Page 135 of Starting a New Life

“There’s not?” Nix laughed.

I shook my head, a yawn escaping as exhaustion swept through me. A nap sounded good right about now. “The kids are already out of the house.”

Nix flicked my side. “I know. I also know that you have an important meeting this morning. And I have another magic lesson with Levi and Callum.”

I sighed, shaking my head. “Next time I’m setting up a meeting for a Sunday, please remind me not to.”

Nix laughed. “Well, it was kind of important.”

“Heath and Angelo would have survived waiting for their promotion one day longer.”

“Sure. But there’s the pack run tonight? Where you wanted to introduce them as Rhett’s deputies.”

“Right.”

Why did he have to be so responsible?

“Fine. I’ll get up. In a minute.”

A minute turned into ten, which turned into Nix and me showering together, which turned into trading lazy blow jobs, which then turned into us both having to hurry the fuck up to get dressed and into the car.

“Damn,” I mumbled as I drove the car out of our driveway. “We forgot the pancakes. And the chocolate sauce.”

Nix chuckled, his smile brightening the gloomy morning like a ray of sunshine peeking through the cloud-covered sky. “I think we should keep the sauce in our bedroom. Let them wonder what happened to it.”

“Devious, sweetheart. You’re absolutely devious.”

Nix squeezed my thigh. “I’m learning from the best.”

I would’ve liked to give a snarky answer, but I couldn’t come up with one, so I simply enjoyed my mate’s touch, the warmth of his hand seeping through my jeans and into my leg.

Those casual touches, the way he always reached for me just like I always reached for him, were some of my favourite things about being mated. His touch calmed me, his magic brushing against me instantly relaxing my muscles, no matter how much a long day of dealing with small and big problems had riled me up.

“Oh, did the Council ever follow up with you about Callum’s mysterious disappearance?” Nix asked into the quietness of the cab.

I huffed. “You mean after they initially contacted me about a theft and I ripped them a new one over the phone and received a formal reprimand?”

Nix laughed. “Yes.”

I rolled my eyes. “Once. They felt the need to inform me I’m no longer a suspect and that they’d closed the investigation because of the ‘nature of the stolen goods.’ I asked them if they meant the escape of a horribly abused person.”

“You didn’t.”

My wolf proudly puffed out his chest. “Of course I did.”

If no one ever challenged the status quo, things would never change.

“I didn’t think it was possible, but I love you even more now than I did a second ago.”

My heart skipped a beat, then thundered on. “Want to love me even more?”

Nix furrowed his brow, suspicion marring his smile. “What did you do?”

I huffed. “Why do you think I did something?”

“Because I know you.”

He did.