With Everything I Am (27 page)

Callum’s face was back to that affectionate softness when he replied, “I know you do, honey.”

“No, I really,
really
love wolves,” she blurted.

The chuckles grew louder but she still didn’t process it as Callum was now smiling a white, gorgeous smile and his voice held his own mirth when he said, “Yes, honey, I know.”

Her head tipped back down and she remarked with wonder in her tone, “He’s a beauty.”

“I’m glad you think so.”

She whipped her head back again and uttered with feeling, “Thank you.”

His head dipped and he rested his forehead to hers. “You thanked me last night, baby doll, twice. But the second time was so good, you earned another charm.”

Her breath caught, her breasts swelled but she had little time for these reactions.

His mouth took hers in a thorough, beautiful kiss much like the one he gave her last night but this one was different. It was also hungry. Further, it was in front of an audience.

“Should we leave the room?” Caleb asked in a teasing voice.

Callum pulled away and glared at his brother.

Sonia, blushing, back to embarrassed, ducked her head under his chin, tucked her face in his neck and chanced a glance at the group from under her lashes.

They were all grinning at her and Callum.

But it was Saint who noticed her pinkened cheeks and said to her gently, “I remember those first days after I claimed my mate, Sonia. You don’t have anything to be embarrassed about.” He looked around the table and said, “We all have either felt it or want to.”

Considering Sonia’s face was burning so hot, before it melted to oblivion, she decided the best thing to do was to change the subject and do it
immediately
, “You have a mate?”

“I do,” Saint replied.

“I’d like to meet her,” Sonia told him.

“I’m certain she’d like that too,” Saint smiled.

Callum’s arms came around her and she decided to take a sip of her coffee instead of giving him her attention, as giving him her attention was making her do stupid things.

Not having her facing him didn’t deter Callum in the slightest.

His mouth came to her ear and he whispered, again low, “Something else we’re going to do later, baby doll. You’re going to tell me what was on your mind a minute ago when you looked like you look about a split second before you come.”

Sonia bit her lip, slid her eyes to the side, caught the seriously sexy look on his face (or, it might have been a sexy serious look, she couldn’t quite tell) and decided her best way forward was just to nod.

This was the right thing to do. He slid his temple against hers again.

She relaxed in his arms.

The doorbell rang.

“That’ll be Regan,” Caleb announced.

“I’ll get it,” Magnum offered and rose from his chair to go to the door.

“Sonia,” Callum called.

Sonia kept sipping her coffee with her eyes following Magnum as she mumbled, “Mm?”

“Ryon tells me you throw a Christmas party every year.”

That statement brought her head around and she looked in Callum’s eyes, wondering what was on his mind.

“Yes,” she answered tentatively.

“I’ve decided, since this situation is likely to keep us here for a while, regardless if we take care of it, we’ll stay for the holidays. You should go ahead with the party.”

Sonia’s heart leapt and another thimble full of cement (maybe two, or even three) joined the first.

“Really?” she asked.

“Really,” he replied, his eyes studying the expression on her face with a look in them she could swear was almost doting. “You like Christmas so I want you to have your Christmas just as you like it.”

“Hello all,” Regan called as she came in but Sonia only had eyes for Callum and only had thoughts on the fact that her heart had skipped a happy beat.

Not of her volition, her hand came up and rested against the side of his head.

Then she used her thumb to smooth his dark brow after which she moved it down and she used it to stroke his bottom lip.

Then she said softly, again with feeling, “Thank you.”

So deep in her gratitude, she noted only in a dazed way that Callum’s face was suddenly hungry, his eyes were fully tawny and she heard him growl. It came deep from the back of his throat and seemed to vibrate through her body, sending the ever-present pulsating between her legs soaring.

“Oh my, the newly claimed,” Regan observed and both Callum and Sonia, with effort, turned to focus on Callum’s mother. “It’s a shame this business is happening now, you two need a few weeks alone in a castle.”

Sonia stared at her but Caleb spoke in a mutter. “I just hope he can keep his mind on the matter at hand and off his dick.”

