Mending the Beast (Awakening Pride #10) - Lacey Thorn Page 0,52
dining room.
Ariel shook her head. “I never realized how playful they are with one another. Your brother always seems so serious.”
“She’s made him a better man. No. A more complete one. Definitely a happier one,” Daniel stated, linking his fingers with Ariel’s and tugging her along with him as they headed toward the room they’d shared.
“I didn’t hear you come…in last night.”
He noted the careful pause and wondered if she’d started to say she hadn’t heard him come to bed last night.
“You were sound asleep. I didn’t want to wake you.”
She waited until the door to the room closed behind them then stopped him, pulling at their joined hands until he turned to face her.
“I was hoping you’d wake me.”
He caught his breath at the shy innocence in her gaze. The sheen of a desire he wasn’t sure she was even aware she was showing. He lifted his hand, brushing his fingertips over her cheek before running his thumb under her eye.
“You need your sleep, baby.”
“Why do you do that?”
“Do what?” he asked.
“Call me baby.”
“You don’t like it?”
“I…” She shrugged. “It’s okay. I was just curious. Have you called other women baby?”
“Never,” he vowed, cupping her face and lowering his mouth to hers. Soft and slow, he reminded himself. That was so hard to remember when his lips brushed hers. When her tongue slipped out to taste his bottom lip. He followed it back inside, doing some tasting of his own. Consuming her. Losing himself in her.
Her hands gripped his upper arms, fingers kneading the muscle as she held onto him, moved into him. He dropped his hand to cup her hip, urging her to move so his thigh was between hers. Then he rocked her against him, urging her to take the pleasure she wanted from him. Instead, she pushed away, breaking the kiss and taking a step back.
“I want—”
A knock on the door interrupted whatever she’d been ready to say, and Daniel wanted to hear the rest of it.
“Hey, time to hit the road,” Kenzie called, and Daniel heard his brother trying to shush her. Kenzie seemed to ignore him, knocking a bit louder. “Hurry up! We’ll meet you at the car. I’m calling Holt and letting them know we’re headed back.” She gave the door another thump, then he heard footsteps walking away.
“Ariel…”
She shook her head, cutting him off. “We need to grab our bags and get going.” She turned and moved toward the bathroom, gathering stuff while he stood there doing his damnedest to hold himself together. He wanted her touch again. Craved her kiss with everything inside him.
She popped out of the bathroom and moved toward her bag, stowing a few things inside before turning to him.
“I can’t believe I’m going to get to meet some bear shifters,” she said as she moved toward his bag, tossing in the few things he’d left on the bedside table. “I know they have cabins there. Vic talks a lot about the Holloway brothers and the cabins. Kenzie told me three of the brothers are mated now, and there are more bear shifters joining their pack now that Laramie is mated. Something about his mate being an alpha’s daughter and her pack following her to Wyoming. And Holt is there. I don’t really know him all that well, but I know he means a lot to Kenzie. Vic, too.”
He finally made his feet move. “Ariel.”
She went on her tiptoes and kissed him softly on the chin. “It sounds like the perfect place for us to breathe for a little bit. Just the two of us. Just for a little bit.”
“That sounds perfect,” Daniel agreed, tugging her closer and holding her. He’d make sure it happened for them. His brother would understand. So would the Holloways. Daniel would make sure they had all the breathing room she needed. Then maybe, Ariel, who didn’t think she could be a mate, would realize that she’d been his all along. He’d merely been waiting to find her.
Chapter Sixteen
“They can be a bit overwhelming, huh?”
Ariel looked over as the feminine voice intruded on her thoughts. The woman leaned casually against the wall to Ariel’s right. Brown eyes that Ariel would describe as doe eyes shone from a pale face. The woman’s dark brown hair had been scraped back into a braid that lay over one shoulder. Her gaze was friendly, a smile tilting the corners of her lips.
“I’m Rissa, by the way. A new addition to the Holloways.”