Page 26 of Can’t Help Growling in Love (Harmony Glen #9)
Chapter
Seventeen
ASHER
June follows me from the bathroom, yawning widely. At the foot of the bed, she stops and glances at me. “You’re so neat, I can’t tell which side is yours. I think I just passed out last night without asking, sorry.”“
“I usually gravitate toward the left.” I tug the covers off and motion at June to climb up. “But you can take whichever…”
I trail off because she drops the towel and scoots to the right side of the bed, and I get a delicious view of her naked body. I snap my eyes shut because we’re supposed to go to sleep, and the sight of her lush ass is doing wicked things to me.
Working quickly, I cover June with the blanket, tucking it around her as she curls on her side.
There . She’ll be able to rest without my dick poking her in the hip.
I step quickly out of the bedroom to check that all the doors and windows are locked, and pull down the blackout blinds so we can sleep better.
I finally slide into the bed beside June. I expect her to be asleep, but she makes a soft, sleepy sound that goes straight to my groin and sidles closer to me, reaching out under the covers.
Within moments, she’s wrapped around me, her cheek smushed to my chest, her leg flung over mine.
June is a secret cuddler .
My heart twinges with the realization that she must have been completely burned-out last night since she barely twitched when I got into bed beside her.
I never would have suspected she was this cuddly, given how respectful she was of my initial aversion to touch, but it looks like her barriers are down now that she’s out.
I love it.
Before June, I never shared a bed with anyone. I’ve shared rooms or tents with my old teammates, yes, but we had our own bunks or sleeping bags, depending on whether we were on a mission or at base. But this…
Nothing has ever been more intimate than having a sleeping June in my arms.
Slowly, I shift to my side and tuck her more firmly to me.
She mumbles in her sleep, something unintelligible, and ducks her head.
Sighing deeply, she sinks back into sleep.
Her thigh fits perfectly between mine, and her waist feels like it’s been made for my hand, the dip and swell of her hips so enticing, even under the covers.
I’ll never be able to sleep .
Not with my mate cuddled next to me like this. I’m half hard, and June’s scent teases my senses with every breath.
But after a few minutes, my heartbeat levels out, and I realize with a tired sort of wonder that I’m about to fall asleep.
“Goodnight, beautiful,” I murmur, kissing June’s forehead.
I want to say more, to tell her how much she already means to me.
But she wouldn’t hear me, and my last thought is that I’ll tell her soon.
I’ll have to, before the full moon.
I wake up to a twitch and a gasp, limbs flailing against my body.
“Huh?” I blink in the low light.
“We’re late!” June scrambles away from me and rolls over the edge of the bed. “Asher, come on, we forgot to set the alarm. I have to be at the hospital in twenty minutes!”
I groan inwardly but catapult myself to my feet. One thing I haven’t forgotten in the years since I left the Army is how to jump-start my body at a sudden wake-up call.
“Shit, sorry.” I scramble over to the dresser and grab a pair of underwear. “I should have?—”
“We both should have,” June answers curtly from the other side of the bed, where she’s tugging on her panties. “I need at least five minutes to get ready. Can you drive me? I hate to put you out, but…”
I lift my hand to stop her. “Go. You do your thing, and I’ll be ready at the door in five.”
I snag a pair of sweats and a t-shirt and race into the kitchen. We might have fucked up and slept late, but I’ll be damned if I’ll let June out of the house without breakfast two days in a row.
Flinging open the fridge, I take out the baby carrots, a bunch of grapes, and some cream cheese, then scrounge up a bagel from the bakery on Main Street. Its owner, an orc called Dorvak, might be a grump, but he makes the best damn bread in town.
I slice the bagel in half and pop it in the toaster, then rummage in the cupboards for a protein bar and a baggie of salted nuts. The bagel pops out, so I slather it with cream cheese, then add some prosciutto I bought at the grocery store the other day.
I pack everything in a tote bag for June. It doesn’t look like much, so I add an apple and a wrapper of cookies, just to be sure.
I don’t want my mate to go hungry.
The bathroom door opens, so I hustle into the hallway and slip on my shoes, just in time to see June emerge from my bedroom.
Her eyes are wide, her scent going haywire, but her hair is plaited neatly, she smells of her deodorant, and her clothes match, so I grin at her and motion at her boots.
“Perfect timing. We’ll get you to the hospital with time to spare.”
We run for the car, and when she’s safely closed in and puts on her seat belt, I shove the bag of food into her lap. “Here, you can get a few bites in before your shift. Can’t save people on an empty stomach.”
June stares at me, then peers into the tote bag. “Oh my God. You made all this? When?”
My face warms, and I know I’d be blushing if I wasn’t furry. “It’s not much. I just toasted the bagel, June. I should have made you coffee, too.”
She grabs my hand and squeezes my fingers, and when she speaks, her words come out sounding choked. “This is the nicest thing anyone has done for me in a while. I love it. I—” She stops herself and swallows thickly. “You’re an incredible guy, Asher. You didn’t have to do this, but I appreciate it.”
I wish I could hold on to her, but we’ve only got minutes. “Go on, eat.” I pat her knee, then return my hand to the steering wheel before I follow my instincts and touch more of her. “I’d hoped we’d get more time before work. But I guess we were both more tired than we thought.”
June nods, her mouth full. She gulps down a bite of the bagel, then says, “We’ve got tonight, though, right?
” Her heartbeat flutters in her neck, and the sweet scent of her blooms in the air between us.
“I mean, I’m still coming over to yours…
since there’s very little chance my house has magically become livable. ”
“You can stay for as long as you need,” I tell her, choosing the words carefully.
I want to tell her she can stay forever, but I don’t think she’s ready for that. There are things we need to discuss, things I’ve been holding back because I don’t know how she’ll react.
She’s human, and they don’t bite people, not usually.
It’s definitely not a topic to start while we’re racing to get her to work on time, though.
“Thank you.” She puts her hand on my knee for a brief second, then returns to her bagel.
“And I’ll survive for a day on hospital coffee, don’t worry.
Especially since I feel like I’ve slept for fourteen hours.
Your bed must be magic or something. I don’t remember the last time I’ve felt this refreshed after six hours of sleep. ”
I bite my tongue so I don’t tell her that we’ll always sleep better together from now on.
And that for me, at least, spending nights apart from her will mean discomfort and anxiety.
I’m not sure about her yet. Only time will tell how affected she’ll be by the mate bond.
Humans and werewolves have intermarried in the past, of course, but I didn’t find any good research on the topic when I searched online during my shift last night.
June might experience the same attraction as me, or she might be completely impervious to the bond.
Too soon, I have to turn into the hospital’s employee parking lot. June drops the half-eaten bagel back into the tote bag and wipes crumbs from her lips. Then she leans in and kisses me, a soft press of her lips that leaves me wanting more.
“I’ll see you soon?”
I nod, too tangled in my thoughts to form more than a basic answer. “Yeah.”
She kisses me once more, and then she’s out of the truck, hustling toward the back entrance of the hospital. At the door, she turns back and gives me a wave, then disappears inside.
I drop my head to the steering wheel, my heartbeat racing. Thank the gods . I got her to work on time, she’s got the food I packed for her, and we’ve arranged to meet after work.
So why am I still so antsy?
I check the date and the moon app on my phone and groan. Only three more days.
June and I need to talk tonight.
She might take off, running for the hills, after she hears what will happen on the night of the full moon if she remains with me. But I can’t let her stay without warning her.
The last thing I want is to put my mate in danger.