Adrian appeared in front of her with an enormous blanket that swallowed her as he draped it around her suffusing her with warmth. She was so shocked she let him take the bags from her hand as he called out to one of the few pack members loitering about to take the bags to the laundry.
“Come.” Adrian took her hand and pulled her up the staircase. Ava wanted to pull her hand away from him and ask him what he thought he was doing but she remembered Alex’s advice.
Don’t push him away too much… you must maintain a united front.
So instead she settled for speaking softly to Adrian as they mounted the staircase. “What are you doing?”
Adrian stiffened then he forced himself to relax. “Alex told me to wait for you because you were drenched. Like I wanted to help you out.” He scoffed. “I did try to tell you to stop you but you never listen.”
Ava rolled her eyes. “No one forced you
Right, what had she thought, that Adrian would be waiting at the door for her without any incentive? Yeah, that was very probable and not silly to expect at all.
She had to remember to thank Alex for talking to him although she hadn’t seen him make a call so it must have been through a mind link. The blanket was rather warm and extremely soft. The only problem was that it smelt like Adrian.
Adrian who looked like an entirely different person. He had been taller than her before but now he was even taller and broader too. His round-necked shirt clung to him with every movement. He was stacked. He looked like he could bench-press her for hours without feeling the strain. His black hair was long, damp and curled at his nape.
Stop looking at him, Ava. She chided herself.
He is our mate now. We are supposed to admire him. Shar piped in.
Ava perked up at hearing her wolf communicate with her. When her parents had cut ties with her, she had felt Shar’s pain and had worried she would be down for some time but it would seem that all she needed was some time with her mate to recuperate.
Ava didn’t take Liana’s suggestion though she had to caution her eyes for straying numerous times. Adrian escorted her to a room. Stepping inside she realized it wasn’t just any room it was his room. It was surprisingly organized. She’d always assumed Adrian was a slob. Hmmm, it would seem like she had a lot to learn about him.
There was just one bed. Of course, there was just one bed. It was his private room. How many beds could he sleep on at once? Two?
“I can’t stay here. I can’t share a bed with you.” The words fell out of her lips thoughtlessly as she imagined herself in bed with Adrian, his powerfully built body over hers, his lips on hers… her core tightened reflexly.
Adrian cocked a brow. “What makes you think I want to stay in the same bed as you? If I take you to another room, the pack members will talk and after the unorthodox mating we had, I don’t think we need any more gossip. That’s why I brought you here.”
“Still. I can’t.”
Adrian rolled his eyes. “Chill out. It’s not like I plan to jump you in the night or something.”
“So there is no other alternative?” Ava sounded panicked.
Adrian thought of the connecting room Gabrielle was supposed to take which was an extension of his room with the only entrance to the room being from his room. If Ava stayed there, no one would know that they weren’t sharing a bed.
He opened his mouth to tell her but what came out was. “No. There is no alternative. We’ll have to share the bed. Or you could take the floor. I don’t particularly care which.”
The nerve of this guy. Ava fumed.
She had had the most stressful day in the history of the world starting with an intense conversation with Javier to a twelve-hour flight then the crashing of her sister’s mating ceremony and the marking of the buffon in front of her culminating with staying under the rain for hours. To say she was dead on her feet would be a gross understatement. And he wanted her to sleep on the floor. Newsflash that wasn’t going to happen.
“Why would I take the floor? You are a man, you take the floor. With all those muscles, you’ll probably not even notice anyway.”
It was only after she spoke she realised what she said. Her cheeks burned with heat.
“Well, well, Ava. Did you just compliment my ‘muscles’?” Adrian waggled his brows at her suggestively.
“Shut up Adrian. I’m going to take a shower.” Ava said as she walked away mortified.
“The shower is the other way.” Adrian pointed, trying and failing to bite back a smile.
Ava’s cheeks turned redder as she followed his directions and stepped into the bathroom slamming the door behind her.
She stripped off her damp clothes and dumped them in his hamper.
She was naked in Adrian’s bathroom. She reached for the shower only to notice someone had already drawn up a bath and the water was steaming hot. Had Adrian… no he wouldn’t have been that thoughtful. He probably forgot to turn off the hot water or something.
Ava entered the tub and soaked herself in the hot water. She let out a low sigh of pleasure. This was how all tough days should end. With a soothing bath.
She tried not to let her mind wander to her family because if she did, she’d end up crying in the bathroom and leaving with her face looking like a tomato.
It wasn’t until she was done taking her bath that she realized she had been so anxious to enter the bath that she hadn’t entered the bath with a towel or clothes to change into. Fuck.