Page 39 of Reclaiming Home

We went inside and he hid the gun in the bedside table drawer on my side of the bed. Carys wouldn’t look in there.

“We’ll need to have a better place for it,” I told him quietly as the shower turned off in the bathroom.

“A gun safe would be great to have.” His cheeky little grin made me roll my eyes fondly.

“I wonder where you’d get one of those.”

“I dunno,” he deadpanned, then snickered.

We took turns showering, and then went to bed. Carys was out like a light, her psyche was still healing—she and Kye were going to look into therapists the next day—and I tried my best to settle as well.

I couldn’t, though. I had a shower fresh Kye next to me, his natural scent mingling with some herby shower gel that was one of the milder ones that people who lived with wolves often used. I’d seen the bottle in the shower. It was a new one, which meant he would’ve bought it when they went shopping together.

I wondered how much of the fluttery, falling-for-him feeling was the mate bond and how much came from the fact that he was wonderful. He was physically appealing to me, of course, but he was also such a good, thoughtful person.

Sighing, I turned to lie down on my back.

“What’s troubling you?” Kye whispered quietly.

He moved closer to me until I lifted my arm so he could cuddle against my side and put his head on my shoulder.

“Nothing,” I murmured back and squeezed him closer. “Not anymore.”

He thought about my response for a few seconds, then lifted his head to make eye contact.

The light that we always had on during the night illuminated his features. He seemed to be considering something, then his shoulder jerked up a little as if he was shrugging.

Before I knew it, he’d pressed his lips to mine in a chaste kiss.

I let out a quiet, wounded sound and had no way to prevent my whole being from latching onto the connection. My fingers slid into his hair, my hand cupping the back of his head as I held him to my lips.

Neither of us tried to deepen the kiss, but we stayed like that for several seconds, just concentrating on the sensation.

Then I pulled my hand back and opened my eyes. He opened his at the same time, and we smiled at each other a bit stupidly.

He lowered his head back to my shoulder, then moved until it was on my chest before wrapping his arm around me.

“Good night,” he whispered.

“The best,” I whispered back.

I could feel his silent little chuckle in the vibration of his body against mine, and closed my eyes, smiling. The happiness in my chest, in my wolf, was indescribable.

Chapter Ten

Kye

Iwoke up when Brodie slid out of bed and went into the bathroom to get his very early morning started.

Moving to his spot, I stretched carefully so I wouldn’t wake Carys. She’d had some nightmares, and I wondered if they’d come from meeting the cousins. She’d only seen them through the window before, but they must’ve been a reminder of the time before Brodie arrived, which would easily mess up with her mind enough to give her bad dreams.

Deciding to be useful, I got out of bed and padded downstairs in bunny slippers Carys had insisted on getting me. I went to the coffee maker and patted myself on the back for having bought some travel mugs for when we’d need drinks at hand during the renovation.

I made a quadruple espresso in a mug, then poured in enough milk to balance it out and turn it into a very tall latte. Werewolves didn’t get caffeine hits as easily as humans, just like their body and brain chemistry didn’t react to alcohol and narcotics the same way. I was sure Brodie would appreciate the caffeine as soon as he got on the road.

Then I realized the cousins would be traveling with him, and started on two other mugs as well.

“There you are.” He walked to me to see what I was doing. “Coffee?”

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