7. Chapter 7

I awoke in my human form, a new concept to me. I was still getting used to my human legs. One should think it would be easier to walk with two legs instead of four. There was less to coordinate, but I still managed to trip over myself as I got out of bed and ran toward the ringing phone that had interrupted my sleep.

Still, it was easier than I thought it would be. I remembered seeing my brothers when they first took human form and wondering what it would be like. It didn't live up to my expectations as far as the whole walking thing went, but being able to snuggle up with my mate all night long with our legs intertwined? Yeah, that had been everything.

"What's going on?" Walker asked, sitting up from the bed we had spent the last several days in. Furs surrounded him. I couldn't help but simply stare at his gorgeousness. His heat had been intense and had lasted several days. I thought we were on the fourth day. We both were in dire need of a shower and some rest, but it had been the most glorious few days of my life.

"Are you going to answer that?" he asked. He rubbed the heels of his palms over his eyes.

"Yes, yes." I looked down at the phone. I poked my finger at the green button. "What?" I said.

"We've gone over this, Apollo. The proper way to answer a phone is to say hello."

"Is there something you need, Marcus?" I wasn't in the mood for human niceties. They were lucky I was willing to use their stupid contraption in the first place. And had my mate come here for any other reason than his safety, I'd have ignored this call.

"We were just checking in to make sure that you and Walker were doing fine." Nosy much? "He had messaged saying that he went into heat, and we just… well, we're curious."

"The sex was fantastic. Thank you for asking," I said.

Walker let out a giggle. "Sweetheart, I do not think that was what he wanted to know."

"Certainly not. Although if I do need to have a dish session, I will be sure to talk with Walker rather than you," Marcus assured me.

"What is a dish session? I do not understand." Was it the lack of sleep or nutrients that made my brain so foggy or were these two speaking another language?

"Nothing. Are you two quite well?"

"Yes, Walker's heat is over." I appreciated that my brothers and their mates considered Walker part of the family already and cared enough to call. But also, there was a lack of privacy I wouldn't have minded having.

"Unfortunately," Walker said, and I smiled at that.

"We do not need the influence of a heat to enjoy each other's company." It was his turn to blush, the red sweeping down his cheeks and over his neck like the sun rising, spreading its warmth across the sky.

"All right, that's enough, you two." Marcus was still on the line, something I'd momentarily forgotten. Oops. "I can practically feel the sexual tension through the phone, and it's making me sick. We would like for you guys to visit, or maybe we can visit you? If that is allowed."

"Visit so soon? I just saw you the other day," I said.

"You have more to think about than just you, Apollo." Marcus tsked. And while he was right, finding my mate didn't have me suddenly wanting to be all social all the time. I was still me, but blissfully happy.

"It would be nice to visit your brothers," Walker said, getting up from the bed. He took one of the lighter furs and wrapped it around his waist. At that moment, I would have agreed to just about anything. My mate seemed to have a hold over me, a power that I was wholly unfamiliar with.

"Let us get a chance to clean up," I said, "and we will come over for dinner."

Marcus winced. "Can you make it lunch? We're trying to get little Jesse on a nap schedule, and if we do dinner, then I'm going to have to worry about timing."

Had he given me any other reason, I'd have been grumpy about it. But my nibling was a joy in my life, and if hurrying up and visiting sooner made their life better, then I was there for it.

"Lunch will be fine, Brother. We will see you soon." I hung up the phone. "I think they are concerned that I'm not taking care of you," I said.

Walker snorted. "I think they are your brothers and your brothers-in-law, and they are happy for you and what you wish to celebrate. Also, I think they are nosy."

He was right about that. They had always been worried about me, it was their way. But this was different. It wasn't worry, not in the same way, anyway.

"I left them alone for weeks after they were mated." And I had assumed they would do the same for me. Or maybe they hadn't wanted me to leave them alone? I hadn't considered that before.

"Did you leave them alone or did you simply avoid them? Like you usually do?" Ouch. But also accurate.

"That is a valid point. I suppose my behavior didn't change, although shortly after Luan and Marcus mated, we had visitors that I had to entertain."

"You were in charge of entertaining visitors?" He could barely contain his giggle. And rightfully so. I was hardly the most social in this group—or even the semi-social one.

"No, but I mean I had to meet them, spend time with them." Which according to my brothers was the same thing.

Walker's eyebrows lifted. He saw through my bullshit.

"Okay, I think I had to have dinner with them. They were most annoying."

He put a hand to my chest. "You are most wonderful, my mate, and just a little bit funny."

"Only a little bit? I'm not even attempting jokes. I should assume that if I put effort toward it, I would be hilarious."

He laughed outright at that, inadvertently proving my point.

"Perhaps. Come show me where you bathe. Is this a hot spring situation or…?"

Heat was weird in that not once had I thought about bathing, but now that it was over, it took priority. I might've loved the scent of my mate on me, but we had gone way beyond that.

"Let me show you," I said.

One of the most wonderful additions to my house had been the bathroom. Though the indoor plumbing left much to be desired, I did have a large basin tub that I had crafted. The water pumped in from the earth, and with my power from the sun, I was able to heat it quickly. I went into the room, lifted the tap, and the water began filling the tub.

I'd show him the hot springs, but we didn't need to travel like that to get into some hot water and soak. And here? Here we were not going to be disturbed. At least not yet. It was inevitable that my brothers would know my locations sooner rather than later, and knowing them, they would "just pop over to say hello" or some other human-type social norm.

"This is amazing," he said, and he picked up a bit of the jasmine flower I had there. "It's like a regular spa; maybe not that quite as exquisite, but it is nice for a soak. You could not fit your centaur form in here, so is this the first time you are using it? How does the water get warm? Is it coming from the hot springs?"

"There's no need for that," I said, and I dipped my hand into the water. Steam began to rise from the surface.

"Oh, wow. So, if I'm ever cold in the middle of the night, I don't actually need a blanket. I just need you." Walker smiled.

"I would be happy to provide you with whatever you need, especially warmth. There is nothing quite like the sun's rays to warm a body."

My cock was already stirring just thinking about him asking me to warm him up. How impossible it should be after all the times we'd been joined over the past few days. And yet… there I was, ready for more. I had a feeling that was going to be how our life together would be—always wanting each other both physical and emotionally.

It was interesting how much I already cherished the time we were together, including the time talking about random things. I'd spent so much of my life cherishing being by myself, and now? Now I wanted to be with my mate all the time.

"Well, nothing left to do now then except join me." He grinned and dropped the fur to the floor. "Get in the tub with me, mate. I need you to wash my back."

I did much more than wash his back.