Blood red love
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Vidar watched Charlie sleep. He didn’t require much sleep at his age, but he had found that both times he had spent the night with Charlie in his arms, he had slept longer and deeper than he had since he was young. Even being awake with her sleeping in his arms was relaxing. She looked so innocent and peaceful. He wished he had the ability to make her feel just as relaxed when she was awake. A part of him still ached after seeing her confusion yesterday. He hadn’t realised how much pain he had been causing her by trying to hold back. He had done it out of concern for her, but now he could see how confused it had made her. That had to stop. He didn’t give a fuck what the other members of the clan or the community said. If they thought he was moving too fast, well, that was their issue. Charlie was his to
protect and keep safe. He had seen the look on that werewolf’s face when he had looked at Charlie the night before. Everyone would honour a bond between a maiden and the group that found them. But if said maiden were to end up with another group, out of their own free will. No one would object. Vidar felt his arms tighten around Charlie at the thought and forced himself to relax. He felt her snuggle in deeper into him, and he could feel her senses starting to wake up. When she woke up, she tilted her head and her big, golden brown eyes locked with his. She smiled and Vidar couldn’t help but to return it. He bent down and k*ssed her lips softly.
“Good morning. How’s your head?” he asked.
“Morning. It feels fine,” she told him..
“I’m happy to hear that. Any other symptoms of your wild night?” Her eyes looked away and there was a pink tone on her cheeks.
ont over some of H
“Just things I said, sorry. My temper runs wild when I’m drunk,” she told him, and he found her adorable. He raked his hand through her chocolate brown locks and tilted her chin to make her look at him.
“Nothing you said or did last night was worthy of an apology. You told me how you felt and what you needed from me. Those are both things that you should do. I am sorry for confusing you. It wasn’t my intention, but I see how it was the result. I won’t do it again. Will you please believe me?” She, smiled up at him.
“I will,” she said. He gave her another soft k*ss and was contemplating k*ssing her again,
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deepening the k*ss, finding out how she looked n*ked, when her head shot up from his chest. “What time is it?” she asked. Vidar turned his head to look at the clock on his nightstand. It was an old–fashioned alarm clock. It still worked, so he didn’t see why he would throw it
away.
“Just past nine,” he told her.
“I’ll be right back,” she said. She scurried out of bed, heading for the door to the living room, stopping as if she was uncertain, then changing direction, heading for the bathroom. Vidar chuckled as she closed the door. It didn’t take long to use the bathroom and then quickly sprint for the livingroom. She was back with her phone in her hand and crawled into bed again. Vidar pulled her to him as she was occupied with her phone.
“Need to tell all your other boyfriends you’ll be late for the breakfast meeting?” he asked,
amused. She looked up at him in confusion, then a smile spread across her face.
“No, just checking in with Lilly, making sure she’s okay,” she told him and k*ssed his chest. The small gesture was an afterthought from her, but it sent happy tingles all through Vidar and he suddenly felt like a teenager again.
“You don’t need to worry. She will be fine. Killing a human is a last resort for any magical
creature. We don’t want humans to find out about us,” he said. She looked away from her
phone.
“So why did you get so upset when you found out where I was yesterday?” she asked. He studied her for a moment. She really didn’t know the answer, he thought.
“Because it was you. The mutts would not have harmed you, but they would most certainly tried to lure you to their side. Especially that alpha dog. The way he looked at you,” Vidar told her. To his surprise, he saw a smile appear on Charlie’s face.
“You were jealous,” she said. Vidar snorted and then huffed. He felt his cheeks heating up as he blushed. When was the last time he had blushed?
“Of a mut? As if.” He tried to sound convincing. Charlie raised her hand and put her palm against his cheek to make him turn his face towards her. She k*ssed him.
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“That is very sweet of you,” she said and then went back to typing on her phone. Vidar was lost for words for a moment. How did she always manage to take him by surprise?
“How is your friend?” he asked.
