Chapter 947 Chapter 947
Her stomach ached, making her restless. She looked at Shandi and was glad her flipping around on the bed wasn’t waking her.
In slow motion, she got up, grabbed her shoes, and opened the door. Closing it, she put them on and then stood there. She shouldn’t have eaten so much. She looked down the hall, trying to decide what to do. This could be from nerves. In a few hours, she was going to meet her mother.
Looking the other way, she decided to go that way. Sometimes she couldn't sleep because she woke up in a room. She still wasn’t used to that. It was worse here at the factory because there were no windows in the room. At least at the house, there was a window, and she could look outside.
She stopped and looked at the door at the end that led to the outside. She didn’t want to go out and startle anyone on patrol or worse, a couple just looking for some alone time. Biting her lip, she turned around.
She took one step and then stopped. When she was on the road with Webb, they’d stay all over the place. That brought her relief. It was the lifestyle she was used to. It was the staying in the same room with walls that was strange to her.
That weird feeling came over her. She still didn’t know what it was, but knew that if she aw Webb, it mostly seemed to fade. She looked at the two hallway options. She had no idea which direction his room was in. Part of her knew he wouldn’t be upset if she knocked on his door, but the other part was nervous because he wanted to find his room and knock on the door.
Her stomach tightened. This time, she knew it was nerves. Somehow, she knew if she could see Webb, it would be better, and that meant many other things. She walked down the hall and paused outside the door for a second. How was she going to find him this way? She stood there for a moment and thought she smelled something floral. Stepping back, she shook her head. Webb did not smell like flowers. He smelled like the woods with a dark, spicy fragrance. Not food, spicy, but masculine. She paused by the next door and leaned closer and inhaled. She grinned and wrinkled her nose up. She wasn’t sure what scent that was, but it was definitely not Webb’s.
At the last door in the hall, she paused. She couldn’t believe she was looking for him by smell. Her sense of smell had always been good, but this was taking it to another level.
Moving to the door, she sniffed it. Her spine tingled, and she smiled slowly. That was Webb’s scent. Lifting her hand to knock, she froze. Did she really intend to wake him at whatever time it was? She hadn’t checked that. Sucking in a breath, she knocked softly. She heard movement inside, and then the door flew open.
Webb stood there in shorts, with his hair messy and his eyes filled with sleepy fog. “Rhogue? What’s wrong?”
“Sorry. I just - I can’t…”
He reached, took her hand, and pulled her into the room. Releasing it, he moved over to a small table and turned on the lamp. “Is everything all right?”
She felt silly now, but the room was so pungent with his scent, she wasn’t regretting it completely. “I think I’m just nervous about meeting my family.” She sighed. “Or I ate too much, I’m not sure.”
He rubbed his hand over his heart. “Yeah, that would make me anxious, too.”
“I’m sorry I woke you.”
“No.” He shook his head and picked up his phone, clicking it on. “It’s two thirty.” He set the phone down. “Do you want to talk a bit or get a tea?”
She shook her head. “I feel bad I woke you up now.”
“Don’t.” He looked at the bed. Do you want to sit down or lay down? I could talk and bore you to sleep.” He gave her a half-grin. It wouldn’t be hard at this time of night.” He came over and took her hand. You really should try to sleep.”
Marie nodded. The tightness in her stomach did feel better.
“Come on. We’ll lie down and talk. Is your stomach hurting or tense? I think you’re just nervous. You didn’t eat much at all.”
She nodded and kicked off her shoes. “You’re probably right.” She looked at the big bed. Of course, it was big; Webb wouldn't fit on the narrow one she had. “Okay.” She gave him a quick smile and crawled up the bed. Lying down, the pillow was still warm from him.
He got on the bed and lay on his back. “I think you’ll be fine once you see your mother.”
She moved close enough that she could feel the heat from him. “I hope so.” She did feel better than she had on the walk here. “I knew I’d feel better if I found you.”
He turned his head. “How did you find my room?”
She grinned. “I sniffed outside the doors.”
His smile was wide. “I’ve used that method before when I forget where someone is.”
“I didn’t know I could do that.”
“Your bear is closer than you realize.” He sighed. “I feel better now that Raymond has Pike and Clayton.”
She nodded. “That Raymond man was big and scary, but not a bad scary.”
“He knocked them out, so the trip was probably uneventful.” He looked at her again. “How is your friend Luna? Konner didn’t stay long.”
She'd almost forgotten about that. “He talked to Cassius about where we found her. Luna says he was going there to look, but when he comes back, if she wants to go to his clan's sanctuary, she can.”
“Is she going to go?”
“I think so. The chance to be around other water clan is too intriguing not to.”
“I hope Konner finds a trace of her family. He won’t quit until he’s checked every inch in that area.”
She loved his voice, and inhaling his scent with every breath made her feel better. She didn’t want to sleep, though; she just wanted to be here with him like this. He was looking at her like she was the most important thing on the planet. No one had ever done that before.
“Feel better?”
She nodded. “Somehow I knew I’d feel if I saw you.”
He gently brushed the hair back from her face. “I guess that’s part of the mate package.”
She smiled. “I suppose it would be more difficult without the need to see each other.” She thought of his animal. “Your bear is okay with this?”
