Chapter Sixteen

Wilder

My eyes are glued to her dorm as I stand in front of my car, overly aware of what it must look like for a member of the faculty to be standing outside a student residence hall this time of evening. In a suit, nonetheless.

There are a few students mingling about even though it's getting dark out here, and I can feel them looking at me, so I continue to reassure myself as I straighten my tie again that I have every right to be here. I reassure myself I'm not doing this in a predatory fashion.

"Looking good, boss."

For fuck's sake. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"You need a security detail. We're on it."

I look to my auxiliary, already knowing I'll see his mate right next to hm. I dismiss them with a flick of the wrist. "She's got her own security. But I don't think we need anyone— I can take care of my mate. Frankly, I'm offended you think you're necessary."

He snorts. Always graceful, this one. "You're offended by pretty much everything. Weren't you just convincing me what was it, last week? That you couldn't have anything to do with Delaney because you were too old for her and you didn't mate her so you could have a mate? You think she's going to feel comfortable by this quick turn around with no buffers?"

Shit. Is he right? "Yeah, well things change."

"Clearly," Ryan remarks.

I can sense he wants to say more, so without giving any more of my visual focus I tell him, "Spit it out."

"I know what it's like to be mated. I just want to make sure you're taking this seriously, that you're going to give her the respect she deserves, whether or not you admit this mating is real."

"I'm good, Ryan. Please refer to my previous statement about me being offended." And now I'm in a mood. I turn and walk towards him, trying to fake confidence with a slow step and my hands in my pockets, my spine straight and my shoulders back. "I appreciate the intention, but like I said, things have changed. I clearly have accepted this mating is real, and I know how to treat Delaney."

"Well that's a relief," her voice says from closer than she should have been able to get without me noticing. She goes right in for a hug and a cheek kiss for Ryan and Mark as well, but my tongue is seemingly glued to the roof of my mouth because she's in a fucking dark blue dress that is likely the hottest thing I've ever seen.

She does a little spin, because she knows she looks good, the slight sparkle of the dress that hugs her every fucking curve twinkling as it soaks up every spare bit of starlight the sky can afford. I'm not unconvinced she hasn't stolen all of it right for this very moment actually, because it's not just her dress that seems to be glowing. Her hair is styled away from her face, dark smoky makeup making her lavender eyes look completely ethereal. Her shoulders are bare and her marks— "You took another mate?"

Her face immediately turns into a scowl. "I don't need your permission."

I step closer, carefully cradling her arm so I might get a closer look. "That's not how I meant it." I place a kiss to my lion mark, feeling damn smug when it makes her shiver and lose a little bit of her rigidity. "I merely wish to know who I need to welcome to our group."

This close, her eyes don't even look real. And good gods, her lips? They're painted in a dark matte red, creating a tunnel vision-like effect on me. They're all I can look at now. Fuck. Maybe I do need a security detail just to keep me from doing something incredibly stupid since I don't seem to function properly around this woman.

"Do you mean that?"

"Of course." My eyes meet hers again, and I decide that this situation calls for a bit of boldness, so I wrap an arm tentatively around her hip and step closer. I use my other hand to cradle the side of her neck, ensuring the warm flesh of my thumb rests directly over my bite. "We're building this. That means anyone you bring into your circle is in my circle."

"Maybe we should discuss it over dinner. That way you can't storm up there and make a pointless racket over it."

I feel my eyebrow lift. "Pointless how?"

Mark clears his throat. "I believe what he meant to say, is you look incredible Delaney, and that he can't wait to take you out to dinner. I'm sure he was also about to ask if you were hungry, because he made reservations at a new restaurant that opened recently, and he hopes you'll like the atmosphere. He also booked a table directly behind yours for your guards and us so that you'll feel safe."

Her face immediately turns into a pleased smile, and how did I not notice before that she has a slight dimple on the right side? "You did, huh?"

And just like that, the slight bit of tension that was building snaps and dissipates.

