He raised his eyes to meet hers in the mirror.
“I like it that you went all primal on me.”
A slow smile crept across his face until it reached his eyes. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“In that case...” While he resumed plucking her left nipple with his right hand, he sent his left creeping down her stomach.
Von caught it at her navel. “No.”
Sean arched his left eyebrow. “No?”
“That’s right. You promised me breakfast hours ago and now it’s time for lunch.” She glanced around him at the clock. “Past time.”
He sighed and stopped trying to free his hand from her grip. “Get dressed and I’ll take you out.”
Von shook her head. “Not with this face you’re not. We both look like poster children for domes...” she trailed off. “What happened to your face?”
The skin between his eyebrows scrunched. “What?”
She turned, sure her eyes were deceiving her. Von grabbed Sean’s chin to hold his head still and went up on tiptoe. “It’s gone,” she said, eyes wide, shaking her head. “Last night your nose was swollen and you had the makings of a shiner over your left eye. Today it’s gone.”
She looked up to find him watching her closely. “I told you, Lycans heal fast.”
Von shook her head again, denying his words, but her gaze didn’t leave his features. “It’s not possible. Your face should look like mine. Worse.”
Sean held her by the waist. “Every word I spoke was the truth.”
“There has to be some other explanation,” she murmured, almost to herself. “Men can’t turn into wolves.” That, Von simply couldn’t allow herself to believe.
“Okay,” Sean said with a shrug. “What?”
“I don’t know. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as I thought. I was in a lot of pain and my eyesight wasn’t the best.” But she sounded doubtful, even to her own ears.
“There’s a full moon in three weeks. You’ll believe me then.”
He sounded so sure, Von found her confidence shaken. Could Lycans be real?
He cupped her jaw. “Don’t worry about it, sweetheart. I know how tough it is. If I hadn’t seen it myself, had it happen to me, I wouldn’t believe either. We have plenty of time for you to get used to the idea.” He dropped a kiss on her lips. “Get dressed and I’ll meet you in the kitchen.” Sean crossed over to the bed, scooped up his pants, and left the room.
Von walked on trembling legs and sank onto the mattress. She knew full well how battered Sean’s face had been last night after spending most of the night viewing it from one angle or another. Before they finally fell asleep, they had darkened, the way bruises do. This morning when Sean confronted Derrick, had the discoloration been there?
Von didn’t know. She’d been more aware of his bare chest and barely leashed anger than anything else.
Coming from the kitchen she could hear sounds of cabinets snapping closed as Sean hunted the items he needed. What if he wasn’t suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome as she’d believed? What if everything he told her turned out to be true?
Troubled, Von pulled out an old pair of jeans and a well-washed, faded t-shirt, her usual lazy day attire. When had the bruises faded? During the night while they slept? In the morning while making love? Or minutes ago when they shared a shower and Sean introduced her to the perilous joys of making love on a semi-slippery surface?
She pulled on a satin thong and bra set in a ruby color, then tugged on her pants, which were so loose at the waist, she debated on putting on a belt. In the end, she decided against wearing anything that would slow down her ability to get naked in seconds. Sean’s lovemaking was addictive and though her stomach was currently running the show, as soon as her appetite was appeased, another, more unquenchable one would rear its head.
As her t-shirt settled into place around her hips, she tossed her ponytail over her shoulder and joined Sean in the kitchen. He’d found her pancake mix and had bacon sizzling in one pan and flapjacks browning in a skillet. On the counter sat a bowl containing raw eggs, seasoned and ready to be scrambled.
“You need any help?”
Sean’s glance encompassed her from head-to-toe. “You could have left off the bra.”
Von felt her face flushing and awkwardly crossed her arms over her chest. “Maybe next time I will.”
“In answer to your question, I have it. Stay here and keep me company.”
Von leaned against the countertop and rubbed her pointed toe along the seams in the tile.
“Something on your mind?”
She looked up from the floor to find Sean’s attention focused on the food. “Yes, no, sort of.” Way to sound decisive, Von. She sighed to herself.
“You can talk to me.”
Grabbing her courage with both hands, she said, “Tell me, again, about what happened to you? You know, the part about being a...”
“Lycan?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay.”
This time Von listened, really listened, without any preconceived notions getting in the way. When he finished, she asked, “So you’re saying it’s a virus? One that only infects men?”
“That’s the way it was explained to me.”
“And because you survived the process, you turn into a werewolf when the moon is full?”
Sean took the time to put the bacon on a plate and toss the excess grease from the pan before answering. “According to Spook, the full change comes during a full moon, and in varying degrees at other times like when my life is threatened, I seriously lose my temper, or...” he glanced up from scrambling the eggs to pin her with a look, “...when making love to my mate.”
Von felt her heart rate increase. “Mate?” She’d read enough paranormal romances to know what a werewolf meant when he said the word mate.
“Yes.” He turned his attention back to the stove and poured the mixture into the pan where it instantly sizzled and bubbled.
To clarify she asked, “As in life-mate, forever and ever, the only woman for you?”
Sean finished cooking the eggs and set the pan to the side, then came to her and framed her face with his hands. “As in ‘till death do we part,” forever and always, just me and you,” he confirmed.
“Oh.” She couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“By Lycan standards, we’re already married.” He ran his finger along the mark on her shoulder as he stared into her eyes.
Von swallowed hard.
“I know this is a lot to adjust to, but I love you and you love me. Everything else is just semantics.”
She nodded.
“I’m not going anywhere. I have two months of leave coming to me and I’m staying right here with you. We’ll take our time, let you get used to the idea of you and me together. Okay?” He looked and sounded so sure, so serious, but in his eyes Von could see a hint of nervousness.
Von took a deep breath, held it and let it out. “In that case, maybe you should stay here with me.”
Sean’s eyes widened and he sucked in a sharp breath. “Are you sure? What about your church, your beliefs?”
She shrugged one shoulder, trying to appear unconcerned. “You said we were already married.”
He closed the gap between them and kissed her hard. “Let’s eat before the food gets cold. Go to the table and have a seat. I’ll serve you.”
Was that a yes? Did she really want him living with her for the next two months?
As she went to the dining table and sat, Von wasn’t sure, but she’d made the offer and she wouldn’t retract it.
Sean set the plate with pancakes, another with bacon, and a bowl of scrambled eggs on the table and went back into the kitchen. When he returned he had two plates, two glasses, and silverware. Another trip produced a bottle of chilled apple juice.