Page 15 of My Pucking Mates (Pucking Werewolves #4)
S he’s so bloody perfect, I say to Eris when sleep immediately consumes Runa. Both of us having already grabbed a warm rag from our jack-and-jill bathroom to gently clean her up before tucking her into my bed. There’s no telling how long she’ll sleep with how stressed we’ve had her lately.
Who says bloody? Eris scoffs back.
Well, mostly the Brits, but sometimes I like to spice things up. Why haven’t you noticed this, big brother? I ask, offering him an obnoxious smile that he responds to by shoving me in the shoulder.
Be nice to me, or I’ll kick you out of my room, I threaten, sticking my tongue out at him.
We both return to our mate, settling in on each side of her perfect, still-naked body. Neither of us says a word out loud or through our link. Our eyes trace her face, memorizing every inch and committing it to memory.
The way she seems to be almost smiling in her sleep. The way she curls up on her side, bringing her knees up in front of her. The way her shallow breaths barely blow the hairs on my chest. The way I have never felt more content in all of my existence than I do right now, by her side.
After what could have been either fifteen minutes or two hours, I break the silence, “Well, now that our date idea got trashed so wonderfully, what should we do?”
He doesn’t answer me immediately; his own eyes continue to catalog her every movement and detail, so I don’t interrupt him. Instead, I watch him watch her. Chuckling at myself when my internal dialogue makes me realize how weird that would have sounded had I said it out loud.
“We let her tell us in her own way,” he answers me, his voice heavy with the exhaustion he too must be feeling. I know he hasn’t been sleeping. Even when he puts up his mental walls, I can feel his restlessness. Even when he pretends everything is fine, I can tell when he’s struggling.
I like to let him believe that I only know him as the big, strong, only-slightly-older brother that he is when, in reality, I can tell when he needs my joviality to keep him from succumbing to the darkness that has always resided within him.
I decide not to push him on what he means by letting her tell us.
Instead, I also allow myself to rest my head on my hand, with my elbow propped on the bed.
Watching my brother finally close his eyes and fall into sleep, I watch the two of them for a few more minutes, soaking up the surreal feeling of having my entire world in one space.
Finally.
With my heart full and my mind open, I follow them into sleep.