155 A Little Home Time 2
Lucian
I made love to Mara until I felt her melt-body, heart, and soul-completely surrendered. When her breath slowed and her arms clung to me with contentment, I let myself release inside her, a silent promise of forever.
She rested her head on my chest, her skin warm against mine, and asked quietly, “Are we ever going to get tired of this?”
I smiled, running my hand gently up and down her spine. “Never,” I said honestly. “I can’t express how much I love you, Mara. No amount of words-or even this-feels like enough.”
She kissed my chest and murmured, “I think my p***y felt the depth.”
I let out a laugh, caught off guard, and she laughed with me. It was hilarious-and so perfectly Mara. One minute, pure intimacy. The next, cheeky mischief.
Just then, my phone rang.
I groaned and reached for it.
“Alpha Lucian, I’m downstairs. Your brother let me in,” Gavin, my barber, said.
“I’ll be right there,” I replied.
Funny how far Darian and I had come. It used to be tense just being in the same room. Now he was welcoming people on my behalf. It took nearly losing Mara-and fighting over her-to realise we were better together than divided.
By the time I hung up, Mara was already slipping back into her joggers and sweater. She looked effortlessly beautiful, her glow still lingering from our earlier moment. I threw on a T-shirt and joggers, and we headed downstairs.
Darian was waiting beside Gavin, already prepping his clippers. Tiffany stood nearby with Emma in her arms. As soon as
Mara saw them, she walked over and took the baby gently from Tiffany.
The way she held Emma, so naturally, so lovingly, made something ache in my chest. Richard was missing that softness- the kind of warmth only Mara could give. His mother’s choices had stolen something from him. But I knew, one day, Mara would love him fiercely and make up for everything he’d lacked.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something… off. Tiffany and Darian were standing a little too close. Their scent
carried a faint trace of something intimate.
“Looks like the lovebirds made out,” Mara linked me smoothly.
I turned to glance at her, but her face was completely neutral-composed, elegant. You’d never know she was gossiping mentally like a queen watching court drama. I shook my head, amused.
Gavin got to work, prepping my beard and hair. Darian stood nearby, waiting for his turn, holding his own trimmer like he
was gearing up for battle.
It took a while to get my beard the way I liked it-neat, carved, precise. Gavin trimmed my hair too before moving on to
Darian, who sat down without a word but with a grin that confirmed Mara’s suspicion.
When Gavin was done with me, I got up and walked over to Mara.
“You look handsome,” she said softly, Emma asleep in her arms, a pacifier gently bobbing between her lips.
“Thanks, darling,” I said, leaning in to kiss Mara’s cheek before heading upstairs for a quick shower.
When I returned, Gavin had just finished with Darian and was packing up. Everything felt calm… complete.
1/3
155 A Little Home Time 2
Family, comfort, connection.
These were the moments that made everything worth it.
+ Points?
The Clearwaters were off duty, so I figured I’d make something light while we waited for Denis and Keisha. It felt like the
least I could do, especially after everything Mara had been through. The house was calm-domestic-and I found that I
liked it. Even needed it.
Darian had gone to shower and returned freshly dressed, hair still damp. He opened the refrigerator and scanned its
contents like it owed him something specific. Eventually, he pulled out a cucumber and shut the door.
“Did Denis tell you?” he asked, not quite meeting my eyes.
“Yeah. He’s on his way,” I replied, washing my hands at the sink.
“They’ve dug up some… juicy stuff. About Alaric, Chase, and, uh-” he hesitated, the words catching awkwardly.
“My mother,” I finished for him, my voice even.
He nodded, fidgeting with the cucumber. “Yeah. Her. I hope whatever they found helps tie all this madness together. Because I really don’t want you going to Mistwood, Lucian. And as pissed as I am at my mother, I do want her to find some kind of peace.”
There was sincerity in his voice. A quiet desperation.
“Suffering under blackmail for that long?” he added, shaking his head. “It messes people up. If I ever find this bastard- Alaric-I’ll destroy him. Why couldn’t he just let it go?”
I bit down a response that nearly slipped.
You’d understand him better if you looked in the mirror.
Because really, Darian and Alaric weren’t as different as he thought. Neither of them had ever truly let go. Darian had carried the weight of Mara’s rejection like a wound that never fully healed-and he hadn’t even dated her. I couldn’t begin to imagine what he would’ve done if he had.
Still, we were in a good place now. Rebuilding. And I wasn’t about to throw a hammer at the foundation.
We made sandwiches while we waited, the kind of basic, lazy snack that filled the time more than our stomachs. Mara,
however, wrinkled her nose when I offered her one.
“No bread,” she said, patting her bump gently. “I want something warm. Proper.”
Tiffany chimed in from the living room, cradling Emma. “Same here. I’m breastfeeding. I need real food.”
And that was how Darian and I ended up drafted into kitchen duty for a full meal. Apparently, “real food” meant chopping, boiling, seasoning, and being bossed around.
We didn’t complain. Much.
Honestly, it helped pass the time.
Then my phone buzzed.
Denis.
“We’re on our way,” he said. “Keisha’s with me.”
“Perfect,” I replied. “We’ll keep plates warm.”
I ended the call and looked at the counter. The pot was simmering, Tiffany was tossing something in a pan, and Mara was adding seasoning like she owned the kitchen. She did.
5155 A Little Home Time 2
I turned to Darian.
“Better make sure we’ve got enough for two more.”
He smirked. “Already ahead of you.”
And just like that, for a moment, things felt… normal.
Even if it was just the quiet before another storm.
