“Is there anyone you know in town who would let me have a room to stay in just from the Monday after Christmas until Thursday?” Sunny asked quietly.
Four days? My body reacted to that. It suddenly made sense why she didn’t want to stay with me. An unmated rogue female wanted to be away from unmated males for four days for only one reason. I could probably talk to Kelly about it.
Rogue females only had heat once every six months. No matter how much I wanted Sunny to spend as much time with me as possible, having her here during her heat would be cheating. She’d regret anything we did while she was in the grip of her hormones.
“I have a friend in town. A widow. She has a guest room. We can talk to her when the roads open again.” I offered.
Sunny relaxed and looked relieved. I cared about her and doing this was just one of the ways I’d show her she could trust me.
“Thank you, Vaughn.” She replied.
“I didn’t realize this was when you’d have your heat, Sunny. I wouldn’t have sent you if I knew. Vaughn, let your friend know to give me a number and I’ll pay her for the use of her spare room and the cost of food, if she’d be willing to feed Sunny as well.” Bellamy said.
“Thank you, Queen Bellamy.” I said.
There was another little chime from Sunny’s phone. This could be my chance. Now she was more relaxed and felt safe, I was hoping to get her to unlock the phone. I needed to know if she was seeing someone else.
“Sunny, maybe you should check your messages. In case someone was worried about you.” I suggested in a friendly tone.
It was mean and underhanded, but I was sure she wouldn’t tell me or let me see it otherwise. I needed to know what I was dealing with. I couldn’t lose her.
She unplugged her phone and unlocked it. Quickly, I grabbed it out of her hand and stood. She was over half a foot shorter than me. I knew she couldn’t reach it if I held it over my head.
“No! Vaughn, don’t!” She shouted and jumped up, rushing around the desk.
“What’s he doing? I told you not to pick on her, Vaughn.” Bellamy said over the phone.
“I’m not picking on her. I’m prescreening her messages. I’ll let her know anything relevant, then I’ll delete anything she doesn’t need to focus on.” I replied.
Sunny glared at me, but stopped trying to get her phone back. She crossed her arms over her chest and pursed her lips together. Maybe it was mean, maybe it was too controlling, but I couldn’t let someone else steal her from me.
I opened her messaging app. There were almost a dozen messages from various people. I tapped on them and scrolled a little. Nothing bad. No person sending her good night texts. No one telling her they loved her.
“Looks like you got a couple messages asking if you were coming to the restaurant for Christmas dinner.” I told her after reading the first two messages.
Sunny looked happier at that. I was glad it didn’t seem like someone else had stepped in while I was away. I let my jealousy and possessiveness get away from me.
“Can I have my phone back?” She asked.
“Sorry. You’re still recovering from hypothermia. I don’t think we should do much work today. We can start tomorrow. If you to go into the gym, that’s the door on the other side of the living room, there are some towels in the big bathroom there and a huge tub. Run yourself a hot bath and soak for a while. I want you to have a bath and a nap to relax. I’ll make s’mores brownies for dessert tonight, then we can go for a run in the snow. I’ll give your phone back tomorrow.” I told her.
“I’d really rather just get started on the work.” Sunny said.
“No.” Queen Bellamy answered. “Do what he says. I require twenty-four hours of rest after near-death experiences. You officially have three weeks to work on this project. Take your time with it. Get as much of the whole book done as possible.”
“Yes, Queen Bellamy.” We replied.
“I guess I’ll go.” Sunny muttered and walked out of the office.
“Is she gone?” Bellamy asked.
“Yeah.”
“What the hell were you thinking? Stealing her phone like that! You’re going to ruin everything, Vaughn.” She growled.
“I just worried that she may have found someone else. I needed to see for myself. I know I messed up. Did you really not know it was Sunny’s heat?” I asked.
“I know a lot about my people, but their fertility cycles are not one of the facts I collect. I had my seers working on the perfect time to send Sunny to you. They found this snow storm that’s hitting in a few days. It’ll have the roads closed down for at least a month. It’s why your care packages were so large. We were stocking you up as much as we could without making it obvious.” Bellamy told me.
“Thank you. I’ll take care of her.”
“Good. This is your chance to push that connection the last little bit and make her love you. If you can’t show her you’ll treat her better than anyone ever has before, you won’t succeed. Show her you see her, not her status, not her usefulness, not her body, the person inside.” She replied. “First, get her to forgive you for taking her phone.”
Queen Bellamy hung up. I turned Sunny’s phone off and locked it in the bottom drawer of my desk. For the rest of the day, at least, she would only focus on me and resting.
I walked out and made sure Sunny did what Queen Bellamy and I told her to. She was in the master bath. I could hear the water running in the tub. My sweet Sunny.
