Chapter 3

Too soon, we were at the store. I took a long look at the tan and blue building. I was suddenly excited and intimidated to see what they had inside. I hopped out of the Suburban without waiting for Riley, eager to get this show started. Devie hopped out with me as well, and she had a smile on her face. "This is going to be fun." She stated. I couldn't help but nod.

I turned to Riley when he came up beside me and groaned at overhearing Devie. "I am so going home broke and with half the store." He joked. He wrapped an arm around my waist, and I didn't protest. I actually leaned into him as he escorted us inside.

Devie grabbed a cart and came up beside us. "First thing's first, we need to get you a haircut. You could do with it being evened out." I fingered my shaggy hair and sadly had to agree it needed something done to it. So I shrugged and followed her as she led the way to the salon.

The beautician was busy with another client, so we had to wait a few minutes for her to get done. Riley motioned for Devie and I to each take one of the two seats available, while he stood behind me protectively.

After waiting for a little while, the beautician was done with her client and motioned us to the register so she could get my name and info. She led me to the back of the salon and told me to take a seat. I squeaked as I sat, and the back of the chair leaned back as I put my weight against it.

She proceeded to wash my hair vigorously and then put in some conditioner. Once she was done, she helped me sit up and led me to another chair that was sitting in front of a mirror.

"So, how are you wanting your hair done today?" She asked me.

I shrugged, "I'd like it to not be so messy, all evened out if possible." I replied.

She nodded and went to work. I winced as I saw my hair being snipped and falling to the floor. It didn't take her long to get my hair straightened out. When she was done, my hair was cut very short. It was close cropped to my head.

"I did the best I could to even it out. I ended up doing it into a pixie cut. It looks great on you. Really brings out your eyes." She noted with a big smile.

She was right, my eyes seemed brighter and bigger. I actually liked this short cut. I fingered my hair, marveling at how it had turned out. I had never thought to ever have a professional haircut and for it to look this good.

I turned to Riley and Devie. "How does it look?" I asked timidly.

Devie clapped her hands, "you look marvelous! I knew you'd look good, but you exceeded expectations, girlie!"

Riley came over to me and, he cupped my face in his hands. "You are beautiful. You were beautiful before, but now the style enhances your beauty." He leaned down and placed a light kiss against my lips. All I could do is blush at the compliments.

The beautician used a little brush to sweep off the excess hair, took off the drape, and let me get up. I stood up, staring into the mirror, hard to believe that the girl in the mirror was me. I looked a lot younger than my 20 years, and a whole lot more presentable. I loved my new look.

We walked back into the actual store with Devie leading the way. She headed directly to the clothes. She grabbed a t-shirt and a pair of shorts after looking through the sizes and told me to follow her, so I did. She led me to the fitting rooms.

"Now put these on and tell me if they fit or not. We need to know your size so we can get you properly dressed." So I went into a room to try the clothes on.

They fit me perfectly. She had good eyes. I stepped out to show Devie and Riley. Devie smiled and Riley nodded his approval.

"She would like to keep these on, we will pay for them," Devie told the worker. The worker nodded her head as if she couldn't care less. So we walked away back to the clothes. I grabbed the old clothes and balled them up and put them in the basket.

"Now that we know your size, do you see anything you like to get?" Devie asked. I just shook my head as I looked at all of their options. "OK, so we will just get a bit of everything. Then, when you find your style, we will come back for more." That made sense. She went off to grab a variety of shorts, shirts, blouses, leggings, jeans, and so on. She even grabbed a couple cute dresses.

I must admit that I like the shirts and shorts best, but I wanted to see if I liked anything else, so I just let her grab. I did grab a few cute t-shirts that I saw and liked.

The cart was close to full, and I had no idea how much more she was going to grab when she came back over to me with a handful of skirts and skorts. "OK, I think we got enough clothes, now on to underwear."

My eyes widened, and I glanced towards Riley with a bright blush on my face. Both of them saw it and grinned. "it's OK, just us two girls will go look. Riley can go amuse himself elsewhere." And with that, Riley kissed the top of my head and disappeared further into the store. I was quickly starting to get used to his little shows of affection.

She dragged me back towards the fitting room, which was where the underwear was. She headed to the panties and grabbed several packages of bikini bottoms and some boy shorts. I wasn't sure of those, so I grabbed a couple packs of regular briefs when she wasn't looking. She headed to the bras. Something I have never worn before arriving at the Pack Compound.

