15. Cedric

Before opening my eyes, I outstretched my hand to the other side of the bed. The sheets were rumbled, but there was no warm body beside me. My heart contracted—poor thing, it'd be subjected to so much the last day or so—thinking Gage had upped and left.

I sat up, and the sheets tumbled onto my lap. I was still hard. But my hole was also a tad sore after so much fucking last night.

But as I leaned over to the nightstand to grab my phone, I noted the duvet on the floor along with a pillow. Had Gage slept there?

I puzzled over why he'd prefer the carpet to a nice soft mattress which had to be better than his old one in the cabin, but once again, I was making the mistake of thinking my modern home was better than his. I had to change my mindset. The two were very different but they fulfilled the same need; to cocoon the occupant from the outside world.

Flopping back onto the mattress, I ran through the remaining tasks on my list at work. There was no need to get there at the crack of dawn, though judging by the sunlight filtering into the room, it was much later.

The unmistakable aroma of coffee drifted into the room.

But as Gage strolled in, fully dressed, which was disappointing as I preferred him naked, a quietness settled around me and within me, and I shoved a pillow behind my back as if we did this every morning.

He handed me a mug without saying anything. What was there to say? "Here's coffee." It was obvious what he was bringing me. Or if he said, "Do you want coffee?" I'd already sat up and held out my hand. Again, I'd sent a message. Words for the sake of words. Sure, he could have said good morning, but I greeted him with a smile. That was enough, right?

Maybe he was onto something, living a minimalist life and using few words, saving his energy to embrace the things he loved.

Was I one of those? That opened up a whole Pandora"s box of questions, and I pushed them aside in favor of caffeine.

"Ummm. Thank you." I patted the side of the bed, telling him to sit there rather than on the floor.

"I tossed and turned a lot last night and didn't want to disturb you." He jerked his head at the bedding on the carpet.

Yikes, if he regretted us having sex, we were in very different places emotionally this morning.

"It always happens when I sleep somewhere new," he said in a small voice. "Not that I've done that in a while."

He had shared that when he first arrived in Riverford, he stayed with Mr. Lucas and family in their original home while he repaired the cabin that had been abandoned years before.

This bed was being packed up on the weekend and shipped—and I'd be staying with a friend after that—but I hoped he'd get the opportunity to sleep in it again.

"I should get back to Riverford. I have a job now, starting next week."

Reed had told me when he wasn't talking about Gage that in fact, Gage had accepted the part-time position.

While I wasn't fond of Gage's pickup, I would have liked us to drive to Riverford together, but I would be here another two weeks.

"Today?"

"Yeah." He glanced at me, his eyelashes fluttering. "Or I could stay another day."

I had sick leave I'd never taken, so one day just before I left the company might be in order. I'd ignore the mess in the apartment and the sorting through stuff I still had to do and we could spend time together. The opportunity to just be, with no pressure, no one waiting to see if we'd mated, might be nice.

There was precious little food in the fridge. Gage joked he had a better supply and he didn't have a fridge. Rather than ordering in, I took him to a café I went to on Saturdays. He hesitated before agreeing. I told him we could eat in the apartment, but he said it was fine. I was with him.

We held hands as we wandered to the café, and we ordered wraps. Would they measure up the Riverford ones? I crossed my fingers they didn't disappoint.

We sat outside and people-watched.

"Hard to believe being in a city was my life once." He took a bite of his food and his eyes lit up. "Oh, this is good. Maybe a tad more spicy than the ones at home."

"Home? I've never heard you call the town home before."

"Maybe. Never thought about it like that. My cabin, yes. That's where my heart is. The town was just a place to buy food and do a few odd jobs."

Neither of us said anything after that. I longed to ask what had changed, but he would tell me in his own time. That might be today, tomorrow, or next year. I wasn't in any hurry.

I changed the subject to talk about practicalities. "Will I be able to live in the house while you're doing the renovations?"

He stroked his stubble and I wished it was me, rubbing my hands over his jaw. "You can. It will be dusty, and I wouldn't recommend it."

He didn't offer for me to stay at his cabin, and why would he? We'd slept together one time. That didn't make us mates for life, despite what fate had in mind. And I was too much of a city guy to live without power and hot water. Peeing in the woods I could do. Pooping not so much. I had visions of being stung by poison ivy and having to go to the emergency room, an ice pack on my ass, while moaning that I was dying.

My phone beeped, and I sighed. I was surprised Adrian hadn't messaged as soon as I called in sick. Not that I pretended I was ill, just that I was taking a sick day.

But it wasn't my former boyfriend slash fiancé. It was Harry.

Uncle is building a new cabin beside Gage's that he wants Gage to move into.

He attached a pic. Building? It appeared to be finished. He listed its properties: two bedrooms, solar power, a proper kitchen and bathroom with hot and cold running water, and included more photos. I swiped through them, thinking how clean and modern it was and wishing the renovations on my new house were complete.

I hesitated about showing them to Gage, but as he didn't have a phone, I guessed they were intended for him.

He read the message and looked at the pics.

"Does he think I want to move?"

I bit my tongue. If Gage was content to bathe in the river and eat by candle or firelight, he had every right to do that. Also, he didn't blink at the completed cabin and he'd only been gone a few days. I tucked that little detail away for another time.

"You know as much as I do."

But another message from Harry popped up.

Uncle says he likes the new place so much, if Gage doesn't want to move in, he might live there.

There was no mention of Mrs. Ambrose, but I suspected the older man was bluffing. Or not.

Gage reacted with horror, his jaw dropping so low I almost put a finger under his chin and closed it. "Ummm, that changes things."

"You can go back and forth between both cabins." They were right next to each other.

"Hot water in the winter would be nice." I let him sit with his thoughts. "And a toilet would be convenient when it snows or rains or any time really." He was getting there. "I might consider it."

Another message popped up. He needs to decide by tonight.

Gods, was Mr. Lucas stalking us? I pivoted my body and did a 180 of the other restaurant patrons, the people walking by, and on the opposite side of the street. A dragon would kinda stand out waiting at the crosswalk. There were no singed lampposts or clothes but maybe only fictional dragons did that.

Gage pointed upward. It was broad daylight, but my human eyes couldn't pick out scales and a huge tail. I'd never witnessed Mr. Lucas's beast and would love to, though my emotions might be a mixture of fear and amazement.

"Tell him yes, I'll move."

I tapped out my reply.

"Or I could stay in the old cabin while renovating your house and you could live in the new cabin next door to me."

There was another option, but neither of us were ready for that. I wasn't. It was too soon. Definitely too soon. Way, way too soon. I kept repeating the words "too soon" in my head, convincing myself I'd made a mistake once with Adrian, so it was best to slow down with Gage.

"Or…" He wiped his mouth with the napkin. "We could be roommates while I work on the house." He gulped. "If you want."

Mates. He used the word mates but not in a shifter context. The "too soon" words took off. I watched them disappear along with memories of Adrian.

"Sounds good."