Chapter 53: 53: Unseen Observer

BELLE

I woke up in bed by myself. The spot where Grayson slept was cold, and a deep longing was rooted in my chest, making it hard for me to breathe.

Usually, I would just deal with it. I was a big girl who could go a few hours without my boyfriend.

Codependency? Yeah, we don’t know her.

But today was different. The last couple of days—weeks, actually—had been different. I wanted to be around him all the time.

I craved his presence, his heart-melting smile, his ~very~ skillful touch. He was like a drug that I needed all the time in order to survive.

Which was why I somehow found myself walking toward the gym’s viewing deck at six in the morning, seeking even a single glimpse of my mate.

I knew I wasn’t supposed to be out here. Liam would be at my door within the next hour, and then we would be meeting with Minnie.

Today we were visiting an older witch who had apparently turned herself into a cow and didn’t know how to turn back.

I had no idea what Minnie was going to be able to do to help her, but I definitely wasn’t going to miss it. So I would have to be quick. I just needed to be near him for a few minutes, and then I would be fine.

I hoped.

My eyes found him the moment I entered the viewing deck. He was at the back of the gym, talking to Elijah and Kyle, arms crossed over his massive chest.

His muscles strained against his black shirt, and sweat dripped down his face and neck, making him glisten in the fluorescent lighting.

God, he was hot. He was truly perfect in every way, shape, and form. Part of me thought it wasn’t fair, but the other part of me was content to stare at him and his perfection.

I sat down at one of the two large leather couches, observing my mate with rapt attention. It was crazy how much peace it brought me just to be near him, to watch him. It was the mate bond.

He was the other half of my soul, and I wanted to be with him as much as I possibly could. At the beginning of our relationship, that would have terrified me.

My dependency on him would have made me flee, run for the hills like a coward until he inevitably came and hunted me down. Now though, it felt natural. In fact, it felt incredible.

I loved him. He completed me. And after months of hesitation, trust-building between the two of us, and just pain in general due to everything that happened, that was an amazing feeling to have.

A giggle left my mouth when I noticed the deep scowl on Grayson’s face as he conversed with Kyle.

Kyle had obviously just said something that had bothered him, which, to be fair, wasn’t hard to do nowadays. He was snappy with every person but me.

It was extremely entertaining witnessing him be all sweet and caring with me when we were in private and then all grumpy and territorial the moment we were in public.

Plus, it definitely made me feel special. And loved. I was the only one who really knew him.

I suddenly wished I were down there. I wanted to touch him, to wrap my arms around him and press my lips to any exposed skin I could.

I wanted to beg him to take the day off—king duties be damned—and spend it with me.

Knowing him, he would probably pick me up, throw me over his shoulder, and march me right back to our wing, where he would ravish me head to toe until I was nothing but a satisfied puddle beneath him.

I shifted, unconsciously rubbing my legs together as a deep, throbbing sensation started in my nether regions, eliciting a small gasp to escape my lips.

The fire in my core that I thought he had put out last night when he had spent half the night with his head between my legs—had officially reignited. And it was stronger than ever.

Before I could stop myself, my hand reached for the button to my jeans.

Oh God, I should not be doing this right now. Not when anyone could walk in and see me. Not when Grayson could find out and punish me for getting myself off.

He once caught me touching myself in the shower and had been so angry, so close to shifting, that I nearly peed myself.

“This sweet little pussy is mine, Belle,” he had said, his hand cupping me between my legs with an unyielding grip that had my mind spinning and my breath coming out in short pants.

“If you need to get off, you come to me. You come to your mate and let me take care of you in the way you need. Only I get to make this pussy pulse with pleasure. Understand?”

Needless to say, we didn’t spend much time sleeping that night.

I hadn’t touched myself since then, and that had been weeks ago, only days after arriving in Zaweth. Thankfully, I hadn’t needed to. Grayson took care of my every need and then some.

All it took was one hooded glance from me, and he was throwing me down on whatever nearby surface and tearing my clothes off.

But, as of recently, that was starting to feel like all we ever did. It was all I ever ~wanted~ to do.

I couldn’t be in the same room with him for more than an hour without feeling a wet heat start to unravel between my legs. And it was never Grayson who initiated our…~activities~.

