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“Did you want to get up?” I hoped he didn’t.
The arm draped over me tightened just a little. “No. Not yet.”
I sighed deeply, snuggling close, Taavi’s warmth radiating into my bones. I rested my cheek against his torso, breathing in the earthy spiciness of his scent. I could stay like this, in Taavi’s arms, forever.
Literally.
It hit me like a ton of fucking bricks, and I wasn’t entirely sure what to do with it. Yeah, I’d thought before about howmaybethis was it, that Taavi was going to be The One, blah blah blah. But, lying here in his arms, with his warmth against my skin, after everything we’d been through… There was no question. It wasn’t a maybe or a what-if. It was Taavi or it was no one from now until the day I died.
Maybe even after that.
Of course, we’d only been dating for like six weeks, and a couple of those I’d spent being a complete asshat, so it was really only like a month. We didn’t live together, although wehadfor a few months there when Taavi was stuck as a dog, but I didn’t really think that counted. So there was still a lot to get through in terms of relationship stages and milestones before I went and did something stupid like propose.
But I would. Or maybe he would, because I’m notorious for fucking shit up and freaking out for no reason, but it would happen. One way or another.
And that made me feel all warm and fuzzy, and I am not used to feeling warm and fuzzy. Pet is warm and fuzzy. Taavi is warm, but he’s not even fuzzy when he’s shifted, so fuzzy just isn’t really much of a thing in my life.
Except maybe now it was. And not just because of Pet.
“Taavi?”
He chuffed softly, the sound soft and almost muffled, like he might have been falling asleep.
“Move in with me?”
That got his attention, and he pushed himself up with one arm so that he could look down at my face, his beautiful mismatched eyes studying mine. “You want me to move in?”
I nodded, my heart in my throat. “You want to go back to school, right? And if you’re in school, then you won’t be working as much, but I make enough at Beyond the Veil to support both of us, and I’d be paying rent here anyway…” I trailed off, my ears turning pink. “Or not, if you don’t want to,” I mumbled, dropping my gaze.
“Val.” His voice was soft, warm, slightly teasing.
I looked back up at him.
“Te amo.”
I blinked, then opened my mouth to ask what the fuck that meant, but he put two fingers on my lips.
“I love you,” he whispered.
I thought my heart would stop me from breathing, it swelled so much inside my chest, causing my eyes to well up. I ran my fingers over the side of his skull, rubbing across the short hair on the sides of his head. I loved the feel of his hair, long and short, in my hands. Loved the warmth of his body and the calluses on his hands. Loved the smell of him, earthy and spicy. Loved his voice, the way he sometimes spoke Spanish instead of English, even though he knew full well I didn’t understand him. Loved the soft chuffs and growls he made, even in human form.
I loved him. Of course I did. I just—hadn’t actually said so.
“I love you, too, Taavi,” I told him, bringing one of his hands to my lips so I could press a kiss to his palm.
“And yes, Val.”
“Yes?” I didn’t know what he was talking about, my brain unable to process anything but the fact that Taavi loved me.
He turned his hand to grab mine and delicately kissed each of my fingertips before looking down at me again, lips quirked in a smile. “Yes, I’d love to move in with you.” The next kiss he placed on my lips. “Mi corazón.”
EPILOGUE
It had beena blissful month sharing my life and my space with Taavi, when everything changed. It was nothing he did, nothing I did.
It was a phone call that came at almost eleven at night.
“Elliot?” He almost never called without texting first.
“Val—” His voice broke, and I felt panic surge in my chest. I sat up sharply, Taavi pulling away from me and hitting pause on the movie playing on the tv.
“What’s wrong, El?”
“It’s—It’s Dad,” he half choked out.
“What happened?”
“They—killed him.” That sentence hadn’t sunk in when he spoke again. “Val, I need you.”