I lean forward to whisper in her ear; the guys behind us might hear what I'm about to say anyway because of their shifter hearing, but it's the intimate feel of speaking to her in this manner that I'm after. "I'm giving you fair warning that I'm likely going to say the wrong thing several times tonight. I'm new at trying to impress somebody, and it's been a long time since I truly wanted someone to have a good opinion of me.

"You do look phenomenal, and I apologize that your appearance made me too dumb to say so immediately. You look…stunning. Far too good to be somewhere in public with me, but I'm taking you anyway. Do you wish for these two idiots to follow us and overhear every conversation we have? Because I can promise they'll be listening. With intention. And likely dissecting and analyzing everything said between us. Wouldn't be surprised if they even recorded it for temerity's sake to lecture me later."

"Is it offensive if I say I don't want them there? August and Jackson…they need to come. But they won't be able to hear us if we speak quietly and they've promised not to scowl at you if you make a move on me later."

"That's reassuring. They're quite a bit bigger than me, I'm not sure if you've noticed. So I'm allowed to kiss you then?"

She lets out a soft laugh that makes her hair dance a little bit; her neck bared just a tiny amount that has my lion itching to sink my teeth into the column of her throat again. "Let's have dinner first and see what happens, maybe?"

I pull away enough to be able to make eye contact with Ryan, giving him the signal to leave. But he's already walking away actually, holding hands with his mate and flipping me off behind his back. The damn insubordination. I really ought to train him better or threaten him more often, maybe.

"You want us to follow you or ride in the car, babe?" The twins stand at a respectable distance, giving me room with her.

It's likely going to be weird taking my mate on a first date whilst her boyfriend and her ex are watching, but I will take all the opportunity I can to have her alone as long as it feels safe to do so.

She looks at me like she's trying to figure out what I'd prefer, but I can't hold out any longer. I find my lips getting closer until they're on hers, feeling them and greedily keeping them captive. "Sorry," I tell her when I finally find the discipline to pull away. "I couldn't wait another moment, not one."

She doesn't close her mouth all the way after that, and the hint of a pink tongue resting behind her teeth has me entranced again. Good thing I can't see her while I'm driving, I'd crash instantly.

I like that it seems to affect her as well, because she doesn't answer August right away. "Follow behind us I guess. How far is the restaurant?"

"About twenty minutes," I supply.

"Alright." The twins step forward, and though I expect them to me because that's kind of how it usually goes, they take turns shaking my hand, copying each other's mannerisms near perfectly as they keep one hand on Delaney's lower back, kissing her on the cheek before filing away to get to their own vehicle.

I help Delaney into the car, the text conversation I had with them last night echoing in my head. Yes, things feel different.

Once we're buckled and have our little entourage behind us, I immediately reach for her hand so she knows how I mean this date to go. It's so important to set precedents. "I'll be touching you whenever I can now that you're mine. I hope that's not a problem."

I turn us onto the highway, glancing at her as long as is safe. She looks so damn good in my space.

"It's…no, it's nice. Really."

I nod, figuring I might as well get this out of the way now so there's nothing that comes up later to harm the progress I'm trying to make with our relationship. "You should probably know that a group chat has been established between all of your men, with hopes of working together to charm you."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Just as I said." I check my mirrors to ensure the twins are behind us as I switch lanes. "It was established last night. I must say it was strange to get a text asking my thoughts on mashed potatoes, but once everything was straightened out, the way forward seemed very clear."

"What do mashed potatoes have to do with anything? And what do you mean all my men? I'm literally only with you and August, and I suppose Leo."

"Leo, is it?"

"No changing the subject."

"What you likely mean, is we are still too close to your dorm, and you think that there's a possibility I will turn the car around and confront what you're trying to keep from me, hmm?"

"Drive on, Mr. Intuition."

I hear the smile in her words, so I peek at her again and squeeze her hand. "I surmised that mashed potatoes were some sort of euphemism for the gargoyle you mated, the one that resides on your balcony."

My lips twitch as she gasps. "You already know! Who told you?"