She ended up with several bras of various sizes and told me to go try them on. I sighed and headed back to the fitting room.

I tried on several before I found one that fit. It gave me nice cleavage, and I couldn't help but shake them in the mirror. I gave a little giggle, and without thinking, I opened the door to show Devie, but instead, the first person I saw was Riley.

I just stood there without a thought. I could see Riley's eyes dilate and switch from black to wolf amber. I heard a soft growl coming from him, and I started to tingle. Without thinking about it, I started toward him. For what reason, I didn't know. I just knew I had to be near him, to touch him.

All of a sudden, Devie swooped in front of me and blocked my view of Riley. I shook myself and looked at Devie, seeing her and not Riley. "What happened?" I asked her. "It's the draw of life mates. Until you two consummate, you're going to have times where the urge to mate takes over and you have no control." Devie answered as she ushered me back to the fitting room. She handed me my shirt, and I quickly put it back on.

We stepped back outside the room, and Riley was gone. I sighed in relief, not sure I could resist him. Devie came out carrying the bras that didn't fit and handed them to the put-upon employee.

She then went back to the bras and started going through to find ones in my size. She even found some that were part of a set, panties and bra. I don't see how I could ever go through as many bras as she was getting, but I didn't say anything. She seemed determined.

Next, we went to night wear, and she grabbed a few night gowns and a couple of racy looking items. I wondered what those were for, but I was afraid to ask.

Devie looked at my feet and said, "yep, you need shoes too." And off we went to the shoe department. There I had to try on all of the shoes she handed me, just to make sure they fit because apparently, even though some say they are a certain size, they won't fit like it. I got sandals, sneakers, heels, and some more flip flops. The heels were precarious to stand on. It would take some practice for me to be able to walk in those, but Devie insisted every girl needed a pair or two of heels.

We were apparently done with clothing and items because she then took me to the beauty department. She grabbed a bunch of feminine products that made me blush: tampons, pads, and even soap for down there. My eyes nearly bulged at that. We then went to the soaps, and I had fun sniffing them all, though some of them were a little too much for my new sensitive nose. After sniffing nearly all of them, I settled on two soaps. So I picked up them both and put them in the cart.

Next, we went to shampoos, and again, I sniffed, but I settled on one quickly. I grabbed the matching conditioner, and away we went to makeup.

This is where I put my foot down. I did not want makeup of any kind. I would not let myself become my sisters. I didn't even want lip gloss or chap stick. Devie protested, but I stood firm, and eventually, she gave up. The cart was completely full.

She was done with the things I needed, and I was sorta glad. We'd been here for hours already. She mentioned finding Riley to see what he was up to. I started walking, just following some instinct, and I found him.

He was in the electronics department, talking to an employee while looking at cellphones. He saw us, smiled, and motioned us over. As I got closer, I could see he was holding a red cellphone in his hand. He pulled me against him and kissed the top of my head. "Hey hon, I bought you a cell. I want you to carry it with you at all times. I got you a simple one for now. When you are ready, we can upgrade, but I thought this one would be perfect for you for now."

A cellphone? Who was I going to call? He must have seen the puzzled look on my face because he responded, "it's for when you need to get a hold of Devie or myself. I will program the phone with all the important numbers you will need." He looked me deep in the eye, "promise me you will keep this with you, it's important to me that you stay safe." I couldn't help myself, so I nodded in agreement.

He smiled then turned back to the employee to conclude his business. Devie and I wondered around the electronics, and I was amazed at the size and types of TVs they had. Ranging from small to huge. I was staring at them in awe when I felt Riley come up behind me.

"I never knew TVs could get so big," I exclaimed. Riley chuckled, "they get even bigger than what they have here."

"Why would someone need a TV so big?"

"For entertainment, like movies or sports. Especially if they have a lot of people over to watch. That way, everyone can see it in great detail," he answered. "Oh," was all I could say.

Riley went off to get another cart and showed up a few minutes later pushing an empty cart. I ogled him, I couldn't help it, he was so good looking.

Devie pushed our cart and met him halfway. We then headed to the food department. We spent another hour or more going up and down aisles, with them periodically asking me what I liked and didn't like, most of which I had no clue if I did or not. By the time we were done, we had two over full carts. I was shocked. Where all of this was going in the car and shack, I had no idea.

We finally headed to the checkout, and I was exhausted. This was a long day, and I had a feeling it wasn't going to end anytime soon.

Riley and Devie picked a check out and started loading everything onto the conveyor belt. An employee had to go get another cart so that the bagged items could be put out of the way and more could be bagged.

