He was so much better looking than I’d remembered.
My memory had not been kind enough to the strength of his jaw, his funky haircut or his kind eyes.
“Yes, like you.” He squeezed my waist a little, then stopped suddenly.
“Grayson said to get you something to wear, but I don’t think the shops open until nine-ish.”
He looked towards the other two men, who shook their heads.
“Okay, then we’ll head home and come back later for that.”
“That would be great. Thank you. The last thing I thought about when I left was bringing clothes with me.”
And what I wore were some of the only decent ones, so it was no loss.
“You did an incredible thing, Celeste. Escaping them.”
I could hear the admiration in Tayte’s voice, but I shrugged. I didn’t deserve that much praise.
“I didn’t really have a choice. I had to find you.”
He smiled at me with all the love I’d hoped for. “I’m glad you did.”
We kept walking around the town, and I began to feel strange. My stomach tightened and jumped around in excitement. Not a normal feeling for me.
Amazingly, I had no morning sickness or nausea earlier today.
Whether it was due to adrenaline from my overnight run, or the sickness had gone completely, I was unsure. Either way, I was grateful for the small respite.
“Which one is your house?” I asked as I pulled my hands into my sleeves and curled my fingers into fists to keep the warmth inside.
Assuming they had their own house? I wasn’t sure how it all worked.
“Are you cold?” Tayte asked.
“Ah, a little. I’m not used to being outside very much. All my jobs kept me inside.”
And I was always moving, scrubbing, cleaning, running from someone yelling at me. I wasn’t used to such little movement, or so little fear.
“No problem. We aren’t far now.” He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and walked towards a large double-storey house, similar to Nevaeh’s home.
But this one seemed wider, and there was more brickwork visible to the eye from outside.
“Is this it? It’s beautiful.” I stared up at the house that could very soon be my home. “It’s like… a house out of a magazine.”
I sometimes looked at the magazines at the Walmart when I went shopping for the den.
Tayte opened the front door for me.
“Welcome.”
Wow.
I took a step closer and he suddenly whisked me up into his arms.
I clung to his huge shoulders, pressing into his warmth. “What’s happening?”
He chuckled and held me tight. “I’m carrying you across the threshold. Isn’t that what you do when you humans mate?”