Chapter 23

Larkin

"Lass, ye have visitors."

I glanced up from the laptop to see Odhran standing in the doorway of the study, a soft expression on his face, the corner of his mouth kicked up in a little smile.

"I love seeing ye like this?"

I leaned back in the chair and gave him a smile of my own. "And what way is that?"

He inhaled and exhaled slowly, as if he felt so much contentment and pleasure in that moment. It took him a moment to finally say, "Like ye're happy."

My heart kicked a little in my chest and I felt a light heat spread across the tops of my cheeks. "I am happy," I whispered, and his nostrils flared before a low growl left him.

He had one shoulder against the doorframe, his thickly corded arms crossed over his broad chest. His short blond hair was tousled, the coloring seeming a little lighter because we'd spent a lot of time outside.

He was just so incredibly handsome. And all mine.

My body instantly warmed at the sight of him.

But then his words settled into me and I felt my brows lower. "Guests?" There was no anxiety or hesitation coming from him, and because he seemed very easy-going right now, so did I.

"Aye." He pushed away from the door and entered the room to come to stand in front of me. He held his hand out.

I slipped my much smaller one against his palm and let him pull me up before he embraced me. I rested my cheek against the center of his chest, and inhaled, the scent of fresh air, wild pine, and that spicy, dark aroma that was all Odhran. It filled my head and soothed me but also had arousal climbing swiftly in me.

"I can send them away and instead take ye upstairs."

"Oh? And what would we do?" I teased. "Read? Maybe listen to some soothing music and meditate? Or you could teach me some more Latin? You know how I've been struggling with pronunciation." I felt a grin cover my mouth.

He growled again and that smile faded as desire rose in me. I moaned at how the vibrations from his voice settled right between my thighs.

"I was thinking more along the lines of burying my face between yer pretty thighs and feasting on ye, lass, until ye give me three orgasms."

I was tempted to take him up on that offer, but I pushed my basic desire down and lifted my head to look into his face. "How about you tell me who it is first."

"Mmm. I like my suggestion better."

I laughed. "I bet you do." After a moment he groaned in disappointment, gave me a long, lingering kiss, and huffed out like he was frustrated, which only made me smile even more.

"Luna, Darragh, and Evie are here. I dinna know they were coming, so I can send them away if their surprise visit is too much, darlin'."

"They came here to see me? Why?"

"Ah, my lass, who wouldn't want tae see ye?" He cupped each side of my face before kissing the center of my forehead. "They want tae meet the lass I'm completely and utterly, madly in love with."

I felt that flutter in my belly happen again, and my heart race from his words. We stared into each other's eyes for long seconds, and I fell into that intimate moment where nothing else mattered but being here with my mate.

"Okay," I whispered and pressed my chest to his, rose on my toes, and kissed him softly on the lips.

With one more lingering kiss from him, and a rough growl against my lips, we broke apart and he led me out of the study to where the trio awaited.

I could hear the feminine chatter before we rounded the corner and made our way toward the front foyer. And then I saw them, the trio seeming so comfortable with each other as they talked animatedly and laughed together.

It wasn't something I'd seen for a very long time, not since I'd been with my family, and it had a special kind of longing filling me.

When they realized we'd entered, all conversation stopped and they faced us. Darragh had her clasped hands up to her mouth as she stared at me with wide eyes. Luna had a motherly smile on her face, and Evie was grinning from ear-to-ear.

Luna stepped forward and said, "I am so sorry we just burst in on you, but we were in the neighborhood and wanted to drop some things off." She smiled wider and looked over her shoulder at the other two women before facing me again.

"We were going out to a late dinner, and you're more than welcome to come with us," Evie said a little too excitedly as she stepped forward.

"Or we could hang out here," Darragh said and clapped her hands. "We could order takeout. I know that little pub in town is open until two in the morning."

I didn't say anything, felt a little more than shell-shocked at how excited they were, at how they were so eager to move things along. I felt out of my element and found myself tensing, this weird panic starting to settle in me.

"How about we take it easy," Odhran said, and took a step in front of me, as if he wanted to shield me from the overexposure of everything.

"Oh my God, we are totally scaring the shit out of her." It was Darragh who spoke, and I leaned to the side and looked around Odhran's arm to see her sporting a terrified expression on her face.

"I'm fine," I said, and placed a hand on his arm as I stepped around him and gave the females a smile. "It's just being around people after everything is a little?—"

"Overwhelming." Luna offered a gentle smile. "We're overwhelming the hell out of you. Please forgive us."

I exhaled and smiled in return. "No apologies needed." Odhran placed a hand on my hip and pulled me back so I rested against his chest, feeling his heat and strength, and smelling his scent all around me.

"We brought you some things," Evie said, and went over to the door to bend down and grab a large canvas tote.

I stepped away from Odhran and made my way toward the women. "You brought me gifts?"

"It's just some things that we love, or find comfort in, or hell, just enjoy as a whole." Evie stopped a few feet from where I stood and offered me the bag.

For a second I just stood there looking down at it, the emotion I felt so overwhelming I couldn't breathe. It could have been a bag full of bricks and I still would have felt this way. It wasn't what was inside the tote, but the thought these three females had at bringing me creature comforts to help me feel better.

After being captured, comforts weren't something I'd had, and gifts, kindness, wasn't something I'd been familiar with during my time in captivity. My eyes watered, and that prickling in my face warning that I was about to cry rose up.

