Page 96 of Wretched Soul

“Thanks, Mace!” Reid calls out. “Can I come in?”

There’s a rattle as he tries the door without waiting for my reply. I give Lily a look. This is where being nice gets you with my family. Then I turn my head and yell. “Fuck off, Reid!”

“I only wanted to say hello,” he whines.

“Drink some water and go to bed.”

He mumbles something, then snorts a laugh. “Goodnight, Lily!” he shouts in a singsong voice.

Lily giggles from beneath me. “Goodnight, Reid!”

Our time alone is coming to an end. The honeymoon is over.

Chapter 33

Lily

When my eyes flutter open, there’s an arm draped across my waist, a muscular chest pressed to my back, and a leg inserted between mine. Mace’s soft breaths tickle my neck. He’s asleep, which gives me a moment to collect my thoughts. What the hell?

Last night, I made the single most important decision of my life, and now everything changes. Where I live. Where I work. Who I associate with. We should have talked things through, but we got carried away in the moment. There had been too much adrenaline and carnal lust pumping through my veins to register the momentous step I’ve taken. But if I’m truly frightened about anything, it’s that I’m not scared about the future, and I’m sure I should be.

“Stop overthinking,” Mace says, his voice croaky with sleep. “I can feel your heart hammering in your chest.”

“I still want to stay friends with Kaitlyn,” I blurt out. “I had to start from scratch when I moved to Chicago. I don’t want to do that again.”

“OK,” he says, drawing the sound out.

“And I promised I’d visit Mom and Dad over the Christmas holidays. Do I take you with me?”

“Do you want me to meet your parents?”

“Yes, but…”

Mace pulls me onto my back so he can slip between my legs. “Stop, Lily,” he says, a warning in his tone. “Are you asking my permission? Is that how you think this is going to work?”

I go to answer, but I’m not sure what to say. “You did make a lot of demands last night,” I reply. “About moving in here, giving up my job, not leaving this apartment.Ever.” I arch an eyebrow in reprimand, but he fights a smirk.

“Maybe I did come on a little strong,” he admits.

Nerves flutter in my stomach. “So I am allowed to leave your sight?”

“Oh, no. Never,” he says quickly to put an end to that particular debate. “But last night was just about establishing the ground rules. I am going to be overprotective, and I will drive you crazy, but you should know by now that I don’t need to be physically next to you to watch over you. Just promise me you’ll never be reckless again.”

“I promise,” I whisper. Or at least I promise to try.

Mace strokes a thumb over my kiss-swollen lips. “We’re a partnership, Lily, and we have been from the get go. I gave you lectures about safety, and you taught me to be less guarded.”

I capture his thumb with my mouth, and suck on it before releasing it with a pop. “I’m almost going to miss Shade,” I admit.

He trails his wet thumb to my chin and forces it down, opening my mouth. “He’s still lurking in the shadows, Slayer, so don’t get too comfortable,” he says before he kisses me.

As his tongue strokes mine, I feel the hard ridge of his cock against my stomach. My peaked nipples scrape against the thorned lily tattooed on his chest as he moves lower, trailing kisses down my neck. I raise my hands above my head in surrender. How can I not feel comfortable?

And then I hear a noise from elsewhere in the apartment. The whistling is a reminder that this new world I’ve been pulled into has other inhabitants.

Mace has his lips sealed around one of my nipples when he notices me tense. He looks up. “What’s wrong?”

“Will your family accept me?”