She hardly knew him, in a way, and yet, there was something undeniably familiar about him. Everything about this felt natural to her.
He pulled back, his face moving to hers. He softly kissed her, his hunger sated, and in that moment—while he was still inside of her and all their hormones melting into the stone—the gentle kiss made her grow dizzy in novel ways.
To her displeasure, he didn't linger as he slowly pulled out. He looked over her body one last time with a flash of possessiveness and approval; she did the same, her eyes devouring his erection that began to fade.
He slid back into the water, every muscle in his body visibly working together to illustrate the beast that he was. He grumbled with a raspier voice than before, "You are free to get in, or you can go and get rest. Either way, you'll want to sleep deeply through the morning. Your body needs it."
For a moment, she wasn't sure what to do, or what was customary for them. Did shifters just have sex and move on? Did they have extended moments of intimacy like humans did? She wondered what he and Jemma did, although she burned that thought and pressed her lips together, hoping to never letthatenter her mind again.
Then again, he did just travel however many miles and fought in a battle. What else was she to get out of him in that state? She wasn’t going to join him tonight in his bed, as evensheknew that that was quite a statement to make.
They had just had their first conversation, after all.
Rem sighed, her body and mind relinquishing angst and desire, exhaustion nestling into her body as her eyelids grew heavy, the steam allowing her to lie naked and relaxed. The last thing she wanted to do was leave. Yet, she knew she couldn’t stay there, as she was too tired to get back into the water.
"I should sleep," she said, yawning, stretching and feeling the slick tenderness below.
"Yes, you should. It will be a long day tomorrow. I’d go myself, but my mind cannot rest yet. Too much to consider."
"What's going on?" she asked, sitting up, eyeing his shoulders.
"We are leaving, and it will be a long journey. I don’t want to stay here for a moment longer.”
She yawned again and nodded, completely agreeing. Her eyes watered as she sniffed.I'm utterly exhausted.Rem grabbed a fresh dress the humans brought earlier, looking once more at his shoulders and arms as she clothed herself. She didn't want to leave. She wanted to curl up and sleep next to him. She wanted to bask in his strength, warmth, and scent.
“Have a good rest," she said. "Thank you for help, for taking care of Oliver… For everything."
A sound came from him, sort of like a tired, raspy groan. "Rest your fire for tonight, Rem. Things are only just beginning."
She smiled and opened the door, shivering as the room outside was cold and dry. She shuffled along the dark halls and stairs.
After leaving, an inexperienced part of her wondered if he had just used her and sent her along her way. She avoided eye contact with any of the guards, feeling as if the whole house knew what she did with the Alpha. Which, in some ways, she wanted to flaunt like it was a medal to be worn… But what if she just became known as another female for him to enjoy, and not a Silver worth competition?
Everyone would know that, too.
At the front of the home, the moon shone through the windows. She stopped to stare at the light, like it was a ray of pure energy for her. It calmed her.
"You smell like Ronan's," someone said.
Rem spun on her bare feet and saw that an unknown shifter female was sitting on the stairs. Rem hugged herself as she looked to the blonde she-wolf, who had a long face and dark eyes.
"Ronan's?" she asked.
"Like his."
Rem had no response and mindlessly rubbed the back of her teeth with her tongue and looked at the floor. What was she supposed to say to that?
"He didn't tell you to clean yourself after?"
She shook her head, wondering if it was normal to ask such blunt questions. Is it bad that he didn’t?"He must have been tired and forgot. Who are you?”
"No. He's diligent about that, even when tired,” she replied, pulled her long blonde braid over her shoulder.
"What does that mean?" Rem asked, taking a few steps closer until she was at the bottom of the stairs.
"Not too much, other than he doesn't mind you slinking about in the night while you're drenched in his scent. Just don't let any contending males smell it, if our Alpha isn't your priority, anyway. The males can be sensitive like that.” She grinned, revealing a gap in her front teeth. “And my name is Erin. I’m a shifter of Warden.”
Rem smiled and looked around the dark home, a small victory stealing her heart.Drenched in his smell... “Thank you for coming to help us.”
