Chapter 80: Chapter 80

~ NYSSA

I woke up to a slight feeling of discomfort as a slight heat crept up the back of my neck.

I peeled my eyes open, stunned for a moment when I took in how dark the room was. For a minute, I thought Rowan had simply pulled the curtains and turned off the lights but to my surprise, the curtains were drawn and the windows were open.

The sky itself was pitch black with no stars in the inky sky. Even the moon was hidden by clouds, only a fraction of it was visible.

I was shocked I’d slept so long without my heat returning and now that it was creeping back on me, I knew I had only a matter of time before it came back.

I sat up slowly in bed and quickly realized that I wasn’t naked. Rowan had thrown a large shirt over my frame and judging by the scent, it was his.

I took a discreet sniff before heading out the door, the smell of grease and eggs hitting me square in the face,

My stomach grumbled.

Rowan was in front of the kitchen counter plating eggs and bacon.

I couldn’t help but notice the irony of the situation. He was putting food on the same counter that he’d eaten me out on mere hours ago.

“You’re awake,” he noted, not even glancing up. “Sit down, you must be hungry.”

My stomach grumbled at that exact moment.

I did as he asked, bare feet padding against the floors as I hoisted myself onto one of the chairs. I watched him move around the kitchen with ease, grabbing glasses and a bottle of fruit juice from the fridge.

For the first time since I’d known him… he was shirtless.

In the dim light of the kitchen, I could make out the scars that littered his entire body. They covered every inch of his back and arms, a stark white against his pale skin.

His hair was tied back in a man bun and he hummed to himself under his breath as he worked.

“Eat,” he said, pushing one of the plates in front of me. “You’ll need it.”

She glanced down at the plate then back at it. The one he’d given her was easily twice the size of the one that he’d made for himself.

“It’s too much,” she began. “I couldn’t possibly—”

“Your heat is going to take up most of your energy. I can smell it returning. Eat.”

I shoved a forkful into my mouth, knowing there was no use complaining.

We ate in silence for the most part, only the sound of our utensils scraping and my heart pounding in my ears. It was the most intimate we’d ever been, even more so than what had happened earlier.

Eating together was strangely domestic, and I hated how much I enjoyed this.

“Thank you,” I said softly.

“What for?”

“For staying during my heat, for…” I trailed off, my cheeks reddening.

He raised a brow, an amused look filling his features. “Are you thanking me for making you cum, little wolf?’

I didn’t think it possible, but my cheeks burned even brighter. “Must you be so crude?”

That earned me a full laugh from him.

It sounded so weird coming from someone usually so stoic, but it was a beautiful sound, like the echoing of bells despite the mocking undertone it held.

“The only thing crude was tongue inside your cunt and how you came all over me,” he said simply, leaning forward on his elbows as he stared intently at me. “I can still taste it.”

I couldn’t look away.

His stare was so intense it pinned me in place, causing my stomach to flip on itself.

“You shouldn’t say things like that,” I whispered. “It complicates things.”

“Complicates what?”

“Us.”

A foreign emotion flashed through his eyes and I expected him to argue, but to my surprise, he pulled back, sitting up straight and clearing his throat.

He picked up his plate and then mine. I hadn’t even realized I’d eaten everything like he said I would.

He did the dishes quietly before wiping his hands against a towel.

I didn’t move the entire time, merely sat still, watching his movements and waiting for him to break the silence.

“Let’s start over,” he said finally.

I raised a brow. “Excuse me?”

“I was a dick to you and whether you admit it or not, you still think about it.”

I opened my mouth to deny it then promptly closed it.

He was right.

It’d always be at the back of my mind that he could wake up and decide to ask me to leave. The only difference between now and then is that now I’d be positively stranded.

I had nowhere else to go, and the thought of being entirely at his mercy filled me with a nerve wracking fear.

“Let’s start over,” he repeated. “I want to try. I want to take you on a date.”

“Am I the one going through heat or are you?” I asked, an awkward laugh escaping me, but he didn’t laugh, he didn’t even crack a smile.

“I mean it.”

He stepped around the counter, stopping directly in front of me, his hands landing on either side of me, effectively caging me in.

Up close, I could see every rough ridge of his skin, every curve, every scar, the very ripples of his abdomen as he spoke.

My throat dried.

I forced my eyes back to his face, determined not to be distracted by his body and the raging hormones inside of me.

“Is it me or is it getting hotter?” I asked and the corner of his lips quirked.

“You can’t ’heat’ you way out of this. I can smell you, Nyssa, I know what your heat is like.”

Still, he took a step back.

“I can’t force you though. My offer stands. I want to take you on a date… a real one. You can say yes whenever you’re ready.”

“And if I’m never ready?”

He shrugged. “Then I fucking hope for your sake that I get amnesia because I’ll never be able to get your taste out of my mouth otherwise.”

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