Chapter Eighty-One
Graham drove his mustang through the streets of Blackmoore trying to push his conversation with Jensen out of his mind. Beside him Catherine mentioned she needed to stop at the house to get her bag. He reassured her they would have everything they needed which only made her face scrunch more with curiosity. He smiled and took her hand in his. They left the town limit of Blackmoore and he headed up the two-lane road which would lead them into the mountains.
“What did Jensen want to talk to you about?” Catherine asked, poking a hole in his objective to forget it.
“Just stuff I need to do when we get back.”
“Like?”
Graham sighed. “The Beta ceremony will be next weekend. He wants me to play nice with all of the visiting alpha’s and their entourage. Give a few demonstrations on our power and make a few alliances.”
“Sounds like a normal day for you,” she observed as her eyes scanned the passing trees lining the road.
“We had a few alliances that are no longer viable so I’ll need to do damage control,” he tried to explain without going into too much detail.
He felt Catherine’s hard gaze on the side of his face. “Oh.”
Graham glanced over to find her folding her arms over her chest. “Oh?”
“You were promised to another woman, right?” she asked, hostility radiated off her reminding him of how jealous she could be… and absolutely loving it about her.
“No, not me,” he reassured her. “Stuart. Jensen promised Alpha Gerald that his daughter could marry his Beta.”
“But… Jensen always wanted you to be Beta…”
Fuck. She was too quick. “Yeah, well, the girl did always have a thing for me and wanted…”
“I fucking knew it,” she hissed. “Did you ever…”
“No.”
“Good.”
He snickered and took her hand. When she tried to pull it away, he tightened his grip and kissed her pålm. “Don’t worry. I’ll let her down hard. She’s not what I’m worried about.”
“And what are you worried about?”
He sighed. “Jensen wants to announce publicly that you are his daughter.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“And that’s… bad?”
1/4
He ran his hand through his hair. “He made another deal many many years ago…”
“Don’t you dare say what I think you are about to.”
“..that if he ever had a daughter he would marry her off to Alpha Dane.”
“No.”
“Yeah, so… Obviously that will be a blow out I’ll need to handle.”
Catherine scoffed. “He can find his own mate.”
“He has… a few times. They never last long. Apparently he’s a bit rough in the bedroom.”
“What?!”
Graham chuckled. “Don’t be nervous, I’ll tell him to go easy on you.”
“You son of a…”
Graham caught her hand before she could smack him. He interlaced thier fingers. “I’m kidding. He won’t come within twenty feet of you.”
“That’s a specific number.”
“I can get to you within two seconds from that distance. It’s the farthest I’ll go from your side while those vultures are circling,” he told her. She smiled and pressed the back of his hand against her cheek. His chest warmed. He couldn’t wait to show her his surprise. “We’ll be there soon. Why don’t you take a nap?”
“Okay,” she said on a yawn. “Wake me when we get close so I don’t miss anything.”
Graham nudged Catherine’s shoulder as he turned down the gravel road leading to their destination. She came awake slowly and then sat up straight. She craned her neck to see where they were going. The mustang bounced down the gravel road, sending dust flying behind them. The sun was starting to set, making the light in the woods around them appear golden. The road eventually opened, causing Catherine to gasp.
The cabin sat nestled atop a hill in a meadow filled with tall grass and wildflowers. They drove past the little pond where a few ducks splashed beside the paddle boat tethered to the small dock. He parked the car in front of the cabin and rushed around to open the door for her. Catherine stepped out, her eyes wide as she took everything in.
Catherine walked past him and up the large front porch. He stepped around her and unlocked the front door for her. She stepped inside and he heard a light gasp leave her lips. She strode through the cabin, opening every door.
The cabin was larger than their home in Blackmoore. It had two stories with four bedrooms, a professional kitchen, open floor plan, a fireplace in nearly every room and all of the luxuries of a home in the city.
Graham set about making sure Heather and his mom had a chance to bring him everything he needed. He checked the fridge and found it fully stocked. He noticed a Post-it on an ice pack telling him to have fun with a winky face. He ripped the Post-it off before Catherine could see it and made a mental note to berate his sister when he got home.
He heard a louder gasp and knew without looking she’d gone through the back door. He walked toward it and followed her out. She stood stock still at the railing, looking out at the panoramic views of the surrounding mountains. If you did not come up the driveway as they just had, you would think this cabin sat on a cliff.
Graham stepped up behind her and placed his hands on the rail beside hers. He lowered his head and kissed her bare shoulder. “Do you like it?”
“It’s like it’s out of a dream,” she whispered as if they stood on holy ground. “Is it your family’s cabin?”
“It’s our family cabin,” he whispered against her shoulder.
Catherine turned in his arms. Her brown and blue eye stared up at him in awe. “Our family cabin?”
He nodded and brushed some of her soft, chestnut curls away from her face. “I bought it for us a couple weeks ago. I wanted it to be my mating gift to you.”
“Mating gift? I… I didn’t get you anything.”
“That’s okay, I had something in mind for that.”
Red crawled up her chest and into her neck. She licked her lips. “I’m guessing this gift has something to do with us both being
naked?”
He smirked. “Yes.”
“Possibly something we’ve never done before?” she asked, her hands trailing up his chest sparking electric shocks with just her
touch.
“Definitely,” he teased.
“Maybe in the bedroom?” she asked, standing on her toes to trail her tongue up his throat. He groaned and shifted so that his throbbing cock pressed against her hip.
“No, no it can’t be done inside.”
Catherine stepped back and looked up at him with her brow pinched together. “You want to do it outside?”
“I think that would be safest.”
“Safest? What are you talking about cause I was talking about sex,” she said, crossing her arms in obvious disapointment.
Graham turned her around again to face the view. He felt her immediately relax. She leaned back against him so that her head fit perfectly in the center of his chest. He wrapped his arms around her middle and she overlapped his hands with hers. He propped his
chin on her head.
“We’ll have plenty of time for sex later, in fact I’m not sure either of us will want to do much else. First though, there is something you need to do.”
“Shower?” she guessed.
He swallowed and tightened his grip. “Shift.”