"The group text. Initiated by August, I think. Please don't be angry, they were merely laying the groundwork to ensure that you would meet no obstacle in your mating with him. I believe August's intentions were to get me accustomed to the idea so there were no arguments or anything on our date tonight. He wanted this to go well for you, I think."

"Interesting. So what's up with the group chat? Is it just a gossip line?"

Now she's sulking a little, and it's actually quite adorable.

We hit a red light, so I look behind us to make sure the twins can see me fully when I lean across the console to kiss her again. The sulk tastes delicious. "There, that's better," I announce as she once again finds a smile. "We're all united now, you see. We wish to, how did we word it last night? Break you six ways so that you'd be open to an actual relationship and commitment from all of us?"

"I don't suppose there's any way you're going to show me this conversation, is there?"

"You may look later if you'd like. After I finish explaining."

"What else is there to say? And you still haven't mentioned who all is involved with this incredibly invasive group text. I want in on it."

I snort. "That might be amusing, actually. I'll see what I can do. But yes; the twins of course, me, obviously, Adam, Cory, and well, not Leo because from what I understand he's still stone most of the time. Do we know what's going on with that by chance?"

She's too quiet for a minute. We're nearly to the restaurant by now, and I'm so scared that I'm going to completely ruin the vibes for this date before we even get it started. Might have done so already.

Her lips are rolled in and she's staring out the window, legs crossed and leaning slightly away from me. That means her body language is saying she's withdrawn or something, right?

I slide my hand onto her thigh, allowing the warmth of her skin to bleed through the fabric of her dress and meet my palm before I try and fix whatever I just triggered. "Hey. I really would like to…make communication our thing. We have a long way to go in our relationship—"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just that…I want to court you, help you to trust me, get to know who you are underneath what the media sees. There were a lot of repercussions from me claiming you, and I don't regret it at all, but I do wish I'd have done it all the right way."

"Would you have even talked to me like this if I were merely a student that showed up in your class? You're what, thirty?"

"I know that conduits have different rules than other students, and that faculty courting them is allowed if it's done appropriately, but I honestly never saw myself dating a student." I pull into the restaurant's parking lot, angling into a spot that has another vacant one next to it so that the twins can park there. They exit their vehicle and linger outside, waiting for me to have my moment with Delaney, which I really appreciate. I unclip my belt, then unclip hers, and use a hand to tilt her chin towards me.

"Whatever brought us here, you are miraculously my mate now." I lean in closer and kiss her again, gently, hoping to help her relax a little. "I think I could make you happy, and I know that you're way better than I deserve—"

She shakes her head, effectively cutting me off. Then very carefully and very slowly, she leans across me until she's straddling me, having to ruck up the skirt of her dress to do so. I lean back in my seat, barely breathing, heart racing. "You keep talking down about yourself, saying things like ‘I'm too young,' or you're ‘not good enough', or…just stupid things like that. I want to make this clear.

"As you've just said, we are mated. That isn't really something that can be undone, and I have no desire to live apart from you because I've heard that is one of the most painful things someone can go through. If we're going to start this out tonight by giving each other the attention and care this relationship needs to start flourishing, you need to understand that I will not allow you to talk bad about yourself.

"You've made it clear in the past that your dad is some kind of mess, and I don't want to invoke his name and bring him into this space, but let me tell you how I see you. You've got a teaching position at a prestigious university, so I know you're very intelligent. You're only 30, so I know you're motivated. You do this thing when you're teaching where you push up your sleeves, and those forearms you're rocking? Pretty sure they cause ninety percent of the lust waves I always register in your classroom. You're a beautiful human being and you're my mate, and I don't want to hear anything about why we aren't going to work together.

"You were a huge asshole to me on a few occasions, but you were there for me last week and I'm willing to take that as a new start as long as you don't make me feel stupid for trusting you."

She runs her hands slowly up my biceps, and my hands find their way to her hips, which happened to grind ever so slightly down into me when she feels my reaction to her. I have to breathe deep, because it's way too soon to be wanting to do these sorts of things to her; but then she drops her head back and groans a little bit. "Gods you taste good. Just the fact that I can absorb the lust from you works in your favor."