"Thank you," I managed to say.

Luna laughed softly. "Honey, you haven't even seen what's inside yet."

I shook my head. "It doesn't matter." I felt Odhran behind me, his hand on my waist again. I knew he needed to be there for me, touching me in some small way just as much as I did. "The fact you thought about me and wanted to bring me things means a lot. So thank you." I looked at each of them. "Thank you so much."

Everyone was silent for a few seconds before Darragh was the one to clap and stepped forward. She crouched and riffled through the duffle before pulling out a large leather-bound book.

"I didn't have any family growing up, no one but Evie." The two women looked at each other and smiled. "But when I came to Scotland, I finally met my father, I met my mate, and got a whole new family." She looked at Luna and I saw the way her eyes softened. "I gained a mother, and for the first time I felt like I belonged somewhere."

She handed me the book and I took it, the weight substantial, the leather smooth and cool in my hands.

"It's the history of the Lycans, family trees, lore, any and all details that go back centuries and centuries. It brought me a lot of comfort when I felt lost and didn't know what was going on. I felt like I'd been thrust into a crazy world where I didn't belong, and I can imagine maybe you feel the same way in some regard."

I kept smoothing my fingers along the top of it. "Thank you. This is so special and I'll treasure it." Before I knew what I was doing, I embraced Darragh and said, "thank you," again, much softer this time. When we stepped away Darragh looked just as choked up as I did.

"My turn." Evie was still grinning as she reached inside the duffle and pulled out another book as well as a plastic container that smelled of oats and chocolate. "So I made you cookies. I can't guarantee they are the best things in the world, but Cian eats a whole trayful so maybe they aren't so bad."

Darragh snorted before saying, "Girl, you know your mate would eat a mud pie if you made it. That man worships the ground you walk on."

"Says the chick who made dinner, burned it until it was all but blackened and crispy, and still her mate ate the entire thing and asked her to make it again." There was a second of silence before both women started laughing.

"Anyway," Evie said, her cheeks pink from laughing. "I wanted to give you something to snack on as you looked through this."

I gave Odhran the book Darragh had given me before taking the one Evie handed over. "A world history book," I said as I smoothed my fingers over the embossed cover.

"I'm kind of a history fan, even taking classes online for it." She shrugged as she stared at the book. "I didn't know Darragh planned on giving you a book or I would have changed things up, but…" she said, and there was this mysterious teasing in her voice that piqued my interest. I watched as she grabbed something else out of the bag before handing it to me.

I felt my eyebrows hit my hairline as I stared at the three paperbacks with half naked men on the covers. "Oh," I whispered and heard Odhran make a gruff sound behind me. When I glanced over at him, I could see his brow furrowed and a look of displeasure on his face as he stared at the books.

"Easy, tiger," Evie said and laughed. "They are just romance books. Your manhood is safe, don't worry."

"Romance books?" I said and looked back at Evie. She leaned in and whispered in a conspiracy-laced tone. "Smutty romance books." When she pulled back and winked, I couldn't hold in the half-snort, half-laugh that left me.

I didn't tell her I had enough heat and romance with my mate to last a lifetime, even felt my face heat as I remembered all the things Odhran and I had done together. And of course my mate scented that arousal because he made a deep sound and tightened his fingers on my waist.

"Thank you," I croaked out, and all three women laughed softly.

"Okay, it's my turn and then we'll leave you two alone." Luna stepped forward and grabbed a bouquet of flowers held together with tissue and twine. The scents instantly burst all around me and I took the offered flowers. "Because I can't have a traditional garden, for obvious reasons," she winked and grinned, flashing her fangs, "I have a night blooming garden that I created shortly after being mated to Banner. My flowers bring me comfort, and I wanted to extend that to you." She started pointing out each one. "This is Evening Primrose, which you can make some lovely oil from. This is Gardenia Jasminoides, and Chocolate Daisy."She named a few more, and I was transfixed on all the different colors and appearances of each beautiful stem and bud.

After they handed me their gifts, they stayed for five more minutes, wanting to make plans for the future when I was more settled, talking excitedly about having a new mated couple in the family, and how they couldn't wait for the holidays and gatherings when everyone could get together.

By the time they left I felt happy and loved but most of all… overwhelmed.

"My sweet girl," Odhran said, and took the flowers from me to set on the foyer table, then grabbed the books and put them back in the tote before coming back to stand in front of me. He pulled me into a tight embrace, and I breathed in slowly. "That was too much, wasn't it?"

"Yes, but it was," I said and pulled back, feeling my smile grow, "It was absolutely wonderful."

His smile was slow and lovely, and it made me feel warm and soft in the best of ways.

"How about I help ye unwind?" He pulled me in for another hug and just held me for long seconds.

"Aren't you hungry?" The low growl that left him had my body reacting.

"Aye, darlin'." He started kissing my temple, down the side of my face, running his tongue along my neck, and started sucking at my throat. "I'm starving."

I clenched my thighs together and moaned softly.

"How about we head upstairs and I can run ye a nice hot bath. I'll wash yer hair, give ye a massage, then I'll lay ye back on the bed—" he said in a lower voice laced with sexual need, "—spread those pretty pale thighs, and eat that perfect pussy until ye come for me."

Before I could answer he had me in his arms and was striding to the room, about to make good on that promise.

And I was all for it.