Chapter Seven
Toby
I woke slowly, wrapped up in heat and comfort. Dalton spooned me from behind, his larger body curled around mine. His arm rested heavily on my stomach, his breath slow and steady against my neck.
A smile crept to my lips as the memories of last night surfaced. It was amazing. Freaking amazing. I’d had my share of partners, but sex had never been this good. Dalton and I shared a connection, something I’d never experienced with anyone else. Being with him made me feel…happy. Complete. Whole.
It didn’t even make sense in my own mind, so I didn’t ponder it anymore. You simply didn’t share a connection with someone you just met.
He was simply a nice guy. We clicked and had an awesome night. If I got really lucky, we’d meet again and maybe have the same kind of fun a few more times. Eventually, he’d leave, but I’d deal with that once it happened. For now, I was very happy exactly where I was.
Dalton stirred behind me and kissed my neck. “Morning,” he rasped and pulled me closer to his strong chest. His morning wood poked me. I shifted a bit to get it exactly where I wanted it…again. He seemed to be in the same mood. So this wasn’t a one-night stand where I was lucky if I got a cup of coffee and a thank you before being led out the door.
“Morning.”
His soft lips moved over my back, coasting down my spine. He reached as far as he could without moving away from me. I placed my hand over his on my stomach, intertwining our fingers. Like mine, his cock grew harder with every second while renewed lust spread through me.
“I hate to interrupt, but I think I need to get up before we go on.” I really didn’t want to move, but I needed to use the bathroom and a toothbrush.
Dalton pulled me even closer. “I don’t want to let you go. Not even for a second. But I will if you promise to come back to me.”
I smiled at his possessive tone. Oh yeah, that definitely promised more. “Of course I’m coming back. But first, do you happen to have a toothbrush I can use?”
“Yeah.” He told me where to find a spare, and I reluctantly crawled out of bed. I stumbled toward the indicated bathroom, casting a last glance at Dalton. A twinge in my ass reminded me of exactly how forceful he’d been. As soon as his arms weren’t surrounding me anymore, I wanted to turn around and hide in them again. I needed to feel them around me. It was nuts. I was probably nuts. But as soon as I was done, I could crawl back into bed with him.
I hurried but decided to take a quick shower before I rejoined Dalton in bed. Clean, fresh-smelling, and much more awake than I wanted to be, I finally emerged from the bathroom.
Dalton’s eyes were still closed, but a smile played on his lips. I lifted the warm covers and slipped underneath. Dalton opened his eyes and looked at me. “Hey, gorgeous.”
Heat rushed to my face. “Uh…”
He grinned then sat up and climbed out of bed. After one last look in my direction, he closed the bathroom door behind himself. I relaxed on the mattress. Damn it. How did I get so lucky?
Dalton came back a few minutes later and showed me exactly how much he enjoyed having me still in his bed.
We managed to crawl out of bed around eleven a.m. We got dressed, and before I could ponder leaving, he led me toward the kitchen, where he got the coffee machine going.
I stood there in his tidy, shiny kitchen, feeling suddenly out of place. What was I supposed to do now? I mean, he’d made it clear he didn’t want me to leave, but what about after the coffee? Usually, if I had a one-night stand, I fucked, maybe grabbed a coffee in the morning, then left without a backward glance. If I dated someone, that was different. But I still never knew how to behave with a man the next morning.
The fact that I really wanted to see Dalton again didn’t help at all, especially since I still had absolutely no clue what he wanted.
The coffee machine hissed and steamed, and the smell of freshly brewed heaven filled the air. Dalton rummaged in the fridge, pulling out things and setting them on the counter next to him. Maybe I should leave now, after all? Was this a dismissal?
Dalton closed the fridge then turned around and looked at me. The second our eyes met, he smiled. “I’m sorry, but I’m not sure what I can offer for breakfast. I have eggs and some veggies, so I can make an omelet if you want?” His voice sounded apologetic.
“Oh…you don’t have to make me breakfast. I mean, a coffee is enough.”
“No, no. You have to eat. I’m starving after all the things we did. You must be too. So we’ll have breakfast…or lunch, given the time. If you’d prefer, we can order something.”
I smiled at him. “An omelet is fine with me.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Really.”
“Good.” He took the first cup of coffee from the machine and indicated in my direction. The room wasn’t that big. I was maybe two steps away from him, but he beckoned with coffee, so I took the last steps toward him. Though, instead of giving me the mug, he pulled me into his arms. Instantly, his warmth engulfed me again, and I closed my eyes. Wrapping my arms around his torso, I rested my head on his shoulder. Why did his arms feel so familiar?
“Before I make breakfast, I need to ask you something,” he murmured in my hair, his lips close to my ear.
I nodded lightly.
“I enjoyed last night very much…and I hope you did too. So…would you like to meet again? I mean, have dinner again. Maybe we can hang out or go to the movies…all that stuff. If you want to as well, that is. I don’t want to assume anything, but I—”
My heart stuttered at his quiet words, and I couldn’t stop my response before he even finished. “Yes, of course. I mean, I would really like that.”
“Good. I wasn’t entirely sure…”
“I really want to spend some more time with you and get to know you better.”
“I’m glad because I’m not even close to being ready to let you go. And that sounds much creepier than I intended. Damn.”
I laughed and squeezed him. “Don’t worry, I know what you mean. At least, I hope I do.”
