by Moxie North
It was time to call his Clan Head, he trusted her opinion.
“This is Crystal,” she answered on the second ring.
“Crystal, this is Gideon, I’m sorry for the late hour.”
“Not at all, you know I’m here for all Clan members. How can I help you?”
“I heard the mating call. My mate was right in front of my nose.”
There was a soft laugh on the line. “That happens sometimes. I’m happy to hear it, though. You know I’m always thrilled when our Clan grows. I look forward to meeting her.”
“I’m sure you will like her, she’s very… likable.” Gideon realized how lame that sounded.
“How can I help you?”
“I need some advice. I’m… a little out of my element.”
“I think we all feel that way. My mate was a police officer. Convincing him that I needed to claim him to make him mine was quite the negotiation.”
“I’m hoping that will work itself out. She is very uncomfortable with my lifestyle, I guess. She’s not used to it and it seems to make her uncomfortable. I’d say I’d quit my job and move into a cabin in the woods for her, but I have responsibilities that I can’t ignore.”
“And she’s pushing back on the whole idea of the excess?”
“Everything. It all just seems like it’s too much for her.”
“Then find what’s important to her and show her that living with you won’t change that. Show her that being your mate actually means she gets the life she wanted. The road might have changed but the destination is the same.”
Gideon let that sink in. She needed her things, her comfort level. Not his. He knew his place was sterile although it had never bothered him before. But she wouldn’t be comfortable going from such a small place to an overly large apartment.
“Thank you, that’s what I needed to hear,” he told her.
“I’m glad I could help. Call my assistant when you want to start making plans for the presentation.”
“I will, thank you for your time.”
“Anytime, Gideon, I mean that.”
Gideon hung up and then made a few more calls. When he finished, he went around the apartment turning off the lights. Heading back upstairs, he found the door to his room cracked open. Down the hallway, the guest room door was open too. He wanted to see if she was in her old room, see if she’d changed her mind. But that wouldn’t show any kind of trust. If she had made that decision, he’d have to respect that.
Going to his room, he pushed open the door. His eyes went straight to the bed where he found Faye tucked in looking at him. There was a heaviness that settled into his chest at the sight of her in his bed. She looked small, barely taking up any room. She was meant to be in the bed next to him.
“Sorry, I had some calls to make,” he explained.
“It’s okay. I had to go get my toothbrush.”
That explained the open door. He instantly felt better and a little silly for his worry.
“I’ll go change. I know it’s a little early, but we both have work tomorrow and it’s been a long day.”
“I’m going to work tomorrow?”
Gideon sighed. “Let me change and we can chat.”
Heading to the walk-in closet, he switched into a pair of lounge pants and a shirt. As he moved across the large room, he stopped by the window and pulled the curtain halfway closed, letting the moonlight in.
Easing into the giant bed, he tried to make Faye comfortable by keeping his distance and rolling to his side. Faye turned towards him, pulling the covers up to her chin. She was wearing one of the nightgowns that Sabrina had bought her. He knew what Sabrina had been thinking when she bought them. He’d have to talk to her about that.
“I’m sorry if I sounded like I was going to change everything in your life. It’s not me wanting you to change. I was just thinking ahead too far and too fast. You had every right to be overwhelmed. I’m not saying you have to quit work. If you really like it then keep doing it. If you are only doing it to pay your bills and your schooling, let me help. If it helps, you can think of me like a scholarship. You’ll get to focus on your learning instead of scraping out time to study.”
“I’d just go to class?”
“If you want. Spend more time volunteering if you’d prefer to do that. After you’re done with your courses, you can choose your next steps.”
“What about my apartment?”
Gideon sighed. “It’s really not safe for you over there. I’d like to move your things here.”
“Here?” she said, her voice shocked.
“Yes, I was even thinking that if you really needed a place to yourself, we could set up the spare room as your own little getaway. You could close the door and pretend you aren’t even at the apartment.
“The spare room is very nicely decorated,” Faye said.
“Fuck the decorating. I’d rather walk in and see Faye interiors in there. It will mean you’re really here. This is your apartment now. If you want to put every item of yours throughout the house then do it.”
“I’m sure that would look great,” she said sarcastically.
“It would because it was you that put it there. If you don’t like this apartment, we’ll move. We’ll find something you like.”
“You aren’t moving because of me.”
“I’d absolutely move for you. If you aren’t happy here, then we find what will make you happy.”
“And what about you? Don’t you need to be happy?” she asked.
“That’s where it gets easy. If you’re happy, I’m happy.”
Faye frowned at him. “That would make you the most unselfish person in the world.”
“No, it would make me a Kindred that’s found his mate. If you aren’t happy, I’m not happy. Consider it biology, fate, even magic.”
“All I have to do to make you happy is to make myself happy? Isn’t that kind of selfish?”
Gideon resisted reaching over the space between them. He did move his hand so it was halfway between them. “It’s not selfish; it’s a way for you to give to me. I need your happiness as much as I need your love. I don’t expect it yet; I hope that it will come. I plan on making you fall in love with me. I’ll go to the ends of the earth to show you how I feel.”
