by Ruby Raine
Or as Lizzy called it, creating problems where there weren't any!
Somehow, it was like opposites meeting in the middle. A perfect yin and yang.
But it was getting late and they were supposed to take watch at White Pines tomorrow, so it was time to call it a night and head indoors. Currently Lizzy's least favorite place, and not just because it felt confined and made her restless. But that Charlie would try to sidetrack them with research, reading, and sleeping, rather than frisky, lets fool around time.
The werewolf was being tediously stubborn. Not that this was so different from any other given day. But Charlie refused to have sex for fear she might get knocked up before her transformation was complete and he outright refused to take any risks with her health or life before it was official.
She argued, wear a condom.
He refuted, they can break.
She argued, it's just a few more days until the full moon, even if I happen to get pregnant, I'll be a full on werewolf long before any baby comes along.
He argued, exactly, so we can wait a few more days, just to be on the safe side, because, what if something goes wrong on the first full moon?
She argued, what could go wrong? I'm going to shift, and voila! Werewolf.
He argued, questions and problems we don't know to ask or expect.
She argued, we've already had sex the night you mated me. I might already be knocked up and not even know it.
To which, Charlie would get a twitch in his eye like he was about to burst a vein.
It went back and forth like this every few hours or so.
As they got ready for bed, Charlie made his new normal move of grabbing a few notebooks out of the stack now adorning his bedside table. They were from the box of research his parents had left for him.
And if he was hoping she wasn't going to put up a fight over this boring bedtime tradition, the wolf had another thing coming.
Charlie put up his hands to stop her before the words even escaped her lips.
She growled and scowled.
"You don't even know what I was going to say."
He eyed her and smirked, and set a notebook down on her side of the bed.
She shoved it out of the way and plunked down, and let her question ring loud and clear in her mind, and therefore, shouting into his seeing as she was impatient and pissed and well, frisky and not getting what she wanted.
Charlie set his notebook down and twisted to see her.
"You want to talk about living space?" He wasn't expecting this topic, but at least it wasn't sex.
"Yet..." she corrected with a fake smile. "But yes, let's talk where we're going to live."
"We live here. I've always lived here."
She sighed. "I realize it's a foreign concept to you, but I need you to open your mind a little and hear me out."
He plunked back against his pillows in surrender. This whole making choices as a team was not something he was used to.
"Sorry, Lizzy. I'm trying not to just spew whatever's in my head..."
"Actually, you should probably spew more often because it might keep you from overthinking. The issue is, you're the big bad Alpha who always has to be in charge. With every aspect of your life. But you're not a single Alpha anymore. So you need to realign your thinking. You're a we now."
And he smiled at that, because it was true, and even though something he was still adjusting to, he'd never been in a long-term relationship before. And now he had a mate.
"The whole being in charge thing is a problem I've had my entire life. I'm trying to let others take the reins, but it's not so easy. And my first instinct is to just say whatever order comes to mind. And I can't stop the what ifs..."
"I know. And that's not a fault, Charlie. That's not the topic here. You're a good leader. But when it comes to the you and me part, you need to remember the me part. Like, you just assuming that, of course we'll just live in this bedroom... which is a nice bedroom. I'm not saying it's not."
Charlie sighed, because her point was clear. And an actual point.
"Yeah, okay, I see your point. It's just..." how did he explain?
She slid over and straddled his lap. Even if he wasn't willing to get frisky, she was still willing to make it as hard as possible on him not to.
"I know the mansion is home for you. I'm not asking you to move out tomorrow. But—are you against the idea of ever leaving it?"
Charlie planted his hands on Lizzy's hips, mostly to try to keep her still because her attempt to wiggle her way in was pure torture and he was determined not to break his own wishes until after her first successful transformation.
"I've never thought of leaving this house," he answered honestly. "Not once. My parents raised their family here, and until my grandparents were gone, they lived here too. Not every Howard has lived here, always, it's just..."
"The Elder Howard, always has," finished Lizzy.
"Do you not like it here? Are you not comfortable? Is there something we don't have that you need? We don't have to stay in this particular room, or even this floor. There's rooms that don't get used much. I'm sure we could do something to make it more like a home for you—for the two of us."
"It's not just that, Charlie. I feel quite at home here. It's just, you know, wouldn't it be nice to be in a place with just the two of us? Not always sharing a living space with others. Getting up in the morning and sipping coffee on our own porch, or cooking dinner in our own kitchen. Walking around naked. Christening every room, or surface without worrying someone's going to be walking in at any moment."
A throaty growl flitted around his throat. "You're making extremely good points."
She chuckled. "I don't even mean for this to be right away, Charlie. And I don't want to tear you away from your home. It's really more of a down the road a little thing to think about. But one of these days, you're finally going to fuck me." He growled and squeezed her hips. "And knock me up, and we'll start a family. And not that having extra hands around to help is a bad thing..."