Once I heard her get in the tub, I went back to the office. I locked the door behind me and sat at my desk. Over the last six months, I’d ordered a lot of little things that reminded me of Sunny. All of them were meant to be gifts for her. She may not be expecting much of a Christmas, but I’d give her one. Our first Christmas together.
I’d show her how she can be accepted in this town like I was. I’d give her a home and a family who loved her. With a smile, I sent a text to my mom. I hadn’t told Mom and Dad about Sunny, because I didn’t want to get their hopes up, but I’d need to tell them now that it was a possiblity.
They were ecstatic and asked for pictures and all sorts of things. They promised to call on Christmas, like every year, and talk to Sunny, letting her know she was welcome in our family. With that settled, I headed out of my office.
Setting the phone down on the bar, I peeked around the corner. Sunny was in the kitchen, probably looking for something to eat. I figured she was probably hungry. Healing like she had to could make you hungry in ways nothing else can.
I figured playing might get her out of her grumpy funk. She had a playful personality and she needed help getting back to it. Though, it might make her even more angry. It was a risk I was willing to take.
Quietly, I snuck into the kitchen and grabbed Sunny around the waist, lifting her up in the air. She screamed and flailed.
“Let me go!” She shouted.
“No, Sunshine. I told you, you’re mine now.” I laughed and put her on the floor, then started tickling her.
She screamed again and started hitting me to make me stop tickling her. I was relentless until she was on the floor and I was hunched over her. She begged for mercy after a while.
“Please! Please stop! I can’t take anymore!” Sunny pled with tears in her eyes.
“Who do you belong to, Sunshine?”
“You! I belong to you!” She squealed.
I stopped tickling her, scooped her up, and put her on the counter. Her breathing was shaky and labored as she recovered from my assault. I knew she wouldn’t be a laugher when tickled. Most rogues got angry when tickled. Only a handful actually laughed.
“Now kiss me, little wolf.” I ordered.
“Why?”
“Because you said you belong to me and I want a kiss.”
She leaned in and wrapped her arms around my neck, then kissed me deeply. When Sunny pulled out of the kiss, her lids were heavy. She was beautiful and I wanted to curl up with her. Maybe we could watch a movie. She yawned quietly and I smiled.
“Sunshine, go to my room and get in bed. I have something to take care of, then I’ll come in.” I told her.
“You’re planning to violate me again, aren’t you? Will you punish me if I say no?” She asked in a fake, fearful tone.
“I will think of the most painful tortures if you don’t do as I command. You’ll cry and beg the goddess to end your life just to save you from the torment.” I answered maniacally.
“What are you going to do to me?”
“Whatever I want. Just as I’ve done since the moment I brought your icy body into my den.” I replied.
“I see. And when you grow tired of me, will you kill me and put me in the freezer with all the other girls?” She asked sniffling dramatically.
“If you please me, I may keep you alive longer than I did them. Doesn’t that give you hope of being saved?”
“Who would even save me?” Sunny asked sadly.
“Maybe the wolf who offered for you and always tells you he loves you.” I suggested.
She smiled and bit the tip of her tongue between her teeth. I caressed her cheek. Playing with her was helping her feel better.
“You think Vaughn will save me?”
“I think he’d try if he knew I had you. Not a single being in the world can find you here.” I said with a malicious tone. “You’re mine now.”
“What a fool I was to wander the forest and rest on your porch in the snow. Just another unloved rogue who disappeared.”
“I love you, Sunny.” I whispered as I leaned in and pressed my forehead to hers.
“Right. Vaughn loves me. I’ll have to entrust my life to the ability of a rogue mystery writer. You know that means he’ll connect the dots and figure out where I am.” She said proudly.
Hearing her say I’d be her hero made me incredibly happy.
“If he comes, I’ll just take him too. Your hero has no idea what kind of villain he’s dealing with. Like I could ever be afraid of a writer. Now, do as I say and get in my bed.” I growled.
“Vaughn will save me. I’ll stay alive until he comes for me.” Sunny replied, pressing the back of her wrist to her forehead.
I wrapped my arms around her and picked her up into a hug. She put her arms around my neck and rested her head on my shoulder.
“I’ll always save you, Sunny.”
“I knew you’d save me, Vaughn.” She whispered.
“Go lay down for a little while. I’ll come in with some food in a little while and I’ll give you a massage after you’ve eaten.”
“You’re always looking for excuses to get your hands on me.” Sunny laughed softly.
“And I will until the end of my life. For now, I’m just happy to make you smile for a little while.”
I set her on the floor again and she gave me one more hug before she left the kitchen and headed to my bedroom. Closing my eyes, I smiled and took a deep breath. She was acting a lot more like the Sunny I met back in the summer.
Pulling out food from the fridge, cans of soup from the pantry, and everything I needed to cook with, I began preparing lunch. Something to make Sunny feel warm and happy. A nice, hot lunch to fill her stomach and help her rest more.