The Claiming by Cooper Book 3
Layan’s Return by Cooper (Jara & Mason)
Chapter 39
Elijah
I’m not surprised that Jara is mad at me, she and I have been close since her claiming last year when she saved me from Typhon’s Beta and we talked on that cliff. Since then, she’s been my biggest cheerleader for claiming Layan.
And I shouldn’t be surprised that Mason threw me under the bus. I knew he would try to stop me if I didn’t claim Layan, I just didn’t think he’d tell Jara of my plan if I did. It doesn’t matter now anyway. I’m not going anywhere. My entire life is right here in my arms.
I know she’ll be out for a couple of days, so I shower quickly on the first day, wanting to be able to take care of her completely when she wakes. I eat when I hear Jara bring food, but I always save enough in case Layan wakes up.
I want to bathe her, but I’m afraid she’ll be upset that I saw her naked body when she finds out, so I leave her as is. I’ll let her decide what she’s comfortable with. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t change her clothes. I want her to wake with my scent in her nose. I’ve never asked her what I smell like to her, but the longer she’s in my room, the more it smells like apricots.
I know I need to wait for us to mate, but damn is my body responding to her being my mate. I’m hoping that once she’s awake and can feel my emotions, feel my love for her, she’ll know that she is safe with me.
I brush her hair away from her face. Her hair is so soft. I’ve touched it before, more in the recent weeks when we’ve been spending more time together. Even now her hair is sliding through my fingers like silk.
At first, I wasn’t sure if I should lay in bed with her. Again, I know she’s had a rough time of it. I don’t want anything to start our life off on the wrong foot. But then I remember after I killed Typhon and I was wrecked with grief that Jara lost her baby, she had held me and told me she wasn’t afraid of me. Then, after my assessment she had climbed into my bed and held me, helping my mind to heal. She didn’t hesitate to wrap herself around me.
So, rather than second guess it, or give her any reason to think that I’m anything other than ecstatic to have her as my mate, I climb into bed with her at night and most of the day. Just holding her, stroking her hair, enjoying this time just to be with her.
I heard everyone leave the day after I claimed her. Then, it was just Jara and Mason and a few others left besides the two of us. I’m glad, I prefer to have quiet and no distractions when my mate finally wakes.
It’s the middle of the second night when I feel her begin to stir. I’m curled up behind her, having tucked her body against mine. I stay still, my arms wrapped around her, watching her as her eyes come open and she adjusts to the darkness of the room.
Her heart rate picks up and she turns her head quickly. As soon as she sees it’s me, her heart rate begins to slow again. The happiness that I feel knowing I make her feel safe is beyond anything in this world.
She turns in my arms, sliding one hand into my hair. “Elijah.”
I kiss her nose. “Good morning, Layan.”
She glances at the window then back at me. “Doesn’t look like morning.”
“A very, very early morning. Like maybe one or two in the morning.” I say chuckling.
“How long have I been out?”
“Not quite two days. Are you hungry?”
She nods. “I am but I’m not ready to leave this spot yet. Is that okay?”
“Is it okay that you want to stay curled up in my arms? Absolutely.”
She snuggles into me, pressing her face against my chest. I take a deep breath, sighing in pleasure at her easy response to being in my arms.
“You like me here too, don’t you?” She asks.
“Very much so.” And I can feel her happiness.
I rub her back, and we stay like that until I hear her stomach rumbling in hunger.
“I have some food for you. Or, more accurately, I saved some of the food that Jara has been bringing a couple times a day.” I tell her.
“She’s still here?” She asks me.
“Yes, I’m sure she’s worried about you.”
She pushes back slightly, looking up at me. “Why, I’m with you?”
I can’t help the goofy grin that spreads across my face. “I think she was worried about how you’d feel once you woke up and realized we are now officially mates.”
She frowns. “Does she know I claimed you first?”
“She does.”
“Well, that doesn’t make any sense.”
I look at her a moment. I need to be honest with her. “She’s worried about our mating, Layan. She’s worried that you’ll be afraid or possibly have a relapse because of it.”
I feel a flutter of fear through our bond, but then it’s gone. “You said we would take our time. That we could go at my speed.”
“Yes, and I meant it.”
She nods, sitting up and looking down at me. “I want everything with you, Elijah. I want to know why Jara and the other Lunas are always so excited when they think about being intimate with their mates.” She strokes her hand down my chest. “I want to know what it’s supposed to feel like when a man is with a woman.”
Her hand goes lower and I grab it before she finds something she’s not expecting. I bring her hand to my face, kissing it.
“And I want you to be excited when you think about being with me. I want to know that you want me as much as I want you, that you find as much pleasure and joy from our time as I know I will. I’m a patient man, Layan. Well go at your pace, and eventually, well find our way. Well find that place where you enjoy yourself so much, that you want me all the time.”
She giggles her sweet giggle, making me smile. Then she bites her lower lip, looking at me through her lashes. “When can we start finding our way?”
I growl low in my chest, reaching up, I tug her lip from her teeth, before rubbing my thumb over it. “As soon as you are ready but not before you eat and get bathed.”
“Then, let’s eat.” She says, hopping out of bed.