“Oh, Gideon, I wish I had someone to talk to about this. A mom, a girlfriend, anyone. I don’t have anyone to bounce things off of.”
“You have me,” he offered.
“I’m supposed to talk to you about how I feel about you?”
Gideon gave her a small smile. “You could try.”
He waited to see if she would talk to him. He never thought about the fact she didn’t have anyone to talk to. He’d reached out to tell his parents, hell, he told his staff, and when he got stuck he called Crystal. He had people at the touch of his fingers to share with.
“I’m afraid that if I say yes to you that I’ll never be in control again. No matter how I was living, struggling, fighting for everything, I was still in control. No one else was making any decisions for me. If I agree to… everything you’re offering, I’m worried you will just take over. I’ll be trailing behind like a dog trying to keep up.”
“Shit, Faye, I had no idea that’s what you were thinking.”
“That’s just the start of it. You are very… sexy. I’m not. I’m frumpy, I don’t dress nicely, people will talk about me. They won’t think I’m good enough for you.”
“Dress however you want. If you want to wear what you always have, you can, I don’t care. If you want to be different then you can do that. Take Sabrina with you, she loves to shop. My little sister will be in town to meet you soon, she can tear through a shopping mall like a tornado.”
“You have an answer to everything, don’t you?”
“No, I’m just offering up solutions for your concerns. I don’t think they aren’t valid. You’re the one that has to change your life the most. I’m asking you to join an entirely different lifestyle. Kindred do thi
ngs a little differently. We don’t mind leaning on each other. If someone needs something, they ask. If someone has a way to help, they offer. There’s no shame and no one thinks any less of anyone for taking that offer of help.”
“What you’re saying is I need to think more like a Kindred?”
“I’m saying that when you accept me, you become Kindred. Forever linked to all of us.”
“Like a family,” she whispered back to him.
“Exactly like a family.”
“I don’t know how to be a mother,” she blurted the words out.
“A mother?”
“Kindred always want children. I don’t know how to be a mom. I’ve never even had a pet!”
“We don’t have to have children until you want. I won’t lie; I don’t want anything between us. When I claim you, there can’t be anything between us to make the connection. After that, if you want, we can use protection until you’re ready.”
“Really? You’ll wait?”
“For you, of course. I need to make sure you are comfortable and ready for our life. It won’t change the way I feel about you. Nothing can change that. But if it means you need more time, then we take it.”
“I think I need to catch my breath,” she admitted.
“Good, now we have a plan. I wasn’t joking about going to Hawaii. I think we could both use some time alone, well, together.”
“I’d have to miss class.”
“Can you make it up?”
“It’s community college, you just have to wait for the next class to come around.”
“Think about it.”
“I will, I promise.”
Gideon wanted to pull her into his arms; he wanted to feel her heartbeat against his chest. Maybe she wasn’t ready for that yet. “Goodnight, Faye.”
“Goodnight, Gideon.”
He waited to see if she would close her eyes first. She did, but not before she slid her hand into the middle of the bed, her small hand wrapping around his.
Right in the middle of his chest he felt the same squeeze and shock that he did the first time she had reached out to him. There was no sound this time; you only heard the mating call once. But her hand reaching for his made him feel the joy of finding his mate all over again. He had to hope that he would get that feeling for the rest of his life. The absolute assurance of the reality that his true love was next to him.
Chapter 28
Faye was warm and cozy. She was dreaming about soft sandy beaches and warm water. The smell of flowers and fruit hung in the air. She had gone to sleep with her hand inside Gideon’s and had dreamed of Hawaii.
Now she was starting to wake up like she always did before the alarm. This time there was a soft thump under her ear and her pillow was not the soft plush pillow she had grown accustomed to at Gideon’s.
Blinking her eyes open, Faye realized she was lying on Gideon’s chest with her arm wrapped around him and her leg flung over his waist.
Oh. My. Gawd. Faye could see that she was all the way over on his side. She had migrated like a horny bird to cling to the warm sexy man beside her.
She didn’t know if she could move away without waking him. Against the top of her leg, she could feel the hot length of his erection against her. It had to be just his morning wood, that was a thing that happened, right? Slowly trying to slide away without waking him, she was stopped short when his arm around her back tightened.
“Good morning,” he said with a rough voice.
“I’m sorry, I must have traveled in my sleep,” she said lamely.
“You did, about ten minutes after you fell asleep.”
“Oh no, I’m sorry.”
“I’m not. I’m quite happy, thank you.”
“I’ll go get ready,” she tried.
“Do I get a morning kiss?”
Faye didn’t want to kiss him with her morning breath, it had to be atrocious.
“Can I brush my teeth first?”
She felt his chest rise and fall as he laughed. “No, because then I would have to, too.”
Faye leaned back enough to look up at him. Gideon took advantage and sealed his mouth over hers. He kissed her and she kissed him back. She couldn’t not. She wanted to, and she gave in to her needs.
