Nine days had passed since we drunkenly shared our feelings. We fell asleep in each other's arms that night. The next morning, we both knew we shared too much—or I thought I did. I was confused about my feelings and about what I wanted. I was trying to focus on the bigger picture. Here in this cabin was one thing, but what about when we went home? What were we going to do? How would this work? He was a wolf, and I wasn’t. I was the mother of Izayuh, and Daxyn was his cousin, the father of Izayuh. All of it felt so complicated and so confusing.
The smell of something fried and sweet caught my attention. Beignets. Oh, how I loved them the last time he made them. Before I even swung my legs to the side of the bed, the door opened. Quinn stood there, completely dressed in black pants and a button-up flannel. His hair had been cut, and his facial hair was trimmed up. In one hand, he had a plate of pillowy donuts covered in powdered sugar, and in the other, a bouquet of red and yellow roses.
“When did? How did you?” I said, my brows furrowed at him.
“Happy Valentine's Day, my little doe,” he said, flashing those sexy dimples at me.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Quinn… but I didn’t get you anything,” I said.
“You being here alive and healthy and okay is the best gift I could get,” he said.
He walked to me and placed the vase holding the flowers onto the nightstand before handing me the plate of beignets. He grabbed one off the plate and brought it to my mouth. I took a bite, and then he brought it to his mouth and took a bite. We had kissed a couple more times since that first one, but both of us stopped before it went any further. Being on my period was a good deterrent for me. Yesterday was the first day I didn’t have any spotting. It had lasted longer than it normally did, but Lina assured me that was normal.
“I have a full day planned for us,” he said.
“Oh?” I asked.
“We’re gonna go into New Orleans… watch a movie, spend the evening there,” he said.
“And Lucy?”
“Titi has offered to babysit her,” he said.
“Well, it’s easy now, she doesn’t need bottles anymore,” I said.
We guessed she was about a month and a half, and she started not wanting any more bottles. We still gave her milk in a dish, as well as soft food for her, but she’d become slightly more independent. Quinn and I had decided that we would take up his uncle's offer to put her in a sanctuary, given that she was a wild animal. I cried as we decided, and Quinn held me. We decided we would keep her until the night before we left. It broke my heart to even think about leaving her.
“I’m ready, whenever you get ready. There is a dress in the bathroom, if you want it,” he said.
“You… got me a dress?” I asked, tilting my head at him.
“I did, but don’t feel obligated to wear it,” he said.
I got off the bed and headed into the bathroom. On the back of the door hung a long black dress. It was a thin, strapped dress that had sequins all over it. One slit ran up the right side. It was gorgeous.
I quickly took a shower, shaving everything. I didn’t know how this night was going to go, but in case it went that way, I wanted to be prepared. I dried off and put the dress on. I felt like I should have makeup on with how gorgeous it was, but I had none of that here. I barely had anything to do something with my hair, aside from a brush and a ponytail. I went with a single French braid down the center. I pulled on the sides to give it some volume.
I looked down at my feet. Shit. I didn’t have shoes for this dress. I walked out of the bathroom. Quinn stood next to the fireplace. He was in different clothing. My eyes trailed from the top to the bottom. He was wearing a black polo and black dress pants. A set of heeled sandals dangled off his fingers. I was relieved for two reasons—they weren’t stilettos, and I didn’t have to wear tennis shoes.
“Take a seat, Cinderella,” he said.
“Yes… Daddy,” I said, before bursting out into laughter.
I sat down, and he leaned in close to me. “I’ll be yourdaddy, if you keep that up,” he whispered. Goosebumps rose all over my body, and even my nipples tingled. He let out a laugh. “Hot and bothered.”
He leaned back, grabbing one of my legs, running his hand down it to my ankle. He slipped my foot into the sandal and clasped it on. Then repeated it with my other foot. Just the way he slid his hand down my leg turned me on. I was so royally fucked. I’d already decided I wanted him that way, but I was trying to show restraint. I was trying to take my time. Trying to do things differently.
He stood up and pulled me to a stand, his hand moving to my hip and pulling me closer to him. I stared into his amber eyes. He reached up with his other hand, cupping my cheek. He leaned forward and kissed me. Just our lips meeting and then separating.
“We can’t start that… you look really fucking beautiful and… we gotta go, and Lucy is already in the car,” he groaned.
He pulled back from me and grabbed my hand, pulling me outside. He walked to the car door, opening it for me and guiding me in. He let go of my hand and closed the door. He hadn’t even made it to the driver's side when Lucy climbed up the console and into my lap.
“She’s gonna miss us when we leave her,” I said.
“We can always come visit,” he said, placing his hand on my lap.
“I know… it hurts thinking about leaving her,” I said.
