Page 63 of The Bookseller and the Alpha (Witch Twins #1)

Luc

It was after midnight by the time I returned to my suite of rooms. The rooms where Caly waited for me.

Although I had wanted to keep her by my side, I’d sent her away as soon as she’d answered questions about the ritual and the spell on the journal.

She’d been drooping with fatigue. It had been a long day for her.

Hopefully she’d eaten the meal I’d told Sam to arrange and gone to sleep.

In our bed , Beast purred. Even though he and I were now merged, we had been separate for so long that he still felt like a distinct entity in my mind .

Yes, it satisfied my primitive side that she would be sleeping in my bed. My cock jumped at the thought. But tonight she needed to sleep. My jaw clenched. I wanted to mate her. Mark her. Cover her in my scent. So that every male in the Palace knew she was mine.

But not tonight. Dismissing the bodyguard I’d assigned to guard the rooms, I let myself into the suite.

The lights were off and the rooms were fully dark.

The suite had windows, but now that we were on lockdown, heavy metal shutters had come down to cover them all.

Shutting the door quietly, I listened, extending my senses.

Caly’s soft breathing came from the suite’s bedroom. She was deeply asleep.

I navigated the darkened rooms, Beast’s eyes allowing me to see where I was going, even in the darkness.

Beside the bed, I stripped off my clothes.

My mate lay on her side, her hair spread out across the pillow.

Carefully, I climbed in beside her, gathering her up against me, allowing her touch to soothe me; her nearness to relax me.

My mate was in my arms. Nothing else mattered right now.