She laughs, her hands sliding over my damp shoulders. Her mouth finds mine and she kisses me, and then kisses me again, as if she can’t resist. “I can tell.”
“Dakota…feel Murr wake?” I brush a finger over her temple. “Here?” I doubt there is a connection between us—I can hear nothing, no matter how much I strain to sense her—but there is no denying that she came around the building at the right moment.
My new, lovely mate pauses. “I…don’t know. I bet I heard something. I’ve been listening for you all day.”
I grunt. Perhaps that is so. I am disappointed again, but it is hard to remain disappointed when my arms are full of a sweetly scented mate. I kiss her jaw, moving along to her ear. It is the tiniest thing and I did not get a chance to nibble on it before. “Finish kiss now.” I grin against her soft skin. “Murr kiss all.”
Dakota pulls away from me with a grimace. “Absolutely not.”
“…no?” I am astonished. Did we not share my fires? “No kiss all?”
She groans in frustration and cups my face, kissing me again. “I want to do that, but not right now. My daughter is here and she knows all about us and she’s freaked out. Aggie and Dottieare staring at us through the windows. If we’re going to do more, we need privacy. We need alone time.”
Alone. She is obsessed with kissing me away from others, my mate. But if it is true and Rabbit is upset, I understand. She is a mother first. Reluctantly, I agree, but not before pressing a few more kisses to her jaw. “When privacy?”
“Tonight,” Dakota says. “Until then, let’s go inside. It’s cold and wet out here, and I want to check on a few things.” She taps my cheek with light fingers. “And you can see the puppies.”
I am rather fascinated by the newborn creatures. Not nearly as fascinated with them as I am with my mate’s scent, but I know she’s trying to distract me. I pull her in closer so I can hold her for a moment and drink in her new smell. Her arms go around me, and she pulls my face in towards her breasts (covered again, because of course). I want to hold her like this, always. To think that I have been lucky enough to find a family once more…
And then I pause, because they rely on me. “Need meat? Should I hunt?”
She cups my face again, kissing me once more. “We have meat, and you are very sweet. Thank you. Just relax until later.”
Relax. I am not sure what that is, but something tells me it is not nearly as fun as undressing my mate again.
CHAPTER 65
DAKOTA
I have a date.
Well, kinda. Basically I’m going to go elsewhere with Murr tonight so we can have privacy. I want to be alone with him, and alone doesn’t involve my daughter, two nosy old ladies, and more cats and puppies than I can count. But first I have to break this news to the others.
It’s also a good day for a thorough wash.
Since we’re living in a bookstore, our daily bathing consists of a sink, wet cloths, and hasty, furtive scrubbing with a wash towel. We have an inflatable kiddie pool that we pull out about once a week and fill up to use as a legit bath, and that’s also the day we do hair washing. Rabbit’s hair is a different texture than mine, and we can’t wash it more often anyhow. It’s a bonding day for her and me, as we sit in the dark bathroom with candles all around us, taking turns in the pool. I’ve heated a bucket of water and pour it in for her so she’s not bathing in chilled water, and then I soap up her thick hair for her. Since hair takes a lot longer, she’s sitting in the water in a swimsuit, and once we’ve changed the water out, she’ll take a real bath.
“Your mother’s going on an overnight trip tonight,” I say casually, a towel wrapped around my now-clean-and-drying hair. I carefully massage a dried chunk of shampoo into her hair, wetting it until it starts to lather. At some point we’ll have to figure out how to make our own soaps, but for now, we make do.
“Wife business?” she asks, teasing me.
“Husband and wife business, but yes.”
“I’m not calling him dad, just for the record.” She leans forward, hugging her knees so I can work the lather deeper into her hair. “That’d be weird.”
“God, no. Call him Murr, or Murtades. Whatever you’re comfortable with.”
“Murr it is.” She turns her head slightly, looking back at me. “I’m just glad you found someone, Mom. You deserve to be happy.”
There’s a big knot in my throat at that. “Thanks, honey.”
Her words make me think. Am I happy? I’ve never beenun-happy. I just never quantify things like that. Day to day is about survival, making sure my kid is fed and we’re safe. Happy (or otherwise) never played into things. But with Murr around, everything is a little bit easier. We can relax. It’s not just the meat he provides. It’s his company, too. I like his warm, friendly presence. I like that he’s full of smiles and affection for both the cats and humans. I like that when he eyes me, I’m not just another mouth to feed. I feel like a person again.
More than that, I feel like awomanagain. I’m not just a mom.
But I am definitelynottelling my daughter that.
A knock bangs on the door. “I’m comin’ in,” Aggie hollers through the door. “Everyone get decent!”
