Page 59 of Plus-Size Sold Mate
My body molds to his, boneless yet deeply satisfied now. I press into the crook of his neck, savoring the warmth and lingering smell of salt clinging to his skin.
“It’s you and me,” Luke murmurs against the top of my head, brushing a kiss to my hair with his arms solid and grounding around me.
My heart squeezes at that mutually claiming declaration, and in the moment, I ruminate on that thought.
With the low tide and warm breeze to keep us company, there’s nowhere else I want to be.
Chapter 20 - Luke
The shift in me doesn’t happen all at once. It’s gradual, but unmistakable.
In the days following the festival attack, I find myself watching Sera more closely, though, not out of suspicion or caution, but because I can’t bring myself to stop.
Even if she doesn’t owe them anything, she defended the pack and drained herself to exhaustion doing it. That does something to a man, especially an Alpha and a mate.
I catch myself being more attentive now, even if it’s just through small acts. I bring her water when she doesn’t ask, I make sure she eats, and I touch her gently in passing, light and respectful, like checking on the bond through skin.
Without being too suffocating, I let her know I’m here and that none of this is out of obligation for me. I’m choosing this, just as I want her to choose me.
Wraith Peak hasn’t made another move yet, but that doesn’t mean they won’t, so patrols have doubled, and our perimeter checks have tightened as a precaution. Even while tension still lingers within the pack, things have been quiet, and I’m taking full advantage of it.
By the time morning arrives, I wake before she does, greeted by the still bedroom and her next to me, warm and tangled up in the sheets. She’s curled on her side facing me, and for a moment, I just watch as she breathes.
Not that long ago, she wasn’t willing to share a bed with me, at least, not on her own terms. But now, she sleeps here every night, and even if a small part of her is still guarded, she’s here.
Unable to help myself now, I slowly brush my knuckles down her bare arm, taking in how she shivers faintly before stirring. Her lashes flutter briefly, then she makes a soft, half-grumbled, half-breathy sound before fully waking up.
The sight alone is enough to stir a reaction from me.
Sliding an arm around her waist, I gently pull her closer to my chest and soak in just how warm and tangible she is. She’s right here, in my grasp, and completely mine. Now, that thought comes from a place of reverence rather than primal possession.
“Good morning,” I murmur with a faint smile, amused by the way she always struggles to wake up fully.
Sera cracks an eye open to glance at me, then she rubs at them, but doesn’t pull away. “Morning.”
“Never been a morning person?”
“No,” she mumbles, looking up at me now while I trace a slow path down her spine. “Not when I wake up to someone staring at me.”
My lips spread further. “I’m allowed, aren’t I?”
With a faint huff of amusement, she doesn’t deny it. She allows that quiet to settle between us before searching my face for something. “I didn’t realize you were such a sap.”
That pulls an incredulous laugh straight from my chest, and I give her a small, deliberate tug toward me. “I can be soft.”
“Apparently.”
Even if the word sounds sardonic, the softness in her eyes betrays her, along with that reluctant smile of hers.
Leaning down, I press a light kiss to her temple, then her cheek, while sunlight warms the sheets concealing us. Slowernow, I press against her lips, unhurried and dripping with affection.
Her hand slides up my chest, hooking lightly against the base of my neck while she kisses me back, reaching into it more than I imagine she wants to admit.
The bond thrums between us, warm and satisfied. It leaves me feeling less on edge now and more level-headed, like I can finally breathe without wondering when everything will fall apart.
She breaks the kiss long enough to murmur against my lips, “Definitely a sap.”
With an amused exhale against her mouth, I cup her cheek and pull her back in deeper this time. My opposite hand drifts along her side and the curve of her hip, eager to feel any inch of her skin that I can. Lately, I can’t get enough.
