The Huntress - The Hunt #1 (COMPLETE)

11. Old Habits.

They spent another hour just laying in bed, caressing and kissing. It was sweet and gentle and it pushed all thoughts of her upcoming hunt to the background. She really didn't want to leave him now. The sex had been amazing, but she needed it again, her hunger was not filled.

Once staying in bed became selfish, she sighed and sat up. Dorian sighed as well, clearly already knowing what was going to happen next.

"I need to go," Ella whispered.

"I know. I wish I could keep you here with me, but I understand," he comforted her. Ella smiled warmly at her mate and gave him a quick peck on the lips. He really was perfect for her.

"Thank you. I will be back as soon as possible. If I can catch them tonight, I'll be back no later than tomorrow. I know it's not a long drive, but if I have to do some investigations, I should just stay there, just in case they do something. I will call you when I arrive and I will try to check up once in a while. Here, put your number in my phone," Ella handed her mobile to Dorian, who was more than happy to insert his number into it. If she wasn't going to stay safe, she at least could call him for help if the need presented itself.

"Call me if you need me. I can be over in 30 minutes, if I run in my wolf form," he urged her. Ella's heart warmed, she'd never felt such trust and love.

"We are bound to fall in love, aren't we?" she asked, losing her filter all together.

Dorian laughed, "I already love you and yes, it's kind of inevitable when it comes to the mate bond," he explained. Ella felt a tiny surge of panic, reacting to both Dorian's casual declaration and the way the mate bond takes away her power to choose and decide when it comes to this situation. But just as quickly as she felt it, it was gone and replaced with love and warmth. She was finally going to get a family, people in her life who didn't expect her to act a certain way and be cold. She could love and trust and be happy. Also, staying mostly put was uncharacteristically attractive to her. To have a place that belonged to her, it was truly novel to her. And having someone expect you home, someone who will give you love and comfort. Someone who will take care of you, be interested in your day and dreams - she felt the love, she felt happiness and she really wanted to embrace it all. She was seriously considering giving hunting up altogether, but then the coldness of reality hit her like a bag of bricks. Her work was important and she needed to help people as much as she possibly could.

"I love you, too," she whispered. Dorian's look turned even more affectionate and Ella could see the glee of his wolf. "But I still need to go now. I promise I will come back to you, always. Well, as long as you want me to." Ella had shown Dorian her uncertainty in this confession. She wasn't used to being vulnerable, but she knew Dorian was the only person on Earth who she could trust and confide in.

"My love, I will always want you. I'm pretty sure that if I were human and we had met on a more casual circumstance, I would still feel this way about you. You are perfect in every way. Never doubt that, you are more important to me than I could ever put into words," Dorian tried to ease Ella's mind. Ella responded with a quick and sweet kiss and then she was up.

***

Dorian hated the thought of letting Ella go. He really wanted her to stay in their bed, preferably naked. But he also understood the situation and since they had both declared their love he did feel relaxed and more comfortable with letting her carry on with her job. He had decided to think of it as work, not an extremely dangerous situation she was willingly putting herself in.

He was both enjoying and hating seeing Ella get dressed in her hunter gear. Her tight leather pants looked to make her even more deadly and yet all Dorian could think of was tearing them off her slender and muscular legs. He wanted to have her again, he was hard already.