“Sebastian,” she called, hoping to wake him with the sound of her voice.
He didn’t rouse at the sound of her hesitant call, his hands instead moving to the now exposed skin of her chest. He cupped her breasts within warm palms, running his thumbs over the rosy peaks. Pleasure shot through her and she moaned in response, struggling to remember why she didn’t want this to continue. Her aching breasts were finally getting a measure of relief and the change in their positions had brought the heavy weight of his erection closer to her wet core.
“Sebastian!” she yelled, placing her hands over his to prevent him from continuing. “Wake up.” The sound had apparently infiltrated his mind as he stopped caressing her skin though his eyes didn’t open. “Sebastian!” she repeated louder this time.
His brow furrowed in confusion as his eyelids began to flutter open. His eyes blinked rapidly trying to focus on his surroundings and when they did he gasped in shock. Erica lay half naked and dishevelled beneath him and his hands were trapped on her generous bosom.
What have you done? he screamed at his wolf, shocked at the actions that it had taken while he had slept.
Me? it asked innocently. I didn’t do all of this. Well maybe I helped you out a little but you were the one that pulled her into bed. What did you think that I was going to do? This is our mate and she walked in here and began touching us, there was really no other alternative.
Sebastian growled at the wolf in response to its reasoning before turning his attention back to Erica. “I’m so sorry,” he apologised pulling his hands away from her flesh. “I don’t know what came over me.”
She smiled weakly, readjusting her shirt to cover her body before addressing him. “You weren’t aware of what you were doing,” she stated, trying to reassure him. “I really should take it as a sort of compliment, you must have been dreaming about me. You called out my name.”
What else did I say? He panicked, hoping that he hadn’t given away any information that she shouldn’t have been aware of while he slept. “I’m sorry Erica.”
“It’s ok Sebastian, I assume that we’ve done things like this before so that’s why you acted the way you did when I…” She hesitated unsure of whether she should admit to her part in the incident. Upon seeing the turmoil on Sebastian's face as he beat himself up over his actions she decided that honesty was probably the best option. “I came in here and touched you while you were sleeping, so it’s partly my fault as well. Don’t blame yourself.”
“Erica, you and I have never done anything like this before,” he informed her, deciding that it would probably be best if he told her the truth in this matter. From what he knew out about his mate, it was very likely that she was untouched and if things had continued to progress she would have become aware of that fact very quickly and might become suspicious of him.
“Really?” she spluttered incredulous. “Never?” She eyed his naked torso, struggling against the urge to touch him and wondered how they hadn’t been intimate in the time that they had been together considering how strongly she seemed to react to him. Even now her body was still coping with the effects of his clever fingers, pleasurable anticipation thrumming through her blood.
He scrubbed a hand against the back of his neck, in a habitual nervous gesture. “Well you said that you wanted to wait until we married,” he lied. The claiming is the equivalent of the human ceremony of marriage, he reasoned, justifying the lie.
She leaned closer to him, clearly not expecting that answer. “I did?”
“Yes.”
“I guess I just found out something new about myself.”
“And what would that be?” He inquired lightly.
“I must have had tremendous self control,” she laughed. Because you’re downright yummy.
Using my terminology? Well, I can’t hold that against you because on this I definitely agree. Yummy is definitely the word to describe him. The mysterious voice within her mind concurred and Erica felt no need to contradict it, when it came to Sebastian apparently they were on common ground.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Erica sweetheart, what exactly brought you here?” Sebastian asked now that she was now properly dressed and he could look at her without his mind taking a stroll down lecherous lane. “Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t as though you’re not welcome. I said that my door was always open for you and I still mean that but you seemed very reluctant to spend the night with me when I left you last night. What changed between now and then?”
“I had a rough night,” she answered simply.
“Did you remember anything?”
Her mind flashed back to the deceptively calm voice and the pain that it had caused but as she looked at Sebastian and remembered the peace of the estate that she had woken up in, the conclusion that the nightmare was nothing more than a figment of her imagination solidified. “No, I just had a bad dream. I’m fine now.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes Sebastian, I’m fine,” she said just as her stomach growled loudly, protesting the lack of food it had received since they had arrived. “A little hungry,” she chuckled, “but aside from that I’m fine.”
Leaning over, Sebastian reached for the small alarm clock on the bedside table. “I think the store in town will be open by now if you want to get something to eat and then we can go shopping for your ring.”
“We don’t have to get that today Sebastian, you probably haven’t even thought about getting one since my accident, I don’t want to be too much of a burden.”
“You, a burden? Never. I want to get you the ring Erica. I’m sorry that I forgot it. You shouldn’t have had to remind me. I’m actually feeling like a pretty poor excuse for a fiancé at the moment.”
