Chapter 8
After a good night’s rest, and a little action in the shower, Roi and Dreama dressed warmly and headed out to look at the cabins that would be available soon. The builders told Roi that one would be ready by the end of the week, and two others would be ready in two weeks.
“I’m sorry there isn’t a cabin ready for us right now,” he said.
“I don’t mind your room.”
“Our room,” he corrected.
“Right. It’s fine for a little while. I think sharing the bathroom with the others is the hardest part.”
“Yeah, but there are less people on this floor now than there were, so it’s not as bad. Try to get the bathroom to yourself when seven other guys are attempting to get ready at the same time.”
She laughed. “There are three quads who are still unmated?”
“Yes. Declan is the Dancer position, Vaughn is Comet, and Jack is Donner.”
“I’m sure they’re anxious for Christmas, in case one of them might be lucky enough to find his fated mate.”
He knew that they were. He’d felt the same way, ever since Arian had found Charli, wondering if the next time he got to leave NPC he’d find his mate.
“I’m lucky, though. I didn’t have to wait for the city to open to find you.”
“We’re both lucky,” she said. “I always wondered what would happen if I ended up with a human.”
“You didn’t want to try to find a fae male to be with?” He didn’t particularly care to think about her romantic past, but he felt secure in their mating.
“Well,” she said, drawling out the word. “I figured that if fae males were like my mother’s mate, I didn’t want anything to do with them.”
“Good point. I’m sure there are good faes, though.”
“Yeah, but it doesn’t matter. That world isn’t for me. This one is.” She gasped and stopped in place, her eyes lighting up.
He looked where she was staring, wide-eyed and mouth open, at a cabin.
“Baby?”
“This is it.”
He shook his head. “This isn’t one of the ones that will be ready soon. I think it’s got a month to go.”
She pulled on his hand. “Come on, Roi! I have a good feeling.”
“I like your good feelings.”
She giggled as he let her pull him off the cleared sidewalk and into the two-feet-deep snow. Because no one was expecting them to look at the cabin, the path to the house hadn’t been cleared. They trudged through the snow, and he had to lift her onto the porch because the steps hadn’t been installed yet. She tried the door, and it was locked.
“They should have a key hidden,” he said, taking off his glove and reaching over the door and feeling along the wood. He felt the cold metal of the key and unlocked the door.
“It’s pitch black in here,” she said.
“Hold on. The builders use battery operated lanterns this time of year, since it’s dark around the clock.”
“Right, for six months? It’s a good thing I like nighttime.”
“And then you’ll have to love daytime, because it’s sunny for six months.”
She laughed. “I’ll get used to it.”
He felt along the wall until he bumped into a table, where he reached out and felt a few lanterns. After turning on two, he handed one to Dreama and then lifted his lantern high. The family room was large with soaring high ceilings and exposed beams. Along one wall was an unfinished fireplace. He followed Dreama into the kitchen where she let out a “woo hoo” when she saw the bay window.
“Can you picture it?” she asked. “I’ve always wanted a kitchen with a bay window, where I could have bench seating and a rustic farm table. Let’s see how many bedrooms there are.”
He couldn’t believe how happy she was about a kitchen window, but as he glanced over his shoulder into the darkness, he could picture the table and bench just as she’d described, with a few kids waiting for breakfast with smiling faces.
The doors hadn’t been put on the rooms yet, and she peeked into the first one on the left and said, “Baby number one.” Then she looked into the second room on the left and said, “Baby number two.”
Her talking about babies – his babies – made his heart clench.
Man, did he want that.
Across from the two bedrooms was a bathroom. She let out a hum of excitement and then squeezed his hand as they walked into the room on the right. Clearly the master, the room was spacious with vaulted ceilings, a big closet, and a private bathroom. After looking into the bathroom, she walked to a set of French doors and looked out; then she walked to the center of the room and set her lantern on the floor.
“What do you think?” she asked.
“It’s probably a month away from being finished, maybe more. If we choose this one, we’ll be stuck in the barracks for that much longer.”
“I don’t care about that. When I saw this place, it felt like home right away.”
He looked around the room, lifting his lantern high so it illuminated more of the space. “We could maybe offer to work here and move the process along.”
“Oh, could we? I’ve never built anything before, but I bet I could help.”
He knew the builders would be happy to have help. “Do you want to look at the other cabins?”
“Nuh uh,” she said, shaking her head. “Put your lantern down.”
His brows rose at her decidedly husky tone. The sweet scent of her arousal hit him, and he growled as he set the light on the floor. “You’ve got something on your mind, my mate?”
She walked backward slowly, escaping into the shadows against the wall where the lantern light didn’t reach. He heard something soft hit the floor and then the sound of a zipper lowering. He moved swiftly to her and kissed her as he lowered his hands and found her working her pants down her hips.
“We’ll have to be fast,” he murmured.
She turned to face the wall. “I know. I want fast.”
