Chapter 11

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She was still cuddled up against him the next morning, surprising him. He'd expected her to be gone. Instead, she was practically wrapped around him. She was completely invading his personal space and he didn't mind.

He hadn't dreamed about her last night, which wasn't really a surprise. She was in his bed after all, and her scent would stay there for a while, even if she didn't. He'd actually slept well too once he'd finally fallen asleep. He'd laid there for a long time, just contemplating everything. In a matter of seconds, his life had drastically changed. A small part of him, dared to hope for the better.

His gaze darted down to her. He'd never woken up with a woman in his bed. He'd made a point not to. But this woman, he would wake up with her pretty much every morning from here on out. Unless she woke up and came to her senses.

But right now, she was sleeping on his chest, her body wrapped around his like she owned him. Did mates always sleep like this? Why had he even let her stay? Why had he allowed himself this one small pleasure before it all went up in smoke? He was sure now it would. He was surprised she hadn't snuck out in the middle of the night.

But for the moment, he'd allow himself to enjoy this. At least for a few moments. She was warm, and soft and he focused on the bond between them for the first time. It was most definitely there. He was drawn to her, even though he'd ignored it, or at least tried. It wasn't easy to ignore something like that, though, and he knew that if she really wanted to be with him, he couldn't ignore it. She would need to mark him, which meant at some point in the near future, he was going to have sex with her.

The thought made his cock twitch and he cut it off immediately. He was not going to grow aroused with her in his bed. He couldn't, could he? He could. She was his. At least for the moment. Until she rejected him. That thought deflated his libido and he sighed softly.

But having her very feminine body wrapped around his was still a tease. She wasn't wearing a bra, he realized. He hadn't noticed that yesterday. Maybe he shouldn't notice it now, but he could feel the soft cushion of her breasts pressed against him. He wondered if they looked like they did in his dreams. He wondered how sensitive her nipples were. He needed to think of something else.

Natalia was eighteen. Noelle was going to kick his ass. He shouldn't have let her stay. If he'd thought it through, he should have told her to go home, back up to her own apartment. But he hadn't. His mind had been a mess then, and he'd been doing as much overthinking then as he was now.

But he was also waiting for someone from the Remington Family to start banging on his door. Who would it be? Caleb? Daniel? Or Nick? Or maybe one of the women, demanding to know why the heck Natalia was in his bed. Why she'd spent the night with him.

She suddenly stretched a bit against him, and he realized she was awake, and tuned in to her body language, waiting to see how she was feeling this morning. Waiting for her to stiffen up, pull back and reject him.

She looked up at him. "Good morning."

Was it? "Morning," he replied. She was beautiful this morning. Her hair was a bit of a mess, and her gorgeous eyes still held remnants of sleep.

"My dad knows," she told him.

He tensed a bit at that. If Nick knew, then Noelle knew. "Okay?"

"He linked me a few hours ago, wanting to know where I was." She settled her head back down on his chest, getting comfortable again. Maybe she wasn't leaving?

She really hadn't moved much he realized, and was pretty much back in the same position she'd been in before she'd woken up, her body still pressed against his, warm and soft, and her bare legs still intertwined with his. "And?"

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