Page 41 of Silver
My body tingled everywhere, and I wasn’t sure how long it was before I felt myself being laid down on our sides. Silver wrapped his arms around me, one under my neck and the other around my shoulders. “I love you,” Silver said before I felt him kiss the back of my head.
I sighed. “I love you too.” It never failed. When Silver knotted me, I became sleepy. I wasn’t sure if it was because I knew we would be here for a bit or if it was something else. We were incredibly vulnerable at the moment, but I never felt safer than when I was with him like this.
“I’ll always protect you, no matter what.”
I smiled. I knew he would. Not only was he an alpha, but he was just a good person. Sure, he was cranky at times with others, but I’d yet to see that side of him. And definitely not directed at me personally. “I’m trying not to fall back asleep. We just woke up, and there’s a lot to do today.”
Silver kissed my hair again. “Take a nap. I’ll clean up when my knot goes down. We’ll get things done, even if it’s later in the day.”
It was too tempting, and my body was warm, safe, and sated. I gave in and let the drowsiness claim me.
Chapter Seventeen
Silver
Take two of meeting up with Sam. Last Sunday would have been the first time meeting my new sister-in-law and her mate, but things just hadn’t worked out. I was thankful that she and her baby were both all right, but I was still a bit apprehensive about meeting her. It just seemed as if she was a younger version of Ma, and, well, I didn’t really want another Ma in my life. One was more than enough.
Although, I would say that Sam didn’t seem to bother Charlie too much. Not that I needed to know every time he talked to his sister, but he’d been open with the fact that he’d only chatted with her twice since we’d claimed each other.
“Are you ready?” Charlie asked as he walked into the kitchen.
“As ready as I’m going to be. How about you?” I reached for Charlie and pulled him into my arms. He’d been antsy all day, and I knew it was because we were having lunch with Sam and Justin.
“I’m okay. Well, I think I am.” Charlie took a deep breath and let it out before he leaned his forehead against my chest. “I just want her to like you. It really doesn’t matter to me if she does or doesn’t. That won’t change you being my mate. But it will make family dinners easier.”
I chuckled. “Very true. They are awkward enough as it is. Well, let’s get this done with, and then we can spend the day doing something else. I don’t know…maybe you can go show me around the zoo.”
Charlie looked up at me, his eyes filled with excitement. “Really? I didn’t think you liked zoos.”
I shrugged. “I understand the reason for them. The zoo here is important to you, and that means I want to know more about it. I figured who better to show me around the zoo than my mate? I’m not asking for a backroom pass or anything like that. But a personal tour would be enjoyable.”
Charlie bounced on his feet a bit, something I’d noticed that he did when he was excited. I found it cute, and it was a giveaway that he was excited about something.
“That’s perfect. I don’t know that we’ll have time to see the entire zoo today, but there are a few exhibits that I would love to show you, mine being the first.”
I smiled down at my mate. He had planned on showing me right after we’d claimed each other and I’d taken him lunch, but things had been too hectic there with everyone congratulating us or wanting to be introduced to me.
“What do you say? We go have lunch with your sister and her mate and then use the fact that we have plans as an excuse to not sit and chitchat for too long?” I wasn’t against meeting Sam, nor was I trying to avoid her. But Charlie and I both had to go back to work tomorrow morning, and although we’d skipped the family meal for my family this week, we still had to meet up withSam and Justin. My gorilla was a bit irritated because they were taking away from the last bit of my time with my mate.
“I think that’s perfect. And Sam won’t want to go because that’s too much walking.”
I chuckled and shook my head. “You don’t have to tell her where we’re going. She only needs to know we have other plans. Even if we just decided on them, it’s not her business if we aren’t going to spend several hours with her. Does she clear every place she and Justin go with you?”
“No. And you’re absolutely right. I love my sister, and she’s done so much for me, but yeah, she can be a bit much since she and Justin mated.”
“Come on. We’ll go to the restaurant, have a nice lunch, and then go hang out at the zoo. Then we can pick up takeout for supper and spend the rest of the evening cuddled up together.” Tomorrow morning was going to come early, but we knew it was coming. It had been nice to spend a week with Charlie, just the two of us in our own little bubble for a bit, but responsibilities were real, and we both had to return to work.
“Do you know what you’re having?” Charlie asked as we left the house.
“Not a clue. What’s your favorite from there?” I couldn’t recall going to the restaurant where we were having lunch with Sam and Justin. It had been one that Justin had recommended since it was closer to their place. I’d discovered that they lived on the other side of Whispering Pines, which I’d found a bit odd at first. That was until Charlie told me that Sam had moved into Justin’s place since it was bigger than hers. They’d sold their childhood home and split the proceeds.
“I don’t know,” Charlie said. “I’ve never been there.” I couldn’t help it; I laughed at that. “What? I’ve not. It’s somewhere that I guess Justin and the others from his shop go to all the time.”
“Well, I guess we’ll both be a bit clueless together.”
I helped Charlie into the truck, and then we were on our way after I climbed in. Charlie was a bit quiet on the drive across town, and I left him to his thoughts. They were bouncing from being nervous about this lunch date with his sister to the dread of going back to work in the morning. That one stuck with me, and I was going to ask him about it later after we’d settled in for the evening. If Charlie was dreading going into work, maybe he wasn’t as happy there as I’d thought?
Soon enough, we were at the restaurant, and after I found a parking spot, I parked and turned a bit toward Charlie. “Do you see their vehicle?”