They finally finished one cart and started on the second one, which had the clothes we had picked out. I started blushing when Riley grabbed a bra and looked at it a moment before looking at me as if picturing me in it. Devie snatched it out of his hand and placed it on the belt.

She wouldn't let him grab the rest of the clothes, she actually shooed him away, and with a grin, he did as she bid. I couldn't stop blushing. What was wrong with me? I wondered.

It seemed to take forever, but we finally had everything on the belt ready to be rung up. I was afraid to see how much It would come to. Devie and I grabbed a cart before I could find out the damage. The carts were heavy, but I pushed it easily enough.

As we reached the exit doors, I was hit with a sickly sweet yet familiar smell. I paused mid-step, causing Riley, who was right behind me, to run into me and nearly knock me to the ground if it hadn't been for the cart in front of me. I didn't even notice. He looked down at me, and something on my face must have told him something was wrong because he started sniffing the air and looking around.

He gave a low growl that only I could hear, soon I saw what he was growling at, and I freaked inside.

It was my sisters. Thankfully they hadn't noticed me yet. I felt exposed and started moving the cart again. Trying to get out before they saw me.

But apparently it wasn't meant to be. I was nearly out the door when I heard a screech.

"Oh my God, she looks just like Poppy! Girl! Come here!" I knew that screech, it was Leah, the worst one of the two. I started shaking, and even Riley's hands on my shoulders didn't help.

I refused to do as she said and just stood there, blocking the way, I heard mutterings of other customers wanting out behind me, and I moved on out and to the side but nowhere nearer to Leah. They arrived a moment later, the smell of their perfume and unkempt bodies preceding them.

I was a mess inside. I kept thinking this is it, this is where they drag me back to Mother, kicking and screaming. I just knew it. I felt Riley's hands tighten on my shoulders as if he could tell what I was thinking. He didn't say a word. He just stood behind me, providing his strength and reassurance.

They came up to me, looking the same as always. They reminded me of that old Cinderella story, but instead of being the star of the story, they were the ugly stepsisters. Leah was all bones with skin barely covering her. She looked more like those people from World War II camps. She had on a mini skirt and a half-shirt with chunky heels. Her dirty blonde hair was pulled up in some semblance of a French twist. She was the older of us and worst.

Krissie was right behind her, she was just as mean but had been nice to me a time or two more than Leah in the past, but I still didn't trust her. She was the middle child and was always following in Leah's footsteps. She was dressed in mini shorts, with a tank top and heels. She had slightly more weight on her than Leah. Her ash blonde hair was pulled into a ponytail.

"Oh my God, it is you!" Leah exclaimed. "How did you get so thin so quick? Boy, were you fat! Where have you been? Momma has been worried about you. Been looking for you. Beat us half to death when it was discovered you'd disappeared." She got a lot closer, almost nose to nose with me. "You are coming home with us, Momma will be so happy. Now don't you fuss at us, you got no say in the matter."

Riley growled from behind me, and Devie arrived with the other cart and moved to stand beside me. She also let out a growl. My sisters barely even glanced at them, though they did give Riley an appreciative glance.

I took a deep breath, gathered my courage, and the strength provided by Riley and Devie, and told her, "No. I am not going with you now, or ever. I don't care what you tell Mother, but I am no longer her concern. You nor her will ever touch me again." I stood firm despite part of me wanting to run and hide.

"Why, you little bitch! You are coming with us. Now!" She yelled. She reached out to grab my arm, but before she could, Riley was in front of me, knocking her hand away. She squawked in surprise and fury.

He leaned down until he was nose to nose with her, "you will never, and I mean never touch her again. You will go through me first, and you will lose." Devie was in front of Krissie, preventing her from doing anything. Leah's eyes were wide in fear, and I could guess the cause was Riley's eyes changing from black to wolf amber.

She took a few steps back, Krissie with her. "Fine, keep the cunt. But once Mother hears she is still around, there won't be a stone unturned to get her back." She looked at me as I peeked around Riley, "you better pray that we don't find you, because payback will be a bitch." With that, she turned and stalked away, dragging Krissie with her.

Once they were out of sight, I got weak kneed and sank to the ground. My worst fears were found. They had found me. I started to shake, not caring that there were people around to see. I suddenly felt arms go around me and lifted me up against a hard chest. I cradled my head against his shoulder, wrapped my arms around his neck, and just cried. This was becoming a habit, I thought.

