The Runaway Breeder

Chapter 14

“Finally getting along?” Eeva asks as she walks into the kitchen just as Tate and I finish cooking. She helps us set the table as I stretch my tired body.

“We always get along.” Tate answers, pulling me to his side and rubbing my back. I lean into his touch, enjoying the small massage as my tense muscles relax with the small pressure.

“Well, that’s good to hear. Laina, I put the clothes in your room and the baby stuff in a basket for when you find a room to decorate.” Eeva states, snatching a piece of fried chicken from the plate and snacking on it.

“Now, I have to go. My mate and the pups have a surprise waiting for me. Enjoy your meal, you two.” With that, Eeva saunters out of the house. Tate sigh with relief, a boyish grin on his face as he helps me sit at the breakfast nook in the kitchen.

“I love my sister, but Hurricane Eeva can be too much to handle.” I can’t help but laugh at his helpless look and agree with my mate as he walks towards the fridge and brings a jug of orange juice and two glasses to the table.

“Now, let’s eat!” He exclaims excitedly like a little pup, pouring each of us a glass of orange juice. It doesn’t take long for the both of us to load our plates with the soft and fluffy waffles and crispy chicken. After a moment of comfortable silence and the sound of cutlery clinking across the plates, I look at Tate with a shy smile.

“Do you want to get to know each other and play a round of questions?” My question comes out quietly, almost a whisper. I can see the smile spreading on my mate’s face with my initiative in getting to know him as he takes a bite of a piece of chicken dripping it in Canadian maple syrup.

“Sure, what’s your favourite colour?” He questions back, a grin spreading across my face.

“It’s a deep green, like your eyes. They remind me of the forest.” I answer, smiling at the thought of being able to run in the forest again and watching his eyes widen in surprise.

“What’s your favourite food?” I ask, wanting to know what I can cook up for him in the following days.

“Believe it or not, it’s actually chicken and waffles. Eeva would have it ready for me every time I enter her diner. But now I think yours are actually the best I’ve ever had.” I feel my face heating up with his compliment at my recipe, smiling at the memory of how I learned it.

“It’s a recipe my mother taught me. I have all of her recipes memorized.” His eyes soften with the mention of my parents as he mentions he would love to taste all the recipes eventually. Our game of “Questions” continues while the pile of food slowly disappears between us, the two of us enjoying our second day of knowing each other happily. Eventually we decide to move to a more comfortable area and make our way to the living room where I spot a fuzzy blanket and promptly get comfortable on the sofa.

Sitting on either end of the large sofa, Tate and I start chatting about our childhood and I find myself laughing more than I ever have as Tate describes what it was like growing up with Eeva. I can’t help but feel more drawn to him as we slowly get to know each other, the mate bond making it easy for us to open up to one another. Before I know it, I am comfortably curled up against him as we cuddle. The lighting in the room coming from the small fire crackling away in the large fireplace..

“You should go to sleep.” Tate whispers, his hand drawing soft circles on my back as I yawn for the eighth time in the last three minutes.

“I don’t want to.” I whisper back, looking up at him and staring into his eyes. He chuckles and lowers his forehead to mine, rubbing our noses together.

“Then how about we get ready for bed and you cuddle with me in my room while we watch something on T.V.? This way, if you fall asleep, you’ll be comfortable.” He reasons, planting a kiss on my forehead. I want to protest, want to continue talking and learning about the man that was made for me, but reason wins and I nod.

“Okay. Just so you know, I like cuddling.” I agree, getting a deep chuckle from Tate.

“I have noticed you like cuddling.” He muses, playfully tugging on my hair. With a grin, we head upstairs where I promptly make my way to my room in search of pajamas and find all the new clothes bought today put away neatly in the closet. Smiling, I send a thank-you text to Eeva before picking out a pair of baggy pajama pants and a soft cotton T-shirt for bed then head to the bathroom to clean up and change. When done, I make my way down the dark hallway towards the only room with light filtering through the door.

The first thing I notice when I walk into the room is Tate’s scent as I look everywhere for him. It clings to everything, soothing me and making me want to curl up and sleep even more. A door to my right opens and out walks Tate from what I realize is the bathroom with a pair of pajama pants slung low around his waist, and his chiselled torso bare for me to enjoy. He climbs into bed before inviting me to join and promptly pulls me to his side as soon as I climb into the king-size bed under the warm blankets. I watch as he pulls out a remote for the T.V. from under his pillow and roll my eyes at this, deciding that we will need to make a rule that the remote must be on the bedside table as Tate flicks through the channels looking for something to watch, finally landing on Finding Nemo.

“Really?” I ask, laughing at his choice of movie.

“What? It’s a classic, babe.” He states with a roll of his eyes, and I giggle again.

“Okay, okay, we can watch it.” I concede as I snuggle closer to Tate. I smile when his hand continues to rub circles on my back, his head leaning towards my direction every now and then to kiss the top of my head. Sometime during the first few minutes of the movie, my eyelids grow heavy, and I find myself falling asleep.