Page 8 of An Unending Claim

It wasn’t the most comfortable position for me, but the scariest part was his relentless pestering about the emotional shit, something I wouldn’t have believed of him if I hadn’t been the one experiencing it. However, after spending time with his parents, I understood why he would be more willing to adapt and expose that side of himself. With me, anyway. But wasn’t that the point? I was his mate and if we were going to spend eternity together, wouldn’t we want to spend it like his parents?

Except… Nathan’s parents were deeply in love. Something I knew less than nothing about, and wasn’t convinced I’d even recognize if it hit me in the face.

After the events of the day, the last thing I wanted to do was deep-dive into our future. The second-last thing was to rehash what I’d just gone through. Because my panther had pulled the wool from over my eyes. How I hadn’t seen her fragile state was a mystery to me. Not that my mental state was rock solid or anything—I’d had my moments where everything felt like it might come crashing down, but I refused to let what I’d been through take control of my life. There had only been a handful of nights where I’d had nightmares—especially once I’d started sleeping in Nathan’s bed, so I counted myself lucky on that score.

In hindsight, maybe we’d been so focused on being strong that we’d ended up hiding the truth from each other. Or perhaps it was denial. Either way, I had a feeling there was no ignoring it now.

So yeah, I wasn’t jumping at the chance to explain why my morning had ended up a complete clusterfuck.

My panther pushed against me, making it clear that she didn’t like the tension she sensed between Nathan and me.It’s not about to get any better,I warned her.

Nathan didn’t push me for a response to his announcement and surprised me when he left it alone for the time being. He put his hands on my shoulders and rotated my body so I was staring in the mirror and handed me my brush.

I began working the tangles from my hair, but I couldn’t stop watching Nathan as he unknotted his towel and used it to dry his body. My libido had given me a break for a bit, but it came rushing back with every swipe of the cloth over his muscular frame. When it came to male specimens, I had to give fate points for pairing me with one as unbelievably sexy as Nathan. I had no trouble whatsoever with the idea of spending eternity in his bed, but it wasn’t enough to drown out all of the doubts.

After a minute, he threw his towel in the hamper and stepped up next to me at the counter, taking the brush I handed him since I’d finished untangling my hair. His eyes met mine in the mirror and the heat in his gaze, as well as the pheromones effervescing from him, told me his arousal had returned as well. I licked my lips as I contemplated my next move. Seducing him would be a great distraction for both of us, and might save me from this discussion he was set on having.

“Don’t even think about it,” he warned in a low, ragged voice. “Go get dressed.” Before I could respond, he grabbed my shoulders and turned me to face the door, then gave me a gentle push out of the bathroom and slammed the door behind me. “Fucking hell,” he muttered, making me smirk. At least I didn’t have to suffer alone.

Too lazy to go to my room, and in the mood to be really comfortable, I decided to grab one of Nathan’s shirts. I strolled to the walk-in closet on the wall opposite bed and flipped on the light as I entered. After a quick scan of the room, I froze in my tracks.Seriously?He demanded I sleep in his bed, and this morning, all of my things had made their way into his closet. The shock wore off after a few seconds and I rolled my eyes as I sighed. Why had I been surprised for even a moment? I was becoming used to his habit of steamrolling over anything in the way of what he wanted. And he’d made it clear he wanted me to stay, so I probably should have expected it.

Since it was convenient to have my belongings in the room I slept in, I shrugged it off.Not worth the argument. I still pulled on one of Nathan’s big, soft T-shirts, but I paired it with black leggings rather than leaving them bare. The bathroom door opened just as I exited the closet. Steam billowed out and Nathan walked through it looking like a sex god with his semi-dry hair spilling over his shoulders and his ripped body on display. It was such a perfect entrance, it couldn’t have been staged any better for a movie.

He mostly ignored me as he grabbed a pair of boxer-briefs from a drawer, although he did smirk when I made a sound of displeasure as he covered up his sculpted ass. I sat on the bed and waited while he strode into the closet and returned wearing a pair of basketball shorts that hung low on his hips, leaving his mouth watering V in view. His dresser had a mirror in a carved wooden frame hanging on the wall above it. He stopped in front of it and grabbed a hair band from a small basket, then twisted his hair up into a bun near the top of his head.

Then he faced me and raised an eyebrow. “Ready?”

“Do I have any other choice?” I grumbled as he gestured for me to walk ahead of him.

“You always have choices, baby. It’s up to you whether to make this easy or like pulling teeth, but either way, we’re still going to talk about this morning.”

“Sometimes, your logical responses are really annoying,” I said, glancing at him as I walked to the couch while he entered the kitchen area.

His mouth tipped up at the corners. “Your stubbornness is just as frustrating, I assure you. Call it even?”

I would be the one with the better deal in that scenario and we both knew it. “I’ll work on it,” I promised.

He gave me a real smile then. “Sure you will.”

A laugh bubbled up in my chest as he turned my words around on me. “Smartass.”

I lowered myself into my favorite chair slowly and blew out a relieved breath as I relaxed. My body was aching from my tussle in the woods. I hated that I was so out of shape, but there was also the toll the pregnancy was taking on me, so I tried not to berate myself too harshly. Leaning forward, I dug my fingers into my lower back and closed my eyes. Damn, that felt good.

“Drink this, baby.”

My eyes flew open, and I stared at a glass of orange juice only inches from my face. It smelled wonderful and I could already taste the sweet and tart liquid on my tongue, making me realize I was very thirsty. Which was why I took the glass and downed the cool liquid without making a jab at his bossiness.

“Would you like more?” he queried as he took the empty cup. Feeling much more refreshed, I shook my head, so he set it on the end table. Then he held out his hand and jerked his head toward the couch. “Come here.”

“I’m comfy,” I told him, confused as to why it mattered where I sat.

Nathan just grabbed my hand and pulled me up, ignoring my protests. He led me to the sofa and sat before tugging me down to sit between his sprawled legs.

“What—?”

“Trust me, Peyton,” he murmured in my ear, sending a shiver down my spine. The next second, he flipped up the footrest and helped me scoot forward a little, using it to keep me from falling off. Then he dug his thumbs into my shoulders, and I nearly melted into a puddle as I heaved a great sigh.

He chuckled and my mouth curved up. “You have magic hands.” I snickered, amused by my double entendre.