Page 26 of Briggs
“We both have pasts, and although the circumstances of them are drastically different, I do not think less of you, nor do I find you repulsive or unattractive in any way because of yours. You are incredibly strong to have gone through what you did and to be able to even consider becoming intimate with me.”
Todd gave me a look. “But you’re my mate. Mates are…I’ve seen the alphas with the omegas in the clinic. They’re so sweet and caring with them. I’ve seen them at the bakery and the store. Same thing. Even the enforcers who rescued me and the others. They’re nice and…okay, there’s Cecil’s mate. He’s a bit scary-looking, and he’s growly and looks like he could squash anyone on the mountain.”
I had to hold in laughter because I knew that Cecil’s mate was Warwick, and yes, the hellhound was all of those things. But he was also a complete marshmallow and was absolute fluff when it came to Cecil and their twins.
I pulled into the lot at the cabin, and after parking, I shut off the truck and looked at Todd. “Are you ready to head back up to Treasure Ridge?”
“Yeah,” Todd said. He rubbed his hands down his thighs before quickly opening the door and sliding out. I was left trying to catch up with him. When I did, instead of reaching for him like I wanted, I held back and placed my hands in the pockets of my jeans. Timothy was already waiting when we arrived, and I wasn’t sure how he knew, except maybe he saw the headlights or something?
“Heading up?” Timothy asked.
“Yes,” Todd said. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“Do you always work? Like, when do you sleep?”
Timothy chuckled. “I’m actually just about off for the next several days. You’ll have someone else here, but I’m not sure exactly who. My One and I are heading off on holiday, and we’ll be away for ten days.”
“Have fun,” I told him as I reached for Todd’s hand.
“That is the plan. She wants to go on a cruise, and, well, I can’t deny her anything. She’s been trying to decide for close to a year which one she wants to take, and she finally decided on one going to Spain and Rome, so that’s where we’re going.”
“That sounds like fun,” Todd said.
Timothy smiled at us. “I hope so. I’ll see the two of you when we return. Maybe you will have news to share then.” Timothy winked, and then we were back on the mountain in the transport building.
Todd looked up at me, and I could tell he was confused. “What do you think he meant? What news could we have?”
I chuckled. “Well, we’re mates, and we just met, so maybe he was referring to the fact that by the time he returns, we’ll have claimed one another.” I opened the door, and after Todd walkedthrough, I exited behind him. “I’m that way, over behind the clinic. I’m told you live down that way,” I said, pointing to our left.
“I am.”
I glanced off in the direction of Todd’s house, and before I could say more, Todd leaned in and placed his hands on my sides.
“Don’t ask me to go home,” he said. “Even if we don’t do more than talk, can we go to your place? I’ll leave when you want me to, but I’m not ready to say goodbye just yet. I want to talk more. We didn’t get to learn a whole lot about each other at the restaurant.”
I looked down at Todd. The temptation to kiss him was almost overwhelming, and when my wolf said to go for it, I did. Well, sort of. I leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on Todd’s forehead. “We can go to my place. I was going to ask if you wanted to talk some more. And maybe we can go for a run later. Or perhaps tomorrow morning?”
Todd smiled. “I’d like that. But I don’t run on the mountain after dark.”
I nodded. I was sure there was a reason, and maybe we’d get to the point that Todd would run with me after dark, but if not, that was all right. My wolf didn’t need to hunt; he didn’t need to do anything other than come out every so often.
“We can go for a run in the morning,” I suggested. The sun had set, and although there was still a bit of light left, we only had about ten or so minutes before darkness overtook us.
“I’d like that.”
“Good.” I leaned down and kissed Todd’s forehead again. “Then let’s go to my place, and we can talk. If you want, we can watch a movie or something. I have popcorn, I’m not so sure about what else, but I do know there’s popcorn. Oh, and more pop. I do have that.” I knew there were several cans of it inthe refrigerator and definitely popcorn in the cabinet. Probably some chips and pretzels as well. But I hadn’t ever gotten to the store, nor had I sent a list to Master Edison.
“Oh, that sounds like a good way to spend the evening. What kind of movies do you like?” Todd asked. He took a step back, and when we started walking toward my place, it seemed the most natural thing to reach down and take his hand.
“I like action movies, and Warwick got me hooked on good rom-coms. How about you?”
Todd sighed. “I love a good romance story.” He looked up at me, and I thought then that even if he wasn’t my mate, it would be easy to fall for Todd. He was not only adorable and sweet, but he seemed as if he were genuinely a nice person. There weren’t nearly enough of those around anymore.
“I’m sure we can find something to watch. I have all of the streaming services, so you can pick whatever you can find.”
Todd’s eyes widened. “All of them?”
