Love at First Mate - Badlands Territory

We all chuckle in unison as Ragnar emerges from the back room.

“I gotta get to the site. We have a cement truck stuck in the driveway and the electrical inspector is there giving Wayne a hard time.”

“That’s fine.” I smile, even though if I had my way we’d spend the rest of the day back at my place, seeing if we can break the bed there like we did yesterday in the cabin.

Brian looks at me. “Do you mind if I ask Ragnar some questions? I mean, if you are mated, then he’s part of the package deal, isn’t he?” He chuckles. “People love love. A little hint at the man behind the woman will add some punch to the piece.”

He turns toward Ragnar. “Are you from here? Do you have family here? Any fun history about you, or—”

Ragnar huffs, his manner suddenly turning dark.

“No.” He gives me another kiss, glares at Brian, and turns to leave.

“I’m sorry…” Brian says, unsure what the problem may be, but I’m as confused as he is.

“Don’t be,” I manage, watching as Josephine sidesteps and catches Ragnar’s arm before he heads out the door to his truck.

Brian is asking me something, but my focus is on Ragnar. I can’t hear what Josephine is saying, until Brian stops talking, and the last thing I hear her say to him, is, “You have to tell her. Sooner or later, she needs to know…”Chapter 9RagnarI spent the morning showing Wynter what exactly it’s going to mean for us to be mated. I took her in the shower, shampooing her hair and soaping her body. Taking care of every inch before I licked her until she could barely stand, then bent her over and fucked her until she begged me to stop.

I didn’t.

I fucked her some more until the only thing she understood was that we belonged to each other. After, I dried her off, laid her on the bed and admired what was mine until she could stand on her own again, we dressed and talked about what our plans for the day would be and I want to do that everyday from now until the end of time.

While Wynter is drying her hair, I pour a cup of coffee into one of the two mugs she owns and head to the basement, where I need to put away my tools from fixing the leaking pipe into her water heater last night.

I get that she loves her little house, even though she’s only been here less than two months. It’s cute as hell and it’s hers, so I don’t begrudge her affection for the place. We’ve been together every night since that day at the cabin, and we spent the night here a couple times.

But, after a week together, which feels more like a year, my need for her to settle down with me is growing increasingly necessary. My place is stupidly huge, even for the two of us, but I plan for it to be ten of us as soon as her body can pop out our cubs.

Her place is practically empty. There are two coffee mugs. Standard issue plates, silverware and some décor that looks like she spent a pretty penny at Target getting herself set up. The first time she brought me here, I felt sad. There were no memories. Everything was new, like she was living in one of those extended stay hotels.

It didn’t take much prodding for her to tell me about her mom’s passing. Then, how Wynter needed a new start and left in haste. She mentioned an inheritance and that’s how she could buy her house, finance the studio but I don’t need to pry every detail from her all at once and I want her to know I don’t give a shit about if she has money or not. I’m going to take care of her and everything she needs.

We have a lifetime to share everything and I sure know what it feels like to not want to reveal everything about family history.

I gather up my tools and put them into their spots in my toolbox before heading back upstairs. I’ve got to be on the jobsite in forty minutes, and Wynter has a full day of her own ahead of her, working at the shop, getting things organized and waiting on a few deliveries for furniture, computers and such.

Over the last week, myself, Wayne and English, and a few other guys from the crew have worked on their off hours getting her studio build-out done, and the place is looking slick. Today, I’ve got a painter coming to put the final brushstrokes on the place, and her sign is being delivered tomorrow for outside.

She named the place The Wynter Wonderland.

When I get to the kitchen, Wynter is coming down the stairs wearing these yellow yoga pants and a white crop top sweater that shows off her cute as fuck belly button.