As he looked up at her, smiling despite the constant, throbbing ache in his leg, he finally allowed himself to sink into sleep.
She was his mate. She’d still be here when he woke up. And once he’d regained his strength, he’d do his best to show her that he wasn’t like the dragons who’d kidnapped her.
***
He woke several hours later. It was fully dark outside. Everything was quiet.
And against his side, he felt a delicious warmth.
During the night, they'd accidentally ended up pressed together. Alyx's head was resting on his shoulder, her hair still slightly damp. It smelled sharply herbal, like cheap motel shampoo, but beneath it was the clean, warm scent that said Alyx.
Braeden took a deep breath. Gently, so as not to wake her, he tightened his arm around her waist.
There were other scents he could now make out.
Fries and burgers and cold pizza.
Slowly, his eyes grew used to the gloom. On t
he table near the wall, several cardboard boxes rested. Alyx must’ve had food delivered after he'd finally succumbed to sleep.
Suddenly, he realized that he was starving as well. The thought of cold pizza or a cheap, soggy burger with greasy bacon made his mouth water.
It had been ages since he'd had food, and the fast shifter healing used up a lot of energy.
Still, right now, with Alyx resting so trustingly in his arms, he wouldn't have moved for the world.
My mate, he thought, jubilant and awed as he looked at her relaxed features in the sparse moonlight.
Now, for the first time since he'd met her, she seemed utterly at peace. She no longer gave off the aura of a prisoner, of someone who was fighting for survival every single second.
She'd showered before she joined him in bed. There were no more smudges of dirt or ash on her face. The lines of worry were gone.
Her face was smooth, and Braeden found himself entranced by the long lashes that touched the vulnerable skin beneath her eyes. Her mouth was pink, the curve of her lips begging to be explored by his own lips.
But she was asleep, and as much as Braeden wanted to kiss his mate and prove to her that he'd give his life to make her happy from now on, he knew this wasn't the right moment.
Especially not after what she'd been through. He wasn't like Steele. He never, ever wanted her to look at him with that expression of utter terror again as she had when they'd first met.
His leg was still aching. He'd begun to heal during the night, but the pain was still a steady throb.
He gritted his teeth as he shifted a little, biting back any sound that might wake her.
In response to his movement, Alyx sighed. For a moment, her eyelashes fluttered, and Braeden worried that she was going to wake.
Then she relaxed again, snuggling against him with a murmured sound of contentment, her arm wrapping right around his chest as she pressed herself close.
Braeden swallowed. Alyx was wearing only her shirt. He could feel the heat of her bare legs pressed against his good leg.
More, with the way she'd snuggled up to him, he could feel her luscious curves pressed to his body, her breasts soft and warm against his chest, even with the thin layer of fabric between them.
Mortified, Braeden realized that he'd begun to harden.
No one had told him that finding his mate would be like this. Human TV had told him a lot about what human women liked: roses, champagne, movie dates, chocolate-covered strawberries, and kittens.
But none of the many hours he'd spent binging on Netflix when he'd still been a prisoner of the council of elements had prepared him for what to do when he was sharing a bed with his human mate.
His human mate, who was temptation incarnate. Who had hair as soft as silk, courage as strong as steel, the generous curves of a goddess that made his body burn with sudden desire—and who was also asleep right now.