“By whose standards could you be considered a bad fiancé? You’ve stayed with me even though the doctors have said that I might never regain my memories. There are people in the world who wouldn’t have done the same in our situation.”
“I’d never leave you sweetheart.”
“That’s why I can honestly say that you’re a good fiancé.” Her stomach growled, louder than before continuing it’s protest for food.
That’s only because you don’t remember what happened, he mused angrily, disgusted by his actions that had resulted in their current situation. If I had only gone looking for you earlier then this might never have happened. “I can’t be that good of a fiancé, your stomach seems to think that I’m starving you,” he laughed, hoping that his inner turmoil wasn’t evident on his face.
“I’m just going to have a quick shower and I’ll be ready before you know it.” She hurried from the room, giving Sebastian a tantalising glimpse of the curve of her buttocks beneath the very short shorts she wore.
Which idiot bought her those? He groaned, remembering how soft her skin had felt under his palms when he had woken. Were they trying to kill me? Even my self restraint only goes so far.
I like them, his wolf inserted.
You would.
I wonder what she looks like in the shower? the wolf pondered, flooding Sebastian's mind with images of what he believed she would appear like.
A particularly vivid image refused to leave his mind and he found himself staring at the mental image, watching a single droplet of water follow the curve of her breast before it began to make its way down her firm stomach. Stop it, Sebastian growled. There are other things that I need to take care of and in case it slipped your mind, Erica has lost her memories. She doesn’t remember us at all.
That seems to be working in our favour. She’s a lot nicer to you now and she doesn’t try to hide her attraction to us anymore. From my point of view this whole amnesia thing is probably the best thing that could have happened. You should use it to your advantage.
And what about when she does eventually remember how things were between us? Do you think she’ll be so understanding then?
I don’t think that far ahead remember? That’s your job.
“Sebastia
n?” Erica called from the doorway.
Her soft voice immediately gained his attention and he turned to look at her, groaning low in his throat at the sight she made. The small towel that she had found to dry herself left very little to the imagination. Her long toned legs were easily displayed and he could see the top curve of her breasts confined by the soft cotton. Much in the same manner he had done with his mental imaginings, he followed the trail of a droplet of water before her voice demanding his attention forced his gaze upward to her face. “Yes Erica?”
“The shower is free.” She smiled warmly, clearly unaware of his distress.
I can see that. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome but hurry, I’m getting hungrier by the second.”
“I’ll be as quick as I can.”
“Ok.” She walked away from the door and down the hall into her own room, closing the door with a quiet click.
I’m going to need a nice cold shower to help alleviate my problem, Sebastian thought shifting the duvet across his legs to hide his state of arousal. She’s going to think I’m sex crazed if this keeps up.
It’s not all that far from the truth, his wolf remarked casually.
Don’t lump me in the same category as you, I can control my body’s urges.
It really looks like it, the wolf laughed.
Oh shut up! Throwing the duvet away from his body, he strode down the hall and into the shower.
True to her word it hadn’t taken Erica very long to be ready for the trip, the mysterious voice hadn’t made a return and she was feeling positive. This is going to be a good day. She smiled, walking from her room and into the living room. She was surprised to see that Sebastian was showered and dressed, waiting for her on the sofa despite the fact that she had showered first.
“That was quick,” she commented
“You were hungry, I didn’t want to have to make you wait around here any longer than was necessary.”
“There was no need for you to rush.” Her stomach grumbled again, making a falsehood of her claim. She flushed in mild embarrassment, mortified that she was unable to control her body better.
Sebastian laughed. “Come on let’s get you something to eat. I’m getting hungry myself and I think that if I don’t eat something soon it’s going to be making even louder sounds than yours.” He easily took her hand leading her from the cabin.
As soon as they stepped outside, Erica froze. Her eyes glued to the white flakes of snow that fell from the sky. “It’s snowing,” she commented.
“It’s colder up here in the mountains, snow is normal.”
She smiled fondly at the light covering of snow that now covered the ground. “I love snow,” she remarked casually.
Sebastian froze at the comment, turning to look at her. “Really?” he coughed, uncertain about interrupting her wistful musings but anxious for her to continue. This was the first thing she’d remembered about herself since she’d woken.
“Yeah, it’s so pretty don’t you think?” He nodded dumbly and she continued. “I always take Dylan and Wyatt out to make snowmen in the winter. We can get some really thick snow sometimes.” At the mention of her brother and sister Sebastian's heart began to race, was her memory returning already? She started to laugh as she continued. “Last year it got really heavy and when Wyatt fell in the snow I thought I’d lost him and then Dylan…” she stumbled as the memory began to fade. Her mind kept reaching for the lost memory desperate to remember something of importance. As she pushed herself she could feel the beginnings of a headache build. “Dylan…damn it what did she do?” she shouted in frustration.
