Verge of Insanity

Chapter Twenty-One

Beau

I awoke to kisses along my neck. The culprit was laying half on top of me, and I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her as close as I could. I'd never thought of myself as the type of guy to move this quickly with a girl, but here I had been living with a girl, sharing a bed with her. 

But Ella wasn't any usual girl. She was my mate, and I could feel the bond growing in me more every day. Parts of me longed for something as she sweetly kissed me. It was different than the desire I felt for her physically. I didn't know what it was, just that I needed it. I'd mentioned it to Ella, but she had changed the subject. 

Pulling Ella's face to mine, I kissed her mouth and brushed my nose against hers. She sighed quietly and lay her head down on my chest, making herself comfortable.

Things had started out as such a mess yesterday that I didn't know how Mom had believed anything that I'd said. Ella had insisted on going with me, and I knew it was suspicious to Mom, but she hadn't said anything about it. She'd agreed to keep up the story for Mara Leigh, but warned me that it was only so long before graduation, and she needed to be there at least a week before. 

Somehow she didn't fuss at me when I lied and said I had got an apartment in town to watch after Mara. She had been shockingly quiet during the whole visit. The only time she'd really spoke was to Ella to ask if she was my girlfriend. To which Ella had only nodded. Ella had been so tense the whole visit. But then again, Mom had been too. 

"Did you not like my mom?" I asked her, curious about how she'd acted.

"No, I liked her. She's a strong woman."

I thought about how she'd raised me and kept a job at the same time. I'd never wanted for anything. My mom was a strong woman, that was certain.

"Y'all just acted strange," I hinted, feeling that there was something that she wasn't telling me.

"I think it would be a good idea for you to go by yourself and talk to her soon," she said, pressing her lips to my chest. "Perhaps today."

Her tone was final, and I knew that it would be all I could get from her. But it was enough to convince me that I needed to see my mom soon.

After a long silence, Ella propped up on her elbows and looked down at me. "I wish I could mark you."

I raised my eyebrow. "What?"

She laughed. "Sometimes I forget that you don't know about this stuff."

"What stuff?"

"Mate stuff."

"Well," I smiled. "Give me a lesson. We'll call it Mate Stuff 101." 

She laughed at me.

"Do I need to take notes, Ms. Barton?" I teased.

She poked my cheek and got up, pulling clothes out and going in the bathroom to change. I took her absence as my cue to quickly change. Just as I zipped my pants and walked back to the bed, the bathroom door opened. 

"So, Ms. Barton," I grinned. "Teach away."

She frowned and I stopped grinning.

"It's not that easy to explain, Beau," she said, sitting down beside me and taking my hand. "It's not something you'd understand, and might bother you."

"Well, you're not gonna scare me off. I promise."

She took a deep breath.

"The marking is the next step we'd take. Then the claiming."