Claws

Chapter Seventy-Three

I woke up around noon to see Zale's face inches away from mine. Seeing something so gorgeous up close the moment I opened my eyes from a lengthy night's sleep was pretty nice. My lips curved into a smile as I brushed my fingers across his cheek. His completion was back to normal, and he was sleeping on his side. That was a good sign. I'd have to check the rest of him when he woke up.

It took me a while to stop staring at Zale. I immediately felt kind of awkward when I carefully slid out of his arms and sat up to brush my teeth and make brunch. I don't think I'd ever stared at someone's face for so long. All I could think while I studied this dazzling man was how happy I was that he was my fated pair. I found it funny that I ended up falling for the guy I wouldn't say I even platonically liked only months ago.

While looking in Zale's fridge and pantry, I was surprised to see he had everything I needed to make Linda's hash brown quiche. I knew it would take a long time, but considering how much Zale had gone through last night, I figured he needed the surprise.

It took about forty-five minutes to put together and would take around forty minutes to cook. After putting the quiche in the oven, I decided to cut some apples while sitting on one of the barstools to kill time.

"Is that my mom's quiche recipe I smell?" Zale's voice coming up from behind me made me jump and drop the knife in my hand. I accidentally cursed and turned around, surprised.

"Geez, you scared me." I sighed, slipping out of the stool and walking close to him. "You sure slept well. It's a quarter after one. How do you feel?"

When I tugged the ends of Zale's shirt upward, he laughed and grabbed my hands, guiding them upwards so his shirt slid off. "Eager this morning, are we?"

"Shut up," I frowned. "Just let me take a look at you."

When Zale tossed his shirt on the counter with another amused laugh, I quickly stepped closer to him and began to feel around his ribs. It was hard to keep my eyes away from everything else, especially while he began playing with the tips of my hair, gazing at me a little too intently.

"Your ribs are all healed except for mild bruising," I sighed, relieved as I slid my fingers down the solid bones of his ribcage. When I turned Zale around, I was shocked to see faint white marks on his back in place of the gashes he had last night. "What the heck. You heal so fast. You're almost back to normal."

When I traced my fingers down the contours of his back, I felt him shiver. He turned his head to the side and eyed me with a raised eyebrow. "Are you having fun back there?"

When I quickly pulled my fingers away from Zale's back with a scowl, he turned around and laughed, sliding his palm on my cheek. "It's alright. I'll allow it since I'm yours from head to toe." My eyes instinctively traveled from his face down to his shoulders, chest, arms, and abs.

I blinked my eyes when my gaze hit his v-line.

"P-put your shirt back on," I awkwardly cleared my throat, looking away from his flawlessly sculpted body.

"As you wish," Zale laughed and obediently did as I said. When he was fully clothed, he pulled me into a warm hug, resting his chin on top of my head. I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around his torso. He smelt like cinnamon, cedarwood, and fresh mint toothpaste. "How long have you been awake? Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, better than well. Your bed is as comfy as heck, and luckily, you don't have any bad sleeping habits. I slept a good eight or nine hours. I woke up before you and figured you'd need more sleep than me, so I decided to let you rest more and make some breakfast," I shrugged, looking up at Zale.

"Thank you," Zale gently smiled at me. He quickly pressed his lips to my forehead and then pulled back, looking at the pile of apples behind me. "What are you doing here? Preparing for an apple feast?"

"I only cut around three or four apples. It's not that many," I mumbled. "Hey, I was thinking we should invite Robin and Marie over. It's lunchtime, so they might be hungry, and there's enough quiche to feed four."

"Yeah, sure. But...Please don't talk about yesterday to anyone, especially Robin. He's the last person I want to tell. I promise I'll tell your parents soon. It's just that Christmas is in three days, and I don't want to ruin everyone's holiday. Can you give me that time to keep pretending like everything is normal?" Zale rubbed the back of his neck, seeming a little anxious.

"What I just saw isn't just something we can brush over, Zale. You know that," I pressed my lips together, reaching up to brush a stray strand of hair away from his eyes. "But I have to admit, everyone needs a break from the kayos. It'll allow it, but we still need to be on high alert for the rest of the break. Then, we need to go to my parents and tell them everything. Deal?"

"Deal. Thank you, Bambs," Zale smiled, nuzzling my hand. "I know things are going to get difficult soon, but I promise I'll be here with you when they do. We're in this together now, right?"

"Yeah, we are, so you better keep that promise. That would be a really crappy thing to do if you didn't, especially after making me fall in love with you," I quoted Zale with a grin when he looked at me with those glistening, beautiful blue eyes. I lifted myself to my toes and kissed him, wrapping my arms around his neck when he tensed in shock.

When he finally relaxed against my body, smiling against my lips, I knew right then and there that I was going to go through both the hardest and best things in my life from then on. The road ahead of me was, of course, going to be rough, but at least I had someone to walk down it with.

Zale Ailswood. At first, my best friend's annoying older brother, and now the person I was going to spend the rest of my life with, loving with all I had.

(End of Book 1)