“Caleb!” Regan snapped at the same time Callum bit out the same word.

“Give me a break, Regan,” Caleb returned. “You haven’t been here the past ten minutes. Seriously, the newly claimed, fucking hell.”

Sonia, firmly out of the moment and back to embarrassed, squirmed in Callum’s lap. Callum felt it and he didn’t like it.

Therefore, he aimed a dark look at his brother.

“Caleb, I’ll not tolerate that shit again,” he warned in a dangerous voice.

“Whatever,” Caleb mumbled, obviously used to Callum’s dangerous voice.

“All right, moving on,” Regan announced in a way that said she had
lots
of experience stepping between her battling sons. “Sonia, sweetheart, we’re going to the grocery store. Callum called this morning and said practically everything in your refrigerator is white. I don’t know what that means but I
do
know it doesn’t sound good. Our people
eat,
” she finished on a smile.

“Sonia’s taking you to Clear now, Regan,” Callum informed his mother. “You can go to the grocery store later.”

“Brilliant!” Regan cried instantly as her eyes lighted and she clapped happily.

When she did so, Sonia noticed she was carrying a small, glossy, charcoal gray shopping bag.

Wow, it was barely 11:00 o’clock and Regan had already been shopping. Callum’s Mom was clearly
the
shopping master.

Taking her mind off the bag, her husband and moving it to the day before her, Sonia slid out of Callum’s lap, taking another sip of coffee before saying, “I just need to run up to my office and get the invitations for my Christmas party. They’re ready to post. There’s a mailbox on the way to Clear.”

Those invitations had been ready to post, stamped and addressed since the day after Thanksgiving.

Callum was letting her have her Christmas party, something she looked forward to all year.

And, Sonia hoped, maybe, just maybe, if things kept going like this, the good would eventually outweigh the bad.

“Excellent, sweetheart,” Regan smiled warmly at her and Sonia smiled warmly back.

Another, definitely larger, thimble of cement on the good things side of the scale was Regan. Until then, Sonia hadn’t fully realized what she was missing growing up with Gregor and Yuri and no motherly-type figure.

It was lucky she realized it when she actually
had
a motherly-type figure.

She smiled to herself, suddenly strangely contented. So much so her headache had disappeared. She walked into the kitchen and put her mug in the dishwasher then ran up the stairs to her office. Piling the invitations down the length of her arm, she ran back down.

Callum was in the living room, his head bent to his mother, when Sonia arrived.
 

Regan took one look at her and stated, “I’ll go get a bag, easier to carry those.”

“There in –” Sonia started to tell Regan where to find a bag but Regan waved her hand, rushed forward, divesting Sonia of the invitations and bustled off.

“I’ll find them,” she muttered and Sonia watched her go.

“Baby doll,” Callum called and she turned to him. He got close and grabbed her hand, mumbling, “One thing.”

His head was bent to her hand and she looked down too. He was carrying a jeweler’s box in plush, charcoal gray velvet. He flipped it open and she saw the sparkle inside just a moment before he pulled out the two rings nestled together there and tossed the box unceremoniously on a table close to them.

Then, without further ado, he slid a set of wedding rings on her left ring finger.

Sonia held her breath and stared as he slid on the thin wedding band of gold imbedded with twinkling yellow diamonds and its accompanying yellow diamond solitaire. The solitaire was huge, so gigantic it could be seen from space and it was set at the sides with more glimmering diamonds.

Regardless of the diamond’s size, it wasn’t ostentatious but extraordinary. Sonia had never seen anything like its exquisite, extortionate beauty.

Callum dropped her hand in an absent way that didn’t coincide with the fact he just slid a wedding ring on her finger and this jarred Sonia out of her rapt study of the rings.

Then his hand moved to the chain that was resting outside her slacks, his finger hooked it yet again and he gave it a gentle tug.

“This is important,” he declared in a kingly voice and she felt her body start to grow tight at his tone as he went on. “But your people don’t understand the significance so that,” he jerked his head to her hand, “will declare to
your
people that you’re mine.”

