Page 17 of Aching for His Mate (The Wolves of Luven #5)

Iota sat in bed and listened to the sounds of Domitia cleaning the kitchen. Water rushed into the sink, pans were clanking together, and she was singing. He didn’t recognize the song or even the language it was in, but all the same it was beautiful.

He would have enjoyed it more if this was happening a year from now. If he had already amazed her with his ability to provide everything she needed before she took over cooking and cleaning and every aspect of caring in this relationship. Domitia had cooked him an amazing dinner. The fish and potatoes were perfect, and he couldn’t even help clean up.

At least she smelled happy. She hadn’t smelled like desire since their first day together, and he couldn’t blame her. Who could desire a weak and broken wolf? He sighed. Dr. Tau told him that healing with wolves wasn’t as measurable as it was humans. He’d wake up one morning and feel back to normal. It could be tomorrow or the day after or in a week. Dr. Tau was confident he wouldn’t take longer than a fortnight, but she wasn’t specifically sure. Every day he wasn’t healed was a thorn in his side.

He needed to get back on his feet, show Domitia he would be a good provider and protector, get her smelling like desire again, mate the absolute fuck out of her, and start the rest of their lives, injury free.

The sink quieted, and he heard Domitia switching off all the lights downstairs. Her footfalls on the steps were quiet, as if she was wondering if he might have already fallen asleep. She peeked her head through the doorway.

“Ready?” Much to Iota’s dismay, his mate walked him to the bathroom, then waited outside while he peed, brushed his teeth, and splashed cold water on his face. He wanted an ice-cold shower to both cool him off on the summer night and tell his cock and inner wolf that there would be no sexy time with Domitia tonight. But, the last thing he wanted was Domitia bathing him in a medical sense.

If he was going to shower with his mate, he was going to shower with his mate.

She helped him back into bed, then said, “I’m going to use the bathroom. I’ll just be a minute.”

“Take your time.” Iota settled into his bed. Maybe if he was lucky, he’d nod off before she came back and the entire room smelled like her, before he could feel the weight of her body on the other side of the bed, every small movement a torment.

Iota took a deep breath. If he was going to survive sleeping next to Domitia he needed to get a hold of himself.

She returned after the quickest shower known to man, her hair piled in a damp, curly bun on top of her head. She climbed into bed next to him, but stayed on her side, and pulled the quilt over her body.

“Okay, good night.” She curled onto her side and tucked her hands beneath her chin then closed her eyes.

“Are you going to fall asleep right now?” Iota asked.

“Probably.”

“It’s still light out,” he pointed out.

“Yeah, well, I’ve been dreaming about sleeping in this bed again since that first night and since you are okay with me sharing it, I have a feeling the moment we stop talking and I let myself relax, I’ll be out like a light.” Domitia rolled onto her side toward him. “Do you feel all right?”

“Yes.”

“You’re not hungry or thirsty or in pain?”

“I’m fine. I promise.”

“Okay.” She yawned. “I’m going to sleep. Wake me if you need anything. Good night.”

“Good night, Domitia.”

*

Iota kept up his side of the bargain and stayed away from Domitia. He didn’t run his hand up her arm, or push the one curl that kept falling over her face behind her ear. He didn’t wrap his arms around her while she slept, put her ass against his cock, or bury his face against her neck to bask in her scent.

Instead, Iota stared at the ceiling until the Moon Goddess took pity on him and he finally passed out.

Hours later, Iota woke to the sounds of Domitia in the kitchen. She was singing again, some quiet and sweet song, and the aroma of whatever she was making made its way up the stairs.

Fuck, it smelled delicious.

Carefully, Iota swung his legs to the side of the bed and sat up. Damn. It wasn’t the morning he’d wake up feeling fine. He tested some weight on his feet, and the floor creaked so loudly Domitia called, “Don’t get out of bed! I’ll be right there!” which was followed by the sound of her racing upstairs. She barreled into the room.

“Even if you are feeling back to normal, I should watch you get out of bed the first time in case you fall.”

“I don’t feel back to normal,” Iota said, easing off the bed and onto his feet.

“That’s okay. Dr. Tau said it can take time. We’ve got all the time in the world, right?” she reminded him.

“Right.” It was true. Even if it didn’t feel true, and every moment Iota wasn’t himself was killing him, she was right. Domitia was his forever. He didn’t have to rush. He would heal—tomorrow, Goddess willing—and they would begin their lives.

Domitia helped him to the bathroom, waited dutifully outside the door, got him back into bed, and then finished making breakfast. She brought up a literal feast.

“You’re going to have to tell me what all this is,” Iota began, his eyes wide.

