I’ve never experienced a moment which felt so completely right, like a rubber band snapping into place. Like our souls combined into one.
Chapter 10
Cecily
Present
My body is surrounded by the most comforting warmth I’ve ever felt. I snuggle my head in closer, not wanting to wake up yet and lose the sensation. The smell of citrus fills my nose, and I let out a content sigh. This is exactly how I want to wake up every morning, completely satisfied and full of love and comfort.
The warmth around me tightens its hold, and my eyes shoot open. I’m being held by someone. That wouldn’t be strange when considering how much I’ve been held since my body accepted my soul form. The strange part is the fact that I’m naked. My mind quickly filters through reasons why I would be naked. Make that why both of us would be naked.
Heat floods my cheeks as I remember what happened when I woke up in the middle of the night. If I hadn’t woken up naked, I would almost think it was all a dream. Lifting my head up from the best pillow I’ve ever used, I peer into Derrick’s face. He’s still sleeping, eyes closed with a soft smirk.
I can’t believe sneaking a kiss would eventually lead into us having mind-blowing sex, but I can’t say I regret a moment of what we shared. It felt right. Like I was gaining a piece of myself that I lost a long time ago. If I’m honest with myself, the comfort I’ve felt from Derrick, starting from the first moment, has felt like coming home. Which makes me conflicted, seeing as how I shouldn’t have this reaction toward anyone other than my mate. Anyone other than Marcellus. Or Marcus, whatever he wants to be called these days.
The shadow of a butterfly lands on the outside of the tent, followed shortly by two others. I watch as their wings open and close. Rolling over, Derrick shifts with me so he’s spooning me, and his head nuzzles into the crook of my neck. I stop gazing at the butterfly shadow on the tent and instead peer in front of me, which happens to be Derrick’s arm that I’m lying on.
I gasp louder than I might’ve wanted, and Derrick mumbles in my ear. His left forearm is in front of me, and it has a very familiar mark on it. How is this possible? How does he have a duplicate of mine and Marcus’ mate mark? This shouldn’t be possible. Did this happen because we fucked and I never sealed the bond with Marcellus?Oh my Fates, when will I start to get his name right?
What if the mark transferred from Marcus to Derrick? Is that possible? One can only hope! Seriously though, what does this mean? My breath speeds up as I go through a mini freak-out. Derrick, who was already on the cusp of waking up, must hear my irregular breathing. His hand trails up my side, and he releases a moan when he realizes we’re still naked.
He pulls me against him tighter until there’s no space between us. “Good morning, Precious.” His greeting is accompanied by a kiss to the side of my head. I don’t say anything; my shock is too great at seeing my mark on him. I reach a finger out and trace the lines of the hexagon. A warm heat fills my body and Derrick becomes rigid behind me.
“The fuck,” he says before his weight shifts and his head leans over my shoulder. I know the moment he spots the mark, because he’s suddenly sitting up, jerking his arm in front of him, ripping it out from under me. I sit up as he has his own freak-out moment.
His right hand rubs against the mark before he licks his fingers, and rubs it some more, trying to see if it’ll go away. He brings his arm close to his face and pulls it farther away, as if he’s testing his vision, hoping it’s a trick. Finally, he whips his head over to stare at my face, before his eyes dart to my left forearm.
Of course he doesn’t find anything there, since my own mark is covered by magic. “Cecily, I swear I didn’t have this last night. I would never have taken the gift you gave me if I had a mate. Please believe me!” He gets up on his knees and places both hands on either side of my face as he peers into my eyes.
My heart is truly touched that he’s so concerned over my feelings right now. If he had any mark other than mine on his arm, I would probably jump to the conclusion he was just wanting to sate some kind of need, and didn’t mean anything that happened last night. Thankfully, that is not the case. Concern shines from his emerald eyes as he watches for my reaction to the discovery of his mark.
I can see my non response is causing his concern to grow and he becomes more worried by the second. Panic replaces the concern in his eyes the longer I don’t say anything. “Cecily,” he whispers on a plea to take away his fear. I have no idea what to say to him right now. I don’t know how he actually feels about finding a mark on him right after having such a connection together last night. After a pause, he continues talking, “I don’t understand how it’s possible for me to gain my mark right after sharing such a life-changing night with you. Everything I feel for you, that’s how I should be reacting toward my mate, and I can tell you with absolute certainty it’s not possible for me to feel what I do about you for another. This has to be some kind of mistake, this mark is like a betrayal on my skin. I swear to you, I’ll figure this out. Just please, don’t shut me out. I need you in my life. Now that I’ve found you, I can’t imagine spending my life without you. You’re my everything, Cecily. PLEASE, just say something so I know you’re okay with this.”
