Chapter 61: Just A Little Crazy

STORM'S P.O.V

I stirred to the sound of the door slowly opening. My brows furrowed, and I slowly turned. Anders was gently making his way to the bed, a small, careful smile on his lips. He was balancing a tray on his right hand, and he stopped when he met my eyes.

"What time is it?" I asked, rolling to my side so I could watch him.

"A little past ten. You slept well."

I gave a small smile. My body felt heavy in the sort of way that it did when I had nothing to worry about. Nothing forcing me out of bed. Nothing to rush to.

Anders had his hair pushed back in a messy bun, with the lower strands still falling to the nape of his neck. I have always known that Anders, for all his anger and his hate, and the darkness, was an extremely beautiful man.

He set the tray on the bedside and leaned to me. His fingers gently pushed back my hair and he just nuzzled his face into me.

Not quite kissing, more like contact, touch. My eyes closed, and I slowly moved, till I was lying on my back, and my hands gently wrapped around his back.

"Would I be too selfish to ask you to stay indoors?"

He shook his head, then placed a gentle kiss on my forehead. "I called Gamma Israel. He would be overseeing everything, if there is anything to do."

I said nothing, and tugged at his shirt. He simply got into bed beside me, his hands wrapping tightly around me.

I turned back so we were face to face, my legs lifting to rest on his hip. He brought his hand down to pull my hip even closer, till all of my body was pressed against him.

His fingers gently laced into my hair, and I sighed, nuzzling even closer.

"Anders."

"Yes?"

I looked up. "Are you happy? Right now, right here. Are you really happy?"

His fingers gently raan down my face. "I couldn't be happier anywhere else. There are three of us in this bed, and there is nothing more I could want."

I nodded, a lump rising in my throat. "What would we name it? What do you want it to be?"

He broke into a laugh, and pulled me closer into a tight embrace, his face nuzzling into my neck.

"I just want a healthy one. I want them to have your eyes. Your hair."

"My hair?"

"It's beautiful. Red. Its the tattoo you asked about the first night you graced my bed."

My breath hitched, and I leaned back, my eyes wide. For a minute, neither of us spoke as I struggled to process the information.

"You..." My eyes dropped to the tattoo. Red hair. The outline of a face. I looked back up, and he simply smiled.

He brought his hand to gently push my hair back, his smile small. "Yes, I knew you, Storm."

I sucked in a sharp breath. "The tattoo... is this... why would you..."

"You were at the lake. The lake where I saved you. You were there, three months before you were mated to my brother. You were wearing a little blouse with the halter neck. Your hair was in a bun when you came, but you pulled it out. It would have been a normal day with friends but you were alone."

He took a deep breath, and met my eyes. "You were dazzling, Storm. You were confident. That hair, that smile, that body... you carried it like a fucking goddess and I haven't been the same. I watched you. Fuck, I watched you, Storm. Sunsets don't compare. I wanted.... hell, I wanted so much. I wanted you in ways that would speak ill of my upbringing. Of my restraint. I wanted to press that feisty, pretty mouth open and hear what sounds it made when it wasn’t smiling like that. Crazy, isn't it?"

My chest heaved, and my fingers tightened on his forearm. My eyes darted across both of his, the dropped to his lips and then to the tattoo.

"Is it scary?" He asked again, gently pushing my hair back. "That I have waited so long? That there is a very plausible chance that every move that brought you here... might have been my own checkmate against the nonsense of the moon goddess and her mate bonds?"

I blinked, then broke into a laugh, my chest heaving. "You are one little bastard, Anders. You know exactly how to drive a woman crazy."

He pulled my thigh up his hip, till I was almost on him, till I could feel every beat of his chest against me.

"Exactly. I want you a little crazy. So that despite everything, by the time this one year is over, you choose me. You choose us. No matter how dark. No matter how dangerous. "

I leaned down and kissed him hard. He wasted no time, and turned, till I was pressed back on the mattress, my chest heaving hard, as I tried to hold on to him.

He didn't understand. I was probably already a little crazy.