Keith laid on his side and observed the female sleeping soundly next to him. His cantaloupe-infused mate.
Her bruises and cuts were nearly gone, and he could see how beautiful she was.
Keith remembered how he carried Arya into the house and up the stairs (two at a time), and then he checked two bedrooms before finding the master bedroom. Of course, it was the last one he checked!
The bed was covered with red rose petals, and there were strawberries, chocolates, and champagne on the bedside table. Keith took a mental note to treat Zina for this extra touch. Zina was the one who prepared the house for them. And at some point, Keith heard movements downstairs, only to find fresh food in the kitchen waiting for them. Again, it was Zina. When he noticed a presence downstairs next time, Keith didn't bother with it, knowing it was Zina, and he hoped she brought more food.
Since arriving at this house, Keith and Arya didn't talk. They did that for the whole night in the pack hospital of the Spring Leaf pack, in the following morning, when she introduced him to people in the Spring Leaf pack, and on the way to the Dark Howlers pack. It was enough talking. He couldn't wait to claim Arya as his.
He smiled while remembering Arya breathlessly calling his name and when her moan changed pitch as his fangs sank into her neck. Marking. It was done.
They mated, and he marked her, and she was his now. Completely.
Her gorgeous legs were sticking out from the bedsheet that covered her midsection, and her breasts were also peeking at the top. Keith licked his lips. He wanted to suck on her nipples and feel them hardening on his tongue. He did that a few times on the last day, and it was fantastic.
He did a lot of things, and now that he thought about it... he was acting like a sexually deprived man. Maybe there should be more cuddling and talking, but he couldn't stop himself because she was hard and soft in all the right places, welcoming and pulling him closer, and she tasted of cantaloupe.
Ah! He was hard again! Should he wake her up?
Arya would fall asleep after a few rounds of lovemaking, taking about one hour-long nap before she was ready for more. It was more than an hour now. Did she have enough rest?
Keith couldn't stop himself from reaching to touch the left side of her neck where his mark was forming.
"Mmm…" Arya stirred from her sleep and exhaled shakily.
Her eyes fluttered open, and he could see her drowsiness morphing into confusion as she processed where she was.
"Good morning, gorgeous," Keith called, his voice huskier than usual.
Arya blinked at him and smiled while pulling the bedsheet to cover herself properly. She was a warrior and a werewolf, and she was used to nakedness, but with Keith, it was different. Arya wanted to impress him, and she was not sure if she was presentable, considering that her body was sticky from sweat and bodily fluids. She pulled the bedsheet to her chin before responding.
"Good morning?" It was dark outside. "What's the time?"
"You woke up and lit up my world, so it's morning."
"You are a smooth talker," she said.
"I am much more than that."
Seeing her shyly hiding behind the cover, Keith remembered one important thing.
"I'm sorry, Arya."
"For?"
"For not being more… gentle." He was horny, and he could feel that she wanted him, so he went for it without thinking much. But now that he had the time to process events since they reached here, he needed to address a certain point. "If I knew it was your first time, I would…"
"Can we not talk about it?" She interrupted him.
Keith's brows came together, and he focused on her emotions. "Why are you embarrassed?"
"Can you stop using cheats on me?"
Keith reached to hold her hand, and he pried her fingers open to release the bedsheet. "These are not cheats, Arya. This is our bond. I can sense your emotions, and you get to sense mine. Do you feel how happy I am?"
"Because it was my first time?"
"That also," Keith admitted. "I mean, I wouldn't think less of you if you had men in your past before me." She was not his first, and double standards would make him an ass. "What matters is that I will be your last. However, I must ask, how is it possible that an absolute stunner like you was not intimate with a guy before? I'm sure males were going crazy around you."
Arya pressed her lips into a line. Should she tell him that there were many guys, but none of them was worthy of her? The truth was that Arya compared them all to Alpha Cristian, and that's why none was worthy.
Nope. She shouldn't say that.
After experiencing intimacy with Keith and their bond strengthening with mating and marking, she could barely remember what she liked about Alpha Cristian. Everything worthy of mentioning was flavored with cotton candy, just like the handsome male who was on the bed next to her, buck naked.
Keith's erection was distracting, and she wanted to cover him up with a bedsheet, but then we would both be naked under the same bedsheet, and… she was not sure what to do.
She did her best to focus on his rich brown eyes that stared at her expectantly.
"Males going crazy around me and me responding to them are two different things. By the time I came of age for men to pursue me openly, I was perfectly capable of kicking their asses."
Keith stared at her in awe, and he pulled her hand to his lips without breaking eye contact.
He kissed the root of her palm. "I will thank your ass-kicking abilities because they allowed me to be your first." He pressed her palm against his cheek. "I will make you happy, Arya. You won't regret this."
"I'm not regretting it," she responded. "I hope you won't feel burdened by the idea that you must make me happy. I can do that myself."
Keith frowned. "I know you can, Arya, but you don't need to. You are not alone. You have me."
Arya thought he was silly, but she didn't want to stay passive and let him do all the work. "You make me happy, and I will make you. How does that sound?"
"That sounds acceptable."
Keith was horny as hell, and he leaned to claim her lips with his when…
'Grrrr…'
Arya's stomach rumbled loudly, and she was back to being embarrassed.
Keith grimaced. How could he forget to feed his mate? It's many hours since they ate last time, and considering their recent activities, she should be starving.
"I said I will make you happy, yet I'm not feeding you." He pecked her lips and jumped out of bed. "Give me a minute until I get something."
Arya held her breath while staring at his naked form until his perfectly firm ass disappeared through the door. As a werewolf and a warrior, Arya saw many naked men, but Keith's form was fantastic. Broad shoulders, V-shaped back, muscular legs, and that ass... Keith had a great ass.
