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She left, and I got busy with the meal. Not a leaf of lettuce was shredded.
We sat down to eat at the breakfast nook a little while later, Tori with dripping wet hair. Tori chattered away about her conversation with Diana, Margo, and Audrey. That the Bogford ladies had remained loyal to Tori was reassuring. I’d expected it, but until I heard it from Tori’s mouth, I’d had a smidgen of doubt. Diana had been astonished when we told her the hunter with us was Tori’s brother, but lying would have been futile—Tori and Kyle were similar in the way only siblings could be. Diana had sworn she wouldn’t tell anyone, and I trusted her implicitly.
Tori had stopped speaking and was now pushing her food around her plate instead of eating it. A deep line marred the space between her eyebrows, and her nose was scrunched up in thought. I could sense her pulling away.
“Are you done?” I picked up my empty plate and rinsed it before loading it into the dishwasher.
“No, I’ll be a while. You go on up to bed. I’ll be up later.”
Oh, no, not happening. She’d be sleeping with me, not distancing herself. If my wolf was unsettled by recent events, I hated to think how her near-feral wolf was coping. The need to be near her was an itch that never seemed sated, and the idea of her sleeping in another bed was nearly too much for me. We needed to be in each other’s presence to calm our wolves.
“I don’t think so, sweetheart. In the last three days, I’ve seen you stabbed, almost bleed to death, come racing into the enemy’s den, and even worse, go toe to claw with the Greenthornes. I need to be with you. I need to know we’re alive and here. I need comfort.” So did my wolf, but without explaining fated mates to her, I’d go with what I’d said.
Tori glanced up and rolled her eyes. “Exactly. I need sleep, not you pawing at me all night long.”
I hadn’t heard her complaining about that last time, nor the time before, but okay. “It’s not about sex, Tori; it’s about just being next to you. I’ll be a complete gentleman, and I promise I’ll keep to my side of the bed. I just need to know you’re close. It’ll ease the tension I feel every time you leave the room and I think a hunter has picked you off.”
My words seemed to resonate with her because she rose from the table and put her plate away. Together, we went upstairs. I let her lead the way, and when she climbed into my bed, I nearly whooped with joy. Being a grown man, I managed to hold it together.
As promised, we slept on opposite sides of the bed. It was tough being so close but not holding my mate. I kept reminding myself to take small steps. One day, she’d be mine completely, and we’d have every night of the rest of our lives.
I hadn’t lied to Tori—I needed the comfort. Everything we’d been through played in my mind like a horror movie. I wasn’t sure I’d sleep, but with the scent of my mate and the softness of the sheets enveloping me, I soon drifted off into slumber.
It was dark, the room silent save for the clock on the bedside table ticking softly. Something had woken me. I felt heat next to me, and I was thrilled to realize that my bedmate had made her way over to me. Her delicate hand was stroking my hair.
Once Tori knew I was awake, she asked sleepily, “Does cuddling count as pawing at each other?”
Definitely not. I pulled her snugly beside me, and she settled her head on my chest.
“No, it definitely, most assuredly, is not classified as pawing,” I answered.
Her breathing eased back into sleep, and I wasn’t far behind her, my final thoughts being the need to broach the subject of fated mates with Tori soon.
Chapter39
Tori
Ridge’s body was coiled around mine like a spoon, and for a flash of a second, my daydream tried to take over and have me imagine all my future mornings starting with some variation of this. With the sleepy haze fading, reality came flooding back, and sadly, I let go of the daydreams and tried to get out of bed. No such luck.
Ridge pulled me tighter to his body and grumbled, “You’re supposed to be recovering from a knife wound. That’s earned us the right to stay in bed for a few more hours.” His scruff tickled the back of my neck as he burrowed his head there, placing soft kisses along the nape of my neck.
He was adorable when he was all sleepy and cuddly. It was a drastic change from his usual driven and controlled lifestyle. People would probably be shocked to learn of this side of him. It was my little secret.
Well, mine and his future wife’s.
My heart plummeted at the thought of the woman who would one day be his wife. It stung. For selfish reasons, I wanted to stay in this bed and cuddle him for as long as possible, and another part of me wanted to run because I was already going to be heartbroken when I had to leave. Why make it even harder on myself?
Self-preservation spoke up. “I took the witch pill, too. Remember, I feel completely better. I could take on the world.”
That dampened the mood as Ridge uncurled himself. I bit back a whimper at the loss of his warmth, but he merely turned me around to look me in the eyes, his hand splayed on my hip. “What are the witch pills exactly, and how did you know about them?”
There was no judgment or skepticism on his face as he moved his hand up my body to twirl a strand of hair around his fingers.
His easy-going manner reminded me that he didn’t know everything about my background, and I still wasn’t ready to share it with him. Whatever we were doing wouldn’t last forever. I got that, but it didn’t mean I wanted it to end any sooner. Once Ridge knew the truth, he would tell me to walk as soon as I finished my story, and I wouldn’t blame him.
His responsibility was to his pack and this town, not to me. I was a soul in need, and his good heart desired to help, so he did.
Knowing the inevitable end to my relationship with Ridge had me hanging on by a thread, and it didn’t help that my brother, the person I’d been closest to in the world at one point, hated me and was in the town jail. He was probably getting grilled by Sheriff Clawson at that very moment, and Kyle would have no reason to keep our relationship a secret.
