“Oh you weren’t supposed to hear that.”

(Excerpt of Sororate Chapter One)

I didn’t sleep well that night and neither did my husband.  Every time I rolled over and opened my eyes, I found him lying awake.  He lay with his arms about his wife as he constantly watched the door or the large window of our room.  I came to realize he was on guard by the way he kept his hold. 

“Get some sleep.” I murmured sleepily.  “We’re safe here, Dec.  If we weren’t, I would have one of my warning feelings as a Circulator.”

“Shhh.” He stroked the skin on my back. “You’re more tired than I am, B.  You need the sleep more than I do.”

“Declan, please go to sleep.  If I sensed we were in danger I would have instantaneously phased us back to Alaska.”

“Close your eyes and be quiet," he growled softly.

I rolled over so I could rest my cheek on his hot, strong chest.  That was the good thing about having a European Werewolf for a mate, their bodies consistently ran at high temperatures.  Although hot weather could leave him disgruntled, I never needed an electric blanket in the midst of a hard Alaskan winter. 

My mate appeared to appreciate our contact, as his arms tightened and he planted several kisses on my forehead.  

We were quiet for a couple of minutes as I settled back down again.  I guess Declan must have thought I had fallen back asleep.  He thought now would be a good time to say, “I love you B, always and forever.”

I surprised him when I mumbled back, “Love you too Dec.”

Pause… then after a moment he said, “Oh you weren’t supposed to hear that.”

“Whatever.”

You were making your sleeping noises so I thought you were asleep.”

“Whatever.”

“No seriously, you were breathing deeply and you were making those little sighing noises.”

“Whatever.”

“Were you faking it, knowing I was going to say that?”

            “Declan, frickin’ shut up and let me sleep!”

*****

The next time I opened my eyes again, it was morning and it was by my husband shaking me awake.

“Come on, let’s get out of this place.” He greeted with a kiss on the nose then he leapt out of bed as if he had been the one who had slept.

Half conscious, I raised my head and marvelled at how quickly he dressed.

Declan started to chuckle as he looked over at my dazed expression. “Man, I’ve been married to you for 136 years and your bed hair still cracks me up!”

Grouchily, I threw his pillow at him as he continued to laugh, before I rolled over and tried to hide under mine.

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“They don’t trust us, so they’re letting us know we’re being watched.”

   (Excerpt of Sororate Chapter One)

We walked down a plush hallway until we spotted our hotel room door.  As soon as Declan let us into our suite, I emitted a loud sigh of relief to be able to take off my heavy backpack, which was the first thing I did.  I dropped it onto the suitcase stand by the wall and when I turned back around, I found Declan standing by the closed door.  I think he wanted to make sure we weren’t being followed, as he listened closely and he even sniffed. 

“It’s cool, Dec.”  I walked over to collapse wearily onto the King-sized bed. “They’re allowing us to stay tonight.” 

However my mate didn’t move away from the door immediately, he continued to listen.  When he did move, he walked over to the window and parted the curtains to look outside.  I heard his growl as he dropped his backpack, as if preparing for battle.  What now? 

Tiredly, I stood up and crossed over to see what he was glaring at.  I saw two Chinese men who appeared to be in their twenties, wearing black clothes complete with black sunglasses, which made them look like gangsters.  They were standing across the street whilst looking up at our window. 

“More Asian Werewolves?” I guessed.

“They don’t trust us, so they’re letting us know we’re being watched.”  Declan said with dissatisfaction.

“But they’re trusting us enough to let us stay.” I turned away from the window to walk back over to the bed.

As soon as I sat back down, I took off my hiking boots before I laid back.  I stretched out on top of the bed as I felt my muscles begin to loosen.  Ah finally, I could unwind. 

Just then there was a sharp knock on the door that made the both of us jump!

My husband made a move towards it and looked through the peep hole before he opened the door.  Next, a male hotel employee wearing a black uniform, carried in a tray with a bottle of de-alcoholised wine in a cooler and two wine glasses.

“Would you like this on the table?”  The staff member queried.

“Yeah whatever.”  He answered as he looked on the man warily.

The man in the uniform carefully put the tray down and then he turned to leave.  But before he departed he said lastly, “In appreciation of you showing consideration towards the safety of others; if you should order dessert with your meals this evening, it will be free of charge.”

After that, he swiftly left with Declan locking our door behind him.  Then my mate tiredly walked over to the bed I was sitting on, to flop down beside.  I lay back down onto the mattress so we were lying side by side. 

“I wish when I planned our trip, I had a map of all the areas marked by other Werewolves or locations of Vampire covens, so we knew where to avoid.”  He complained.

“But then we’d never leave tribal lands because like humans, supernatural creatures are everywhere.”  I pointed out.

“Yeah, I guess so.  Hell, I was bitten by a European Werewolf in Alaska of all places.” 

Next, Declan rolled onto his side so he was facing me.  He turned quiet for a minute or two, as he rested his head on his hand to look down.

“What?”  I wondered.

“You’re fearless, you know that?”  He smiled softly.

“Fearless?” I gave a peculiar look.

“The way you walked up to the hotel clerk and laid it all out like that?  I thought he smelled funny, but you saw through him immediately.”

“Only because I caught him sniff us.”  I confessed.

“My wife the sleuth," he chuckled as he placed a kiss on my forehead.

He moved in closer as he wrapped his arm around my waist.  His mouth brushed my cheek before his lips smothered my own.  I felt his ardour but all I felt was tired.  

“Not yet!” I giggled as I moved my head away. “I need to unwind first.”

“Hey, you’re the one who said I’m hot when I go all authoritarian.”  He reminded before he began to gently ‘maul’ my neck with his open mouth.

“You are hot when you go all authoritarian, but I’m also tired.”  I grabbed hold of his hair to lift up his head.

“Is this the real reason why you asked me to grow out the crew cut, so you’ve got more hair to pull?”  Declan shook my hand off.

“Definitely.” I tittered.

“You don’t see me pulling your hair, do you?”  He lightly scolded.

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“You’re right.”  He smirked which expanded into an evil grin. “Besides, I’d rather pull the hair elsewhere on your body.”

“Eew!” I cried out which turned into a squeal of laughter, when he ducked his head to take several playful bites.

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