I thought bodysmiths absorbed lust easily so I'm not sure what she means by this, but I add that to my list of things I need to learn about her. It's at this point that one of the twins presses their face up against the driver's side window, though I have no idea which of them is which. He knocks, and Delaney flashes a smile before opening the door and reaching out a hand so they can help her out.

I watch one of them put an arm around her shoulders, and though both twins have the same haircut and same everything, truly identical in every physical way, the way Delaney leans into this one means it's August. His eyes are a bit dilated from watching her sit on me, and isn't that just fascinating?

"You good?" Jackson asks, clearly referencing my crotch which is having a tricky time going down again.

"Yeah." I get out as well, really not wanting them to have any sort of excuse to steal my date from me.

It definitely doesn't escape my notice how many other men are checking her out as we're led to our table, but Delaney's eyes are just roaming around the room, soaking up the atmosphere. I help her into her chair and kiss her on the cheek before taking my own seat across from her, entranced by the flutter of her eyelashes as she finds little things around the room that make her smile.

"You said this place was new?"

A server appears to fill our water, and I nod my thanks before answering my mate. "Yes. Maybe five months or so? I've heard good things, haven't had a reason to come here until now though."

"Well thank you for thinking of me."

We choose our drinks and snack on bread while we wait for our meals, staying on lighter topics until we're midway through our meal. That's when the live jazz group climbs up onto the stage right in front of us, taking a minute to tune and adjust all their equipment before they start in on their first set.

Nervous as hell, I don't even wait for another couple to get to the dance floor before I'm standing, extending a hand to Delaney so I have an excuse to hold her before dessert. We don't do any fancy steps, just a simple sway while I have one hand on her hip and the other holding one of hers, and I find I don't even have to remind myself to not be grumpy or to stay open. When I accept that she's mine, it's far too easy to feel completely content and goddess blessed.

"So tell me why you said the fact that you could feed off my lust was good. I thought that's what bodysmiths did."

She tenses a little bit before taking a deep breath and leaning her head onto my chest. My mouth waters as ripe cherries spiked with a slight undertone of almond rolls over my palate. "I'm sorry, but you smell incredible."

She giggles. "Um, thank you." That makes her pull back so I can see her eyes again. I miss the closeness, but I like the trade of being able to watch her facial expressions as she talks. "No doubt you've heard about all the ridiculous things in the media about me, and I've been pretty sheltered because up until just a few weeks ago, I couldn't figure out how to fuel my magic.

"I could always feel lust but could never figure out a way to actually nourish my magic with it. This is why I tend to cause orgies everywhere I go—"

I start choking, the offhand way she says this like it's a completely normal occurrence. I suppose for her though, it is.

"Sorry, you okay?"

"Fine. What changed? You're using the past tense, so you figured it out?"

I spin her out a little bit and pull her back in, and don't even get the tiniest bit jealous when she takes the opportunity to blow a kiss to August.

"What changed is that I fell in love. Apparently that was the key. I uh, basically need a deep romantic attachment or love type feelings from my partner to be able to absorb their lust."

I think about this, actually pretty interested now in why her magic might do something like that, but overall it's kind of cool, even it if was probably mind numbingly hard for many years before she figured it out.

"You don't have to go into your dating history, but I'm guessing it was because of August?"

"Adam actually, but August was a close second."

"But—"

"We can get into that later if you want. The point is, earlier, in the car? I was able to feel the tiniest bit of your lust get through my barriers. That means I can trust how you feel about me, and that you're not doing this thing with me for some inane reason, but that you actually mean it."

"Of course I mean it."

She nods, then we have to pause and clap as the band finishes up a piece and starts another one.

A guy approaches, tapping Delaney on the shoulder. "Mind if I cut in?"

"I do mind, actually." He might have asked my mate, but he's going to answer to me; Because if I'm going to share her with anyone tonight, it's going to be someone else vested in her heart already.

