AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Eleven
Ivo awoke the next morning in a bed that was too small for him—but he didn’t care. Not by a long shot. He could sleep on that dinky two-seater in Alani’s living room if it meant he got to cradle her in his arms all night long. Sure, it’d be a tight fit, but they could make it work.
He also awoke with a damnable smile on his lips, one he couldn’t shake even as he stretched, feet slipping off the end of the bed, and rolled onto his back. Last night had been so incredible that he had to pinch himself multiple times throughout just to confirm that he wasn’t in some fantastic dream—that he wouldn’t wake up suddenly in a car wreck with a dead Alani in the seat beside him because he drove recklessly to avoid running into Vince in front of her apartment.
But Ivo had felt every pinch, every accidental knock of his knees against furniture, and every stubbing of his toes as he navigated Alani’s petite rental in the dark. Every ounce of pain, however, had been worth it; he would experience it ten times over, ten times as strong, if it meant he could claim Alani all night long again. Because that was precisely what he’d done. Even his inner black bear was exhausted, snoring softly within, and content to be surrounded by his fated mate’s scent.
He hadn’t meant to stay the night, of course. Hell, he hadn’t even intended to go up to her apartment after their killer date at the museum. Ivo had wanted to be a good guy: just drop her off at the curb, kiss her goodbye, and make plans to see her again.
But then Vince had been standing at the bus stop in front of her apartment, and things went south—sort of. Ivo knew Vince had a car to get around so he couldn’t imagine why he would be taking Angel Fire’s very limited public transport, but in a split-second, he had decided he didn’t want to find out with Alani in the car.
He knew he would have to introduce her to his clan eventually, when all the secrets were out in the open, but at least his bear clan was full of half-decent people. Assholes most days, sure, but he knew they would warm to a beautiful woman like Alani in a heartbeat.
Vince, on the other hand—Ivo didn’t want him warming to Alani. Vince wasn’t the kind of guy Alani should even meet in passing. So, he had reacted at that moment and taken her somewhere else.
Ivo hadn’t ever expected her to pick up on him wanting to avoid Vince, nor did he imagine in his wildest fantasies that she would ask him up to her apartment to avoid a confrontation. Somehow she had just known precisely what he needed at that moment, all the more proof in his mind that they were fated to be together.
The rest of the night… Well, the rest of the night was history. Dirty and sordid, he’d made her come four times; throwing every bit of carnal intelligence he had into pleasing her. When they had finally collapsed into bed together, Ivo had never wanted to leave.
With a deep inhale, he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before reaching across her snug double to drag Alani back to him—only to find she wasn’t there. Ivo sat up with a frown, sheets covering his naked body, and scanned the room. With the curtains drawn, a peaceful early morning darkness settled across everything, but Ivo didn’t need to turn on a light to see that Alani was nowhere to be found.
Had she gone to the studio? He hadn’t dated an artist before, but he knew from, well, stereotypes mostly, that sometimes they could be flighty, hurrying off to work on their latest creation whenever the muse struck.
But he could still smell her, and it wasn’t because her things surrounded him. Her scent was stronger than ever, rousing his sleepy inner bear to attention. Both wanted to know where their mate had disappeared to, and Ivo crawled out of bed, feet soundless as they trod across the old linoleum floor to find his boxers.
As he tugged them on, he heard the faint muffled noises of Alani speaking in the next room over. He knew he shouldn’t pry. He should have just crawled back into bed and breathed in her scent, wrapped himself up in it and savored the moment.
But he didn’t.
Ivo crept forward, slowly turning the doorknob and opening it just enough so he could hear her clearly.
“I’ll call you later,” she whispered; seated on her couch in a bathrobe, bare legs crossed and her pinky finger in her mouth. “I love you.”
The weight of those words hit him like a lead pipe, knocking the wind out of him as he stumbled back and took a seat on the edge of the bed. He hadn’t ever considered her falling for someone else already. He knew she was here for school, but not once had he contemplated the other people in her life—and potentially the other men. Lovers. Maybe even a husband.
Who does one call first thing in the morning and whisper to while their one-night stand sleeps it off in the next room? To Ivo and all shifters, there was one person out there, one fated mate. But to humans, there was always the possibility of falling in love with someone else. They wouldn’t know the feeling of being with their fated mate until it hit them smack-dab in the face.
Maybe she already had someone. Maybe Ivo was the secret mistress she’d lie about when she left him for her life back home. He frowned, a little kernel of anger churning inside him.
Fuck.
***
Nothing could ever lift her spirits as much as the sounds of her twins giggling through the phone. Not that Alani even needed her spirits lifted that morning, but she was always surprised at just how buoyant, how uplifted, she could feel after no more than a ten-minute phone call. Even if she hadn’t been miserable before, getting off the phone after speaking to them made her think she’d been in a deep dark depression by comparison.
As Alani clicked the disconnect button and set her hands in her lap, phone clutched between them, she realized her cheeks ached from smiling, and her hands shook with excitement. A few seconds later it passed, as it always did, and she felt the crushing reality of being so far away from them. A heavy lump settled in her throat as she sighed, trying to exhale the negativity, and she sniffled before brushing a finger under each eye to collect the unfallen tears. Soon. They would be in her arms again soon.
For now, there was a man in her bedroom to deal with. At least the thought of Ivo brought a smile back to her face, followed by a blush so heated it made her cheeks prickle.
Alani wasn’t sure what had happened last night, but being with him unleashed her inner sexy beast. Although her affair with Warren had been passionate and she considered herself an adventurous, occasionally quiet lover, her night with Ivo was something else entirely. Aside from Warren, Alani had never thrown herself into bed with a guy so quickly, nor had she ever felt so good about it.
There was always the fear of regret, the morning-after mania that plagued women who feared they had made a terrible mistake sleeping with a man. But Alani felt none of that. Alani felt great.
Sure, there was still some pieces to Ivo’s puzzle that she didn’t click with, but that was a given. After all, they had only known each other a few weeks—and barely that, given she spent most of that time trying to avoid him. Now that they had crawled into bed with each other, Alani wanted nothing more than a brisk morning shower—hot man included, please—and then a breakfast date at the local café where they could talk more.
Last night had been a whole lot of “not talking,” and she thought it only fair to make up for that with a good cup of coffee and some of those fluffy strawberry pancakes she always saw on the menu but never had a reason to order.
Yeah. That sounded like the perfect morning-after to her. Stretching this way and that, her hips pleasantly sore from all of last night’s “not talking,” Alani headed for the bedroom and ran her fingers through her hair; knotted and in a total state of bedhead, her locks refused her attempt at finger-combing and Alani decided to just let it be. Ivo seemed to like her wild side anyway.