Gideon rolled her onto her back and Faye kept kissing him. She should stop. They needed to get to work. She didn’t want to be late, that might anger the boss. Of course, she thought of Gideon as her boss now so she doubted she’d get in that much trouble.
“Faye, let me make you feel good. I’m not going to claim you, just give you a reason to be willing to sleep next to me again.”
Faye was trying to hear was he was saying, but she was distracted since she decided kissing his jawline was a necessity.
“What?” she managed.
Gideon slid his leg between hers and raised his leg so the top of his thigh was resting against her aching center.
Faye figured out what he was saying really fast then. “Oh!”
“Damn, you’re sexy, Faye.”
“Okay,” she said. It was too distracting having his leg pressing against her clit. She didn’t even attempt to not rotate her hips against him. It gave her that immediate pleasure she knew it would.
“There you go, take what you want,” he said. He kissed her again, his mouth taking her and scrambling her brains.
Faye could only think of getting oxygen and dealing with the building pressure in her pussy. She wasn’t sure she was going to be able to come just moving against him. It was as if he heard her because one of his hands slid down and pressed against the top of her mound.
He didn’t delve under her clothes. Gideon kept it totally to teenage dry humping rules.
“Go ahead, Faye. Don’t hold back,” he said moving from her mouth to her neck.
Faye arched to give him better access. Her neck was a favorite spot for her and since she was already in too deep, she might as well get what she liked.
Gideon was giving just enough pressure and friction to have her panting under him. Her orgasm was building and she knew it was going to be big. It had been a while and there was nothing like having someone else do the work.
Faye wanted it to last; she wanted the sweet pleasure to keep going. It was the one thing that didn’t care if you were rich or poor. Pure physical pleasure was the same for everyone. Gideon’s hand wasn’t going to let her linger, he was rubbing against her clit at just the right speed to have her snowballing towards to climax.
“Gideon,” she gasped.
“I’m here,” he murmured against her neck.
Just as she started to come, Gideon kissed her again and Faye let go. Her scream was swallowed by his kiss. Her fingernails dug into his shoulders and she bucked and arched under him. Her eyes closed, she saw nothing but stars flashing as she came over and over against him.
As she came down, her body kept twitching with the last remnants of her orgasm. She wanted to be embarrassed, but she felt too damn good.
“That is an exceptional way to start the day,” Gideon murmured in her ear. “I can’t wait to feel you squeeze my cock as you come.”
Faye sucked in a shocked breath. “Gideon!”
“Just being honest. I’m going to have a hard time working because I’m going to be thinking about you all day. Wasn’t that good for you?”
“For me? Of course it was. I made enough noise,” she said with a sad little laugh. “But what about you?” she asked, dropping her eyes to the thick tent he was sporting.
“That wasn’t noisy. I want you screaming my name eventually. Don’t worry; I’ll be replaying every moment when I take my shower. You’ll be the key player in my pleasure.”
Faye blushed at the idea of him masturbating to her in the shower. It was also hot and she felt a little proud.
“Uh, thanks?”
Gideon let out a laugh and he kissed her. “I like waking up to sex and laughter.”
“Well, technically it wasn’t sex,” she tried.
Faye looked up at him and saw he was being serious. “I’ll keep that in mind,” she replied.
“You do that. I’m going to take my shower. You can wait and use this one or the one in the spare room. Or if you really care about the environment and want to save water, you could join me,” he suggested.
“Maybe next time?”
“I’ll ask again, don’t worry.”
Faye kept her eyes on him as he got out of bed. He walked to the bathroom and shot her a wink before walking in. He left the door open and she knew deep down he wanted her to peek.
He was being sneaky. Dangling the candy in front of her sweet tooth. Looking up at the ceiling, Faye searched for the tiny remnants of orgasm that were trickling through her nerves. If she came like that with all her clothes on, what would it be like with him naked?
It would be good. Really, really good, she knew. He seemed so relaxed. He kept smiling! She’d seen him for years and never saw him smile. Now he had a most undignified grin on his face most of the time. It had built over the last few days. Now he gave her those smiles so freely.
Faye heard the water turn on and waited a minute. She wasn’t going to join him. Not today. She wasn’t sure when. Her brain was begging for some time to go over everything. Maybe if she could write it all down, see it in black and white, it would make more sense to her.
That was just a delay tactic. This wasn’t about balance sheets. It was about fate. Finding your perfect match. Soul mates, if you believed in that. She knew the Kindred did. They lived their entire lives by it. Their community and family structure were all based on trusting when the perfect person presented themselves, you’d be grateful for the gift.
It wasn’t about the details and logistics. It was about how you felt. Gideon was sure, solidly sure who she was to him. Faye had feelings for him. Strong ones that were almost impossible to ignore. Even then, she wasn’t ignoring them so much as running from them.
A lifetime of Gideon looking at her like she’d hung the moon. What would that be like?
She didn’t have an answer to that, at least not yet. Getting out of bed, she walked towards the door and had planned on not looking. Again, that’s what her mind told her to do. It was either her heart or the throbbing dampness between her legs that made her turn her head.