He dismisses me. "I believe it's the lady's choice." His eyes travel up and down her lecherously, and it's basically disgusting.

"The lady minds as well," she says while trying to get closer to me.

"I'll share. What's your going rate? All bodysmiths have a price."

Delaney's hand starts shaking in mine, and thank the gods that Jackson is huge and intimidating. He steps between us and this sad excuse for a man, giving Delaney someone to hide behind so she can obscure her identity. I press against her back, following my instincts to cover her up and make her feel safe.

"Take your ugly ass face away from her before I have to show you how I train to keep up this body."

The guy scoffs. "Whatever. She can't be worth this much trouble. Young bodysmith pussy isn't enough to tempt me to deal with your bad manners." He takes a step away but Jackson remains in place until the guy is across the room, leaning against a pillar.

"You okay, baby?"

His voice when he addresses her is so soft, so intimate. She nods at him, leaning into him and hugging him in thanks before he returns to his seat. I pull Delaney into my arms and back to the table while Jackson talks to August, wanting to make sure this evening doesn't tank.

Delaney's back is to the guy, but I watch with satisfaction when August slinks across the room without the asshole seeing him and manages to get behind him, saying something in his ear that makes the guy flinch. Next thing I know August is dragging him through a side exit and we get to enjoy our evening again.

August re-emerges a few minutes later with a slight fleck of blood on his knuckles, which he quickly hides by putting it in his pocket. He nods to me and kisses Delaney to reassure her before it's just me and her again, our dessert waiting for us at our table.

"Does that happen a lot?"

"I don't usually go out," she says with a frown. "I don't want that to ruin our evening though. I promise I can handle myself, and if he hadn't caught me so off guard I would have taken care of him myself."

"You don't have to prove to me how strong you are. It's written in every part of you. Being able to take care of yourself is good, but you shouldn't have to. He should have known how to treat a human being, and taken no gracefully."

"In a perfect world…" she trails off, taking a sip of her water. "Now. I want to know about this group chat."

I feed her a bit of the chocolate mousse, watching her tongue lick all remnants off her lip. Fuck, she's gorgeous. "We're just trying to work together. We don't want you to…feel like you have to manage all of us. We all want to be in your life, so we're taking the initiative to get to know each other and make sure the only thing you have to worry about is who you want to spend time with."

She feeds me next, making my lion practically purr in my chest. "That seems too good to be true. Adam doesn't get along with anybody in my life lately."

"You guys are close, right?"

"I thought so. Maybe not though."

I can tell this subject is hard for her, so I don't want to push, but I also need to know what's going on in her life so I know how to support her. "Is there anything I can do to take away some of that stress?"

"Actually, maybe. I'm confused about the text group I guess mainly because Adam has made it more than clear he doesn't want me romantically. He's already with somebody, so I don't know why he's even in the group. And did you say Cory was in it, too?"

"My TA. Nice person."

"They are. They're also in a happy relationship with Adam. I think I just need distance from Adam for a bit because things just aren't going how I hoped with him. And that's fine, I just need to adjust my expectations I guess."

"He wants you; I promise."

She waves me off. "That's his business to figure out." She looks over her shoulder at the twins, who are both intently staring at her in a way that says they're planning out bedroom activities for her.

"Are you offended by us all talking to each other?" I ask, wanting to gauge her reaction. How she feels about us all texting is the important thing. If it makes her uncomfortable to have a chat group like that, then it obviously needs to stop.

I feed her some more dessert, then some more, until I realize our shared dish is empty but I'm not mad I only got a few bites because of how her mouth moved while I fed her.

"I like feeding you." She gives me a smile and my face burns, and I have to stutter out an explanation. "Apologies. I didn't actually intend to say that out loud."

Happy and relaxed, she asks, "Did you want more dessert?"

I look down, just to make sure the plate really was empty before I consider ordering more.

"That's not what I meant." Slowly, she walks towards me and sits on my lap, eyes for me and me alone. She presses her lips to me, and it's only a few seconds until I taste the chocolate from her tongue sliding across mine, feeding me every last remnant of the dessert.

