“You’re coming?” I almost winced. That came out wrong. I wanted him to come, but I wasn’t sure if he wanted to. Or if he was even able to. He had a pack to take care of, and I… Well, I had at least one more fight ahead of me.
“Of course I’m coming.” He frowned. “Do you not want me to come?”
“No. I want you to come, I just thought—you have a pack and responsibilities and I know we’re mated—”
“I was wondering if you caught that.” He grinned, and my cheeks caught fire.
“I did catch that.” I cleared my throat. “But I don’t really know what it is that it means… What you want and everything. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do or what’s expected of me.”
His shoulders relaxed, and I felt his relief through the bond. “Don’t worry. There’s nothing expected except for you to just be you. We jumped into the deep end, and it’s going to take time for us to settle into who we are as a couple.” He grinned and I couldn’t help the blush that spread across my face. “I know I said it before, but we were rushed and I want you to know that I wasn’t planning on doing it this way. I wanted to get to know you. For you to get to know me. To consider your options. But…” He shrugged. “So, now, where you go, I go. We’ll take this as fast or as slow as you want, but as for what I want—I want to be with you.”
Now it was my turn to be relieved. “I want you to be with me, too.”
“Okay, then. So we go to Texas and deal with this lady. And then, we can travel a bit.”
Travel? I had a million questions, starting with where? But I didn’t want to get my hopes up. Not yet. “What about your pack?”
“The pack is fine.”
“But what about those mages?”
“The pack is taking care of it. Don’t worry.”
But I was worrying. I’d done so many things wrong, and I wanted to make sure that I got this right. “But you have—”
“I’d give the pack up if I thought it was a problem.”
I snapped my mouth shut. He would?
“I’ve been the Alpha there for a very, very long time. I’ve got a good second, and he’ll keep things going. I haven’t had time for myself in… Well, let’s just say it’s due. So, I’m taking time with my new mate. Honeymoons are traditional for humans. We’ll just take a long one. Maybe a few years. Okay?”
Years? That sounded crazy, but also pretty amazing. “Okay. But what about work?”
He raised an eyebrow. “You want to work? Doing what?”
I started fidgeting with my napkin. “Not me. You. Don’t you have a job, or…?”
His smile was back. “Haven’t for a very long time. I don’t need to work. I have lots of sound investments.”
I opened and closed my mouth a few times, unsure of what to say to that. “So, we travel?”
He tilted his head to the side as he stared at me. “Where do you want to go?”
Everywhere. Anywhere. I didn’t really care. “I don’t know. I never thought I’d be able to.”
“Well think about it. But breakfast first.” He pointed to my plate.
I played with my food for a second before looking back at him.
“What?” He drew out the word with a smirk.
“I was just thinking…” I shook my head. “No. It’s embarrassing.”
“You don’t have to be embarrassed. Just ask.”
I knew how I felt about him. I’d been attracted to him at first. And then he was nice. And fun. I loved his laugh and his smile. I liked how polite he was to everyone. Well, except Gobble. But he was kind. Warm. And his aura… It was so him. Warm like sunlight. Being around him was like spending the day tanning by the pool. But did he love me? No one had ever said that to me. Raphael wasn’t much for those kinds of words, and my parents… Well, they weren’t the best at being parents. “I was just wondering—”
All of a sudden the bond opened, and I could feel everything Lucas was feeling. Everything he was thinking. I knew it all. Could feel it all as if his emotions were my own.
It was so powerful, what he felt. So…
So much. It was like wrapping myself in a warm blanket.
It was love.
Oh my God. He wasn’t just saying that. He really loved me.
“You thought I didn’t? That I’d want to mate with the first witch I came across?”
It seemed ridiculous when he put it that way. “No. I just… I don’t know what I thought.”