FIRST

I took my time tugging on the t-shirt

Chapter 11

i took my time tugging on the t-shirt and shorts maximus had brought me in the bathroom. my wounds had mostly closed up although i wouldn't be running around for a few days at the most. My wet curly hair dropped onto the white tiles and the hairs at the very front of my hair, by my scalp had already start to frizz up and dry, making my hair look like a birds nest. i searched my wrists for a hair tie but came up short. that was when i noticed a thick black hair band sitting on the spout of the sink. My heart sank, wondering why maximus had a hair band in his bathroom, that only meant one thing: a women had been here. I shook my head, he hadn't met me. he didn't know i exsisted. it's fine. this changes nothing. i chanted to myself as i quickly pulled my thick locks into a high ponytail at the back of my head, secured it with the hair band. the ends of my hair frayed a bit and i huffed. i need a haircut.
Stepping out of the bathroom, i followed maximus's directions and walked into the room at the end of the corridor. the first thing i noticed immediately as i walked in was the gigantic window in front of me. there was a cushioned bench with the window going up to the ceiling. it had to have been 10 feet long. you could see the entire back of the estate. the dense trees and the little lake that sparkled through the trees. it had to be atleast a mile away. the next thing that caught my eye was the king sized bed next to the window. my mind instantly blazed with ideas of what to do on that bed. i blushes and shook my head to myself. dirty! my attention was draw towards maximus as he walked out of what looked like a closet on the other side of the room, he had showered and changed out of his sweaty clothing into black sweatpants and a white t-shirt. My eyes zoned in on his toned arms as they reached up, bulging and constricting as he pulled all his dark hair away from his face and secured it behind his head with a... hair band. A HAIR BAND! i visibly let out a deep breathe and gripped the wall. sending up a few thank you's to the big women upstairs. When maximus was finished, he came over to me, resting his large hands on my hips, tugging me a tad closer to his body.
"why are you talking to the ceiling?" Maximus chuckled to me, i looked up at him, very serious
"thanking the moon goddess" i said
"what for?" his eyes slightly blazed in anger at my mention of our goddess. i forgot about that, oops.
i laughed a little, "i used a hair band that was on your bathroom counter and i assumed it was another women's but then i just remembered that you have long hair. i feel much better" i gave my mate a small smile. Maximus looked down at me with an unreadable look before reaching behind my head and pulling the hair tie out, leaving my damp hair to tumble down my shoulders and back.
"what? this hair band?" He waved it in front of me before sling-shooting it out the door with his fingers. I huffed at him,
"Maximus! my hair is kind of a mess right now" i explained, reaching behind his head to pull his out and use it. his hand shot up and snatched my wrist, pulling it to his chest. this action caused me to stumble into his chest, bending down, he whispered to me:
"keep your hair down, i love it" i blushed slightly. it was sometimes hard to tell considering my skin tone. i took a moment to just stare up at the man before me. analyzing his face, drawing it in my mind. perfect hazel eyes, rounded like almonds that had a strong, straight nose rested between them. that nose traveled south to his lips, plump and pink. two full lips that screamed out to me. i wanted to bite those lips. past the lips, a light beard covered his strong jaw. the facial hair must've grown in during the week we were apart. it hadn't been there last time i had really seen him. i swept over him again, making sure not to miss the light crows feet on the outside of his eyes, the very few freckles that dotted his cheeks. Maximus had a strong face. all muscle and bone. there wasn't a bit of baby fat on that mans face. standing next to each other i'm sure we looked like polar opposite. i did not look like a warrior in the slightest, i looked as soft as i felt inside. i was short with some thickness on my thighs, my stomach was flat but no where near abs worthy. i had stubby knees and a perky, but smaller chest. the insecurities that seeped into my brain and chest as i kept thinking made me want to chuck myself out of a window. you're enough! he's your other half. the strong to your weak, the large to your small.
"what're you thinking in that head of yours" maximus whispered against my temple.
"just thinking about how i probably ended up short because you were meant to get things from the top shelf for me" Maximus let out a loud laugh. his chest tumbled against mine and he leaned his head back, still cracking up before sobering up. coming back to me.
"i suppose that could be why...or so we could do this" i let out a roar of laughter as maximus threw me over his shoulder, my hair dangled down, past the back of his knees and my ass was practically in his face! "Max!!" i screamed, he just laughed before body slamming me into the bed, purposely keeping most of his weight off me. We rolled around 'wrestling' for a while before i called truce. Maximus seemed off in a distance place as i ran my fingers through his now loose soft hair. we laid there, him on his back, me on my side next to it. running my fingers through his hair. it felt like this was an everyday thing. i had been at this estate for less than 4 hours and it felt more like home than my own apartment. that was when i learned home isn't always a place, sometimes it's a person.
"Madeleine" Maximus mumbled to me
"yes?"
Max turned his head to me, sighing in content as i massaged his scalp. he seemed stressed all the time.
"i want you to know that i've never brought another women to this house, this room, this bed. ever." he spoke low, almost like a whisper. i was a little surprised that he hadn't brought someone here, all that time and not once? it was an old house and i knew that. so how did he do it?
"what? why?" i asked.
"i built this house in..." he paused, searching his memories. "-1905, well i started it in 1905. i never finished it until 2 years after but that's besides the point. i built this place because i realized, when- if- i found my soulmate. we needed somewhere to live. So i found the perfect plot of land and did it all by myself. Why would i ever bring a women who was not my soulmate to a home i built for her? even if i never found you, i don't think i could ever do it" He confessed. my eyes glossed over slightly. Me being reminded that he had to live all that time not knowing if i was there. if i was living, if i had lived and died before he found me. I went a measly 23 years without him and i only knew about mates for 10 of it.
"Max..." i drawled. His eyes looked miles away, staring up at the ceiling. i tugged his hair to pull his face towards mine before laying a lingering kiss on his forehead, and then his temple, and then his cheek, and then his nose, and all around his face until he was chuckling and scrunching up his face, making creases in his nose. just as maximus went in for the kill i pulled myself out of the bed, looking back at him.
"i'm starving, i'm raiding your kitchen" i winked at him before skipping downstairs, on the hunt for the kitchen. Maximus shouted back at me words that made me the happiest all day. 2 simple words that hold more meanin then they should.
"Our kitchen!"