He grimaced, and I held back a laugh.
“I’ll take that as a no?”
“I’ve got a more minimalistic style, so no.”
“That’s good. This is beautiful, but I think for everyday life, it might get overstimulating.” Speaking of overstimulating, I hadn’t taken my seizure meds yet this morning. “I need to grab our toiletries bag. Time to take my meds.”
Reed turned and, spying the bags next to the door, brought me the smallest one. He watched as I popped the essential pill, not saying a word.
“Is it weird to you that I have epilepsy?”
He snorted indignantly, looking no small bit affronted by the question. “Of course not. Why would I find that weird?”
I shrugged, avoiding his gaze as I set the pill bottle next to the sink so I wouldn’t forget it tomorrow morning. “You probably always expected to be mated to a perfect she-wolf, who wouldn’t have a condition like mine.”
“Stormy, youareperfect. And that includes your epilepsy. I want to know about it so that I can better take care of you, but bother me? Absolutely not.”
He smiled, closing the distance between us to wrap me in his arms. Something inside me settled, and I leaned into the hug with a sigh. I was starting to understand why all the mated couples were always touching.
It was like being apart was the strange thing, not being together.
“There is nothing about you I don’t love.”
The deep sincerity in his voice was impossible to ignore, and somehow, a balm to all the jagged edges inside me left by the men who came before him, who saw me as less than. But if I didn’t think about something else, I was going to start crying, and that would ruin the fact that, for the first time, we were really, truly alone in this insane hotel.
“So, this Blaise has garish taste? It’s not every day you see a man in a purple velvet suit.”
He laughed, squeezing me tighter for a moment before leaning back so he could look me in the eyes. “Thank the Goddess. He’s a lot to take in, but I think you’ll find it enjoyable anyway. It’s the nighttime that makes the Zodiaque special.”
“Oh yeah? You going to tell me what’s different or make me wait to see for myself?”
His grin was devious, and I absolutely adored it. “Let’s keep it a surprise.”
“So, do we need to call the vampire, or…?”
“No, I’m expecting a representative of his any time. Any meetings will be set up in person. Carmine is older than dirt, and he’ll send a lackey before he’ll dial a phone.”
That was interesting. I hadn’t thought about the fact that ancient supernaturals might struggle with modern tech, but it kind of made sense. If you grew up in the Stone Age, you’d have seen a lot in your lifetime. Reed wasn’tthatancient, but he’d seen a lot too. Not that you’d ever know it to speak to him.
“So… what do we do in the meantime?”
The kiss he pressed to the base of my throat sent a shiver thrumming through my veins.
“How about some of thatpracticewe talked about before?”
“I… would love that, but I think we need to talk about something first.”
He pulled back, no hesitation. “Anything.”
Instead of climbing into the intimidatingly large bed, I took his hand and led him across the bedroom, opting to settle into a plush chaise longue artfully arranged beside the windows.
“I’m on birth control.”
“Ahh.”
“Yeah, you seemed weirdly surprised by that information when it came up with Elodie, and I kind of thought we should discuss it before we jumped back into bed. Is birth control not a common thing for wolves?”
He stroked the back of my hand with his thumb, even the innocent touch heating my blood and making it harder to focus on the discussion.