With Everything I Am (The Three #2)(40)

Or, she should say, he kicked his family out just a little while ago.

While she was hugging Regan good-bye, she heard Callum, who had walked with the men down the path to the SUV, speaking to his cousin.

“I see you do that again, Ry, it won’t make me happy.”

Ryon’s voice was good-humored when he replied, “Relax, Cal.”

“I’ll relax knowing I’m never again going to stand in my kitchen watching my cousin mark my mate,” Callum returned.

The good humor left his tone when Ryon retorted, “I said relax.”

“She’s your queen,” Callum clipped.

“She’s also Sonia,” Ryon bit back. “Don’t f**king forget that, brother.”

Callum had no retort then again, she was just his queen to him.

Sonia didn’t let on she was hearing anything and anyway, she didn’t know what marking meant. She reckoned it was the temple thing but she could swear Regan heard them too. Though she couldn’t, the men were muttering under their breath and definitely not close. She could swear this because Regan’s mouth got a motherly tightness which she tried to hide when she smiled her final good-bye.

Callum and Sonia barely got back through the front door before he dragged her to the bathroom to give her the injection.

So that was why he threw his family out. Not because he was desperate to be alone with his mate after she’d accepted him.

Well, she figured he wouldn’t want his destined by the oracles queen dying of a rare blood disorder. What would his people think?

She got under the covers and told herself she didn’t feel delicious anticipation that Callum was soon to be coming out bare-chested (when she did feel it).

He came into the room moments later and she watched in what she told herself wasn’t avid fascination (when it was) as he went directly to the mantel to unplug the Christmas lights.

“Don’t!” she blurted and he turned to her in question. “I like to sleep with them on. Can you sleep with them on?” she finished.

“I’ve slept in rain and snow and mud,” he told her. “I can sleep with Christmas lights on.”

Why on earth was he sleeping in rain and snow and mud?

She wanted to know but she didn’t ask.

She didn’t ask because he came directly to bed and, unlike the two nights before where he kept his distance, he curled right into her. Spooning her body with his arm around her waist, his face went into her neck.

Her body grew stiff.

Good goodness, he wanted to have sex. Mate with her so in the eyes of his people she’d be his queen and then he could stop “dicking around” up here with her.

Holy cow.

“Relax, honey,” he said into her neck, pulling her closer.

She did not think so.

“I’m really tired,” she told him.

“Then sleep,” he said back.

Did he think he could have sex with her while she was sleeping?

Oh good goodness!

“Actually,” she said quickly, “I thought maybe we could talk.”

This seemed to be perfectly all right with him because he pulled his face out of her neck, rested his head on the pillow and cuddled her closer.

“What do you want to talk about?” he asked.

Oh no. Now what had she done?

“Um…” she started.

He chuckled into the back of her hair and then said softly, “Baby doll, you’ve had another tough day. Thwarted escape, coming to terms with your destiny, meeting the in-laws, emotional breakdowns. I’m not going to come onto you after a day like that.”

Well, that was a relief. It was even nice.

And, actually, sweet.

Luckily, he spoke, pulling her thoughts away from him being sweet. “Why do you want the Christmas lights on?”

“I like sleeping with them on,” she told him.

“Yes, I guessed that. You had them on in your bedroom at your house too. I’m asking why?”

She shrugged, willing to talk but she’d never be willing to let him in and replied, “I just like Christmas.”

He was silent a moment and then he sighed.

“We’ll let that go for now.”

At last, something to be thankful for. Callum, at least, was going to let her keep her own thoughts to herself.

For now.

“I’ll try something else,” he said.

She expressed her thanks to the cosmos too soon.

Callum went on, “You want to tell me why your entire house is clinical and pristine and not anywhere someone would want to spend time but your bedroom is the opposite?”

“My house is lovely,” she retorted.

“It is,” he agreed. “In a clinical, pristine, not anywhere someone would want to spend time kind of way.”

Her body got stiff again. “Callum.”

“But you’re bedroom,” he broke in. “That’s a place you want to stay awhile.”

She felt her pulse quicken on the thought that Callum thought her bedroom was somewhere he wanted to stay awhile.

However, he probably wanted to do it in someone else’s company.

She decided to let him in just a little bit in order to get this over with.

“Gregor can be…” she tried to find the word, “daunting and he has a lot of opinions that he doesn’t mind sharing.”