This time, he didn’t work as hard to stop me.

Chapter 15

Did you ever wake up and know you’ve had sex? Lots of it? Yeah, well, that was me the next time I blinked my heavy eyelids open.

I lay on my back. Sort of. Aric’s foot was somewhere near my right ear and his other leg was tucked against my shoulder blade beneath me. I shimmied until I slid out from under his leg. Most of his upper body dangled over the opposite side of the bed and our brand-new sheets were torn to shreds.

I pushed my crazy hair out of my face. The entire room smelled like sex and us. Claw marks ran the length of our headboard and a chunk of wood was missing from the footboard. Damn. Just damn.

I laughed, remembering some of our more creative poses. I’d wanted him so much. I was glad he finally let me have him. I was still smiling, thinking about the way we’d made love until the image of naked cartwheels flooded my mind.

My body jolted as if poked, and I scrambled to his side. “Aric?” I shook his shoulder. Oh God, what did I do? I shook him harder. “Aric?”

He flipped me onto my back and dipped his head to kiss my neck. “Ready for more, sweetness?” he murmured.

He paused and pushed up from me, his gaze softening. “Hey. You’re not shiny anymore—”

“Did I do naked cartwheels in front of the vamps and everyone we know?” He sighed and carefully pulled me to a sitting position. “Oh my God!” I screamed. “I did, didn’t I?”

Aric rubbed his jaw. “Try not to worry too much about it. Everyone there realized you weren’t yourself.”

I buried my face in my hands. “Kill me. Just kill me.”

Aric pulled my hands from my face and kissed each one. “How can I kill my mate and the woman I love?” he asked softly.

He gathered me to him, and simply held me for a long while. His presence soothed me. At that moment, there was no doubt and nothing standing between us. So I melted against him and took it for the gift that it was.

“What happened to Shah?” I finally asked.

“I don’t know. We…” Aric straightened. “He’s right there.”

I lifted my head. There on my dresser was the smaller version of what I’d found in Malaysia. Aric and I stood and walked to him. Shah was now only the size of my palm. “How did you get him out?”

Aric frowned. “We didn’t. We came back here, made love over the past two days and—”

“Two days?”

Aric chuckled, his face reddening. “Yeah. It was pretty intense. I couldn’t keep you off me, but in all fairness, I didn’t want to.” He kissed my head. “He must have separated from you after we fell asleep this last time.”

“Okay. But now what?”

He shrugged. “I guess I’ll take him back to the Den for safekeeping.”

“Do you think he’ll be safe there?”

“I don’t know where else to hold him, sweetness.” He turned me around, keeping a hold on my hips. “This whole thing, you fighting, you going after him. Celia, I’m trying, baby, but I can’t handle you putting yourself out there and risking your life.”

Just like that, the peaceful moment we’d shared was gone. I lowered my gaze briefly before meeting his face once more. “Aric, you do it all the time.”

“But it’s my sworn duty. Not yours.”

“I may not have made an oath to earth, but I am obliged to defend it.” My fingers trailed over his skin. “Why else do I have the power that I do?”

“Shayna told me about the panthers,” Aric said. “If Shah hadn’t decided to help you, or if he’d turned against you, I would have lost you. You wouldn’t be here with me now, and I would be begging the next full moon to rise and claim my life so I could join you.”

My hands covered his. “Aric, I’m not planning on going anywhere.”

“Neither was Liam,” he said softly.

I tried to swallow back the grief that engulfed me. No one spoke of Liam anymore. Some things were just too painful. And some people were just too young and good to die. But I knew not a day went by when we weren’t reminded of his smile, or how he’d given his life to save mine.

Aric sighed. “I don’t want to fight with you, or force you into a corner. But if you feel compelled to help those who need you, I want you to go back to nursing.”

“I don’t think that’s where I’m meant to be.”

“Will you try?” He lifted my chin, his eyes pleading. “Please, Celia. I just want you to try. If it doesn’t work out, we’ll regroup and work something else out, okay?”

I didn’t say anything for a few beats. But when I spoke, I hated what I had to ask. “If I do, will you consider stepping down from your position as Leader?” The bomb I dropped loosened Aric’s hold. “You don’t want to lose me, but you have to understand that I don’t want to lose you, either.”

It took him a while to respond, and in the minutes that passed I regretted my request. Whether he’d meant to or not, Aric had forced me into a corner. But then I’d gone and done the same thing to him. “Okay,” he finally said. “If that’s what it will take to keep you safe, I’ll step down at the end of the year.”

For something that would help ensure our safety and well-being, both of us looked miserable. Aric bent and kissed my lips, then turned from me to pull some clothes out of his dresser. He’d been so willing to make love mere moments ago, before my ultimatum; now he simply seemed distant and I only had myself to blame. Guilt twisted my belly. In a thousand years I would have never expected to make such a demand. Sometimes I still surprised myself, and it wasn’t for the better.

“I’d better get Shah to the Den,” he said quietly. “I’ll be back later; stay here and rest.”

I nodded and pulled on a T-shirt and shorts.

Aric disappeared into the bathroom. When he stepped out, he was dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt and grasped a hand towel. He stared at Shah. “Will you start applying for nursing jobs sometime this week?”

I nodded, knowing I owed him as much for what I’d just asked of him. “I’ll start later today. I promise.”

“Thank you,” he whispered.

He reached for Shah, waiting a breath before he gathered him in the towel. “You’re not going to touch him?” I asked. He didn’t answer me, and wrapped Shah tighter. “Aric?”