by R. E. Butler
She ran her fingertip along the rose petal. “Every second I’m here, I feel compelled to stay.”
“Are you… glad about that?” he asked cautiously.
She let out a chuckle and turned to face him. “Can I be honest? I don’t know how to feel except like I’m being pulled in two directions between my world and yours. But this place feels more like home to me than mine does.”
He placed his hands on her waist and squeezed gently. “I understand. This is a lot to process. Not only because of our connection to each other but because of the magic and secrecy.”
She nodded. “Right? I haven’t even thought about how I feel about Neve staying for me. Tom left his home for Neve because she didn’t want to leave me behind.”
She mulled over her cousin’s actions for a few moments. She knew she would’ve done the very same thing for Neve if the situation were reversed, if Ellie had met Declan and Neve was the one in the dark. The choice to stay in the human world wouldn’t have been up for discussion.
“Neve and I promised each other that we’d stay close no matter what. She stayed behind with Tom for me. But I don’t want to stay here for her.”
Declan’s brow furrowed, and the corners of his mouth turned down. “What are you saying?”
She rose onto her toes and pressed her lips to his.
“I’m saying,” she whispered against his lips, “that I won’t stay in NPC for her, but I will stay for you. Just ask me, Declan.”
He eased away just enough that he could look at her. His eyes had changed again, from brown to golden.
“Be mine, Ellie. Be my mate. Stay here in NPC with me.”
She exhaled slowly, her stomach flipping at the intensity of his gaze. She’d never been so singularly attracted to a man before. And Declan wasn’t just any man. He was hers, and she was his. While she’d initially been wary of staying with him, the more she got to know him, the more she wanted to be with him. She wasn’t sure she fully understood what being a fated mate was all about, but at the end of the day, NPC was his home, and it was beginning to feel like home to her, too.
“Yes,” she said. “I’ll stay here.”
Chapter 7
Declan wanted to do a million different things to celebrate his mate agreeing to stay in NPC. He wanted to dance a jig. To shift into his bear and bellow his happiness. And he definitely wanted to take Ellie to bed, mate her and mark her and make her his forever.
His beasts were totally on board with all that.
Especially the marking part.
He glanced at his watch, happy to see they had many hours to spend together before it was time to get ready for the Christmas Eve run.
He cupped her face and lowered his head, brushing his lips across hers. Then he lowered his hand, sliding his fingers across her jaw and down her throat, feeling her pulse thundering under his thumb.
“I want to take you to bed, Ellie. I want to make you mine.”
She tilted her head with a sigh and he replaced his fingers with his lips.
“I want that, too.”
He gently bit her neck, smiling when she shivered. “My beasts want to mark you. It means I’ll put my fangs in your neck, which will leave a scar.”
“You can’t just get me a ring?” She slid her arms inside his coat and pushed it off his shoulders. He slipped out of the coat and unbuttoned hers, his fingers flying down the front.
“I can and I will,” he said.
Her coat hit the floor. “Is this a shifter thing?”
He nodded. “I can wait if you don’t want me to do it now, but it’s an instinct. My beasts want everyone to know you’re mine.”
She pushed up his shirt and touched his stomach, tracing the muscles. “I don’t have fangs to return the favor. How will people know you’re mine?”
“Shifters have an excellent sense of smell, so everyone will know I’m mated because I’ll smell like you, just like you’ll smell like me to others.”
“And I can get you a ring, too?”
“I’d love that.”
“I’m a little scared because this is all new to me, but I’m mostly just happy.”
“Me, too, honey.”
She looked around the room, her nails biting slightly into his skin. “I dig the heck out of being in here, but it’s not private.”
He glanced at the door. It was locked, but anyone could transport inside. He wasn’t sure what the workers’ hours were, although on Christmas Eve everyone was usually busy getting ready for the flight.
“We’ll go to my room,” he said.
She nodded, bending over to pick up their coats. He wrapped his arms around her and transported them to his room in the barracks.
