Yeah, I doubted that.
When we entered the apartment, there was a short woman standing in the foyer with Mona.
"Here is Queen Elena." Mona waved toward me.
"Your Highness." The girl bowed her head, causing her carrot red hair to fall, framing her face. "It's so nice to meet you even though I wish it was under better circumstances." When she raised her face to meet mine, her light green eyes stared into mine.
"Gracie." That's the only person I could reconcile with her. At this point, I doubted they'd let anyone else into the house right now.
"She just got here." Mona pointed at the big black bag. "I was giving her a brief update on what happened."
"I'm so glad you didn't get harmed." She gave me a small, forced smile.
"Thanks, I just wish none of us had gotten injured." It didn't seem right to say thank you. "Is he in the living room?"
"Yeah, let's go." Mona led the way.
"I'm going to head into the kitchen to grab a drink." Tommy nodded as he peeled off from us.
When we stepped into the den, Ella and Louis were on the couch.
I scanned the room and didn't find Mason. Did he already leave? "Where's Mason?"
"He's out there." Ella pointed to the balcony. "Pouting."
"Let's take a look at your arm." Gracie walked over to Louis and gave him a small smile. "I'm here to stitch you up."
"What … I won't heal?" Louis pouted as he stared at her bag.
"You will, but it'll leave less of a scar if we stitch it closed. I'll come by in two days to remove the stitches too."
That was one of the nice things about being a shifter. We did heal fast.
"Fine." Louis removed the towel so she could inspect the wound. “I need to look my best for my baby.” With a smirk, he winked at Ella.
Right then, I was envious of their flirting. "If you guys don't mind, I'm going out onto the balcony." Now that Louis was getting taken care of, I wanted to go ahead and get things cleared up between Mason and me.
"We'll let you know if we need anything." Kassie waved me off.
It only took a few strides to reach the balcony door. It connected around the side of the apartment, and there were stairs that led up to the balcony attached to our bedroom.
When I stepped outside, I didn't see him but could smell his scent in the air. I took a deep breath of his signature earthy smell and followed it up the stairs. I found him in our normal spot, sitting on the large loveseat, staring at the lights of the city that never sleeps. "Hey."
He took a deep breath and glanced behind him. "Hey."
"Can I join you?" I'd never felt like I had to ask before, and it bothered me.
"Yeah." He patted the open seat next to him. "I was hoping you'd come find me."
"Well, at least, there's that." I slowly walked over and sat next to him. "You said you wanted to talk."
"Yeah, I did." He sighed and placed his head in his hands. "But I don't know anymore. Why didn't you leave when I asked you to?"
"Because I needed answers. If I left every time I didn't want to hear or do something, I'd never get anything accomplished.” I needed him to understand.
"But I asked you to." He lifted his head and sighed. "Do you have a death wish?"
"What? No." Did he think I was insane? Wait, I probably didn't want to know the answer to that question.
"It sure seems like it." He reached over and tugged me into his chest. "How many times do I have to watch you almost die?"
"But I didn't."
"Only because of Louis." He reached over and brushed his fingers along my cheek. "I can't keep almost losing you." He leaned over and pressed his lips to mine. Then, he pulled back ever so slightly. "You need an entire bulletproof suit."
A giggle escaped. "I'm sorry. I didn't know that was going to happen. I don't like my near-death experiences either. Maybe I'm like a cat."
"Well, if so, you're out of half your lives." He kissed me and opened our bond back up.
His feelings of love, devotion, and fear filled the empty hole he had created. "It's not fun being cut off." I had to at least admit that to him.
"Yeah, I know that feeling all too well." He kissed me again, his feelings colliding with mine. He growled as his hands dug into the sides of my dress. He grabbed my waist and pulled me on top of him. "I love you so damn much."
"I love you."
His fingers inched under my dress, and soon my body began to respond.
I couldn’t hold back my moan. "We need to go to our bedroom." There were weirdos all over the city, and I didn't want anyone, even accidentally, seeing us. I need you now.
"Fine." He wrapped his arms around my waist and hoisted my legs around him.
It was only a minute before he had the door to our bedroom opened and was letting me fall back onto the bed, my red hair cascading over the covers. He bent over me, kissed my lips, and then deepened the kiss.
As I attempted to pull him down on top of me, he leaned back. I’ve got blood all over my pants. Do you feel like a shower?
That sounds perfect.
He reached under me, lifting me again, and our mouths connected. As I sucked on his tongue, he carried me to the bathroom.
Stumbling through the bathroom door, he felt his way into the large walk-in shower and then put my feet back on the ground.
I reached around him, turning the water on.
Despite the cold temperature, it did nothing to cool the fire between us.
His hands dug into my sides as he reached around me to unzip my dress. In one quick motion, he pulled the dress down my hips and tossed it to the floor. You’re so damn beautiful.
Your outfit is ruined. Grasping the front of his shirt, I ripped it open, and the buttons flew everywhere as I pushed it off and tossed it down next to my dress.
My eyes scanned his body and locked on his ink, the wolf pawprint on his upper arm. That tattoo always did something to my insides.
He leaned over me at first, brushing my lips with his, but then began trailing kisses down my neck. My arms wrapped around him, and I dug my nails into his back.
A low growl emanated from his chest. His hands unclasped my bra and cupped my breast, making me moan.
My hands went straight for his pants, removing every article of clothing from his body. He was hard in all the right places.
He pulled me against him once more, trailing kisses down my breast and flicking the nipple in the exact way that I loved.
Our feelings for each other colliding only made me that much more desperate for him. I can’t wait any longer.
His fingers brushed the inside of my thighs and they slowly trailed up to my waist. He yanked my underwear off, causing it to rip in two.
Once we were naked, I needed to feel him in every way. I wrapped my arms around his neck and climbed up his body, and he thrust inside me.
Each thrust brought me closer and closer to the edge.
The tension from the day vanished, and all that mattered was him and me in this moment. He bent down to nip at my breast as he brought me closer to the edge.
Love you. His words growled in my head as we both climaxed at the exact same time.