I realize now how my own spiraling thoughts caused me to go pale, and shock must be apparent on my face. The urge to give him comfort consumes me, and before I know it, my hands mirror the hold he has on my face, and I pull him in slowly toward me until I’m able to press my lips on his. I apply a small amount of pressure on his body until he’s sitting and I can straddle his lap.
My nipples brush against his chest as my thighs spread to straddle him. I really didn’t think this through, still being naked and all, but I’m not complaining either. As soon as I’m seated on his lap, I deepen the kiss, wanting to chase away all of his fears, doubts, and worries. He’s hesitant for a moment; I can feel his doubt at my sincerity coming from our bond. Slowly, he allows himself to believe my intentions of kissing him are honest. By the time we break away from the kiss, we’re both breathing heavily.
Feeling all of his emotions coming from the bond is a strange experience. It comes back to me that learning how to discern the difference between our own and our mate’s sentiments is part of the training I was supposed to have with my mother when I got home. She was also going to teach us how to send intentional messages along the bond, paired with preventing unintentional sharing at inopportune times. I guess this is something we need to figure out on our own for now.
Before I can go down a road of being worried about my parents, my full attention is brought back to Derrick when his cock twitches underneath my pussy that is pressed up against it. This certainly was not my intention when I started kissing him, but I’m not mad about it either. My mind tries to decide between taking things further, and putting Derrick’s fears to bed, when he takes the decision out of my hands.
His lips draw a searing path down my neck as his palms trail along my spine. I’m already becoming addicted to his touches. Lips continue down my collarbone as he grips my left wrist, turning my arm, so my palm is facing up. Feather light touches continue down my arm until he reaches my wrist. His tongue flicks out as he kisses my wrist and the sensation has my nipples tightening. My head tips back, and I let out a moan.
“No! Absolutely not! Not again, you two cut that shit out right fucking now.” The furious voice of Marcus reaches us from outside of the tent as a stick bounces off the side. Derrick glances up with mischief in his eyes and a smirk on his face. He nips my forearm and the sharp teasing bite pulls my attention to where my mark would be if it wasn’t covered up.
Derrick’s voice is husky when he demands, “Show me, Cecily. Show me right now.” The certainty in his voice warms my heart. He nips my forearm again when I don’t immediately show him the mark.
“Show you what? I don’t know what you’re talking about!” I can’t help but tease him while testing just how certain he is.
He lets out a growl, “I’m not joking, Precious. Show me.” As an added emphasis, he thrusts his hips up, causing his cock to glide against my clit. Sweet Fates does that feel good. “I’ll reward you if you stop playing coy with me.” He throws in as a bargain.
Well, I’m not about to pass that up. My eyes focus on his face as I drop the magic hiding my mark from view. His expression of wonder is a gift, a gentle hug to my soul, and the way his eyes light up takes my breath away.
He peppers kisses all over my mark, making sure not a speck of it hasn’t felt his joy. I shouldn’t be caught off guard when he wraps an arm around me and holds the base of my head before kissing the shit out of me, but I am. We’re startled apart when another stick hits the side of the tent, followed by, “I’m not telling you again. We need to break camp and leave soon. Let’s get a move on!”
Would it be wrong to kill Marcus? Pretty sure I won’t miss him at all. I figured Derrick would pull back and stop, but he doesn’t. He just grumbles and starts nipping down my neck while holding his hands over my ears, causing me to giggle. This time, it’s Klaus who makes his displeasure known. “Guys, I wouldn’t push him right now, and I’m not sure Alex and I can handle hearing that again so soon.” His voice comes from the entrance side of the tent, giving the impression he’ll come inside if need be.
Well, now I know everyone heard what happened last night. So much for keeping it between Derrick and I.Did you really expect them to not hear your shouts of pleasure?He pulls back with a sigh and places his forehead on my chest. We both take deep breaths to try and lower our raging libido right now. Once Derrick has himself under control, he raises his head and gives me a sweet peck before pulling back to just smirk at me.
