Page 17

Chapter Nine

Silver

Not even half a day. Less than twelve hours ago, my life was drastically different.

When I woke up this morning, I had no idea I would be ending Valentine’s Day with not only a mate but a claimed mate.

I was clueless about Ma’s scheming, and even an hour ago, I was ready to chew her out for what she’d done. That was before I’d claimed Charlie.

My adorable little mate, who was currently quietly snoring against my chest. Our claiming was probably a bit rushed, but neither of us seemed to care all that much.

I knew my gorilla wasn’t going to have an easy time letting Charlie go without at least our scent on him.

That he was just as willing to claim me back made not only me happy, but my animal side was running in my mind, stopping long enough to beat his chest and roar out in triumph.

Had I ever done that in real life? No. Which was probably why my animal side was doing it in my mind.

I’d let him have his moment or two because I understood the need for celebration.

We’d not only found our mate but had claimed him already.

That wasn’t something I thought I needed. Apparently, I had been wrong.

I was going to experience so many firsts with Charlie.

Having a partner sleep on me was certainly one of those firsts.

Just the fact that he was in my bed was a huge one.

I couldn’t help but lie here and wonder how soon I could get him to move in with me.

Sure, I would spend the night in his tiny cottage with him, but I knew that it would be incredibly cramped with me there with him.

I realized it was a very real possibility that he wasn’t going to want to live here in my house.

It wouldn’t be my first choice, but for my mate, I was willing to sell this place and buy something that Charlie wanted.

It would be an adjustment not living so close to my brothers, but things would be changing for everyone in the family.

I had a mate! That meant my first priority now would be Charlie and not everyone else in the family.

I smiled at that. Ma’s scheming worked. I had found my mate and already claimed him.

What I didn’t think she thought about completely, though, was the fact that I would be focusing on Charlie and any family we might start now.

I would no longer be as eager to drop everything and go to our parents’ house.

I would no longer be spending time there every weekend.

I was sure she hadn’t thought about that.

Charlie started to stir, and instinctively, I tightened my arms around him before I started rubbing my hands up and down his back. Charlie made a noise seconds before he moved his head. Then, he raised it and looked up at me. I smiled at him. He was so damn adorable.

“Hello. How are you feeling?”

After a moment, Charlie’s eyes widened, and then he pushed up a bit and looked around. When his eyes made it back to mine, he smiled. “It wasn’t an amazing dream,” he said.

“Nope. We met on a blind date, and we ended up back at mine. Clothes came off, body parts collided, bites were exchanged, and you fell asleep.”

Charlie’s cheeks darkened. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep. That was incredibly rude of me.”

I chuckled. “I was taking it as a compliment. I’m not upset even a little.” I had discovered that I very much liked the feeling of Charlie lying on top of me and wondered if I’d be able to get him in this position again in the very near future.

Charlie squirmed a little before he seemed to sigh. “Your knot is gone,” he said, his eyes widening.

“Yes. It didn’t stay long. Maybe ten minutes at most. I’m not sure if that’s how it will always be or if it was there this time because we claimed each other. I’ve never experienced it before, obviously.”

Charlie smiled before nodding, resting his chin on his hand, which was now on my chest. He looked sleepy, and I realized I probably should get him into the shower and cleaned up.

“How about we take a shower and get cleaned up?” I asked. I knew the bed was going to need to be changed. Well, the blanket at a minimum. That depended on how much of our combined mess got onto it and if anything leaked through. Most likely, since it wasn’t an overly thick blanket.

“Oh, a shower sounds wonderful,” Charlie said.

He pushed up again, this time sitting up on me.

I very much liked the look and feel of Charlie there in that position, and I wondered if he would like that position.

I certainly wanted to see him in it during other activities.

“I have to assume with your size that your shower is larger than mine?”

I snorted. “You would be correct. There is plenty of room for the two of us in my shower. Same as with my tub.”

Charlie was suddenly giddy, and he made a bit of a squeak before he climbed off me.

He was standing beside the bed in seconds, and I rolled to join him.

