Page 87 of Fated Exile

"Th-thank you." He blinks at me, guileless dark eyes wide and unassuming. I don't know how I ever thought he'd be able to betray us purposefully when he can't even hide an emotion.

I'm feeling generous, so I add, "I'm on the schedule to have a date with Delilah tonight, and I've decided I'm going to surprise her. But I'll bring her home afterwards, and if she's up for it, I'll suggest she sleeps with you." I slap him on the back and push down the desire to growl at him possessively. "Maybe when she wakes up she'll be in the mood for a little fun. Just don't expect any tonight—I intend to satisfy her so thoroughly she won't be able to walk."

Bastian blinks at this, looking confused. "Why would she need to walk? She didn't when I mated with her before."

And I have to admit, he has a point.

* * *

In the evening, I return to Delilah's house after going on patrol near both the factory and the Mating Circle.

The patrol has left me frustrated, with nothing to report despite my efforts. I even dared to venture further out, near the border, only to find nothing of note—and yet, that has only set my teeth on edge further. It's impossible to fight an invisible enemy, and I'm anxious to face Delphine and sink my fangs into her once and for all.

Cat is waiting near the front door when I come in, sitting at the kitchen table with a plate full of roasted chicken, wild rice, and roasted veggies. She barely looks up at me, just motions towards the stove. "Food is ready."

"I'm actually here to pick up Delilah." She looks up at this, and checks me out from head to toe. I let her, smiling a little at her wolf whistle. "Do you think she's ready for me? We'd agreed to go out tonight, but I know she's had a long day."

"Oh, I think she'll make herself ready if she isn't already."

Kerry slides into the kitchen a moment later, her empty plate balanced on one hand and the pages of a book on another. She smiles at me sympathetically. "Delilah will be out soon. She had to take an extra long shower to scrub some of the materials we were working with out of her hair."

I raise my brows at this. "Materials?"

"Just a little of this and that."

Waving her hand in the air carelessly, Delilah's aunt nearly drops the plate, but she's rescued at the last moment by Niall, who's standing by the sink washing dishes. I watch them for a moment, enjoying the quiet camaraderie flowing through the house, only to feel a prick of awareness in the back of my mind, followed by Delilah shyly sliding out of the back hallway.

I didn't tell her where we were going or what we were doing tonight, so she's dressed somewhere between casual and fancy in a nice yet simple dress, which is just as well since I'm wearing only dark-wash jeans and a button-up shirt. Her maroon hair is pulled back, long tendrils of it cascading down her face.

But her face is just the first thing I look at. The dark red of her dress sets off her green eyes, and compliments the blush that spreads across her skin as I take her in.

I let my eyes linger on the fullness of her breasts, the satin of her dress clinging to them, two tiny delicate straps barely holding it up. A tight waistline hugs her hips and flows down to her thighs, where the hemline ends, showing off two legs that I want to dive at, spread, and bury myself between.

My wolf rumbles within me, and I feel something spark in Delilah as I trail my eyes back up her. I know my arousal must spool through the threads between us, and I let it. The wide lilt of her eyes and warm blush on her cheeks only excite me further. I trail my gaze across her soft neck and exposed shoulders, then hold my hand out and motion towards her.

"Come." The word comes out deeper and more forceful than I intended, my desire to grab her body, strip her bare, and bury myself inside her leaking into my voice. "I have plans for tonight, and we don't want to wait any longer. Though I am sorry to be skipping Cat's meal.”

Delilah's foster mother raises two delicate brows at me. "Oh, don't worry about that. I'm sure you two will find something else to eat."

I can think of a few things, some of them literally food, since I made sure to have plenty on hand for tonight. The date we're going on involves taking Delilah to my place, which I was embarrassed to realize she'd never been to, and I promised myself instantly I would fix that. Our mating connection may have been rushed by necessity, without the traditional four years of courtship and getting to know each other, but that doesn't mean we have to skip everything else.

Though I will, of course, end the evening by having my way with her, as a mate rightly should.

She puts her slim hand in mine, letting me tug her out the door, her footsteps only briefly wobbly in the strappy shoes she's wearing. We both say goodbye to her family, and I reach for the door—then pause as I spot a pair of familiar dark eyes watching me from a back hallway. Bastian is walking into the kitchen, to grab his dinner no doubt, and he eyes me with an open, curious look.

He's studying me, and I get the distinct sense that I felt his gaze on me during the Mating Ceremony as well, both interested and perfectly at ease. When I flick my eyes down towards his legs, I see a curved shadow that indicates exactly what he's thinking about.

It doesn't bother me—much. Though it does amuse me. As I shut the front door and lead Delilah down the steps to my waiting car, I reflect that there's a good chance Finn will get what he wants after all.

Somehow, I don't see the new guy objecting to the thought ofanyoverlap between him and one of Delilah's other mates. If anything, he seems interested in taking notes. And based on the way he was looking at me, going second is likely to arouse him, whereas the thought of it only frustrates and displeases me.

I want to leave my mark on Delilah.

Something I'm quite determined to do tonight—as many times as I can, without another male waiting in the wings.

* * *

"I haven't been to this side of town very often," Delilah confesses as we drive past the town square and towards the dense, central part of Juniper that counts as its midtown. "The buildings here look taller than I remember."

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