“That’s enough sweetheart.” Sebastian's voice was gentle, soothing as he pulled her close to him, his hands stroking gently over her back. “You don’t have to force yourself.”
“But I remembered something. I really thought it might mean something. I thought it might mean that my memory was going to come back.”
“You remembered something Erica, that in itself is something. This is the first thing you’ve remembered and it does mean something, it means that your memories will eventually return. Don’t worry so much.”
“How can I not worry Sebastian? I can’t remember who I am. I can’t remember my family. I can’t even remember you. Doesn’t that concern you at all?”
“You don’t have to worry about these things because you have me Erica. I’m never going to leave you I swear it. I don’t want you pushing yourself sweetheart, I could see that trying to force that memory wasn’t easy on you, your health and safety are my number one concerns at the moment. That’s all that I’m worried about. Everything else isn’t of immediate concern to us.”
“The way you think about things when they concern me is very simple isn’t it Sebastian?”
His brow furrowed in confusion at her comment. “What do you mean?”
“You just see a problem and take all of it onto your shoulders and just tell me not to worry. I’m sure that you can take care of yourself but I don’t want you overstretching yourself for me. I might not remember you, but I’ve come to trust you. I just feel as though I’m safe around you. Don’t ask me why because the best explanation I can come up with is that it’s a gut feeling, like an instinct. You seem to always put me first and while it’s really nice to know that I’ve got you watching out for me, I’m not completely helpless. I want to have a partnership and for that to work you can’t take all the problems onto yourself.”
“Erica,” he groaned unhappy with her train of thought.
“I’m serious Sebastian, we have to work together.”
“I don’t want you to have to worry sweetheart, is that really so bad? I want you to get better and stress and worry aren’t likely to help you.”
“Is this how we were before I forgot everything? Did you really have to do everything by yourself? Because that isn’t how a relationship should work.”
“Fine,” he conceded. “I’ll try not to take everything onto myself. I’m not saying that I’ll worry you with anything major, but little everyday things, I’ll be sure to tell you about.”
“All I want is to be able to help. I’m enough of a burden as it is, I want to be helpful even if it’s only by a little bit.”
“And I’m agreeing to that but not if it begins to affect your recovery.”
“I want to get better as well Sebastian, I’m not going to jeopardise my chances of doing that. No one wants my memories to return more than me.”
I wish that were true sweetheart, he sighed. You might want your memories to return but I need them to. There are so many dangers out there that you’re not even aware of and I can’t tell you about them either. That puts you in even greater danger than before, we don’t know if the hunters will strike again. I’ve never heard of a wolf escaping their captivity alive and you wouldn’t even know them if they were in plain sight.
It’s our job to make sure that doesn’t happen, his wolf counselled. If hunters think they can take her from us again then they’re in for an unpleasant surprise.
We won’t let her be taken again. Sebastian assured himself, turning to smile widely at her. “Come on then let’s go and get some breakfast, I’m getting hungrier with every second that we’re hanging around here.”
“Thank God,” she groaned in relief. “I’m absolutely famished. I was beginning to think that you’d forgotten the concerns of my stomach.”
“I’d never forget anything of importance to you,” he laughed, heading towards the small jeep they were using for transportation. Though he knew it would be faster for him to simply run on foot to the nearby town, Erica's belief that she was human prevented him from using his natural abilities. I really hope that her memories return soon, I’m not sure how much I can take of pretending to be human.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The drive to the nearby town centre was a short one but it wasn’t anything Sebastian hadn’t anticipated. He had chosen to relocate them to this particular town for a reason. The ca
bin that he and Erica were living in was far enough away from the town that they didn’t have to sacrifice their privacy but close enough that Erica wouldn’t find herself lacking in accessible human companionship. As he parked in the parking lot of the town’s only diner, he found himself appreciating the fact that it wouldn’t take long to return home. Driving, in his opinion, was very much overrated. He had learnt the skills to drive as all of their kind did in order to better blend in with humans should they need to interact with them for extended periods of time. Despite the fact that he knew how to operate cars, he couldn’t manage to find any enjoyment in the act of driving. Perhaps he was more in touch with his wolf’s instincts than he had previously thought, he found long runs more satisfying than being contained within the metal frame of the car.
It had been easy enough to locate the diner and as he scanned his surroundings the reason for that became clear. The town centre was laid out in a very simple manner with a wide main road covering the length of the town, leading both in and out. This road was flanked on both sides by buildings that fulfilled all the needs of the nearby residents, with side roads shooting of the main one as and when necessary. He could find no pattern in how the side roads were laid. He knew that the town was small, he had picked it after all, but the town centre served only to reinforce this fact. Some of the buildings that lined the main road were undoubtedly residential and while he knew that others lived further away from the town centre like him and Erica, there weren’t many of them meaning that the rest of the towns population all lived within the small area that he had driven them into.
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