“That's funny because it's actually true.”
“I know. And I thought for a moment there, just for a moment … that you were going to make the wrong choice. And that scared me.”
“Yeah, well ...” she sighed and wrapped her arms around him before burying her face in his hair. “Me, too.”
They were silent for a while. She coiled her legs around his hips, rested her feet on the backs of his thighs. His arms worked their way under her, holding her tightly while his head rested on her chest.
It was hot, being under the sheet like that, so tangled up in each other. But telling secrets and sharing souls was somehow easier to do while they were hiding away from the world. She took a deep breath and lifted her head.
“I won't stop being his friend,” she said, and Wulf groaned.
“I know, we've already established that.”
When they'd first gone to his apartment, there had been long talks. Confessions whispered while clothing was removed, truths told while wrapped up in each other. She'd told him about Liam's visit to Carmel, and about how she'd realized just how deep his insecurities ran.
“He needs help,” she whispered.
“He does,” Wulf agreed.
“He needs someone to help him realize that he's amazing just the way he is – he doesn't need to lie, or compete, or compare himself to anyone.”
“And I'm sure he'll find that person some day – but not today.”
“I worry about him,” she confessed. “He's been this way for so long, he may never change.”
“You'd be surprised, Tocci. People who seem to be set in stone can change in the blink of an eye. Just takes the right person to help them.”
“I wanted to help him,” she sighed.
“You can't anymore.”
“I know … but maybe, maybe I could help him find someone. There has to be someone out there, some girl for -”
“Just stop. You can be his friend, Katya, but you can't be his mother, or his matchmaker, or a replacement girlfriend. You have to let him figure shit out for himself. He's a grown man. Maybe screwing up with you will help him realize that, and if it didn't, then he's a lost cause.”
“You're just saying that because you don't like him.”
Wulf groaned and shifted around on top of her, turning his head away from the candlelight.
“That's not true,” he sighed. “I don't … Eden and I will never be friends, yes. But I don't dislike him. I even admire some things about him.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes. He runs a good business, mainly because he's so good with his staff. He has zero fear of being disliked, because everyone who meets him adores him. Look at you, when you first met him. He's hard to resist. People gravitate towards him, he's fun, he's relaxed. He knows how to have fun, and I'm pretty sure he has no clue what stress feels like. I can't even remember the last time I didn't feel stressed. Those are all enviable qualities.”
“You have enviable qualities, too,” she assured him, brushing her hand over his hair.
“I know – like being secure enough in myself that I don't have to compete with everyone I meet. Wanting to be the best, and knowing you're the best, are two very different things.”
“Whoa. And modest, too. Don't forget that you're modest,” she teased.
“Of course I'm the best. I got the girl, after all.”
“God, the ego on you.”
“My ego is my most attractive feature.”
“Really? I would say it's your eyes.”
“You would.”
“Or your shoulders.”
“Shoulders?”
“Yup,” she nodded, then smiled when he chuckled and she could feel it all the way through her chest. “I just wish … I don't know, Wulf. I just wish I could help him.”
“Stop mothering and let him help himself. Besides, you're mine now. You need to worry about helping me.”
“Wulfric Stone, I don't think you've ever needed help with anything.”
“Then you're an idiot, Katya Tocci, because you have helped me so much, I'm beginning to wonder how I ever survived without you.”
“Really?” she asked, looking down at him again. He pulled away and propped himself up over her, causing the sheet to finally pull free and fall away from them. She glanced around and was shocked to see the large candle next to the bed had already burned half the way down. They'd been talking for hours.
“You helped me learn that it's okay to be unsure,” he told her. “You helped me learn that some things are worth fighting for. You helped me remember that smiling feels good, and laughing feels even better. You helped me become a better man, which is amazing, because before you, I was the worst. You helped me learn how to love.”
Katya smiled and pressed a hand over his heart. Tried to memorize his face in that moment, with the candlelight softening his features and making his eyes glow. He looked like warmth personified, which was kind of crazy, considering she'd compared him to a stone so many times.
“No,” she whispered, then she took a deep breath. “No, you learned that all on your own, because until you, I didn't even know what love was.”
“Well then, I guess that's one more thing I'm better at than you.”
She burst out laughing, which was a blessing because it hid the fact that she was crying again.
“Oh god,” she gasped for air, practically heaving with laughter as he fell down on top of her. “I don't know how I'm going to do this. There's barely enough room in here for your ego – how am I going to live with it?”
“You better figure it out because I'm having all your stuff delivered tomorrow,” he informed her as his mouth traveled across her left breast.
“Oh sure,” she snickered. “Between you and that fat head of yours, maybe there'll be room in the … wait, are you serious?”
“How often am I not?”
“Wulf, I can't -”
“Tocci, I already paid the moving company. It's done.”
“I'm not living with you.”
“It's been done. Vieve is moving in with that scary roommate of yours,” he informed her, and she hissed as he gave a sharp bite to the underside of her breast. “And Brie is moving into the apartment I left empty.”
“Both your sisters,” she was starting to pant. “Are going to be living at the Twin Estates?”
“Yes.”
“And Vieve is going to take my old room?”
“Has already taken it. It's time to be quiet now, Tocci.”
“No no no,” she murmured, pulling at his hair so he couldn't lower his head any farther. “This is such a bad idea, Wulf. We just got back together, nothing has ever been easy between us, we always do everything wrong.”
“I don't care,” he breathed, his tongue sliding against her hip bone. “You have a lease with me, remember? You broke it when you tried to move to Carmel.”
She gasped and glared down at him.
“You cannot be serious,” she said. “My dad almost died!”