Chapter 8

AARON

8

It was amazing how much my life had changed over the past few days. My future, which had seemed so bleak, was now filled with happiness. And passion.

So much that my sweet mate barely stirred when I slid out of bed after pressing a kiss against the top of her head. Her dark blond locks were spread across the white sheets, and her gorgeous face was pressed into the pillow as she slept.

I'd taken her curvy body countless times already, but it barely touched the surface of my need for her. Even now, only a few hours since I last woke her up with my mouth on her delicious pussy, my cock hardened as I stared down at her. I wanted nothing more than to crawl back onto the mattress and get another taste of her sweet nectar, but I knew she needed more rest. And food.

Tearing my gaze from her, I padded into the bathroom to get cleaned up before heading into the kitchen. I brewed myself a cup of much-needed coffee, and then I got to work on making pancakes. When I'd asked my mom for the recipe, she'd mentioned that other fruit could be substituted for the blueberries, but I'd never tried anything else. When we went into town for supplies the other day, my mate mentioned how much she loved apples. We picked up a bag, so I figured I would see how they worked with my mom's recipe this morning.

Half an hour—and some trial and error—later, I had the perfect plate full of apple and cinnamon pancakes to bring to Cressida.

"Breakfast in bed?" my gorgeous mate gasped, scooting up so her back was against the headboard of our bed. "You shouldn't have gone to so much trouble. Especially since it was my turn to cook this morning."

I didn't think Cressida understood what she meant to me, but I decided on our first morning together that I would spend every day of our lives showing her. The last thing I ever wanted was for her to doubt her choice to take me as her mate. I didn't think I'd ever deserve to be the man standing at her side, but nobody would ever tear me away from my sweetness.

Now that I had my mate, I would never let her go.

"As good as your over-easy eggs and toast were a couple of days ago, I thought I'd try apple pancakes to see how they turned out." I sat on the edge of the mattress next to her, setting a cup of coffee with cream and sugar on the nightstand.

Looking down at the plate I held, Cressida widened her pretty blue eyes. "Seriously, your skills in the kitchen put mine to shame."

"You need to give yourself more credit, sweetness," I disagreed, cutting into the stack of pancakes to lift a bite to her delectable mouth. My cock hardened when her perfect lips parted, and I pictured them wrapped around my shaft. I finally understood why it was called a blow job because it had been all I could do not to explode after only a couple of seconds when she'd gotten on her knees for me last night.

"Mmm, you have to admit the eggs you taught me how to cook are nothing compared to these pancakes." Taking the fork from me, she lifted a piece to my mouth. "They're even better with apples than blueberries."

Swallowing the bite, I shook my head. "Not even close."

"Agree to disagree." She snatched the plate from me and held it close to her ample chest. "Maybe you should make yourself some of the inferior flavor if you love it so much. I would hate to waste this deliciousness on someone who doesn't appreciate the superiority of apples over blueberries. Especially in pancakes."

I pretended to consider her suggestion before shrugging. "I guess I could do that, but then we might not have enough time to shift and go for a run in the forest before Keane and Laina are expecting us at their cabin for lunch."

She dropped the fork, and it clattered on the plate. "You want to go for a run this morning?"

"My wolf is dying to get out," I admitted with a nod. "He wants to spend some time with his mate, too."

"I would love that," she breathed. "It's been so long since I've felt safe enough to let my unicorn run free."

I hated that Cressida had needed to be so careful for the past two years, but I loved that I was the one who got to relieve that burden for her now that she'd chosen me as her mate. "Then hurry up and finish your breakfast so we can meet each other's animals and let them have a good run together."

She wolfed down the rest of the pancakes, and about half an hour later, we were deep in the forest surrounding the cabins. When we reached the edge of a waterfall I'd found during one of my first runs here, I stripped Cressida out of her shirt before whipping mine over my head. Then I tugged my mate close to give her a kiss. "Do you want me to shift first? Or do you want to let me see your unicorn before you meet my wolf?"

Color filled her cheeks as she ducked her head. "Umm…I guess I could go first. My unicorn is more than ready to show off for you."

Pressing a finger under her chin, I waited until her gaze met mine to remind her, "You don't have anything to be shy about, sweetness. I've already seen, touched, and tasted every inch of your body."

"I know, but I've never shifted into my animal form in front of anyone except my parents," she confessed, her pretty blush spreading down her chest to her full tits.

I fucking loved that no other man had ever seen her unicorn. "Another first," I rasped.

"Yes."

Feeling like the luckiest man in the world, I demanded, "Change for me, sweetness."

Stripping out of the rest of her clothes before drawing on her connection with her inner animal, Cressida called her unicorn forward. Cracking and popping sounds filled the forest as her human form retreated, allowing the unicorn to emerge. She landed on all fours, a majestic beast with a pristine white coat, familiar blue eyes, and a colorful spiral horn in the middle of her head.

"Holy fuck, you're gorgeous."

She lifted her head and nickered, calling me closer. I reached out and stroked my fingers through her mane. "Just as soft as when you're human."

She nipped at my shirt, and I sensed her impatience to meet my wolf. "Okay, sweetness. Hold your horses."

Casting a baleful look my way, she neighed and pawed at the ground.

Chuckling, I shook my head as I yanked my jeans and boxers off and dropped them on the ground next to my shoes. "I know you're not a horse, my gorgeous girl. It's just a saying."

She neighed again, raising her head with her ears flattened as she showed me her teeth.

"One I won't be saying again," I promised.

I felt her satisfaction through our bond, and my wolf's fur brushed against my skin. I gave my beast what he wanted, letting him spend quality time with his mate. Although he was smaller than the majestic creature who had claimed us, Cressida's unicorn happily followed him through the forest. They explored the wilderness together, circling the small lake at the bottom of the waterfall. My wolf made sure to scent mark her every chance he got, wanting to be sure that any male would instantly know she belonged to us.

A couple of hours later, Cressida shifted back to her human form and kneeled next to my beast. Stroking his fur, she murmured, "Thank you for keeping me safe during our run."

Pleased with our mate's appreciation, my wolf lifted his head to howl a song for her. When he was done, he ceded control back to me, letting me take my human form again. Then I made good use of one of the nearby hot springs, getting clean with my mate before I got her dirty in the best way possible all over again.