He scoffed. “It’s the quietest he’s been in a long time.”
“He’s quiet?” He was still looking at her while he played with the end of her hair.
“Yeah. Very still and quiet because you’re this close.” He propped his head up on his elbow. “He’s quiet because that’s how it’s supposed to be. The male waits for the female to initiate—” he gave her a brief smile, “—things.” His gaze flicked to her neck as he said, and something in his eyes changed. Gently, he touched the mark on her neck. “This shouldn’t have happened.” His fingers lingered over it. “It should never have happened that way.”
“Louann and Mikiah were so upset. They put some awful-smelling salve on it, trying to heal it.” She would never forget the smell of it. “Louann said it would erase his scent from the area, too.”
“It gave me hours of thought. It looks like a mark, but I couldn’t pick up a trace of the male.”
“At least that part worked. I was going to get a tattoo to hide it.”
“I’m sorry if there were moments I was cold to you. I just—” He sighed. “It was very confusing. You had a mark, with no scent, but I didn’t know that part until we were on the roof, and I kissed you. My animal was acting like you were her—our mate, but you had a mark—”
She put her fingers over his mouth. “I know. I wanted to tell you, but things kept happening. I’m sorry. I should have told you right away.”
Removing her hand, he kissed her fingers and continued to hold her hand. “We got through it.” His grin was brief. “It was a little bumpy, but it’s behind us now.
Listening to him talk somehow soothed the anxiety she felt about meeting her mother. She looked a his mouth and then lifted her head and kissed it. She paused and realized it didn’t feel awkward. It felt right and normal. Lowering her head back to the pillow, she pulled him to follow her. He didn’t try to grab her and take over, just let her do what she wanted to do.
Her entire life had been filled with ‘be carefuls’ and ‘always think each move through to the end’. She didn’t want to think right now, she just wanted to be—with him.
He returned her kiss. He was gentle and didn’t try to take over. His hand was touching the back of her head, but there was no pressure to keep her there.
She raised her elbow and looked at him. Inside her, it felt like she was slowly boiling, as heat moved through her. She’d messed around with a boy here and there as a teen, always knowing they’d be moving on, and it was a temporary thing. It was just enough to feel close to someone, to quell those moments of loneliness that crept up on her from time to time.
She smiled and leaned to kiss him some more. His mouth was warm, and he tasted like home, if that was even a real thing.
As they explored each other's mouths slowly, tenderly, she realized there would be no more lonely moments in her life. She would never want closeness again. The realization elated her.
The kissing changed into something more demanding, almost desperate motions. She touched his chest and want stirred through her.
Webb was meant for her, and later, when she had a moment to herself, she’d have a fangirl moment about how he was built. Muscles clenched under her touch as she explored firm contours along his chest to his shoulder. His hand was behind her, and in one slight motion, he pulled her closer. There was no awkward shuffling on the bed to be closer, just a flexing arm muscle under her hand, and he moved her against him.
She broke the kiss, needing to taste his skin. He didn’t try to pull her face back to him, just allowed her to explore his chest with her mouth. She couldn’t think of words to describe his taste, just knew that somehow fate had designed it to be her favorite.
Raising, she pulled her shirt over her head. The desire to feel his skin next to hers was overwhelming.
Both of them gasped when she lay across his chest. The heat between them was powerful.
When she kissed him again, his hands moved up and down her back, but he still wasn’t pushing her to do anything.
She touched sharp teeth in his mouth, and the sensation ignited a need inside her she’d never felt. This wasn’t lust, it was something stronger than that.
Breaking the kiss, she looked at him. His eyes were filled with something gentle, yet dangerous, and it excited her.
“This goes wherever you want it to.” His voice had changed, and she felt something move through her in response to it.
Could it be her animal? She didn’t know, and she wasn’t about to stop, so she could figure it out. Her breathing was heavier, just looking at him—this beautiful man that was meant for her. A life of struggle had given him to her as a reward for sure, she thought.
Smiling slowly, she lowered her mouth back to the warmth of his skin, placing a trail of lingering kisses across his chest. When she reached his neck, she inhaled his scent. It was intoxicating. Gently, she nipped the muscles with her teeth and was rewarded with a growl. That sound ignited her insides, and she did it again just to feel the sensations.
Each breath he took was a soft rumble, and it made her need to be closer to him. She went to move but realized she was already straddling him and wasn’t sure when she had done that.
Her whole body was on autopilot. It had to be, because this sort of behavior wasn’t anything she’d ever done before.
A surge of heat moved through her, and she bit his neck again. It was all she could think of right now. Tasting Webb. Claiming him as her own. The thought scared her, so she lifted her face away and moved back to his mouth.
He didn’t object. His kiss was passionate, close to frenzied, and she wanted more. Craved more of him. Her tongue scraped along sharp teeth, and she jerked her head back and gasped for air. He made no move to force her head back down. When she looked at his face, she could see her animal in his eyes, and it exhilarated her.
She attacked his neck and jaw with kisses and gentle nips like she was starving for him. That weird feeling moved inside her, and she opened her mouth and bit where she wished she could mark him to let the world know that he was hers.