“Just a sec,” he said, dropping a kiss to her lips and transporting back to the greenhouse by himself. He found clippers on the wall and cut several roses, including the one she’d said was extinct. After hanging up the clippers, he transported back to his room.
Ellie was sitting on his bed on her knees, her eyes glittering with arousal. She’d stripped to her bra and panties.
“You’re the sexiest female I’ve ever seen in my life,” he said.
He walked to the bed and handed her the flowers. “Thank you.”
Looking around his room, he wished he’d had the forethought to do something better for her. To make preparations that showed her she was the most important person in the universe to him.
She plucked the petals from the roses and scattered them over the bed. The sweet aroma combined with her natural honey scent, making his bear growl. He tugged off his shirt and tossed it aside, moving to the bed and cupping her face. She was so beautiful. Her cheeks were pink and lovely, her hair cascading over her shoulders like a dark waterfall.
He lowered his head, pressing his lips to hers. She opened willingly and he plunged his tongue into her mouth, savoring her sweet taste. Their tongues tangled and danced together as he deepened the kiss, tilting her head gently and sliding his fingers down her neck to her shoulders. He caught the straps of her bra and pulled them down her arms, then unfastened the hooks. She wiggled as she continued to kiss him, helping him take the bra off and drop it to the floor. He cupped her breasts, the warm globes heavy in his hands. He kissed down her jaw to her throat and sucked on the flesh, growling softly as he pulled back and looked at her breasts. They were perfect, large, and tipped with hard nipples that begged to be sucked.
He thumbed her nipples, smiling when she made a soft sound of pleasure in her throat. Then he kissed her again, pushing her back gently until she stretched out on the bed. He rested a knee on the bed between her thighs, nibbling on her bottom lip before lifting from her and drinking his fill of the beauty laid out before him.
“Your eyes are amazing,” she said. “They’re dark gold again.”
“It’s just for you.”
She breathed his name. He lowered his head and kissed first one nipple and then the other, plumping her breasts with his hands as he sucked one firm bud into his mouth. She writhed under him as he tended to her nipples, alternating between them, sucking and nibbling.
He kissed down her stomach until he reached the waistband of her panties, hooking his fingers in them and drawing them slowly down her legs. She bent her legs and spread them slowly, her eyes practically glowing with arousal. He stared at her center as he shoved his jeans down his legs, unable to control the growl of need that tore out of his throat.
She braced her hands on her thighs and bit her bottom lip. She looked like a vixen and an angel, beautifully laid out for him.
“I’ve never wanted anyone more,” she whispered. “I’m yours.”
He put a knee on the bed and rested his hands on her knees, letting his beasts to the forefront so she could hear the truth in his voice. “You’re the only one for me, Ellie. I’m yours, too.”
He lowered his head, bracing himself on the bed as he pressed a kiss to her clit. She inhaled sharply as he circled it with his tongue, rubbing it back and fort
h before gently sucking it into his mouth. Her hips left the bed as she gasped, and he laid his arm over her stomach to hold her down so he could worship her. He continued to play his tongue over her clit as he slowly pushed his finger into her pussy. She grasped his forearm with both hands as he began to lick her clit faster, adding a second finger, thrusting into her swiftly, driving her toward pleasure.
He rubbed his fingers along her heated walls until he heard her breath catch in her throat and knew he’d found the place to send her into orbit. Then he covered her clit with his lips, flicking it rapidly with his tongue as he rubbed that space inside her. Her fingernails dug into his arm as she writhed under him, panting for breath. Her pussy clutched his fingers, and for a heartbeat she froze under him before she exploded, screaming his name.
He pulled his fingers from her pussy and sucked them into his mouth, nearly coming at the sweet taste of her. He prowled up her body, pressing his cock to her folds and sinking into her. She was tight and hot, a sweet heaven he knew he’d never get enough of. She wrapped her legs around his waist and sank her nails into his shoulders as they moved together, fucking and loving, her body gripping him like she’d been made for him.