I don't know what happened to the carts. I guess Devie was bringing them, though how she could manage two full carts, I didn't know. He carried me to the suburban, unlocked the doors, and opened up the passenger side. He climbed in with me in his arms. I had no idea how and didn't really care.

I just sat on his lap and sobbed. I cried because they had found me, cried because I was terrified, and cried because I wasn't alone anymore. I had Riley and Devie. I was grateful more than words could say.

I finally stopped crying and just sat on his lap, soaking in his warmth. I jumped, nearly ramming my head into Riley's chin, when I heard the trunk of the SUV slam shut. I guess Devie had unloaded the bags into the vehicle.

I looked up at Riley and cupped my hand to his face. "Thank you for standing up for me," I told him. He gave a slight smile, his eyes still angry, and responded, "I will always stand up for you. I will always protect you. You are my mate, now and forever." I hugged him and kissed his cheek. I hoped what he said was true.

Devie hopped into the back seat at that point. "You OK, girl?" She asked. I nodded against Riley's chest. "Don't worry, those bitches will never get you, we won't let them." She promised. Again I nodded against his chest.

We sat like that for a little bit longer, before Riley asked if I was OK to head home. I nodded, and he hopped out of the truck with me, then placed me gently back into the seat. He even buckled my seat belt and kissed my temple.

Home, I thought, what a concept. I never thought of Mother's house as home. It was never filled with love and laughter. I never thought I would be able to call a place home, but I suppose this is what the Pack and the shack are now. Home. It was starting to become a nice feeling.

The drive back was quiet, as we all reflected on what had happened, and in fact, I started to doze off and was nearly asleep when we arrived at the shack. I yawned and unbuckled my belt. I started to get out of the car when Riley got to me before I could. How did he move so fast, I wondered sleepily. He lifted me up and placed me on my feet gently. He smacked my ass lightly, "go on in, we got this. You need to rest." I didn't argue and just walked into the shack. I plopped down onto the couch and was asleep in seconds.

I awoke sometime later to a warm hard body and an arm around my waist. I instantly knew it was Riley. It was weird feeling someone so close to me, touching me, and I should have been scared, but in fact, it was nice. I liked it and hoped I got used to it soon.

I yawned and stretched before trying to sit up, but the arm around me tightened, preventing me from getting up. "Where do you think you're going?" Riley asked in a voice that was even sexier when it was sleepy.

I snuggled back against him, "apparently nowhere," I laughed. He nuzzled my hair, causing me to shiver. "Why don't we just stay here forever?" He suggested. I wish we could, I thought, but I knew we couldn't, and besides, I had to pee, which I told him with a deep blush.

He kissed my ear then let me go. I got up quickly and dashed into the restroom. I did my business and started to leave when I looked in the mirror. I saw bags under my eyes, suggesting I was still tired from the day. My hair, as short as it was, was a mess and my clothes were wrinkled.

I ran my fingers through my hair and tried to brush out the wrinkles with no success. I grimaced and walked out of the bathroom. I went back into the living room area and saw Riley in the kitchen.

He was putting things up. It looks like all they did when we got back was put away the cold stuff and just left the rest to be sorted out later. I was OK with that, cause it gave me something to do. So I joined him.

"What can I do it help?" I asked. He motioned to bags near the bedroom door that I hadn't noticed. "You can put away the clothes however you wish." I could do that, so I nodded and went to the bags. I picked up as many as I could hold and headed into the bedroom. I set the bags on the bed and opened the first one. It happened to be the bras, so I took them off of the hangers that the employee had left on and started setting them nicely in the top drawer of the dresser. There were a couple bags of bras. The drawer was nearly full already, and I hadn't even put in the panties. Which is what I went digging for next. I took them all out of their packages and set them into the drawer, making it full to bursting. Goodness, what was I going to do with all of these underthings?

I got lost in my own little world as I put things away where I thought they should go. Thankfully, Devie had thought to get some hangers so I could hang some of the stuff up. Most went in the dresser, but a few dresses and blouses went in the closet.

I was nearly done when Riley came to the door. He was carrying several bags. He held them up, "I believe this goes in your bathroom." I nodded, and he went to deposit the bags in said room.

He came back into the room and sat down on the chair as he watched me finish up. I was very aware of him sitting there watching me. I felt self-conscious. I hung my last blouse and turned back to the bed to put all the bags together into one. Once done, I sat on the edge of the bed facing Riley.

