Another cramp in my stomach had me forcing myself off the bed, my bare feet touching the wooden floor, my toes curling against it. I stared at the fire for a little while, watching as the flames licked across the logs, the blue where it was hottest closest to the wood before tapering up to yellows and oranges.
I felt sweat blossom across my forehead and between the valley of my breasts. I didn’t know what was wrong with me. Stress maybe? The situation as a whole?
Or maybe it was because I was with my mate yet hadn’t let Luca claim me?
A shiver of need filled me at that thought; images of mating with Luca slammed into my head.
I didn’t know much about Linked Mates, something I was now very ashamed to realize. Although I’d seen my father and mother interact, I only knew the bare basics. I knew every Otherworld creature had one person born just for them. Fated in all ways. Perfect solely for them in every sense of the word.
But the sexual stuff… how it affected us on a very real, pure level, that was foreign to me.
There was a large dresser off to the side, and I walked toward it. My bare feet padded almost silently across the wooden floor, the soles warming the closer I got to the piece of furniture because it was near the fireplace, where the heat could penetrate.
I pulled open one of the drawers, a soft swish resonating around me. I looked over my shoulder but saw Luca was still sleeping in the chair, not a muscle moving, his breathing still and even. How exhausted he must be.
I focused back on the contents of the drawer and noticed a few plain T-shirts inside. I picked one of them up, the white material soft, almost buttery in texture between my fingertips. And shamelessly I brought the material to my face, inhaling deeply. It smelled like him. Dark. Masculine. Crisp.
I unfolded it and saw it was huge, much too large for my frame. It would no doubt fall past my knees once I put it on, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I got a thrill at knowing I would be wearing his clothing. It seemed so intimate.
And as I looked down at the current state of my clothes, with the dirt covering my pants and shirt, and sweat starting to dot my body, I knew just changing out of this filth wasn’t enough. I wanted a shower, to wash off the physical reminder of the conflict I was currently in.
And maybe that shower would be a distraction, something to help clear my mind and make things more focused.
I already knew there wasn’t a bathroom attached in here, so I silently left the bedroom, giving Luca one last lingering look before I stepped out into the hallway. I saw the bathroom immediately, which was cattycorner from where I stood.
Curiosity had me wanting to explore. But I didn’t want to worry Luca. I didn’t want to get turned around in this home that I knew nothing about. So I made a beeline right for the bathroom, kept the door cracked, and turned on the water for the shower, letting it heat up.
And then I took in my surroundings.
Lavish. Expensive. That’s what this bathroom screamed. No matter how old it originally was, it’d clearly been modernized. With clean white tile, rose gold accents, white marble counters, and black fixtures, it screamed wealth.
After I was undressed and standing under the spray, closing my eyes and just letting the heat surround me, I realized the throb between my thighs was incessant and more powerful than ever before. It was heavy and thick, an ache that beat in tune to my heart. And that traitorous bundle of nerves picked up as the seconds passed, as I was acutely aware of the droplets sliding across my skin and over my breasts.
My nipples were hard peaks, my pussy so wet it would have been embarrassing if it wasn’t such a turn on.
I thought about touching myself, just sliding my hand down my breasts, pressing my palms along the tips of those mounds, then continuing over my belly and right between my legs. I already knew I was drenched, knew I’d be slick, hot. But I didn’t touch myself.
Because I wanted Luca to be the one to do that.
I stayed in the shower until the water ran cold, until goose bumps formed along my arms and legs. After getting out and drying off, I slipped on Luca’s shirt, his scent surrounding me and having a soft sound leave me involuntarily. I stood there for a minute just feeling the material move against my ultrasensitive skin.
I looked at myself in the mirror, my reflection blurry from the fog. I reached out and ran a palm along the glass, wiping off the condensation, seeing the girl staring back at me. No, she didn’t look like a girl. She looked like a woman. With cheeks that were tinged pink, lips that appeared full and red, and eyes that were soulful and hooded from desire. My hair looked darker because it was wet, and the ends were lightly curled as they fell over my shoulders and arms, droplets slowly sliding along my bare flesh and heightening my senses even more.