? Did Walker get his head out of his ass yet?

I chuckled at the message, turning onto my back as I typed a quick reply. Maybe I didn't need to talk to Damien, after all.

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