"Nothing will ever taste as good as my come mixed with yours."
He lifted me in his arms and carried me to the brown leather sofa in the living room, lying down and draping me on top of him. “Now, let’s rest.”
“Is this what life is going to be with you? Food, sex, and sleep?”
“I hope so,” he said with a chuckle.
There, wrapped up in the warmth of his arms circled around me, I fell fast asleep.
I woke up alone in the dark with a thick blanket draped over my naked body. The fireplace was now roaring and the only thing illuminating the dark room. The panic within me rose as I searched the darkness for a glimpse of Arkin.
Then the front door opened, and he appeared, fully clothed. I smiled when I realized that was the first time that I had ever seen him in clothing. Linus ran in behind him, shaking his fur and spattering some water on the wood floor before running over to curl in his bed near the kitchen entrance.
"I thought you looked good naked, but you really do a lot for a pair of jeans," I said, walking over and wrapping my arms around him.
"I'm sorry you woke up alone, sweetheart. You were sleeping so soundly, I didn't want to wake you. I just went outside to take a look at your car." He jangled my keys above my head. "Good as new," he said with a huge smile on his handsome face.
"You're a miracle worker. I really thought that old clunker was on its last leg."
I grabbed the keys from him and threw myself into his arms.
"It just needed a little TLC." He glanced over my shoulder. “I think someone’s calling you,” Arkin said, nodding toward the coffee table.
I turned around and saw my phone flashing in the darkness. “I thought bunny ears were good, but yours are incredible.”
I walked over to my phone and picked it up to read the text.
Miss Grace, your father has been admitted to Badlands Medical. Please call us at your earliest convenience.
The phone dropped from my hand, and my legs went out from under me. Just before I fell, Arkin was there holding me up.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, worry shrouding his golden eyes.
“My dad’s in the hospital. I have to go.”
Arkin didn’t even say a word. He just walked away to the bedroom and was down moments later with freshly laundered clothing.
“You unpacked for me,” I murmured, astounded at his thoughtfulness.
“Yes, now get dressed, and I will drive us.”
“Oh no, you don’t have to do that. I know you don’t go around people. I don’t want to put you out.”
“Put me out? You’re my mate! If you need me, there is no other place I want to be.”
Once I was dressed and out the front door, I was heading back toward my car.
“Where are you going?” Arkin asked, gently pulling at my hand and leading me toward a makeshift garage.
“To my car.”
“Oh, beauty, I think we should maybe take something that didn’t just break down.”
“I thought you’d said it was good as new.”
“Yes, but mine is going to be faster.”
“You have a car?”
“Yes, for emergencies like this one.”
Chapter 8
Arkin
"Whoa, this is nice," Calli said, sitting in the passenger seat. "You know, I've been buckling my seat belt for a while." She tried to whack my hand away, but I wouldn't let her. I just nipped at her bottom lip as I finished the task.
"You didn't have me to do it for you then."
"I'm not a child, Arkin," she said, a sweet smile forming on her decadent lips as she rolled her eyes at me.
"No, you're my mate, and your safety is the most important thing to me. Beauty, you are the only thing that matters in my entire world, and the rest of my life will be spent taking care of you." Once Calli was secured in the car, I kissed the top of her head and went to the driver's side.
Calli was quiet during the drive to the hospital. She breathed raptildy, and her left foot was shaking. Her worry made my wolf stir with frustration. Neither my wolf nor I were used to worrying to this extent about anyone and anything. I placed my hand on her knee to offer some form of reassurance and comfort. I gazed at her; she had her head leaning against the window as she wrung her hands.
"It'll be okay," I said, keeping my hand on her leg. I needed her to know I was there, and I needed my wolf to settle down and see that she was safe.
“He’s been sick for a while. We needed the money. That’s why I took the job with you originally. I left school so I could make money to help with all the bills. We were going to be fine.” She turned, and I could see one tear trailing down her face while her beautiful eyes were shrouded in the liquid. Tears that she was trying to hold at bay but were desperate to create a flood. I wanted to stop the car and hold her in my arms, but I knew we needed to get to her father. Right now, Calli needed him.
“Try not to worry until we see him,” I said, the only words I could think of that could comfort her and wouldn’t be a lie. One thing I never wanted to do was lie to her. People thought lies helped, but they didn’t. They just prolonged the hurt. They made it fester and bubble until there was no going back. I couldn’t tell her it would be okay, because I didn’t know.
She nodded, using the edge of the sweater to wipe away the tears.
Silence shrouded the rest of the drive. Silence was a funny thing; for a decade, I relished in it, but there in the confines of my truck, I would have torn off my right arm to hear Calli talk. The silence was deafening and unbearable.
When we finally got to the hospital, I parked the car, and Calli sprinted to the emergency doors.
"William Grace, please. I'm his daughter, Calliope Grace," she said as she tapped her nails on the counter. "Is he all right?"
"He is stable. He’s in room 104, right down the hall and to the left."
Calli glanced at me before dashing away.
"Thank you," I said to the nurse and followed behind.
"Daddy. Thank God you're okay," Calli said before rushing to her father's bedside. She sat at the corner of the bed, making sure not to crowd him.
"Calliope?"
"Yes, Daddy, it's me."
"Oh, my sweet girl. You're a sight for sore eyes."
She raised a hand and gently touched his face, stroking his forehead lovingly. I found myself puffing my chest out in pride. I’d always wanted a gentle mate, a mate who loved her family and cherished them. Seeing Calli now with her father and her willingness to sacrifice for those she cared about made me love her more. I loved her not just because she was my mate but because of who she was too.
"Don't cry, baby," her father said, a frown now present on his face. "Why don't you introduce me to your young man?" He turned his head and stared at me. I could see the shock, based on his round eyes and his intake of a sharp breath. "You mated with the Beast?" he asked as he gripped his daughter's hand.
"Daddy, be nice," Callie said, kissing her father's cheek before she left his side and walked toward me. She tugged at my hand as we walked closer to her father's bedside. "Daddy, this is Arkin. He is a wolf shifter, and he is my mate," she said matter of factly.