Page 35 of Destined Paranormals: Volume One

“I do, Aleric. It’s…the bed is tall.”

I chuckled. It was. There was a reason for that, one I could not wait to finally experience. I had a desire to bring my mate pleasure while standing next to the bed and he was lying on the edge. I would be able to finally experience that soon.

“You’re thinking about knotting me.”

I grinned. “I am, presently. But I do think about other things as well.”

Konrad snorted before he sat on the trunk and pulled off his boots. When he yawned, I pulled down the blanket and patted the bed. I had been gone for months, and my scent would no longer be on the bedding, but Konrad and I would change that soon enough.

Konrad didn’t have to be asked. He took the hint after he stripped out of his clothing. He climbed right in and covered his mouth when he yawned again.

I quickly pulled my own clothing off, tossing it on the floor next to his, and climbed into the bed with my mate. I pulled him to me, snuggling up behind him, and sighed. This right here was what I had been missing. My mate in my arms in my bed. The small structure I’d made in the cave was fine for a while, but here we could stretch out, and the mattress below us was soft and comfortable.

“I love you, Aleric.”

“I love you too, Konrad.” I kissed the back of Konrad’s head and closed my eyes. We were finally home.

Chapter 12

Konrad

November 1768

Iwasn’t sure if it was going to be normal for me to wake and find myself alone. If that were the case, Aleric and I were going to have to have a discussion about that.

I sat up and looked around the room. I vaguely remembered Aleric bringing me something to eat yesterday, but then I fell back asleep. One would have thought that after spending a month in a cave doing nothing more than making love and sleeping, I would have been fully rested. Apparently not.

I desperately needed to relieve my bladder, so I tossed the blanket back and slid from the bed. I stretched, working out the stiffness in my back before I located my clothing. It was folded neatly and was lying on the trunk that was at the end of the bed. I remembered dropping it on the floor, so that told me Aleric had picked them up and folded them for me. That was sweet of him. Then again, he always seemed to be doing things like that for me. Now, if I could keep him from leaving me before I woke.

I quickly dressed, wondering if I’d be able to find the chamber pot somewhere without having to snoop around in Ferdinand and Egon’s house. I was certain that at this point, they thought I was a layabout and their son had been given a worthless mate. That was the absolute last thing I wanted them to think about me, but what did I expect? I’d spent the last half of a day in Aleric’s bed.

I groaned. Not a good first impression.

I opened the door, listening to the quietness of the house. If they were here, they weren’t being loud at all. I stepped into the small hallway, and that’s when I heard humming. It had to be Egon because the voice certainly didn’t belong to Aleric or Ferdinand. I followed the sound, which wasn’t difficult because the house wasn’t that large.

I found Egon in the great room. He was in the back, working on the table, preparing what looked like meat of some sort.

“Good morning. I hope you slept well,” Egon said without raising his head.

“I did, yes. And good morning.” I glanced around, hoping to see Aleric. I could always use our bond to talk to him, but I was a grown man. I should be able to have a conversation with my mate’s omega father without needing my own mate there.

“I bet you would like the washroom,” Egon said.

I turned back to focus on him and saw he had a huge smile on his face. I nodded because I desperately needed it, yes.

“Come with me. I’ll put water on, and you can have a nice, long soak, and I’ll bring you breakfast. The alphas have gone off flying and hunting. They will be back by the time the midday meal is ready though.”

I let Egon usher me to the back of the house. There was a door off to the right, and I had assumed it was the back door to the house. I was wrong. It was the washroom. I would have argued about the long soak until I saw the tub. I couldn’t keep from gasping in surprise.

“I agree. It was a very unexpected surprise from Ferdinand. I won’t take no from you. You deserve a long soak after the long flight you had. I’ll bring you something to eat, and if you’re comfortable enough with me, I can sit and we can get to know one another a little better.”

I could only smile at Egon and nod. Aleric had told me how amazing his fathers were, and I’d seen nothing that would say otherwise. They were very much in love, that much was obvious.

Egon left me to take care of business, and I hurried to the chamber pot and did just that. It was such a relief. I looked around the room, completely surprised by the luxuries that were there. There was a chair in the corner for dressing and undressing, a shelf that had linens, another that held bottles and other jars. There were two chamber pots and, of course, the massive tub. It was big enough that I could stretch out and still sink down and be covered with water. It would take forever to fill, I was sure, but I absolutely was not going to say no to a soak.

I wasn’t above bathing in the river nor in the pool of water that was in Aleric’s cave. But I would love to soak in Egon’s tub if he was willing to share. I had just finished taking care of other needs when there was a knock on the door. I was turning to cross to the door when it cracked open.

“Are you ready for water?”