“Let me guess. Adam?”
He shrugged a shoulder at her. “Canis lupus males don’t like sleeping apart from their mates.”
“What about Thia, Slate, and Titus?” She knew there was no way Decebel, Costin, or Fane would have left the children behind, even if Drake and Bethany were still at the mansion.
“They’re here.” His voice was a deep rumble as his eyes roamed over her. “I’m sorry you didn’t get to finish your massage.”
Elle snorted. “Liar.”
His lips turned up slightly. “Regardless.” He pushed off the wall and prowled slowly across the room like a wolf hunting his prey. “I’d like to make it up to you.”
Elle’s eyes narrowed. “You’re here to give me a massage and then let me sleep?”
“Something like that,” he teased.
She shook her head at her mate, and a shiver of anticipation made its way down her body. Elle didn’t know if she’d ever get used to the way Sorin made her feel. It was unlike anything she’d ever experienced, and she was careful to keep those thoughts closed down tightly. She’d found out quickly that he and his wolf, though they knew she had a past, didn’t appreciate it when she compared them to previous relationships—not that she was comparing them in any way other than as to the emotions her mate evoked.
Elle had never imagined she would have such devotion from a male. She’d never considered she could feel so strongly for one person. When he said that the males of his race didn’t like to sleep apart from their mates, she completely understood. She hated the idea of sleeping apart from him, too. Considering that when she’d first realized they were true mates, she’d sort of freaked out, Elle was now shocked she couldn’t stand the idea of being without him.
“Come here, mate.” Sorin held out his hand when he was halfway to her.
Elle’s feet moved before she even had time to register his words. Her hand slipped into his, and he sighed as he pulled her tightly against him. Sorin buried his face in her throat and breathed deeply. He spoke words in his native tongue, words that made Elle blush. A supernatural being that lived as long as she had knew many other languages, including Romanian. She never tired of hearing him speak to her in his language. It provoked an intimacy between them that made her think of the bond they shared mentally.
“I missed you today,” Sorin murmured. His lips began a slow trip up her neck to her ear. He bit it just hard enough to smart, but then kept moving until his mouth hovered over hers.
“Were you men bored out of your minds, or did you spar to release some of your pent-up energy?”
He chuckled. “We kept busy. But it was a poor substitute for being with you.”
Elle sighed as his lips began moving again, down her chin to her neck. “I’d rather be with you, too.”
His hand unbuttoned the red-and-green plaid shirt she wore, and with every brush of his fingertips against her flesh, Elle’s anticipation for her mate’s touch grew.
“I do believe you had to be naked for that massage you got today.” Her mate’s voice rumbled against the valley between her breasts.
“Mmm-hmm,” was the only thing she could manage to say as Sorin continued to undress her.
“I think you’ll find the massage you’re about to get will be much more satisfying than any that place had to offer.” She didn’t miss the bite in his tone, obviously still irritated over someone else having touched her. But she didn’t care. He could be as irritated as he wanted as long as he didn’t stop doing what he was doing.
Sorin chuckled, no doubt having heard her thoughts.
“On the bed with you. Lie on your stomach,” he mentally told her once he’d stripped her down. She could have magicked her clothes away, but Elle had found that there was something profoundly intimate about being undressed by her male, and she liked it. She enjoyed knowing she was the only woman who received his attention and care in such a way.
She did as he instructed, her breath coming in shallow pants as she anticipated how good Sorin’s hands would feel on her. The best masseuse in the world could not compete with what her mate’s hands did on her body.
The bed dipped as he joined her. A moment later, his hands were running down her back, followed by his tongue. Apparently, he wasn’t even going to set a pretense that this massage was anything like what she’d already received. Elle wasn’t about to complain.
“Are you still upset that I asked—”
“Demanded,” she interrupted him.
“Fine, demanded that you not allow the human female to touch you?”
She switched to the mental bond as she answered. “Do I get a happy ending?”
“Would I be here if I didn’t plan on it?”
Elle laughed. “Good answer.”
*****
“I’m not surprised you’re here,” Rachel said as she continued to undress. She’d known the minute they’d entered the suite that her mate was there. After so many centuries together, and with as much danger as they’d faced, they rarely kept the bond closed down enough that they didn’t know where the other was.
“I knew you wouldn’t be,” Gavril replied.
She could feel his eyes on her, running over her body as if he hadn’t seen her undress thousands of times.
“I never tire of it.” The deep timbre in his voice sent the heat of desire through her blood.
“The kids?”
“With their parents.” His warm breath brushed her neck, and she felt his fingertips run along the outsides of her arms.
Finally, when she was fully unclothed, she turned to face her mate. He was sitting in a plush chair tucked into a corner across the room from her. Gavril always did like to use the bond in creative ways. Rachel’s lips turned up as she stared at the glowing eyes of her mate. “Shall I pose for you?”
“You do not have to ask what I want, female. Not after all this time together.” The wolf and man’s voice blended together as they fought for dominance.
Instead of moving toward the bed, she walked to him and then climbed onto his lap. One of his arms immediately wrapped around her waist, while his other hand began to slowly travel from her ankle up her calf to her thigh and then back down again. “This isn’t posing,” he said.
“Posing is not what you wanted,” she whispered. “As you pointed out, I do not have to ask what my male needs.”
“And what is that?”
“Me.”
Gavril leaned forward, pressed a soft kiss to her shoulder, and then blew his warm breath on her sensitized flesh. “I always need you.”
*****
Lucian laid on the bed and listened to the sounds of his mate taking a shower. She hadn’t been surprised when she’d walked into her room and found him lounging across the comforter. She’d simply said, “Let me wash the shopping funk off of me, then we’ll talk.” Peri didn’t have to take a shower. She could have simply used her power to clean herself, but he’d learned she enjoyed the sensations that came with the human ritual of getting clean, not that he minded. His mate naked with water pouring down her body was not something he’d ever complain about.