"But privacy and it just being us isn't a bad thing either. I just hadn't thought about that part. It—us—is all so new."
"There's always the manor," she put out there. "It's big and almost empty with just Lucas there."
"And Mathew. For now. And I'm sure Riley will come home soon."
She caved on that one because she hoped that too.
Charlie grabbed her and dragged her closer, fixing his gaze on hers.
"I want you to be happy, Lizzy. You're not a guest here. If there is something you need, we'll make sure it happens. But I do see your point. There might be a time when we just want it to be the two of us... and our family." If they were so blessed in the future. Although it was a future that still sent him into an instant panic. Damn stupid ass overthinking brain.
"You're actually not overthinking the living situation thing," she gave him. "I sort of pounced it on you. It's just one of the things we need to think about though. And I get why you want to be here, Charlie. I really do. It's your family heritage. Where you grew up. Where you work. I just want us to find us, too."
"Yeah. You're right. About all those things. I just never considered leaving this house before." Them living alone together made sense on paper. But when it came down to it, he was not sure he could ever have the gumption to leave the home he'd grown up in.
Lizzy gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Her mate was a complicated man, but spending more time inside his thoughts was giving her a better picture of how his brain functioned.
"How about, we survive through your first shift, and talk about this again after," he suggested. "I'm not blowing it off," he insisted. "Just, one new big thing at a time, maybe?"
"I can agree to that. See, we can talk without constant arguing."
He rolled his eyes at her in a way that said, I'm sure the truce won't last long.
She took the chance to sway him out of his no sex rule and growled at him enticingly, nipping at his lips.
"You know I want to, Lizzy. But there's so many unknowns that I just can't add another potential problem to the mix."
"Charlie, sex isn't a problem."
"It is when the result might hurt you before we know exactly what's going to happen once you shift for the first time."
"Sex is a solution," she argued. "A way to relieve stress from actual problems."
"You're not going to behave, are you?" he ground out.
"I want my mate to fuck me," she tormented him. "I didn't go through all the hell I've gone through to wait a few more days, Charlie Howard."
"I'm not arguing that."
"You need to stop overthinking every choice."
"You know I can't do that, Lizzy. My job is to do the opposite."
"More like you're incapable and unwilling to try."
Charlie groaned again. Did all new couples argue like this right from the start?
He captured her hands behind her back.
"Naughty wolf," he warned.
"I'm trying to be," she grumbled.
He loosened his grip and she held herself back. Damn stubborn man.
But he sensed the disappointment edging on hurt, and sighed.
"You know it's not because I don't want to."
She glanced downward and by the bulge so deliciously close, she was keenly aware he wanted to.
But she tore herself off him in a mix of restlessness, dissatisfaction, and frustration.
"I'm kind of tired of the conversation, Charlie. Actually, I'm kind of tired of you thinking you're right about everything. That your word is final and that's fucking that. We're a partnership, not a dictatorship."
"That's not fair," he argued grumpily. So much for thinking they'd made a truce. "Can you look me in the eye and swear you don't have a single worry about your upcoming transformation? Or that if you were to find out you were pregnant right now, that you'd not be totally freaked out because neither of us knows what to expect? I could go on and on."
"About problems that are not problems yet."
"Yet. But they will be. And I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be the final word on things asshole. I just can't—I don't have the ability to step into the unknown and figure things out after. I need to know and prepare. I can't gamble with the people I love on, let's hope..."
And Lizzy began to understand what his issue was really about, just a little bit more.
"Charlie, you don't live a life of predictability."
"That's not by choice."
Lizzy nodded and climbed back onto his lap again.
"So instead, you control what you can. Or at least, try to."
"I don't like chaos. I might be able to think quick, and act quick, and give orders when I'm on the job. But it's not my natural state to jump into some big unknown unless I'm certain it will save lives, or fulfill my duty. I need some control—over something. Not dominance, just—I need something in my life to be stable, and predictable, and move on my own terms. However boring, frustrating, or downright irritating it is. So yeah, that's where I am, I guess."
"I do understand that, Charlie." She smirked and gave him a half eyeroll. "It's easy to forget we're still getting to know each other. But have no doubt that the one thing you can always count on, no matter what, is us. When the world is chaos, we will be each other's stability. So... I'm going to give you a break. And not pressure you into doing something you're not ready to do."
"I will make it worth the wait," he promised with a nibble on her ear.
"You're damn straight you will."
His growl morphed into a dark laugh. He pulled back to her lips and gave her a gentle kiss. "Did I tell you how incredible I think you are yet today?"
"Mmmmm, yes, but you can tell me again."
He tore the dress over her head, pushed her back into the bed, and pinned her there.
"I'd rather show you." He devoured her mouth, releasing her lips and trailing down her neck and chest. Teasing. Nipping. His tongue and senses intoxicated with the honey and bourbon sweet and lusty sheen on her skin. With a snarl, sharp teeth snapped the elastic band of her panties and tore them off, leaving her wide open and exposed.