"What do we do now?" It wasn't a question about a new activity, and I hoped he understood that.

He leaned his forearms on his knees, "well, that depends on you."

"I want to understand this life mate thing some more. How are you sure that I am the mate for you? Are there benefits to having a life mate? That kind of thing." I asked.

"Well," he sighed, "I know you are my mate because I can tell where you are whether you are near me or away. I feel complete, whole, when you are near. My wolf yearns to be with your wolf." He looked me in the eyes. "There are several benefits for a wolf to have found their mate. Once they consummate, they are marked with a brand on their left wrist. It shows all that you are a mated pair. Once mated, the pair are often telepathic in both wolf and human form. They can heal faster, move faster, etc… And you can always tell what your mate is feeling as well. It's a very intimate bond."

My brow was furrowed. "Can you ever shut them out? Because wouldn't it be tiring to always be in the other's head?"

He chuckled, "It's not a 24/7 thing, I am sure."

"You don't know?"

"Well, I have never been part of a mated pair. So I don't know that part for sure."

"Oh."

I was at a loss on what to say or ask next. I still wasn't sure how he could know for sure I was his life mate. I did know what he meant about knowing where the other was, and something deep inside wanted to be near him at all times. Though I wasn't sure if it was this wolf thing he was talking about.

I wondered if that what it was that I kept feeling just under my skin, wanting to escape, though. It was a very disconcerting feeling.

He reached for my hands and looked at me with sincerity. "I want you to know that I will honor my promise and take this one step at a time. To give you time to adjust to everything before we consummate. I can't promise though that I won't try to persuade you, but once you say 'stop' or 'no,' I will stop. I will never force you to do something you don't want. Do you understand?"

I looked at our hands, his strong tan hands holding my frail pale ones. I knew deep within that he spoke from the heart and that I could trust him implicitly. I met him eye to eye.

"I understand and I trust you." I gave him a tentative smile. I surprisingly did trust him. I was really starting to wonder about my mind.

He leaned forward till our foreheads touched. "I want to kiss you, may I?" He asked softly. I blushed and nodded.

With that, he pressed his lips to mine. I needed no coaxing to open my mouth and let our tongues twine around one another. It was a scorching hot kiss, and I couldn't get enough. I leaned against him and wrapped my arms around his neck. He moaned against my mouth and wrapped me in his arms. I twirled my fingers through his hair, enjoying the silky strands.

Without even thinking, I wrapped my legs around his waist. That seemed to do something to him because his kiss became more intense, and his hands were sliding under my shirt. He didn't do anything but stroke the skin his fingers touched, but it caused goose flesh to rise and my hips to grind against his.

I had no idea what I was doing, but it felt good and right. The feeling that always seemed to be under my skin seemed to approve as well. It stretched as if to reach and touch him too. I moaned at the feeling.

He laid me down on the bed, never parting from me. My arms and legs still wrapped around him. I could feel him growing harder against the thin material of my shorts and panties. All it did was excite me more. Why wasn't I afraid of this?

I ground against him again, causing him to growl against my lips. Even that excited me, I could feel myself getting wetter by the moment. His lips left mine to travel down my cheek to my ear then down my neck, leaving me gasping for more. I felt him growl and lightly nip at my throat, and I swear that whatever was under my skin was right at the surface, causing me to growl back in return.

His fingers slid up my shirt to the underside of my breasts, and my breathing hitched. He cupped my bra covered breasts in his hands, massaging them through the material. I had never felt anything like it. I wanted the bra gone, so I could feel his rough hands against me.

As if he read my mind, he reached under me and unsnapped my bra. I gasped as I felt the rigid restriction loosen. His hands immediately came back to the front and again cupped my breasts, this time skin to skin.

I opened my eyes as his fingers played with my nipples, causing me to arch against him. His eyes were no longer black, but wolf amber. His nostrils flared as if smelling something that if his growing even harder was any indication he liked.

He leaned down and, through the shirt and now-loosened bra, took my left nipple into his mouth. This caused me to arch and cry out.

He immediately stopped and pulled away.

"No, please, don't stop," I begged him.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," I growled impatiently at him.

With a brief chuckle, he slid my shirt and bra out of the way, leaving my breasts exposed to his hungry gaze. My hands tightened in his hair, blushing as I pulled him closer. He leaned down and lavished my left nipple then my right with his warm tongue. I arched into him again, grinding my hips against his, loving the feeling of his hardness against that womanly part of me.