He was pretty damn sure she had been.
Nothing had ever been as good as her kisses and the way she cried out his name. He’d never get enough of her. She was his female. His mate. His universe.
Grasping her thigh, he slid his arm underneath her knee and lifted her leg, spreading her body so he could watch himself pound into her.
She gazed at him, her lips swollen from their kisses, her eyes like molten green jewels. She slid her hand slowly down her stomach to her clit, strumming it in time with his thrusts.
“Holy fuck,” he growled as her pussy tightened on his cock, making his eyes cross as pleasure swamped him.
Her hips lifted as she moved with him, urging him on with her sweet cries of pleasure and her gasps for breath. His climax tingled at the base of his spine, making his movements jerky as he tried to hold off until she came a second time.
Her pussy began to clutch him rhythmically and she moved her hips faster, shouting his name as she climaxed. He followed her into pleasure, planting his hands on the bed and thrusting into her until he was all but drained of every ounce of fluid in his body. While she was lost to the spiral of her own pleasure, he marked her, sinking his fangs into her neck and then nicking his tongue, wiping his blood across the marks.
He kissed underneath the mark he’d made and then slipped from the cradle of her hips. Tugging the blankets over them, he pulled her close, kissing her gently as she shivered.
“You’re amazing, honey,” he murmured, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.
She smiled and rubbed her cheek on his bicep. “You are, too. Am I really yours now?”
He glanced at the mark on her neck that was already healing thanks to his blood. “Yes. You’re my marked mate. I’m yours, too.”
“I know,” she said softly. “I can feel it in my heart.”
“I’m so glad I found you.” He held her close and closed his eyes with a contented sigh.
“Me, too. I didn’t know what was missing in my life until you were here. Now I can’t imagine being without you.”
“You never have to worry about that, Ellie. I’m yours forever.”
“I’m yours forever, too, Declan.”
Chapter 8
Ellie was in heaven, snuggled up with Declan in the big bed in his room, his heart beating solidly under her ear and his arms wrapped around her. She was so content, she knew she could fall asleep easily and it would be the most restful, peaceful sleep of her life. But a magical clock was running, and that meant sleeping, at least for the moment, wasn’t an option.
With a groan, she sat up and looked down at her man.
Her mate.
It was a primal sort of term, but she liked it.
“What’s on your mind, honey?” he asked, tracing an ambling pattern on her arm with his fingertip.
“I need to go home.”
His eyes widened and the softest snarl rumbled in his chest. “What?”
She rolled her eyes. “You know I don’t mean that I need to leave forever. But I need to go home and pack. I’m about to be away from my world for a full year. Not only do I need to tell Layne I’m quitting and moving away, but I need to get my things and figure out how to pay bills and close accounts.”
He glanced at the clock. “I’ve got five hours until I need to be back here to get ready. Let me make a call and we’ll get ready to go back to your place.”
“Who are you calling?” She slipped from the bed and got dressed.
“I can transport you by myself, but we’ll need help to pack and bring your things with us, so it’s easier to just take some help with us.”
“They won’t mind working on short notice?” She found her shoes in the corner and pushed her feet into them.
“Not at all.” He dressed and they left the bedroom, heading down the hall to the large shared bathroom. There were showers, a row of sinks, and private toilets. He’d explained that all unmated males in NPC lived in the same building, what they referred to as the “barracks.”
She used the toilet and then washed her hands. “What’s our living situation going to be like?”
He took her hand and led her out of the bathroom. “Aw, you don’t want to share a bathroom with a bunch of guys?”
With a laugh, she said, “Not really.”
“Don’t worry. There are homes for us to live in. We’ll have to meet with the builders and see what’s available.”
“Could we maybe live near Tom and Neve?”
