18. Declan

This ishow I want to wake up every day for the rest of my life. Miranda's back is nestled against my chest and I'm spooning her. My morning wood is snug against her delectable rear, her head is pillowed on my arm, and my hand is resting on her boob. Yeah, I think this is one of the most perfect ways to start the day. The one thing that would make it better is if we were finally married and on our own farm. I wonder if she still likes to ride horses? As a girl, it was all anyone could do to keep her out of the barn. Any chance she had to ride or be around animals, she took.

She braided her hair before bed, leaving the back of her neck available for me to nuzzle and place gentle kisses on. Her sleepy sigh and wiggle don't help with my morning wood, but it makes my heart happy.

"If this is a dream," she says, her Irish lilt strong in her sleepy voice, "don't wake me up."

I move my hand off her boob and around her belly, giving a gentle squeeze.

"If it's a dream, we are both having it."

She wiggles in my embrace until we are face to face. She is beautiful with her gray eyes clear and shining, the smattering of freckles across her nose she usually hides with makeup on display, and the sweet smile on her face belongs to me.

"Best dream ever," she says, pulling my face down to kiss her.

Our kiss grows more fervent, and our hands start roaming. We won't go all the way, but no reason we can't have a hearty make-out session to start our morning off right. Maybe I can bring her some of the pleasure I enjoyed last night. My wolf gives a sharp bark in the back of my mind, but I ignore him. He's been bugging me about Miranda for years and now we finally have her, I don't know what his problem is. However, when he gives a deep growl—his warning growl—I tear myself away from Miranda's sweet kiss just in time to hear the bedroom door open.

"Hey, Miranda, surprise! JESUS MARY and JOSEPH!"

"GET OUT," I shout at the intruder as Miranda ducks under the covers.

Well, that took care of my boner. I can hear the commotion in the living room and sigh.

Miranda peeks out from under the blanket, her cheeks blazing and her eyes wide. "Was that…was that your sister?"

"Aye. I don't know what the hell she's doing here."

I can hear her and Carter talking but can't concentrate enough to make out what they are saying beyond Carter saying she's crazy—he's not wrong—and she can't go barging in like that.

Sophie is supposed to be in England or Ireland or wherever. Not in New Jersey and not in my apartment. How did she find her way here? Even with the address and GPS, it's not easy to find the barn, let alone get inside. She knew this was Miranda's room.

I slide out of bed and walk into the closet to put on a pair of gray sweatpants and a white t-shirt.

"Let me go see what is up with her," I say.

Miranda nods. "I'll be out in a moment."

I'm about to open the door when I change my mind and return to the bed. Bending, I press a quick kiss to her lips, pulling back before I'm tempted to linger and let the circus on the other side of the door continue.

"I love you, Miranda. Always have, always will."

Her eyes are glistening with unshed tears as she gives me a wobbly smile and swallows. She can't say the words because she's trying not to cry. That's okay. I know she feels the same.

I exit the bedroom and hear voices from the common area and head that way. Aw, crap. Everyone is here. Well, all my roommates, my sister, Kendall, Coach, and Mallory. Logan and Daphne walk in. So, yeah, everyone. All eyes turn to me, but it's Sophie who marches up to me and pokes me in the chest.

"What were you doing in bed with Miranda?"

Each word she snarls is punctuated with a poke. She has a bony finger I never noticed before. Of course, my little spitfire of a sister usually has no reason to be poking me.

Heat floods my cheeks. Everyone here can probably figure out what we had done and were hoping to do again as soon as possible.

"Alexander Declan Mackenzie, you answer me." She stomps her foot.

"Your name is Alexander?" Stone asks.

"Aye, after our father," I say, looking over Sophie's head.

"Declan," she says warningly.

I look back down at her and sigh. "Sophie, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in London or Dublin or somewhere not here? How did you get here? How did you get in?"

"Don't worry about that. What is Miranda doing here? She's supposed to be in New Zealand. What's she doing in bed with you?"

"Sophie," Carter says, "when a man and woman love each other?—"

"Shut up, Trevor," Sophie and Mallory shout in unison. Must be something sisters learn to do in sister school or whatever.

"What's going on?" Daphne whispers to Mallory. Why she bothers whispering in a room full of shifters who can easily hear her is beyond me. She tilts her head toward Sophie. "And who is she?"

"Sophie is my younger sister," I say. "I'm not sure why she's here."

"Don't worry about why I'm here. Why were you in bed with my best friend?"

"OMG, you're together?" Daphne bounces excitedly while holding her baby bump with both hands. "Yay!"

Sophie gives her a look like she's daft and turns back to me. I love my sister, but she's pissing me off.

"I was in bed with my girlfriend, not that it's any of your business. Why would you barge into someone's bedroom when the door was closed? Ma would make you weed her garden for that."

Our mother doesn't believe in spanking her children. If we were to be punished, then it would be mucking stalls or weeding her gardens.

"I wanted to surprise my best friend."

"You certainly did," Miranda says with a laugh, walking out of our apartment. "Sophie, I'm so happy to see you!"

She rushes over and gives my sister a tight hug, winking at me over Sophie's shoulder. Miranda is four or five inches taller than Sophie, her black hair a sharp contrast to Sophie's blond. Even their personalities are opposite. Where Miranda is calm and serene, Sophie is energetic and in your face. They balance each other.

"I thought you were in New Zealand?" Sophie says while they are still hugging.

"I was. My contract ended, and I got a job with the Devil Birds. Started last week. What are you doing here? Visiting Dec?"

She pulls out of the hug with Sophie, and I see what's she's wearing. She's put on black yoga pants and has a pink hoodie with a black unicorn head on it and the words "Feeling Horny" emblazoned across it. I damn near swallow my tongue.

Sophie notices her shirt too and turns to me with a smile. "You told her? Great!"

"Told me what?" Miranda asks. Her forehead wrinkles in confusion as she looks at me.

"About the unicorn," Sophie says.

The look of confusion on Miranda's face deepens as she looks down at her shirt and then looks back up, and I see the others in the room trading glances.

"What about the unicorn? I've always loved unicorns since I was a little girl. Especially the black ones. That's why I got this shirt. It's one of my favorites."

"She's always had unicorn trinkets," Kendall says. "She didn't have a lot of personal stuff in our room in college but she had her unicorn collection."

Sophie looks at me, and I shake my head. I haven't told anyone. I guess that's about to change.

"You have to tell her," Sophie insists.

"Tell me what?" Miranda asks, caution creeping into her voice. I hate to hear that. Today is supposed to be a wonderful day. The first day of the rest of our lives together. There's no room for caution or worry. Damn it. Why does this have to happen now?

I glance down and see Miranda is wearing thick socks. Good enough. I grab her hand and head for the door leading downstairs. "Come on."

"Okay." She keeps up with my long strides. "Do I need shoes or my coat?"

"No, we won't be outside long."

As we descend the stairs, hand in hand, me leading the way, she whispers, "Dec, I'm scared."

Me too. But I say, "Don't be. Everything's fine."

I pray with all my heart I'm not lying to her.