“Yes! This,” she pointed to a hearty soup, “is usually called chicken souse. But the market only had turkey, so it’s turkey souse. Turkey, potatoes, lime, peppers and onions, some spices. I know you aren’t sick, but whenever I feel less than myself, this is what I want to feel better. These,” she pointed to a plethora of items, “you eat together. Take a piece of flatbread, spread some fava beans on it, and then top it with an egg. I can put yours together. And lastly, this is a bread pudding. It’s very sweet, has strawberry jam in there, and tastes good with a cup of tea or coffee, both of which are waiting downstairs. Which would you like?”

“I…” Iota was flabbergasted. She must have started making this either last night or hours before the sun came up. “Coffee. I’ve never had tea.”

“Oooh. I’m a tea drinker over coffee. I’ll let you have a sip of mine.” She disappeared and left Iota with a mountain of food on the tray at the foot of the bed.

Who the hell was his mate? She could open a tavern. Even Chi didn’t make things with such variety.

“Here you go.” She set his coffee on the bedside table, then pulled up her chair beside the tray. “I’m going to start with the turkey souse.” She ladled a bit into one of the bowls she brought up. “Would you like a bowl as well?”

“Domitia. How on earth did you learn to make all of this?”

“I’m from the south,” she said quickly.

“Yes, but my sister lives in Muchan, I’ve been there several times. Their food is different, but not like this.”

“That’s because the wolves don’t trade outside the continent.”

“What? Have you been off the continent?” Iota was shocked.

“I told you I worked coastal boats. That’s technically off the continent.”

“Have you met people who don’t live on these lands?”

“Of course.” She smirked. “You’ve met one too.” She set her plate down on the tray. “There are a lot of islands that didn’t drown in the sea. People still live there, come over in boats to trade with us. Where do you think you get your sugar?”

“I was under the impression humans in the southlands grew and traded it.”

She grinned. “They probably tell you that, but sugar doesn’t grow where the humans live on this continent. But there are islands that grow it. Humans in the southern islands and continent grow it too.”

“The southern continent? How many are there?”

Domitia shrugged. “On the water, we call this place the northwestern continent. Below is the southwestern. I know of two others, we call them Ice and Sand. There could be a lot more though. I know the earth is round, but I don’t know what’s on the other side of it.”

“You said I’ve met someone not from this continent. Is that you?”

She nodded. “I wasn’t born here. Been here since I was a kid though, so I don’t remember living on another continent, but my mom told me stories.”

“Which continent are you from?”

“My mom used to say, where the sand met the ice.” Domitia shrugged. “So somewhere between those two.”

“You came here on a boat?” he asked, taking a heaping spoonful of turkey souse.

“I did. My mom said it took months to cross the ocean. The storms that year were terrible. Lots of people died on the crossing from sickness. But, my mom and I made it.”

“Wow. Why did you leave?”

Domitia took a big spoonful of her food, then gulped down her tea. “She doesn’t talk much about before. Only that it was just the two of us left, and life was terrible over there. There’s a lot of talk about this continent being the promised land and all that.”

“Really?”

“In a way, the south sort of is. Ripe farmland all around the cities, a sea you can pull food out of. It wasn’t a bad hand of cards to be dealt. I get the feeling we lived more on the sand than the ice, and there wasn’t much in terms of food to be had. We came here for another shot at life, and we got one.”

“No working on boats where you’re from?”

Domitia shook her head. “My mom said it was much too dangerous. Pirates on every turn.”

Iota searched his mind for the definition of that word before asking, “What are pirates?”

She smiled. “Someone who illegally boards a boat and steals the haul, usually after murdering a good deal of the people working the boat.”

“Hell, are there pirates where you worked?”

“Not many. Pirates around here are usually half-starved and most of the captains I worked for would just offer them a job and a full belly and they’d take it. Why have one haul when you can have a lifetime of food?”

“Good point.” Iota finished his turkey souse and then put together a flatbread with beans and egg, which may have been the best thing he’d ever eaten. That is until he tried the bread pudding and immediately realized that Domitia could put Chi’s bakery out of business if she wanted to.

Domitia and Iota finished eating, and she took all the dishes down to clean them.

“If you could help me down, I’ll do the cleaning up,” Iota offered.

“Absolutely not. I’m not trying to get you down the stairs and then up the stairs so I can watch you struggle doing the dishes. I promise on the Moon Goddess and any other deity who might be listening, that the second you are well, I will never wash another dish in my life. But for now, please, be content to rest. I don’t need to explain to Dr. Tau that you fell down the stairs because I couldn’t handle washing a few dishes.”

“Fine,” Iota agreed. “But I’ll hold you to that. Not another dish washed in your life.”

“I don’t think you realize what a good deal I’m getting out of this,” she called as she walked down the stairs.

He did. And he didn’t care. He wanted Domitia to have the best deal around. Nothing but easy living for her once he was healed.