“I’m sure.” He transported them from the hallway in the barracks to another hallway. A sign next to a closed door read “Security.” “Tomorrow, we’ll see what’s available. And I want you to meet my parents, too.”
He pushed open the door to the security office and stepped inside, drawing her into the room. A man sat at the desk full of monitors, and swiveled to face them.
“Hey, Rhys,” Declan said. “This is my fated mate, Ellie. Honey, this is Rhys. He’s the Dasher reindeer and the head of security.”
She shook his hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“You, too. Congratulations. I understand from Declan’s text that you’re going to be joining us in NPC, so welcome.”
“Thanks. Do you have a fated mate?”
Rhys’s face lit up as he reached into the breast pocket of his uniform shirt and pulled out a photo of a pretty woman with a little boy. “That’s my Merri, and our son RJ. They’re my everything.”
Ellie couldn’t help but smile at Rhys’s words. In any other situation, it would’ve sounded cheesy, but it was clear from the look in Rhys’s eyes and the tone of his voice that he really did believe his family was everything.
“That’s so sweet. Your son is adorable.”
“Well, he takes after his mom.” He tucked the photo back into his pocket and gave it a little pat as if ensuring it was safe in there. “You need some help and some trackers, right?”
“I still have mine on,” Declan said, lifting his wrist.
“I thought that was a watch. It’s a tracker?” she asked.
He nodded, taking the one Rhys handed him and securing it to her wrist. “Whenever anyone leaves NPC, they have to wear a tracker. It not only keeps a log of where we’ve been while we’re in the human world, but it also alerts security if the transportation window is closing on Christmas morning and someone hasn’t returned.”
She looked at her wrist. The lightweight band was gray plastic and the face of the watch looked like an activity tracker, with the time, location, and a countdown clock. She pointed to the timer. “This is how long we have until dawn?”
Declan nodded. “If we’re not back in NPC an hour before dawn, it beeps every five minutes as a reminder. We can also communicate with security and anyone wearing a tracker as well.”
“Why do we have to
wear them?”
“First, because our people get stuck out of NPC for a year if they’re not back by dawn, and if someone doesn’t want to be in the human world for a year, that sucks hard. Sometimes our people get distracted and don’t realize what time it is,” Rhys said.
“That’s happened?” she asked.
Declan nodded. “A few years ago, a shifter was getting supplies and ended up going home with a female he met. He fell asleep at her place and almost missed coming home in time.”
“Geez. Having a one-night stand and accidentally getting trapped for a year would be a sucky way to start a relationship.”
Rhys laughed. “Yeah, he didn’t make that mistake again.”
“And the reason the tracker keeps a log of where anyone goes is because there was a shifter who had a secret family in the human world. No one knew he had a daughter who was half elf,” Declan said.
“Wouldn’t his daughter be half-shifter?” she asked.
“No. Shifters are always male, but elves can be male or female.”
“If we have a daughter, she’ll be an elf? Like with the ears and everything?” She was trying to picture an elf, but all she could imagine were cartoon images.
“NPC elves look human except for the ears.”
“Oh,” she chuckled. “I was thinking of cartoons.”
Declan nodded knowingly. “Of course. It’s all humans know of our people.” He held up his hand and ticked off a list on his fingers. “The sleigh reindeer are either magical or they’re just animals, or both. Elves are small, only make toys, and wear tights and shoes with bells on them. Santa brings coal to bad children.”
She laughed at the last one. “When I was ten, my parents filled my stocking with coal as a joke. I was so upset! I didn’t believe in Santa by then, but when I saw the coal, I thought I’d made a mistake and Santa gave me coal because I didn’t believe in him.”
She’d tried not to cry when that happened, but a part of her had been genuinely worried that all her friends had been wrong and that he did exist. Her parents felt bad the moment she’d gotten upset, and they apologized and promised they were just teasing her. Another stocking had been waiting full of toys and candy, but she’d held that hurt for a long time, wondering what was real and what wasn’t.
