Page 22 of Aching for His Mate (The Wolves of Luven #5)

Iota woke up with his cock pressed against Domitia’s ass.

Perfect. He slowly unwound his body from hers and shifted to the side of the bed. Hell, he felt fine. He stretched his arms above his head, no dizziness. He stood up and took two strides to the wall, nothing. He risked walking to the bathroom and was able to do his entire morning routine, including a shower, without incident.

Iota was back to normal.

While his wolf bounced around his head clamoring to go wake up Domitia and start the mating frenzy, the man Iota had different plans.

First, he went downstairs and cleaned the entire kitchen. Domitia had kept her word and left all the dishes of the day soaking in the sink. He took his time washing and drying every dish, sweeping the floor and wiping down the countertops. He found some food in the fridge that she had made the day before and heated up a bit of the turkey souse for her breakfast. He made coffee and tea.

Then he went out into the living area. It was relatively untouched, but he fluffed the pillows, straightened the mat by the door, and opened the downstairs closet where he pulled out fresh sheets and blankets for their bed. While last night had been extremely fun, it had also made the sheets quite…used. He set the bedding on the stairs, then went back to the kitchen and poured Domitia a cup of tea.

He brought the tea, bedding and turkey souse upstairs, quietly setting it on the dresser in their room. Then, he filled the bathtub with steaming water.

Now, the day was ready for Domitia.

Iota crept back into the room and knelt next to her side of the bed.

“Domitia,” he whispered, brushing her hair back from her face. “I’ve put breakfast on the dresser. The bath is full and ready whenever you are. Once you are in there, I’ll change the sheets. Take your time waking up, I’ll be downstairs.” Then he kissed her nose, and left the room just as she was rolling over and waking up. Iota knew that if he got one look at her sprawling, naked body there was no chance she’d get the morning she deserved. While Iota hadn’t been able to give her the days of pampering he had wanted to, there was no way he was squandering today. Domitia would have whatever she wanted, she would feel cared for and protected, she would be fed and given comfort.

And then maybe tomorrow she’d be fucked so thoroughly she wouldn’t be able to walk.

*

Two hours later, after Domitia had eaten and bathed and Iota changed the sheets and scrubbed them in the washtub out back and then hung them to dry in the summer sun, she emerged down the stairs like a goddess.

She had braided her hair away from her face in two plaits, wore one of his shirts with nothing on beneath it, and looked like the most relaxed person on earth.

“I get it now,” she said, collapsing beside him on the couch. She stretched her legs over his lap and nudge his chest with her knee.

“What do you get?” he asked. He ran his hand over the back of her thigh lightly.

“Why the whole pampering thing was so important to you. You are very good at it.”

“You feel taken care of?”

“I do. I’ve never had a hot bath before. It might be heaven. You think we could both fit in that tub? Might be fun in the winter months to warm up together.”

“You’d have to sit on my lap, but I think we could squeeze in there.”

“Twist my arm,” she teased. “What are we doing today?”

“Whatever you want. I’m off work for the foreseeable future. You might get sick of me hanging around so much. But today, we can go to the shops, buy whatever you might still need. Or if you want we can see if Vallie and Lambda are around, have a meal with them. I could get out of here and let you have the house to yourself, run down to the market to get you whatever ingredients you’ve been looking for—”

“I don’t want to leave the house. We have enough food, and I’ve never been one for lots of clothes. I still have to get used to having a place to keep things. When you carry everything you own, there isn’t a reason for a lot of stuff.” She licked her lips. “We have the rest of our lives to hang out with Vallie and Lambda.”

“Do you want me to leave so you can have the house to yourself?”

“Absolutely not. I like you around.”

“You do?” A lovely warmth spread through his chest.

“I know I’m not a warm person,” Domitia began, “and I’ve never been good at expressing my feelings. Even with my mom. Hell, I can’t remember the last time I told her I loved her and I will probably never see her again.” She took a breath. “That is to say, I won’t be the kind of mate who tells you she loves you every morning. Or even every week. But I don’t want you to worry that it hasn’t hit me yet. It has hit me.”

“How?” Iota asked. “I’ve done nothing but lay in bed for weeks.”

“You were not lying in bed, you were injured. Terribly. Protecting the city I live in. And…I don’t want to say I’m glad things happened the way that they did, but part of me is relieved we weren’t able to fall into bed for days the moment we met. It gave me a chance to speak to you, get to know you. The first time, that first day—”

“When I made you come twice?”

“Yes, then. I’m sure you could tell, but it didn’t matter who it was. I only wanted touch. I had been so deprived for so long I would have taken anything from anyone. But now, I know that I don’t want anything from anyone. I want you. Only you.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to explain how much it means to me to hear you say that,” Iota began. “But I will do my best to make certain you feel loved every day of your life. If you feel loved by my touch, I’ll always keep a hand on you. Any way you want me to show you I love you, I will. Because I do. With all my heart, both man and wolf.”

Domitia smiled and pressed a kiss against his cheek. “I’m so glad my path led me here. It wasn’t an easy one, but I made it.”

Iota wrapped his arms around her and pulled to her to sit on his lap. She fit so perfectly, her curves against his abdomen, her soft skin against every inch of him. Domitia had always belonged in Iota’s arms, he knew that now.

He buried his face against her neck and breathed in the scent of her. Hell, she smelled like desire, but she also smelled like love and happiness and that was the best thing Iota could have imagined. He made his mate happy.

“You’re healed right?” She asked. He nodded. “Prove it to me. I know you were able to do the stairs alone, but are you sure you are at full wolf shifter capabilities?”

Iota grinned. “I’ll show you,” he growled. In a swift motion, Iota lifted Domitia off the couch and into the air, then walked her to the side of the room where he pinned her against the wall, so high that he pressed a kiss to the top of her thigh.

She buried her hands in his hair and tilted his face to look up at her. “If you feel this good, why on earth aren’t we fucking?”

Iota slowly lowered her until her feet touched the ground, but kept her body trapped between him and the wall.

“I am supposed to pamper you for three days. Not a couple hours one morning. Now, if you’d like to jump ahead to the pussy licking portion of the day—”

“Yes. I would. And I would like it to be immediately followed by the cock riding portion of the day. And then maybe the bend me over the table portion of the day which then morphs into the cock sucking hour.”

“Goddess, I love the filthy things you say,” Iota groaned. He pulled her back into his arms and cradled her against his chest.

He was finally going to be with his mate. He tried to play it cool, slowly walk his mate upstairs, maybe lie her on the bed gently before slowly seducing her.

But, he couldn’t. He let out an excited growl, then bounded up the stairs like a pup.

Domitia giggled as he did and held on.

“I’m glad you are as excited as I am.”