He pushed down his pants, freeing his erection that had roared to life the moment he scented her arousal. He stepped close to his mate, feeling the heat of her skin as he ran his fingers over her hips and belly before curling them around her inner thighs and pulling her back toward him. She braced her hands on the wall and spread her legs as far as she could with her pants around her ankles. He slid his hands up her thighs slowly, until his fingers brushed against her pussy and found her wet and hot. With one hand, he spread her lips open, baring her as he ran his fingers over her clit. He wanted to play with her for hours, to see how many times he could make her come, but she wanted fast, and he wanted to give her everything she desired.
He grasped his cock, positioning himself at her entrance, and then ramming into her. She gasped sharply and then moaned, her body gripping him tightly. He grabbed her hips, pressing his body to hers as tightly as he could, and then he pulled out. Waiting only a moment before surging back in, he set up a hard rhythm to drive them both to the edge. Her nails dug into the wall board, her sweet mewls of pleasure making him crazy as he fucked her hard and fast.
A flood of heat washed over his cock, and he couldn’t stop himself from coming, his rhythm faltering as he roared out his pleasure and dropped his head to her shoulder. She was breathing hard, but he knew she hadn’t come, which was unacceptable. He pulled from her and spun her to the wall, grabbing her wrists with one hand and raising them above her head to the wall. He surged his fingers into her pussy, rubbing her clit with his thumb as swiftly as he’d been fucking her. Her hips moved with his fingers, meeting him as he worked her hard, curling his fingers inside her pussy with each thrust until her back bowed and her body went taut as she cried out. She came hard, her pussy gripping his fingers like a fist as her clit swelled under his thumb. She moaned his name as he slowed his fingers and drew her down from the heavens.
With his fingers buried in her wet heat, he looked down at his sweetheart as she sagged against the wall, the scent of their pleasure saturating the air around them and the shine of happiness glinting in her eyes. He’d known her a day and a half, but in his heart, he felt like he’d known her his whole life.
“I love you, Dreama.”
She let out a happy sigh. “I love you, too.”
He wiggled his fingers in her pussy, and she moaned and then lightly laughed.
“Mine,” he said, pulling his fingers free and sucking her sweet arousal into his mouth.
She tugged her hands free from his grip and wrapped her arms around his neck. Kissing him, she said, “I have the sexiest mate on the planet. You have no idea how much you rocked my world.”
“I do because you rocked mine, too. And you’re wrong at any rate, because I have the sexiest mate in the world.”
“Let’s call it a tie.”
He hugged her close, aware of the chill in the room now that the heat of passion was over.
Someone knocked on the front door.
Dreama stiffened. “Um, are you expecting someone?”
“No. It’s probably one of the guys on patrol. Let’s get dressed.”
They hurriedly righted their clothing and grabbed the lanterns. When he opened the front door, he was temporarily blinded by a flashlight.
“Oops, sorry,” Vaughn said.
“Hey,” Roi said, “did we set off an alarm or something?”
“Not exactly. I was on patrol when Jack called from the security room and said that there were suspicious lights in one of the cabins. Since it wasn’t one that you were supposed to be looking at, he asked me to check it out. I already radioed that it’s just you two enjoying what I suspect is your new home.”
Dreama chuckled. “Thanks for waiting outside and not coming in.”
Vaughn put up his hand with a snort. “I’m not an idiot. Walking into the midst of a mated couple enjoying themselves is not remotely what I want to do. Plus, Roi might kill anyone who sees you naked, and I happen to like living.”
“I’d probably just maim you,” Roi said.
“Oh, that’s comforting.” Vaughn said. “Congratulations on the new place.”
“We still have to clear it with SC,” Roi said as he and Dreama turned off the lanterns and set them on the table. He helped Dreama hop down to the ground, and then he closed and locked the front door.
“He’d let you guys have any cabin. My dad’s been working on this one, but it’s been put on hold to finish the others that are closer to being done.”
“What does your father do?” Dreama asked.
“He’s a builder, but he specializes in masonry, so he does all the fireplace work. Now he’s laying flooring in the other cabins, though. If he were asked to come back and work on this fireplace, I’m sure he’d be thrilled.”
“We’ll check with SC and then talk to your dad,” Roi said.
“Are you guys going to look at any others?” Vaughn asked.
“We’re going to my folks for breakfast. Dreama’s dad is going to be leaving NPC in a couple hours, so we want to spend time with him.”
“Cool. I’ll see you guys later.”
“Thanks, Vaughn,” Dreama said.
They parted ways, heading to his parents’ home. While Dreama spent most of the time talking to her father, Roi talked to his parents about the cabin and finishing it themselves.
Dreama rested her hand on Roi’s knee and said, “It’s almost time for my father to leave.”
Roi stood and shook Sandy’s hand. His father-in-law looked at him for a quiet moment and then said, “Take good care of my little girl.”
“With my life.”
Sandman smiled and gave Dreama a tight hug. “Honey, I’m so happy for you. I’ll see you on Christmas Eve. Bright and early.”
“I’ll video call you as soon as the security team uploads the software onto my laptop.”
“It should only be a day or two,” Roi said. The team had to first clear any tracking information from her laptop, and then they would install the specially created video call program that was untraceable.
