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I swallowed at that, and he finished his drink in one swing, his eyes on me over the rim of the glass. My heart skipped a beat because I felt he wasn’t only talking about the initiation.
After getting back together, so much happened, and we weren’t left with the chance to speak about our mate bond and Kaleem marking me. It was a given it would happen at some point, but we never discussed when it would. Throughout dinner, I wanted to ask him about it but didn’t.
I was already trying to keep it together in preparation for the ceremony until we made it upstairs to the bathroom, and it hit me, wouldn’t it be better if I was marked before?
“Kaleem,” I called before he left the bathroom to get another bottle of wine for me. “I was thinking, with everything planned for tomorrow, perhaps we should talk about—I don’t know, you marking me?”
His lips curved slightly, only enough that I might have missed it, and he turned and left the room. I stood there for a second, unsure of what that little smile meant or his silence, but I felt he was up to something.
After turning the light off, pinning my hair up, getting undressed, and then sinking into the tub, I watched the shadows of the candle flames dancing on the walls. A few months ago, I had water stored in buckets and the smell of a trash heap seeping into my clothes. Now, I was submerged in a tub large enough to hold three people, and my man was fetching me a bottle of wine.
My Dad’s dream of returning the Bluemoon Pack to glory was happening, and Colin was where he belonged, behind bars.
I didn’t see my life taking such a drastic turn, but I’d prayed for it and was grateful it was happening. Except for the ups and downs with Colin, everything was happening better than expected.
“How’s the bath?” Kaleem asked when he returned and sat on the edge of the tub to pour me my third glass of wine.
“Perfect,” I answered. “Thank you. Are you going to get in?”
He dipped his hand into the water and laid it on my stomach. His fingers glided over my stomach, breasts, and crotch but stopped when I arched into his touch.
“Enjoy your bath,” he replied and pulled away. “Come to the roof when you’re finished.”
He got up, but I quickly sat up and grabbed his hand. His eyes fell to my soap-covered breasts, and his wolf made an appearance, his eyes like glowing steel.
“Are you okay?” I asked, and he nodded. “You seem distant. You can tell me if something’s wrong. You know you can.”
He bent down and kissed my forehead. “Everything’s okay, Diana, I promise. Just come to the roof when you’re finished, okay?”
I nodded, and he kissed me quickly and left. Now I was concerned and unsure if he was okay or not. Maybe asking him to mark me wasn’t the right call, but it made sense. He was going to bite me tomorrow, so why not seal the deal between us tonight?
Didn’t he want to? Didn’t he want to feel what we had before?
I eyed my phone lying on the sink, contemplating calling Marian or not to get her advice, but I decided not to. This was between Kaleem and me, and if he wasn’t ready to complete our mate bond, I was okay with waiting.
I just wanted him to be open with me. I didn’t want secrets between us about anything, especially how we were feeling.
I submerged myself up to my chin while resting my glass on the tub’s edge. I closed my eyes and tried to not think of anything troubling. After my bath, I’d go to the roof like he asked and makemyfeelings known.
Lead by example, right? So that was what I was going to do.
***
I got dressed in one of Kaleem’s shirts, leaving nothing underneath, and made my way to the roof. When I got there, I discovered what he was up to.
There was a four-post white canopy over a low bed decorated with pillows and white silk sheets. Like our first date, a piano and flute were playing from a small gold speaker, plus an array of fruits by the bed.
He was lying shirtless with his eyes closed and wearing cotton pants, and I paused, struck by how lucky I was.
I knew he was aware of my presence, but he didn’t move. With his hands behind his head, my eyes roamed down his body. He was truly like a god, lying in his castle. Was he doing this on purpose because he knew his effect on me?
When his eyes opened and he found me, I smiled. We stared at each other as he sat up, and I made my way to him.
“We’re both wearing white,” I said and sat on the bed.
He reached out to pull me further onto the bed, so we were sitting together amid the pillows. He picked up a strawberry and held it to my mouth, and I started laughing.
“What?” he laughed, and I shook my head.