"Good gods, woman," I groan. "You're not even a little shy, are you? That's…really sexy."

"Probably a hazard of how I grew up; I was taught you don't hide affection for people important to you. You became that when you marked me, and if I want to kiss you, I'm going to kiss you regardless of where you are. Does that make you uncomfortable?"

"Not used to it, but not uncomfortable, no. Eyebrows might rise if you ran up and kissed me during class, though."

She shrugs. "I do understand timing and decorum, but don't think you being my teacher is going to stop me being affectionate with you if I need it. I can wait until class is over, but I'm not going to hold myself back so other people are more comfortable." She links our fingers together, tracing over the ring that appeared when she claimed me.

She pulls my hand up to her mouth and presses a kiss to the mark, placing the warmth of my palm against her face.

"You ready to get out of here? Or did you want to dance some more?" Can't decide which option is more appealing to me, so I suppose it's best to just ask her.

She looks around the cozy dance floor, quickly deciding to jump to her feet and pull me to it. She motions to August, who is quick to join in on the invitation, pressing up against her back. I look around to see how people might be offended by the two of us dancing with her at the same time because this is a fairly nice restaurant, but she immediately yanks my face back to her. "They don't matter. The public already knows about my penchant for threesomes, and we're only dancing. Promise."

"Sorry."

"Don't apologize for how your experiences have shaped you. I just want you to feel comfortable with me wherever we are."

"I can do that."

I follow her lead, listening to the sultry beats, letting the music lull us into motion while I enjoy her body. Somehow I figure out when August wants to spin her and then he reciprocates with me, and I give her all my attention as every bit of self-consciousness slowly starts to fade away. The way she moves her body, even in the simplest of steps, feels like a siren's call, like I might collapse if I can"t keep watching and feeling it.

After a few songs, August taps out saying he needs the bathroom, but I suspect he just wanted to give his brother a turn.

Delaney looks mildly uncomfortable while Jackson wraps his arm around her middle, propping his chin on her shoulder while he matches our sway. But then the beat picks up and I try and get them to mirror my footwork so we can do some semblance of a swing step, and she starts having fun again.

Delaney learns to step forward when I step back, Jackson copying her exactly so it's as if I'm actually dancing with the both of them. I watch as her body posture becomes more open towards him, and soon he's brushing lips against her neck and things just start to heat up.

I know that she and Jackson have some stuff to work through, so I do him a solid and tell Delaney I'm going to take care of the bill, encouraging them to keep dancing. I watch from our table as his hands run up and down her sides, slightly jealous that his hands seem to know exactly where to land to move her just so, and I can feel the intensity of their connection even from where I stand.

"They're incredible together, right?"

I nod at August, eyes glued to them.

"You didn't have to give up your time with her for us. You planned this date, it's yours."

I get my hands in my pocket, stepping closer to August so I don't have to speak too loudly to be heard. "I think you had it right when you said we all have to work together. Watching them talk while they move, I can tell she's loving the attention, even if I'm still confused on why they aren't together."

"My brother isn't the easiest person to love, but he's worth sticking around for. I think Delaney knows this; I don't think she'll forgive him easily, but that doesn't mean she doesn't want to play with him a little bit."

"I..."

"Yes. To answer the question you're scared to ask, we like to play with Delaney together."

"How does that work?"

He shrugs. "However she wants it to. You going to ask if she wants to stay the night at your place? We could drop off bags for her later."

Another song ends and Delaney leads the way back to our table to collect her purse, eyes sparkling. "Good to go?"

I hold out a hand, pulling her in for a kiss reward when she easily takes it. "Good to go. Did you want to stay over or are you ready to go home?"

I'm scared to ask what the teeth pressing into her lower lip means. Without letting go of my hand, she walks over a few steps to whisper something into August's ear, and the quick nod and look on his face is even more alarming, but I've already decided that I'm here for whatever ride Delaney wants to take me on.