He moved back a step, giving me room to slide off the bed.

A quick glance told me that I was definitely going to need to change the blanket, and looking at the size of the mess, most likely the sheets as well.

“Let me get you started in the shower, and I’ll join you after I strip the bed.”

“Did you…oh.” Charlie winced when he looked around me toward the bed. “I’ll help. That’s partly my mess too, I’m sure.”

“It’s most likely mine.” I cleared my throat.

“Most of your mess is on my stomach and probably yours as well.” He didn’t have the amount of hair on his stomach that I did, which was a lucky thing for him since he’d probably ripped a bit of mine out when he sat up.

Charlie’s mess had mostly dried on my stomach and at this point was incredibly itchy. It could wait a bit longer though.

“Do you think we can save any of the bed?” Charlie asked as he reached for the blanket and started tugging.

“Maybe. It depends on how much leaked through. I’d not really prepared well.

I should have put down a towel at a minimum.

Maybe a thicker blanket or a pair of towels with as big as the mess is.

” I was forty-two, and I’d never had that big of a mess before in my life.

It had to be because Charlie was my mate and we had just claimed each other.

I helped Charlie fold the blanket down and then saw that the mess had leaked through. The mattress was thankfully saved, but it had to be stripped down to the mattress cover, where there was only a small amount of dampness that hadn’t leaked through.

“Umm, are your messes usually that big?” Charlie asked as he looked between the stripped bed and the pile of laundry on the floor.

“No. It’s probably because we claimed each other. Maybe.” I shrugged. “I don’t know why, exactly, but that’s my best guess.” That caused Charlie to chuckle. I grabbed his hand and pulled him along with me toward the bathroom. Just inside the doorway, Charlie stopped.

“Oh wow. Yeah, so when can I move in?” he asked.

I chuckled. “That easy?” I asked him. The bathroom had been the first thing I had remodeled when I bought the place.

I’d been lucky that it was already a decent size, but the layout as it was just didn’t appeal to me.

I’d added a separate tub and shower, and the toilet was in its own little room at the far side of the space.

Charlie looked at me with wide eyes. “Seriously? Your bathroom looks to be the size of my bedroom at home.”

I winced. I knew the cottages were small, but surely they weren’t that tiny. “You can’t be serious.”

“I wish I wasn’t,” Charlie said as he hurried off to the toilet.

He closed the door behind him, and I took that opportunity to turn on the water in the shower.

While it was heating and Charlie was taking care of business, I crossed over to the mirror to look at my claiming bite.

Charlie’s little bite was there for all to see, and my gorilla once more puffed up his chest and beat on it proudly.

I didn’t know if he yet realized just how proud and protective my gorilla was going to be.

I was going to remain true to what I’d told Charlier earlier.

I wouldn’t be possessive, unless someone tried to move in on my mate, and I wasn’t going to be controlling.

I understood completely that he’d had a life before me.

It was going to be an adjustment for both of us, but I had no doubt that we were going to figure out how to mesh our two different worlds together.

“Did I put it in the wrong spot?” Charlie asked as he came out of the toilet room.

I turned my head and met his worried gaze.

“Not at all. My gorilla was just admiring the mark you put on us,” I told him.

“The shower is hot if you’re ready to get in.

I’ll be just a moment.” I hurried to the toilet, and after emptying my bladder, I flushed and then joined my mate in the shower.

He was standing under the steaming spray, his eyes closed and a look of relaxation on his face.

He moved forward just a bit and opened his eyes when I entered the space. “How is it that you have my dream shower with this type of showerhead?”

I chuckled. “Fate,” I told him. There was no other way to explain it.

There were several things about my house that I’d often questioned myself about when I was having things remodeled, but now I was positive that they were all because of fate.

I’d had this type of shower installed because Charlie would love it.

Sure, I’d enjoyed it too, but at the time, I hadn’t originally picked a large rain showerhead.

It had been what was available, and I’d been left with little choice.

Now, I was certain that was because Charlie was going to be entering my life at some point, and here he was.

“Do you really believe in fate that much?”