The butler Henry eyes me for a second and I start to shrink under his watch wondering what he's looking at. His head drops down dismissively when a growl from Ryder echoes across the room. "She's my mate and your queen you'll do well not to stare at her like that." Ryder continues in a growl as he moves to stand next to me. Henry was a wolf. "I'm sorry my queen, I was just confused by your scent." When he bows at me again it's with a soft smile. "Can I assist with you anything?" Even though his words were directed at me Ryder was the one that answered him. "No thank you Henry. Charlotte and I are going to bed." He says dragging me towards a set of double doors down a long hallway. The bedroom was huge and as soon as the door is closed behind us Ryder's arms are around my waist and he's lifting me up off the ground forcing me to wrap my legs around his waist. My breathe catches in my throat as he drops his head down into the crevice between my neck and my shoulder making it so there is barley an inch of space between. The shocks weren't only overwhelming for me but I could feel that they were also overwhelming for him. "I was so worried about you." He whispers, only one arm holding me as the other slides up to my hair. "I'm ok," I say dropping my forehead down against his. "I never imagined I would feel like this when I had you." He whispers and he's so close to me I feel his lips move when he speaks. "Male wolves have always been possessive of their mates but I can't stand to be away from you at all thinking that you could be hurt or that some guy is sweeping you off your feet." I giggle lightly at his words and he pursues his lips. "If you haven't realised I'm not exactly comfortable around people especially guys." I grunt when I fall against Ryder's chest hard when he flops back down on the bed. "I know." His voice is cocky as his arms wrap around me tighter to prevent me from moving. "I still worry. You're my girl." With a deep sigh his eyes close and he tries desperately to force them back open and when he does he struggles to keep them that way. I can't help the small that crosses my face as I prop my chin on his chest to watch as his jaw drops in a yawn. "You need to sleep, worry wart. You'll get frown lines." When he chuckles I move with his chest and the jolting feeling is surprisingly comfortable. "I've been ageing at half speed since I turned twenty one and since I've marked you, you've been doing the same. I'm not going to wrinkle just yet." He smirks at me. I smirk back at him and the action cause him to take a deep intake of breathe. He feels turned on. "I said worry lines because you frown and growl a lot." "I do not." He retaliates proving my point as he frowns at his words and I lift my hand to flatten the perfect skin of his forehead. With his sleep deprivation getting to him it's easy to fight my way out of his hold and walk over to the suitcases that are just inside the massive walk in wardrobe. Bending down I feel Ryder's eyes on me from his position over on the bed. When my eyes move back over to him he's on his side with a lazy smile on his face as his eyes stay glued to my body. He looks content and relaxed which he hasn't been like for the last couple of weeks. "Are you going to change?" I ask pulling out a pair of shorts for both me and him. As I was bent down to grab the clothes I hadn't noticed that he had come up behind me his arms wrapping around me. "I could just sleep naked." He suggests against my neck. Because of his height it's easy for me to press his pair of shorts against his shoulder in reply to his suggestion he chuckles pulling back away from me with the shorts now in his hand. His chest vibrates as he slides his grey tee shirt off and passes it to me before he turns and walks back towards the adjoined bathroom, my eyes concentrated on the skin of his now exposed back. By the time he's come back out I'm sitting cross legged on the bed with the neck of Ryder's shirt in my hand so I can breathe in Ryder's scent as I watch the tiny orange dots of the cars on the road below us. The rest of the city lights are reflecting of the river and the sight is bringing back memories, both good and bad. Ryder falls down on the bed and I fall back against him when the bed dips with his weight. He pulls me down to lay in his arms again my head falling against his chest. I can hear the curtains closing themselves as Ryder leans down to capture my lips in a quick kiss. "I've got some people I need to see tomorrow morning but I'll be back around lunch to spend the rest of the day with you. Then we'll do whatever you want." He presses a kiss to my forehead as he speaks softly. "Just get some sleep please." I whisper but before I'm even finished he's breathing softly and he's completely out of it. Ryder had never fallen asleep before me and he had always woken up before me. The only times that I ever really see him sleeping is when I wake up in the middle of the night even then it's usually him waking me up in the first place because I'm having a nightmare. He looked calm as if on instinct his hand runs up my back before he brings his hand back down continuing the movement over and over again. He worried about me way more than what he needed to. Granted he had more of an idea about what dangers his species could do to me but I knew how I felt. I loved him. It was simple. I couldn't see myself ever being with someone else, he made me feel comfortable, safe and happy and though I couldn't see it when I first meet him it was what I had always wanted.