Once she was done, I walked over and gently pulled her into my arms and carried her down the hall. She was limp, and nothing moved about her. I laid her on the bed before taking the seat next to her. I drifted in and out of sleep, checking on her every so often.
Dr. Arthur woke me up when he walked in. He did a quick assessment of her before taking a seat in the chair.
“If you took any longer, she may not be here right now,” he said.
“I know…” I said.
“I’ve seen some bad hemorrhage cases, but this will be one of the worst,” he said.
“There was so much blood…” Imuttered.
“If she ever has another, they should know about this,” he said.
My eyes lifted to his, tilting my head.
“She’s at higher risk of hemorrhaging for any future births,” he said.
“Oh…” I said.
When he left that day, he took the baby with him to have his little body cremated for her. He said he would have it done quickly and give Lina the ashes.
Once we got to the cabin, we checked everything out. Lina was not kidding; it had the bare essentials. I also somehow forgot there was only one bedroom here. It had been so long since I’d been there. All the times I visited, I never took the time to see it. Lina had told me they had planned to do a small add-on bedroom in the coming weeks, until the plans changed, and we came early. I slept on the floor on top of a sleeping bag. It wasn’t great, but I made do with it.
Every day we spent at this cabin, I fell more in love with her. From the moment I bound with her, something like love formed immediately. It was like the love you have for a family member; you don’t understand it, but you know you love them. It made it easier to be cruel to her and turn my emotions off. Every day, I learned something new about her, and I only fell deeper.
I didn’t want to rush or push anything on her. I didn’t want her to feel like she owed me. I wanted her to have feelings for me, for what and who I was. There were so many times that we stood inches from each other, and I wanted to grab her up and kiss her. To own her. To show her the love I had. Each time we got close, I tried to get away. The last few weeks, it was clear she was feeling something for me. She was fighting and hiding it, but I felt it from her. I sensed it.
The first time she kissed me… I wanted to take her to the room then, but Callie came, and I had to go shift. Part of the desire, I knew, was because of the moon. I also didn’t want to rush anything before she was healed, not just physically, but emotionally, too. Granted, I knew she would never fully heal from losing Izayuh. He wasn’t even mine, and I didn’t think I’d ever heal from that.
When she told me that Valentine’s Day was her favorite holiday, I knew that she deserved someone to go all out for her. She deserved the world, but that day, she deserved someone's undivided attention, and she got mine.
I didn’t care if this didn’t lead to anything more between us. I wanted her to feel loved and to enjoy herself. As soon as we stood on that balcony, our lips locked. I sensed her arousal for me. I sensed her love for me. She could deny it, but I knew that she loved me, as I loved her.
Being the first person ever to taste her lit something inside my soul. We both had been with other people, and that was the past, but to be her first for something meant something to me. I wanted her to see the stars, the moon, and the galaxy. And she did.
As she lay in my arms, drifting into sleep, I thought of how many times I had dreamed of this night. She was in my arms, and we had finally had each other. She wasmine.
Chapter 27
The kink in my neck stirred me awake. I’d slept with my head on his shoulder all night. Our bodies were pressed together. I opened my eyes and tilted my head back slowly. He was awake, staring at the ceiling. My movement had him turning his head and looking down at me.
“How long have you been awake?” I muttered.
“A while, but I didn’t want to wake you,” he said.
He squeezed his arm around me tighter.
“What are we doing today?” I asked.
“We are gonna enjoy the tub together, get some breakfast, and then head back. We have a busy next few days before we leave. Lina demands that we have a big dinner on Saturday to say goodbye. She’s afraid she won’t see Callie and me for a very long while,” he said.
“That means we only have tonight and tomorrow to prepare our trip back,” I said.
“Yeah…” he said, sadness lacing his tone.
“Are you sad to go back home?” I asked.
“Yeah… honestly, if it wasn’t for you, and my stuff back there, but mostly you, I’d stay here. I was born here. It feels like home,” he said.