The Alpha's Mistress

79

Word Count: 1999

~Sienna

I step out from the bathroom, slipping a loose dress over my shoulders before turning to my mate.

"I feel amazing," I announce, flopping down onto the bed with my arms stretched wide.

Onyx steps from the bathroom, steam swelling around him in great billows. He rubs a towel through his wet hair, standing entirely naked before me.

I drag my teeth over my lower lip as I admire him. Every muscle, every sloping edge of tattooed skin is magnificent to gaze upon. It has heat tingling between my legs again.
 
"Tired?" He asks gently, setting his towel down before reaching for some clothing...much to my dismay.

I look out through the glass doors that are opened up to let in the sea air. "A little. Mostly relaxed."

It's late, but sleeping seems to pre-emptive. I want to make the most of every possible moment with him, in this place. Time is slipping away far too quickly for my liking.

"Too tired for a game of cards?" He angles his head, a playful challenge in the tilt of his lips.

"No." I sit up on my elbows. "It's been forever and I get the feeling you need to be humbled."

He holds his hand out to me. "Come on then, let's go down to the beach."

Together we make our way through the house and down the dunes. The tide is high, so we stay far up the beach. Onyx lays a blanket down on the sand for us to sit on, which offers a soft, albeit lumpy canvas for our game of cards.

"It's so warm here." I look down at the sea, now inky and splayed with moonlight. "I love this place."

"You look so happy here, so relaxed." Onyx presses a card from his hand down onto the pile.

The good thing about being his friend before his lover is that he never felt obliged to let himself lose to gain favour. We've always been competitive when it comes to this game, and I like to think I'm slightly better than him.

"I'm probably so relaxed because of all the orgasms you gave me." I eye him under heavy lids, noting the lick of desire across his expression before I drop my attention back to my cards.

"I've dreamt of moments like these since I first fell in love with you," he murmurs. "I still can't believe this is real."

Shaking my head, I bite back my smile. He has no idea. I'm still convinced I'm back at Zion's and this is all a cruel dream.

Wiping that thought from my mind, I rest another card down on the sand, watching Onyx grimace before examining his hand.

"I thought about this too." I smile a little at the memories. "I should have told you I was in love with you a lot earlier. I'm not sure what I was so scared of."

He seemed so frightening back then, so forbidden and untouchable. Even when he was just my friend, I never thought I could get a true grasp on him. Maybe at the time I didn't believe I could be enough for him...now, I know we belong together.

"I came close a few times," he admits.

My eyes widen, my pulse quickening. "Like when?"

"The first time you smiled after your mother died. A true, happy smile that stunned me when I first saw it." He looks at the sea, his eyes glazed as he recalls the memory. "I don't think I spoke for multiple minutes, I was just staring at you dumbly, realising I was completely enthralled by you."

The cards in front of me are suddenly unreadable. I set them down, forgoing the rest of the game, far more interested in what Onyx has to say.

"I remember that day. I was smiling because you made me laugh, and for the first time since my mother died, I thought there was a chance I could be happy again." Emotion blooms in my chest, a raw ache gripping my heart. "I also thought a stroke might have been to blame for your staring and muteness."

He laughs roughly, sweeping his loose waves off his forehead.

Onyx was always prompting out of my bedroom when I was recovering from my mother's death. He gave me time to isolate and come to terms with everything, but as the months wore on, it was him encouraging me to enter the world again.

The day of his recalled memory, he made a joke, and for some reason, I felt myself capable of laughing again.

"Regardless, I nearly blurted out that I was falling in love with you right there, but I held back." He shrugs, sighing wistfully. "I figured the last thing you needed at that time was more to think about."

If he had told me he loved me then, I'm not sure I would have had it within myself to love him back as he deserved at the time. But it would have started this incredible thing between us much sooner.

We are mates after all. Regardless of how it happened, we were always destined to find each other.