"Havok!" Cora shrieks. "Shit! Havok, the windows!"
My eyes bulge as I look around and realize every fucking window in our house is wide open. The curtains still tied back, the steel shades still raised, and the early afternoon sun is streaming through every single one.
"Shit!" I jump from the bed in a panic, looking around for some place to hide but everything is bathed in sunlight. "Shit!"
"Under there!" Cora points to the bed as she dashes around the room grabbing blankets. "Quick!"
So I stop, drop, and roll myself under the bed, only to get stuck right at my ass because the space is not big enough for me to fit through.
"I'm stuck!" And panicking. Of course I'd burst into flames and meet a fiery death a mere few hours after mating my love and planning to have sex three times an hour every day for the rest of time. That is absolutely how my life works.
And how embarrassing for Cora.
She'll have to explain to my brothers that we fucked so magnificently that neither one of us were aware that the automatic shades were not working and that is why her mate is nothing but a pile of ash under our freshly mated bed.
At least she can say I went out on a high note, went out with her scent still all over my body, her mark on my neck, and her cum on my dick. I suppose there could be worse ways to go.
I feel blankets on my bare ass, my legs, my feet, and breathe a sigh of relief; but just as quickly Cora removes them.
"Hey!" I yell. "I realize my naked backside is a beautiful sight to behold but now isn't exactly the time to appreciate it!"
"Wait a minute."
Oh dear gods, my love is going to kill me.
She just wanted to mate first so that… well, I don't really know, but obviously she has some sort of plan to murder me after our lovemaking; otherwise, I have no idea what the hell she's doing.
"Cora, my love, my angel, you do realize a minute exposed to the sun could be fatal, right? All it could take when I'm this naked with this much sunlight is a minute for me to ignite and burn to a crisp."
"Do you feel anything?"
"Fear," I snap. "Fear that I will be nothing but a smoldering pile within seconds; fear that my mate has finally gone mad and decided to kill me."
I can practically hear Cora roll her eyes. "No, do you feel anything? Like, your body?"
"Cora, please. Now is not the time for—"
"Havok, I love you, but just shut the fuck up for a minute." She sighs. "Now focus. Do youfeelanything?"
And because my lovely mate is even scarier than death itself, I stop talking, close my eyes, and focus on my body.
No itching.
No burning.
No blistering skin or charred flesh.
I feel nothing but the wood of the bed frame digging into my ass and the plushy fibers of the rug on the floor against my junk.
"Cora!" I push up quickly, crack my skull into the bed frame, wince, and proceed to attempt to unstick myself. "Cora, my angel, I'm not on fire!" Because of course her beautiful sapphire eyes are unable to see that and need me to state the obvious.
But she giggles. "Nope. You sure are hot though."
I snort as I wiggle and rock to get out from under the bed. "I'm not burning! I'm"—grunt—"not"—grunt—"dying!" The wood above me cracks and I slide out from under the bed, splinter in my ass and a smile on my face. "I'm not on fire!"
"No lovey, you're not on fire." Cora laughs harder as I shoot to my feet and spin. "But you do have at least one splinter in your ass."
I do a little naked dance, shoulders shaking, hips circling until it really sinks in.
