Chapter 236: Rhys
Grace took a long hot shower, and I fought every instinct to just join her, but there would be time for that later. The room was smaller than I was used to, and the bathroom too. There was no way we both would have been comfortable in it. I found it surprising that these were the accommodations that the Golden pack were offering, but they would do for the time being. There were definitely worse places we could be staying. I mean, at least we weren’t camping.
When Grace finally emerged out of the bathroom, I gave her a good once over. Her eyes held dark circles, and her face was pale. Her arms held new scars that still looked slightly painful, and there were so many bruises. Too many to count. I felt sick looking at her.
“It’s okay.” She whispered, coming over and straddling my lap. “I’m okay.”
“You’re not.” I answered, fighting the nausea to stay down.
“Rhys,” She cupped my face gently, and I nearly melted at her touch. “It was awful, and I never want to go back, but I’m here now. I’m here, and I’m safe.”
“You aren’t safe,” I grumbled. I had no idea how to protect her. She had been taken from the very place that she was supposed to be safe. She was a rare Lycan. She was able to talk directly with the Moon Goddess. It was so much bigger than just us, and I couldn’t protect her from that.
“I’m with you, Rhys.” She answered simply. “That’s all I need.”
My heart fluttered in a way I was unfamiliar with. She made me feel things that I had never felt before. She had an effect on me that I couldn’t explain, and honestly, I didn’t want to. She was mine.
She leaned in and kissed my lips. It was soft and slow. There was no desperation or rush, it just simply was, and that’s exactly what we both needed. I deepened the kiss, and I felt her hands begin to roam my body. She was here. She was safe for this moment. She was mine. She was everything. She was perfect for me. Her body and mine were flesh against each other, and it didn’t take too long before the clothes on our bodies to become a hinderance.
I reached for the hem of her shirt, and she lifted her arms to help me. She then returned the favor, and I peppered every bit of skin I could see with little kisses. Her eyes darkened with desire as she shifted to give me better access. I pushed her backwards, so she was standing up, again, and I carefully tugged at her shorts, pulling them off of her with little resistance, then she did the same to mine. Everything we did was slow and deliberate. She was mine, and we had all the time in the world.
I kissed her lips as I pulled her back onto the bed. Her hands roamed my body like she needed to feel every piece of me, and I needed it just as much. She real, and she was here, and that’s all I could focus on.
I didn’t need her to say anything; I just gently made my way inside her. She moaned, gripping at my hair in a way that I didn’t know I needed, but turned me on even more. She fit around me perfectly, and I was grateful the moon goddess made her for me. I slowly created a rhythm as I kissed her lips, her neck, every piece of her that I could reach. She arched her back as I hit her sweet spot, and I was so in love as we both let go at the same time.
Despite our fatigue, we went for round two and round three.
We were still entangled in each other when she whispered, “I want to mark you.”
“What?” I asked, sure I didn’t hear her right.
“I want to mark you,” She repeated.
“Gracie, I want that too, but I don’t want you to do something just because you feel like you have to.”
“I don’t.” She answered, flipping so she was on top of me. “I want our connection to be stronger. I never want to be without you again, Rhys. I never expected to love anyone, and yet I am so in love with you, it scares me. When they told me that they were using me as bait for you, I would have rather died. You saved me from a life that I thought I was destined for, but this is the life I was destined for. To be your mate. To walk by your side. And I want to mark you, if you’ll have me...”
“Of course, I want you!” I exclaimed. “I want you. I want your mark. If you’re ready, then I am all yours. I am always and forever all yours.”
She smiled at me with her big blue eyes. They were the most dazzling thing I had ever seen. I couldn’t get over the fact that she was here with me again. I had missed her more than words could ever say.
She leaned in and kissed and sucked on my neck. Her touch sent waves of desire through me again. Apparently, I hadn’t been satiated with three rounds of incredible lovemaking.
“Graceee,” I groaned.
She smiled against my neck. We honestly had no idea what it would really mean for us to be fully marked. Even Sawyer and Maizie hadn’t gone that far yet because there was a fear that Lycan’s and Werewolves were incompatible mates. I didn’t think that was true after my experience with the Moon Goddess, but I also didn’t know for sure.
I felt her teeth skim my skin before she bit down. I gasped as she held it before bliss hit. It was nothing like I had imagined, and better in every way. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t breathe. I just existed in that moment, thankful for my amazing mate.