He was always more than happy to participate, but it always took a bit of prompting from me. It was almost as if he only ever wanted to be intimate with me if ~I~ was the one who wanted it.

I was starting to feel needy. And clingy. And maybe even a little bit dirty.

Don’t get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with an active sex life, but I was starting to question if Grayson really wanted to be with me in that way or if he was just appeasing me.

Was he getting annoyed with how often I wanted him between my legs recently? And Lord forbid he start to think that was ~all~ I wanted from him.

And the worst part was, we hadn’t even had sex yet! We had done every other thing you could possibly think of, but his glorious cock had never once actually entered my body.

I knew Grayson was trying to take it slow so that I didn’t freak out after everything that had happened between us.

I couldn’t blame him for that and even appreciated it at first.

Especially since I was still a bit traumatized from when Azazel—in Grayson’s body—had told me my only job as his mate was to bring him pleasure and power, right before he attempted to force himself on me.

But a lot had happened since then. My trust in him and in my role as his mate had been restored.

Our relationship had evolved and flourished and turned into something completely different than it had been during our time in Paris less than a year ago.

The love between us was so substantial, so profound, completely all-consuming. And ~real.~

Without warning, his eyes snapped up to meet mine. Tingles immediately shot through me, and I gasped, nearly shooting out of the couch I was sitting in.

My hand dropped the button to my pants as if it had burned me. He couldn’t be looking at me, right?

The other side of this window was a mirror. I had seen it with my own eyes the last time I had been in the gym.

I was sure of it—I wouldn’t have walked in here intending to ogle my mate unnoticed if I hadn’t been sure.

So how the hell was he looking right at me right now?

My heart pounded against my rib cage, nearly turning upside down when his nostrils flared, taking in a deep breath before narrowing his eyes.

He said something to Kyle and then started to march toward me.

Oh, shit.

I squeaked, jumping off the couch and immediately turning on my heel to flee to the door behind me.

Grayson had never told me I wasn’t allowed to come here, but he did say to stay away from vampires. And there were a lot of vampires down there.

And I had been so close to ~touching~ myself near said vampires. Would he be mad at me? I already knew the answer.

Holy shit, what if it really ~was~ a window and not a one-way mirror, as I had thought? What if people could see me?

~Shit, shit, shit.~

Before I even reached the door handle, it flung open, revealing my still shirtless mate. I let out an embarrassing shriek of surprise. Holy fucking ~fuck~, he was fast.

It occurred to me that he must have used his vampire speed to get here so quickly. It literally only took him seconds.

He stared at me as he stood in the doorway. He inhaled deeply, taking in my scent. His eyes flashed.

“Oh. Hi.” I waved awkwardly. “What’s up?”

I took several steps back when he started to prowl toward me like a predator stalking its prey.

His lips turned up in a smirk, telling me he found my discomfort amusing. “You’re not supposed to be up here, little mate.” His tone was deep and rich, and my body reacted to it

I swallowed, my throat suddenly desert dry. “Oh, yeah. No, you’re probably right.” I tried to sound casual but failed entirely. “Well, I guess I’ll just go back to our wing then.”

I meant to move past him but found that I couldn’t for some reason. I couldn’t make my feet move.

I didn’t want to leave him.

Grayson’s brows rose, and his conceited smile grew wider. He closed the distance between us with one large step, looking down at me. He didn’t touch me, though, which was the only thing I really wanted.

“Did you need something, Belle?” he asked, his voice low and amused. He leaned down so that his nose ran over my hairline.

I shifted, shuffling my feet. “I, um... No, not exactly,” I responded pathetically.

“Then why are you here?” His lips were so close to my ear. I could feel his breath wash over my mark. Warm tingles traveled down my body all the way to my toes.

“I... I wanted to see you,” I finally admitted, a deep blush creeping up my neck. “I missed you.”

He started to purr, and I couldn’t stop myself as I leaned into him, placing my cheek against his hard chest to better feel the vibrations. They washed over my body like a warm wave.

He finally wrapped his arms around me, and I slumped against him in instant relief. This was what I needed. I needed him.

“I didn’t think you could see me up here through the one-way glass,” I said gently as I nuzzled my nose against his chest. He smelled so good.