Her scent left him heady and ravenous.
Lizzy writhed underneath his teasing tongue and it only incited him to taunt her mercilessly, pinning her between his mouth, arms, and the bed.
And for a few precious minutes, their minds went blank of all worries or arguments. Mingling together in a blissful fullness of just the two of them, bonded together. The merging of their minds and souls an intensity that had them reeling in wonder, and drowning in the sensations of sharing this new one-mindedness.
It wasn't just tasting her, and feeling her writhe underneath his lips and arms, but reaching somewhere deep inside where their souls wound around each other, sharing in each other's bliss and hunger. Feeding off each other.
Lizzy didn't have to speak the words, Charlie felt the fire ignite inside of her which only fed his own hunger and made him crave more. His mind dove into the image of them, fully mated, making love under the stars... and like his brain released of its fears he saw her surrounded in a golden halo with big beautiful rounded belly.
If images could knock a woman up, Lizzy expected to open her eyes to a pregnant belly this very moment. The picture swam in her thoughts, a perfect depiction of how Charlie truly felt, showing what he wanted deep down to his core. And she knew she'd done the right thing in letting him go at his own pace about things. Because even though he couldn't always explain in real words, easily and clearly, what he wanted, the images proved it over and over again.
But patience was hard when you were ready to start your life.
He growled into her core, reminding her she was quite alive—and about to explode into his unforgiving mouth.
For a minute, reality and thoughts blurred, and he wasn't feasting on her, but had his cock buried deep inside her, creating new life. The mating bond was so surreal at moments. And too easily let him get carried away.
And like Charlie had reverted to being a teen looking at a naked woman for the first time with no control over himself, the sounds of Lizzy flying over the edge, and her body shuddering and quaking underneath him, and the shared images of their desired future ripped through him straight to his groin, pumping out a hot sticky mess that covered the blanket below his knees.
Nice, he tortured himself. He let his head fall onto Lizzy's stomach and groaned, humiliated.
Lizzy's head lifted and she released a heady chuckle. She plunked back down.
"Serves you right, wolf." It was a playful taunt. In her mind, she was far too enticed by the fact that just the mere idea of burying himself inside of her had him lose total control. "Better be careful, some of your jiggly wigglies might find their way up my—" Charlie growled, rolled her over, and spanked her ass.
She squawked and kicked and laughed.
But seconds later he had her in his arms and was off the bed heading for the shower.
"Oh my God. I wasn't serious, Charlie."
"I'm not taking any chances."
She shrugged, too momentarily satisfied to care much.
"The shower can be fun too," she decided, tugging her lips in a way that had Charlie wanting to break his own damn no sex rule.
Just a few more days.
A long, long, long ass few days...
LUCAS AND MATHEW PICKED themselves up off the ground.
"Damn it," Lucas cursed the hard ground he'd slammed into. He brushed off some dead leaves and twigs.
"Sorry. I wasn't fast enough that time." Actually, they'd had little warning this time. And Mathew had been too lost in the conversation with Lucas, which had morphed into a fun and familiar rhythm, rather than constant tension, and he'd not been paying attention. The en
ergy pulse released from the Power Source had caught them off guard.
Mathew had barely caught the two of them before they'd slammed into a tree trunk hard enough to break bones, but the landing was anything but soft. He caught his breath and peered at Lucas.
"Anything broken?"
"Only my pride. Seems that's becoming a common occurrence."
Lucas smirked. "Next time, if we have any notice, I'm thinking duck, not run."
"Like it might roll right over our heads if we're flat on the ground?"
"The pulses are airborne and lifting, so yeah. I think on the ground is the safest bet."
"Duck and cover. Got it. What now? The uncommon pulse has now manifested itself twice."
"Yeah, that does pose a problem. Let's start with a quick check of the alarm system, just to make sure the pulses aren't messing with it."
They headed off.
Thirty minutes later, the check done, and the alarm system unaffected by the pulses, Mathew approached the entrance to the Source. He reached out with his senses, and now that he'd experienced it a couple of times, he was better able to latch onto what he was searching for.
"I can't tell when it'll hit, but I can feel that another release is brewing."
"Shit. Well then. Middle of the night or not, we need to call this in."
"Raise the calvary," sang out Mathew. And Lucas made the call.
THE SHOWER HAD GONE from hot, to steamy, in a flash, with Charlie and Lizzy having fun with hands, and mouths, and tongues, and detachable shower heads, and eventually, showering in cold water—not that it mattered as wolf blood ran on the hotter side.
But out and dried off, they plunked their loosy goosy selves up against pillows in bed, snuggled in close together, and started reading. The more they learned about their own future selves as werewolves, the better. And the faster the better, to alleviate concerns and answer unknown questions.
Because there was no way in hell Lizzy was waiting a single night longer than her first full moon to break the no sex rule. And because as adamant as she was about Charlie not worrying so damn much, there were things she wanted answers to as well.