“Absolutely. I’m not planning on keeping you in the basement.”
I still laughed and raised my head to meet his eyes. They were sparkling in the bright light of the midday sun streaming through the windows, and I couldn’t do anything except rise up on my toes to press a kiss against those tempting lips. His beard stubble scratched over mine and made me purr. I closed my eyes as Dalton immediately took over, his tongue meeting mine. I sighed deeply, his taste so familiar, so well-known, it was eerie…or beautiful. I couldn’t decide. Nor did I want to. All I wanted was to have this man in bed. Again. And again. And then wake up next to him in the morning, just as we’d done. We’d have breakfast and enjoy our days. Together. Oh, heaven help me. I was into us way more than I was supposed to be.
Dalton kissed me unhurriedly, slowly, and I savored every second of his lips against mine and his arms around my waist with his warmth seeping through my T-shirt. When we finally parted, we were breathless. I opened my eyes slowly and met his gaze.
I could get so used to this, I was scared. What if I fell in love, and he didn’t?
But what if I missed this chance because I was afraid? I wouldn’t risk that. And, to be honest, it was way too early to speak of love.
Dalton released me with a regretful look on his face and handed me the coffee before he got to work on breakfast. He chopped vegetables and beat some eggs. A few minutes later, a mouthwatering smell filled the kitchen. I stood next to him, stealing a kiss whenever I could and watching him. He claimed I was invited so I wasn’t allowed to help, but I finally managed to locate two plates, which I placed on the small table in the kitchen.
When we sat down, Dalton put some of the food on each of our plates, and we started eating, sipping our coffees in a comfortable silence like we’d done it a thousand times.
***
True to his word, Dalton and I agreed to try dating. After talking a lot during breakfast, we finally decided I would head home to get some fresh clothes, and we’d meet for a movie later. It was fun. I really enjoyed hanging out with Dalton, and afterward, we decided to see if the sex in my bed was as good as in his. It was. Definitely. Even though my ass complained for a second. I simply ignored it.
The next days were a lot of the same. Dalton would text me whenever he had a second of time, and my cell phone was never far from me. We wrote a lot of messages about everything and nothing. His colleagues. Mine. Random notes. Everything from, I can’t wait to see you again this evening to Miss you and wish you were here. He couldn’t afford to be seen texting too much while working, and I shouldn’t have been glued to my phone either, but we still managed to stay in touch all day long.
We met a few times, but I had to spend some time with Jason, and Dalton had stuff to do too, so it wasn’t every evening. Dalton was working on a project that had a series of problems. Most nights, he was on the job site until eight or nine and too exhausted to see me. I had to accept that, even if I didn’t like it. I would’ve been happy just sitting on his couch watching him sleep. But apparently, he didn’t want that. He said he was grumpy when he was tired and didn’t want to take his bad mood out on me. So I stayed at my place those evenings or met with Jason. When I was really bored, I cleaned my apartment, my most hated chore, but it had to be done.
After nearly two weeks, and with the full moon rapidly approaching, I realized I felt much deeper for him than I had for a man before, even though it was still so early in our relationship. I also realized I had no clue how he felt. Yes, he was nice. Yes, he said all the right things. Yes, the sex still left me senseless and too weak to walk. But aside from that? We didn’t meet that often. He spent time alone. A lot. He… Well, I guess I was suspicious. I hated myself for it, but I couldn’t change how I felt. After the bullshit with Casper and the other stuff—small things, but they added up—that had happened in my last “relationships,” I simply didn’t know how to trust.
Jason wasn’t helping either. He’d not met Dalton, and while he laughed his ass off when I admitted I’d found someone at Truly Yours, he wasn’t convinced Dalton was serious about me.
There was only one way to find that out, though. Time would tell. Nothing else.
For today, we’d agreed to go grocery shopping together. It was nothing exciting, but he had to do it, I had to do it, so in a spur of the moment decision, we made the choice to do it together.
I met Dalton outside of a big supermarket, and as always when my eyes fell on him, my heart fluttered. It really shouldn’t do it, but I couldn’t stop it. I smiled as I watched him get out of his SUV, his movements so secure and fluid. Humans would wonder about a man his size being so graceful, but as a shifter, I didn’t wonder. I just recognized a fellow cat when I saw one. Our grace was unmatched by any animal, and it usually carried over to the human’s movements as well.
Dalton grinned when he saw me and strode over. He pulled me into his arms, pressing a quick kiss to my lips. I wasn’t particularly into PDAs, but it still sent a shiver of excitement through me to have him claim me so openly.
Promptly, the first call sounded over the parking lot. “Hey, fags, go home!”
Dalton growled low in his throat, but I stepped back. “Let it go. It’s okay.”
We could both hold our own in a fight, Dalton more than me, but I was far from being helpless. That didn’t mean we’d get into a fistfight in a parking lot, though. Our pack leader would have our ass for that, and it would’ve been justified.
While the anger at the stranger boiled in my blood, I stepped back. Time to do some shopping, then. I grabbed a cart and pushed it toward the entrance. “We’ll share one cart, right?”
“Yeah. I don’t need that much.”
“Me neither.” Together, we walked through the door. Dalton pulled his list out of his wallet, I had mine memorized, and so we made our way down the aisles, putting things in the cart as we went. It was more domestic than anything I’d ever done, and it felt so right with Dalton.