“She’s fine. Sounds like the night did her good. She says it’s a one–night thing, but she sounds happy. Which is good. She deserves happy,” Charlie told him.
“Do you have to work today?” he asked her.
“No, not until tomorrow evening,” she said. “Am I keeping you from something important?”
she asked, looking at him.
“No,” he told her. “I work for myself. I set my own schedule. Do you want to stay here today?”
he asked.
“I would love to, but I need a change of clothes,” she said.
“There are clothes for you in the closet,” he told her. She laughed.
“I do like to wear your shirt to bed, but I think I would drown if I tried to dress in nothing but
your c
clothes,” she said. Vidar chuckled and k*ssed the top of her head. He couldn’t help himself but to place signs of endearment on her as often as he could..
“No, you silly lynx. I have made sure there are clothes you can wear in the closet,” he told
her.
“What?” Charlie sat up in bed, looked at him, then at the door to the walk–in closet.
“Go on, have a look,” he told her. She got out of bed and tiptoed to the door and peaked inside, as if she was waiting on a bogie trap to spring. She swirled around and looked at him.
“Are all those women’s clothes for me?” she asked. He chuckled. She was a vision with his shirt, bare legs and ruffled hair, looking at him with so much surprise in her eyes.
“Yes, I don’t enjoy cross–dressing,” he told her. She looked towards the closet again, then at
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him. He nodded and this time she walked all the way inside. Vidar enjoyed listening to the
needed to small noises she was making. When she had been gone for a while, he decided b go and take a look. It wasn’t logical, but he missed her presence. As he walked into the closet, Charlie stood in front of the part of the closet dedicated to her clothes. He had made sure there was a mix of comfortable everyday things, work attire, and some more formal clothes as well. “If you don’t like it, we will donate it and buy new. Or you can bring some of the things you have at your place,” he said as he leaned against the door frame. Charlie spun around and threw herself at him. It was only his quick reflexes that saved them from tumbling into the
bedroom.
“Thank you, thank you so much,” she murmured as she pressed herself to him. Vidar hadn’t expected this reaction. If anything he had expected her to lecture him on free will and doing things without talking to her..
“It’s not that much. I didn’t know you were this interested in clothes,” he said and held her to him. He felt her hit him in the ch*st with her hand.
“Idiot. I don’t care about the clothes. But the fact that you bought them and hung them in your closet shows that you expected me to be here. You made plans for me to fit into your life,” she said.
“Of course I made plans to fit you into my life,” he said, feeling confused again. To him, there was no other way forward. If this had been the old days, he would have gone to her father already and made sure she would be wed to him and moved into his home before the week ended. But it wasn’t the old days. He would be patient, to an extent, and move in a pace that made Charlie comfortable. But there was not a doubt in his mind that it would end with her living in their apartment, sleeping in their bed, permanently.
“The only ones that has made room for me in their life have been my mother and Huxton, she told him. She was still holding on to him. The puzzle pieces fell into place for Vidar and
he rubbed her back. His new understanding made his own behaviour over the past weeks even worse. Charlie was used to not being a priority to other people. Heck, her own father had never made her a priority. Vidar wanted to punch himself in the face for making her doubt that she was the singular most important thing in his world.
“You have a room in my life, Charlie. I will do better to show you,” he promised. She nodded.
and for a moment longer they stood there, holding each other.
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“I really need a shower,” Charlie finally told him.
“Go ahead, I can use the one in the guest room,” he said. She laughed and tilted her head
back so she could look at his face.
“I’m not kicking you out of your own bathroom. I’ll take the guestroom shower. Are you
planning for us to go somewhere?” she asked.
“No, I was thinking of a day at home,” he said. “Is there somewhere you want to go?”
“No. A day relaxing at home sounds wonderful,” she agreed and stepped out of his arms and walked over to pick out what to wear.
“There are underwear and other useful thinks in the same dresser as the nightgowns,” he told
her before he headed for the bathroom.