This wasn’t a romantic gesture, a gesture of love.

This was another kind of claiming, one that physically proclaimed the fact that Sonia was Callum’s, his possession. He
owned
her and the fierce, kingly look on his face cemented that fact.

The thimbles on the good side of the scale started trembling as Regan walked in carrying a bag filled with the invitations.

“Oh look!” she cried. “You’re wearing your chain outside your slacks. What a lovely idea.”
 

Regan approached and, woodenly, Sonia turned to her as Regan stopped close and beamed.

“I looked at hundreds of chains before I chose that one for you,” Regan commented and at her words Sonia felt like rocks were pummeling her body. “I liked the charm,” Regan went on, “such a fierce wolf.”

Callum hadn’t chosen the chain or the charm for her.

Like her wedding rings, his mother had.

Kings, apparently, didn’t bother shopping for their mates, even if it was for things as significant as claiming chains and wedding rings.

And, as another brick crashed down on the bad side of her scales, the thimbles that were added that morning slid off the good side in the tumult.

However, unfortunately, Sonia didn’t know the way of the wolves.

She didn’t know that it was millennia-old tradition that a wolf’s mother chose the chain to be bestowed on his mate and therefore, in a nod to Sonia’s humanity but still adhering to their traditions, Regan had also chosen her wedding rings as a matter of course.

Sonia didn’t even know they
were
wolves.

So she reacted to what she did know.

She hid the fact that her stomach had tightened and her heart had hardened as Callum brushed her lips with his absentmindedly and obviously dismissed her from his thoughts as he walked back to the dining room table. This indicating to Sonia that his show at the dining room table that morning was exactly that.

A show.

Not the sweet, tender behavior of newly claimed mates.

But a performance for his people sitting around that table so they would think all was well in the world of the king and his queen.

It was then her strange, brief contentment fled and Sonia made the fierce determination that she’d never,
never
be deceived like she was that morning.

Never.

So when they were in bed and she felt that urge, primal and sharp, she knew, whatever it was and from wherever it came, she was obviously not strong enough to fight it.

But her heart was her own.

Her body might betray her but she vowed she’d never lose her heart.

She mentally threw away her scales as no more measuring was needed.

This was her “beautiful life”?

So be it.

She would be his queen, his “sweet little body” to use and dismiss.

And she would be his people’s queen because that was her destiny and not only had her parents wanted it for her, not only had her dreams been guiding her to it for twenty years but Gregor had kept her safe in order that she could live that destiny.

But Sonia would hold her heart safe.

She hid these reactions and her thoughts under a falsely bright smile as Regan tucked her arm through Sonia’s and led her to the door.

Chapter Twelve

Newlyweds

Sonia and Regan walked through the doors of Clear.

The minute the bell jangled, Mabel, one of Sonia’s two shop assistants who was standing behind the counter with a tall, dark-haired, gorgeous, obviously Callum’s people woman, shouted, “Sonny!”

Kerry, Sonia’s other shop assistant, who was helping some customers, looked around and gave Sonia a big, happy smile.

Sonia adored Mabel and Kerry. They were good workers, never called in sick, came in even when they were hungover, hid it like pros and never complained. They were fantastic with customers and they were both exuberant, full of personality and made working there fun.

Their reactions to her return were balm to the soul, something Sonia needed desperately.

It was like coming home.

Sonia’s gaze moved to the tall woman behind the counter who studied Sonia curiously for a brief moment then bowed her head low in deference to her queen. She couldn’t exactly drop to a knee in a shop amongst humans but her message was clear.

And Sonia wondered if she’d ever get used to that the way Callum was. When they walked in the throne room and everyone sank to a knee, he’d not even glanced at them.

Then again, he’d had a lifetime of feeling entitled that people would be on their knees before him.

Including Sonia.

Sonia shrugged off these thoughts and walked toward the counter with Regan at her side, not knowing what to do about the tall woman so, when her head came up, Sonia inclined her own.