“Good luck with the house.” Sandy said.
“I’ll miss you, Dad. Love you.”
“I love you, too.”
With a flourish of golden sand, he disappeared, and Dreama stared at the empty space, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. Roi hugged her. He didn’t really know what to say because he knew she was grieving the loss of the closeness with her father. She couldn’t go see him whenever she wanted.
“Did I ever say thank you?” he murmured after his parents left the family room, giving them privacy.
“For what?”
“For choosing me.”
She sniffled and looked up at him. “How could I not choose you? We’re mates.”
“I know. But even before we knew it was possible for you to stay in NPC, you still tried to figure out a way to be here. You chose me and my world, when it would have been easier for you to just accept me joining your world.”
“I don’t think it would have been easier, though. I feel very connected to this place. It might have been the simpler choice, but it certainly wouldn’t have been easy. Either way, one of us was giving up one home for another. A loss is a loss.”
“Are you okay?”
“Of course.” She blinked rapidly and sniffled again. “Well, I’m kind of sad, but I’m mostly excited to go talk to SC about our new cabin. And I want to talk to Vaughn’s father. I saw this fireplace online once. It was super romantic.”
“How is a fireplace romantic?”
“It helped that whoever took the picture had covered the floor in front of it with rose petals and beautiful wrought iron candelabras on either side.”
“Sounds perfect.”
“It will be.”
He called to his parents, who returned to the family room. “We’re going to SC’s.”
“Come by for dinner on Sunday,” his mom said. “It’s a family tradition.”
Roi helped Dreama on with her coat and said to his mom, “I heard that the unmated males and females eat in the commissary.”
“A lot of mated couples do, too,” she said.
“I don’t really know how to cook. I’m a big fan of takeout, but there’s not exactly a fast food place around the corner. Would you mind teaching me how to make some recipes?”
“I’d love to,” Genevieve said. “If you come a little early on Sunday, I’ll show you how to stuff pork chops. It’s one of Roi’s favorites.”
“That’s wonderful. Thank you.”
His mate and mom hugged goodbye, and Roi kissed his mom on the cheek and said goodbye to his dad. They left the warmth of his childhood home, and he took Dreama’s hand as they hurried to SC’s house so they could talk to the boss about the cabin. It didn’t surprise him that SC and Mrs. C were more than happy to let them have the cabin that was Dreama’s choice. While they shared hot chocolate and warm-from-the-oven sugar cookies, SC called the head of the builders’ guild and asked them to put a rush on the cabin.
“Don’t forget about the romantic fireplace,” Dreama said.
Mrs. C smiled knowingly. “I’ll bet you’ll need some candles.”
“And rose petals,” Dreama said.
“Vaughn’s dad may be able to do something creative with the fireplace bricks,” Roi said. “Like a special design or type of brick, maybe a wide hearth?”
“That would be awesome,” Dreama said.
SC nodded. “I’m sure that Graham would be thrilled to do a custom design for you two. When we had ours redone a few years ago, he went out into the forest and cut down the tree for the mantel himself.”
“What do we do about furniture? It’s not like we can order online and have it shipped up here,” Dreama said.
“The builders’ guild has a warehouse of furniture to choose from,” Mrs. C said. “Some of the builders prefer making furniture over building the houses, and if you have a specific style or color in mind, you just give them enough notice to take care of it for you. If they don’t have what you want, you’d have to put an order in with the guild master who runs the warehouse, and they can pick up what’s needed on Christmas Eve.”
“There’s a lot to do between now and then,” Roi said. “Before we know it, we’ll be getting ready for the run.”
“I can’t wait,” Dreama said.
“I can’t either,” Roi promised.
Not only would he get to make the children of the world happy by being part of the sleigh team but his mate was the first female aside from Mrs. C who would be allowed in the sleigh with SC for the run.
“Hopefully the cabin will be finished soon,” SC said. “I’m sure it’s not ideal to live in the barracks.”
“It’s no problem,” Dreama said. “We’ll get our dream home soon enough. A little wait will make it even better.”
Roi just hoped it wouldn’t be too long. He wanted to have fun in the other rooms of the cabin, too. Especially in front of the romantic fireplace, complete with rose petals and burning candles, just like his mate envisioned.
The rest of the day was spent meeting with the builders, particularly Graham, who offered to sketch fireplace designs for Dreama to choose from, and then they’d eaten dinner at Mire and his mate, Noelle’s home. By the time Roi and Dreama made their way to their room, it was late and they were both exhausted. They stripped and collapsed into bed, cuddling under the covers while stifling yawns.
“I’m excited for the stuff that’s coming in the next couple of months,” she said. “But I already got my Christmas wish, which is you.”
“You’re too sweet.”
“Honest.”
“I got mine, too. A sexy dream walker who loves romantic fireplaces.”
She laughed. “Not as much as I love you.”
“Well, that’s a relief.”
“Goodnight, Roi. Sweet dreams.”
“As long as I’ve got you in my arms, my dreams will always be sweet.”