With a deep growl, Riley unlocked my legs and arms from him and stood up. He stood at the side of the bed, actually panting. "No. If I continued, I wouldn't stop, and this is still too new to you. You need time to adjust, and this is just too fast." He started taking off his shirt and heading to the bathroom, "I need a long cold shower." He muttered.

I just laid there blinking, wondering what the hell happened. He needed a cold shower? What the hell about me? I don't know what else would have happened, but I wanted to find out. I growled, frustrated. I sat up and straightened my bra and shirt. I hit the bed in frustration.

I got up and went into the living room. I looked for something to do, something to get my mind off of what happened and could have happened.

I saw a few bags on the floor and went to investigate. It was the bedding we had picked out during our run through the store. I thought of maybe putting up the curtains, but thought that might be better suited till the morning. I grabbed the bedding and picked out one and took it into the bedroom.

I could hear the shower turn off and tried to not envision what Riley looked like naked and wet. I shivered and shoved the image aside, cursing the books and shows Mother and my sisters had watched and read, giving me teasing insight into what could happen.

I set to work changing the sheets to the new ones. I heard the bathroom door open but wouldn't look up. I didn't want to look at Riley right now. He came over to the bed and stood at the side of it, blocking me from moving. I tried to move around him, but there was no room. I finally looked up at him with a glare. Oh, at this moment, I hated him. He looked even better than he did before he went into the shower. His hair hung loose and wet down his naked back. His chest and abs were cut to perfection. The tattoos just accented him. His pants hung low on his hips, the belt undone.

"Can you please move? I am trying to change these sheets." I muttered.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you mad. I just didn't want you to regret it in the morning." He said.

I threw the sheet on the bed, "shouldn't I have been the one to make the decision? Isn't it my right?" I was getting tired of decisions being made for me.

"Normally, yes. But this time, I felt it was mine, since I know where this would lead. I didn't want you to regret this happening so fast. I don't want you to end up hating me." He wrapped his arms around me. I stood stiff in his arms for a minute before giving up and wrapping my arms around his waist. I laid my cheek against his still damp chest and inhaled him. He smelled like he looked, safe and fierce.

He laid his cheek against the top of my head. "I'm sorry, I stopped like I did. I am not sorry I stopped, just the way I did it. Can you forgive me?"

I so wanted to stay mad at him. He didn't finish what he had started, and it left me feeling frustrated and rejected at the same time. But I couldn't stay mad at him. He had only been thinking of how I'd react in the morning, and he was probably right. I would regret it. I want to go slow, but that thing inside me wanted us mated right now. I don't know how long I could hold out against it. It was a determined thing.

I sighed and nodded against his chest. He tightened his arms around me, "thank you." He replied.

I pulled away, I wanted to stay in his arms, but I had a bed that needed to be made. He let me go and moved to the other side of the bed. He set the fitted sheet onto the mattress then reached for the flat. He smiled at me, "wanna help me?"

I nodded and grabbed the other side of the sheet, and we set to work making the bed. Once we were done, we moved into the living room. I sat on the couch and just stared at the wall, not knowing what to talk about and actually getting sleepy again.

He sat beside me and threw an arm around the back of the couch. Without thinking, I leaned into his side, laying my head on his bare shoulder. It was surprisingly comfortable. I had first felt like I needed to make conversation, but it was just right for us to not have to say anything, to just sit there quietly.

I covered a yawn, still tired from the drama of the day. I refused to let myself think of the confrontation with my sisters. It would ruin the mood I was in. I would deal with them tomorrow, or maybe never.

Riley stood up as I protested at my pillow moving away. He held out a hand, and I placed mine in his, he drew me to my feet. "Go, get ready for bed, you need sleep."

I covered another yawn and nodded. I went back into the bedroom and grabbed a nightgown. I went into the bathroom and changed. I yawned again. I opened the bathroom door, and Riley was pulling back the covers on the bed. How sweet, I thought.

I walked up beside him, just as he straightened up. He looked down at me and gave me one of his beautiful smiles. I couldn't help but smile back. I ruined it by yawning yet again. He chuckled and motioned to the bed. I took the hint and got into bed. He started to cover me up, tucking the covers around me. I grabbed his wrist, and as I blushed, I looked up at him.

"Don't go. Stay with me." I begged. He looked like he wanted to protest but changed his mind. So he laid down beside me, I quickly turned to my side so he had more room, and he spooned me like he had done on the couch earlier. He placed an arm around my waist, and I put my hand on top of his.

I was asleep in seconds.