Oh Hell No

Chapter 38

It never took long for mated couples to finish the process after marking each other. A good amount did both of the major steps at the same time; those steps being marking and having sex. Ryder and Jamie didn't take long to succumb to their instincts, their strong bloodlines not helping the situation. She was mostly worried that someone would hear them, and she was not an exhibitionist in the slightest. The idea of Danielle cheering them on from outside the door was traumatizing enough that it actually happening might cause her to literally drive off. He hated the idea of that happening too, but thought it worth the embarrassment so long as they finished the process without anything going horribly wrong.

They ended up sleeping together for the first time in one of the strangest, or most romantic locations possible, depending on your outlook. It had started as a picnic at a part of the territory Jamie had never really been to. Ryder had probably led her by it at some point during the tour but she would've guessed that she would remember someplace this beautiful. They sat on a small hill, if you could even call it that. One side had a rapid dropoff, covered almost entirely by weeds or vines, so if anything she should probably call it a cliff. The other side was a gentle slope, that Ryder may or may not have tripped on while leading her up. She laughed for a solid two minutes afterwards, and had to drag herself up the rest of the way.

Even after the food was gone, they stayed up there, just talking. They got to learning more about each other, like hobbies, favorites, and who they think would die first if the apocalypse started at this very moment (they wholeheartedly agreed on Astral, who's selfless nature and sweet tooth would make her an easy target for zombies). Before they knew it, night fell, and their picnic had turned into stargazing. Neither were very good at identifying constellations, unless you counted the five big dippers they each claimed to have spotted, so they made them up. Like cloud watching, they pointed out different shapes their minds had conjured up, despite the fact that the other could only pretend to see exactly where the first pointed.

They didn't plan on having sex out there, but there's only so much planning that can come with such a hormone-powered activity. But, one thing led to the next and Ryder's tongue was shoved down Jamie's throat while she worked to pull his shirt off. He actually gathered his senses long enough to pick her and the blanket up, making his way down the hill and towards the cliffside while she attacked his neck, which was more than a little distracting. Enzo may not have a problem taking her right out in the open, but he figured she would appreciate it more if they had some cover, so he pushed back some thick vines to a sort of cave hidden in the rock, taking her inside. The blanket didn't offer much padding between them and the rock floor, but at least it was cleaner and warmer. It won't be cleaner for much longer, he thought to himself with a smirk, one Jamie wrote off given their position.

"I've never shown anyone else this place; I don't think anyone's found it either," He mumbled between kisses, to which she pulled away for a second with a smile.

"Well, I'm glad to be the second person to see this place," They quickly reconnected, not leaving the cave until the next day.

- - -

"Did you know that the human coffee shop downtown combined with the bakery next door?" Devin asked.

"Nope," Ryder responded robotically, moving his spoon around his bowl slowly, not actually picking up let alone eating any of the cereal inside.

"The local movie theater is reshowing old eighties movies like The Breakfast Club and Heathers, we should go see one," Chelsie suggested contentedly.

"That's great," He replies.

"So you and Jamie had hot, kinky sex last night, what was that like?" Braxton was, unsurprisingly, the first to get bored with the household game of "when will Ryder snap out of it" wherein they try to talk to the clearly distracted werewolf, getting all kinds of hilarious responses. One of the best had to be when Chris said they needed someone to visit Old Lady Norma's house to bathe her because the last nurse they hired to take care of her quit, and Ryder said, "sounds fun" without hesitation.

It was always enjoyable, but Ryder's reactions when he started paying attention again and realized what had happened were almost better. In this case, he happened to be actually making progress on his more liquid than solid breakfast when Braxton popped the question, choking on it, "It wasn't- we didn't- What is wrong with you?"

"I could ask you the same thing, but I think we know the answer already," He answered calmly, "You're reflecting on, and most likely replaying, your incredibly long night with your mate, if those bags under your eyes are any indication."

"Don't forget that they showed up this morning, coming through the front door in the clothes they wore yesterday," Chris pointed out, walking into the kitchen.

"And I hate you all," Ryder got rid of the mush that his cereal had become, his wish to get out of here much stronger than his hunger. If he had been paying more attention, he could have tried redirecting their attention to the mark on Chris's neck that hadn't been there yesterday.

"Tell Jamie we said hi," Chelsie calls after him, his werewolf hearing regretfully making him able to hear their laughter the entire way.

When Jamie and him got back that morning, he had immediately gone to take a shower, getting changed afterwards. Jamie, meanwhile, face planted onto their bed and threw a pillow at him when he suggested she at least change into more comfortable clothes. He was hoping that she'd be less grumpy by now; Enzo considered most time not spent with her was a waste of time, so if she didn't want company he would get pissed at Ryder, like it was his fault.

At least everyone knew not to annoy or embarrass Jamie, as per his request to not mention what they all knew happened last night, so she couldn't get mad at him for that. He was confident that he made it clear enough to his friends, along with Danielle especially, that there was no need to bring up or congratulate them on this particular step in their relationship. At the moment, he didn't know how well Enzo would take it if someone even remotely upset his mate.

A quick glance into the room revealed her to be mostly asleep, hopefully far enough gone that she wouldn't complain if he cuddled her like a teddy bear. She didn't seem like the type to enjoy being the little spoon, but he had been wrong about her before.

He placed a kiss on her head, feeling a little guilty when she looked up at him, "Hey," He said quietly, laying down behind her. She couldn't be bothered to find the motivation to speak, so she only hummed in response, "And goodnight," He mumbled with a quiet laugh as she drifted off again.

A/N: Did you think I would actually write a smutty scene? It's funny to even think I could get through two lines of that without bursting into laughter