“I couldn’t,” Grayson replied, his voice gravelly and deep. He grabbed my head and tilted it up, so I was looking directly at him.

“But I could smell you.” He paused, rubbing his nose into my hair. “I could smell how wet you were getting.”

~“What?” I screeched.~

As much as I wanted to avoid the embarrassment, I wasn’t even going to try and deny the fact that I was getting turned on watching him train, knowing it would be pointless to try and prove his incredible sense of smell wrong.

So instead, I said, “Does that mean everyone else could smell me too?”

He growled and tugged me closer. “I would kill them if they smelled what’s mine. Only Kyle and I have the enhanced senses.”

My forehead fell onto his chest as I groaned. ~Well, that’s embarrassing.~ At least it was only Kyle, though, and not the entire pack. Although, I was sure I would be getting a ton of shit from Kyle about it later.

With his fingers gripping my chin, Grayson tilted my head up, so I was looking at him. He studied my face with his dark-red eyes.

It occurred to me that I couldn’t remember the last time I had seen his eyes as their natural forest-green color. Was that something I should be worried about? I was starting to miss them.

After a few more seconds, Grayson growled. “Fuck, you’re beautiful. I’m one lucky bastard.”

I smiled up at him. I would never get sick of his incessant need to compliment me. When your soulmate was as good-looking as mine was, it felt good to hear there was a chance I could compare.

One of his hands traveled down my body and over my ass, gripping it in his rough palm. His purring increased and took on an appreciative resonance.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt your training,” I murmured, trying to regain control over my body, so I didn’t do anything stupid.

I needed to change the subject—think of something other than how good it felt to have his body pressed up against mine like this. I had already made a fool of myself.

“I’m sorry if I did. You shouldn’t have to run to me whenever I need you.”

He shook his head. “I could never be mad at you. Especially for needing me.” His hand ran through my hair in a soothing gesture.

“In fact, I’m proud of you for following your instincts.” His fist curled to grip my hair, and he tilted my head to the side just enough to eye the mark on my neck. He licked his lips. “Such a good little mate.”

My mark had been healing well since arriving in Zaweth and spending more time with Grayson. It was still a bit red and a tiny bit sore but didn’t hurt nearly as much as it had when he’d found me in Maine.

And that was all due to Grayson’s unyielding insistence on “tending” to it, as he called it, on a daily basis or basically any time he was around me and could get his hands on it.

This meant him latching his mouth onto the mark for hours at a time, kissing, licking, sucking, and nibbling on it until my brain all but turned to mush, and my pussy was so wet, it could put the Pacific Ocean to shame.

I often woke in the middle of the night to Grayson pushing my head to the side and lapping at my sensitive skin with his sinful tongue, sometimes while his fingers traveled down between my legs to toy with my throbbing clit.

I had only just convinced him to stop tending to my mark in public, thank God.

“My instincts?” I repeated, sounding breathless.

“Something was telling you to come see me, right? I’m glad you followed those instincts and came looking for your mate. I’m glad you’re taking care of your needs—letting ~me~ take care of your needs.”

I didn’t like how accurate his words were. Something ~had~ been telling me to go see him—like I was a magnet and he was metal. And now that I was here with him, I didn’t want to leave.

Okay, so maybe we ~did~ know codependency…

Before I could even comprehend the words coming out of my mouth, I found myself saying, “Could I stay with you today?” The question came out rushed, desperate sounding.

Grayson’s eyes softened, and I suddenly became embarrassed. “I know you’re busy,” I said, “but maybe I could just hang out with you during your meetings or whatever? I wasn’t kidding when I said I missed you this morning.”

The corner of Grayson’s lips turned up. “As much as I would love that, I thought you were excited about helping Minnie out today. You couldn’t stop talking about it last night.”

Oh, right. I had completely forgotten about that. Jeez, what was wrong with me? A few minutes in Grayson’s presence and I was ready to drop everything just to spend some more time with him.

My shoulders deflated a bit. “Oh, yeah. You’re right. I should probably go with her. Once in a lifetime opportunity and all that.”

Grayson must have seen the disappointment on my face because he quickly continued, “How long before you meet Minnie and Liam?” His gaze grew heated.

“An hour and a half. Liam is coming to get me at eight.”

Next thing I knew, I was being thrown over his shoulder and marched out the door.