Chapter 78
#Chapter 78 – The Morning After
Jane
My head hurts before I even open my eyes. There’s a dull throbbing in my temples, and my stomach
feels
wrapped around me like a big nket and his deep, steady breaths have a hint of a purr rumbling in his
chest.
I wish I could lie here forever. If it weren’t
for the sun zing through the windows and searing my poor eyes, I’d even consider it. Groaning softly, I
try to remember just how much I had to drink yesterday. When Ethan and I made love in
the storage room I was still just tipsy, but
high on the endorphins of amazing sex,
we went back to the tasting room
afterwards and continued drinking.
Eventually we got a couple bottles of wine and booked a room at a nearby hotel,
taking our two person party up to a suite with a stunning mountain view.
It seems I lost count of both the drinks,
and how many times we had sex – especially since Ethan kept waking me up in the middle of the night in
the most wicked ways. His affections seeped into my dreams, filling them with deliciously naughty
images until I would finally wake and realize that he was bringing my
fantasies to life.
In some ways it feels like a second honeymoon – I’ll never forget the ache of deprivation that built up
beforehand, or the sexual frenzy that followed on our wedding night. Even though our first honeymoon
went out the window with. the death of Ethan’s father, my chosen
mate’s need for intimacy at that terrible
time soon sent me into heat. My eyes
snap open as I think these words, the bright sun be damned.
I’d gotten so lost in the incredible feelings Ethan elicited that I’d almost
forgotten the consequences of giving in to
him. Heat doesn’te on as quickly for
us because we aren’t fated, but I’m still
an Omega and being with an Alpha as dominant as Ethan is bound to trigger it
before too long. Worse, I’ve gotten so caught up in being close to a man after so many years of celibacy
that I haven’t given a single thought to whates next or how this might change things.
Suddenly unable to keep my hangover at bay any longer, I untangle myself from Ethan’s arms and lurch
from the bed, stumbling towards the restroom. I push the poor open and frantically flip up the lid of the
toilet, emptying the contents of my stomach into the porcin bowl
without a second to spare. “Oh Goddess,” I murmur to myself, wallowing in guilt and self-pity.
My sudden movement must have roused Ethan, because a momentter I hear him behind me, and feel
his warm hands pulling my hair back from my face. “Poor baby.” He croons, pulling one of my hair ties
from the counter and quickly tying my lock locks into a ponytail. Apparently raising a daughter on his own
has taught him a few things, but thest thing I need right now is to be reminded how
wonderful he is with Paisley. I need to
harden myself against him before he gets under my skin.
“Are you okay?” He asks gently, stroking my back in long, soothing caresses.
“I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck.” I moan, squinting up at him, “why do you look so decent?” The truth is
that he looks far better than decent, he looks powerful and masculine and like he could happily run a
marathon. Why does he have to be so handsome? Iment in my
head, it isn’t fair for one person to have everything!
“I’m a lot bigger than you, little mate.” He reminds me with a sympathetic smile. “The wine didn’t hit me
as hard.”
Whining pitifully, I close the toilet and flush, reaching for my toothbrush to get this disgusting taste out of
my mouth. Ethan simply sidles up behind me, sliding his arms around my waist and dropping a kiss to
my throat. “I’m going to run out and get you a few things. We can stay here until you’re feeling better.”
I don’t want to feel warmly towards him, but I can’t remember being more grateful to anyone. I absolutely
hate being sick or feeling badly, and I don’t exactly handle it well. “Can I have saltines and ginger ale?” I
ask hopefully.
“You can have whatever you like, sweetheart.” He promises, “and you
might take a look at the room service menu too – sometimes a big greasy breakfast cures a hangover
like nothing else.”
I nod in agreement, holding my breath
until he leaves the suite. When the door
finally clicks shut behind him, I sink
down against the bathroom cabs, not stopping until my bottom connects with the floor. “What have I
done?” I ask
aloud. It’s going to be impossible to get rid of Ethan now. He’s already treating
me more affectionately, and it’s not exactly like he held back before.
The most important thing is to prevent this from happening again. I’m not sure
how much I can backtrack, but I can
certainly trying to freeze us in ce. If this goes on and I fall into heat, there will be no saving me –
especially because I no longer have the excuse of not being ready to be parents to convince him to use
protection. In fact my onlyfort aboutst night is knowing that I can’t breed unless I enter that hazy
sexual state.
I jump into the shower and clean myself up as best I can, feeling infinitely better once the hot water has
done it’s work. I’m
wrapped up in a plush robe and scanning the room service menu when Ethan
returns with a bag from the pharmacy. It’s only been a half hour and I don’t truly feel like I’ve had enough
time to guard myself against him – but it’s better than nothing.
“Here you go,” He greets me, dropping a kiss to my cheek. “Saltines, ginger ale, anti-nausea meds,
some electrolyte
water, a few bananas – we’ll get you feeling better in no time.”
“Thank you.” I say, conjuring a weak
smile.
“Of course.” He replies, sitting next to me on the sofa and slinging a possessive arm over my shoulders.
“Did you find something to order?”
“I don’t think I’m ready for real food yet.” I admit, eyeing him warily. “But listen, I think we need to talk
about
yesterday.”
To my surprise, Ethan grins. “I knew you would. I could feel you freaking out before you even opened
your eyes this morning.”
Btedly it urs to me that Ethan
wasn’t asleep at all when I woke. He
always used to have a habit of watching me sleep, somehow passing it off as sweet instead of creepy.
Even now I tell myself it is creepy, but my damned besotted wolf doesn’t listen at all. She simply urges
me to climb into Ethan’sp and have an encore round of sex, despite the fact that I feel like hot
garbage. Sometimes she can be the most unhelpful creature.
“I’m not freaking out.” I argue, “I simply think it was a mistake. Our lives are too
“We’re going to take care of that, Janey.”
Ethan assures me, “And as for the rest, I
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know things areplicated, but we’re
the oneplicating them. I know I
made a lot of mistakes when we were
married, but I’m not the same person I
was then, and neither are you. Our life doesn’t have to be such a mess, if you and
I work together instead of against each
other, we can have what we want.”
“But this isn’t what I want!” I exim,
not sure I’m even speaking the truth. At
this point I don’t have the first clue what
I want – other than for my pups to be safe
and happy. My wolf clearly wants Ethan,
and might heart might also – but my
head knows better. I learned never to
make myself vulnerable to a man the
hard way, and I’m determined never to
makes that mistake again. I trusted Ethan once, and I paid dearly for that mistake –
only a fool would make the same error again, no matter how convincing he is.
Ethan is still watching me with that knowing smile, and I wish I could wipe it
right off his smug face. “Okay, if that’s what you need to tell yourself, I won’t argue.”
“What?” I snap, not believing my own
ears.
“You believe whatever you like, Jane.” Ethan repeats, “I know we’re meant to be
together. I’m not going to give up, but I’m not going to force you to ept it before you’re ready either.”
“I’m not ever going to ept it because it’s not true.” I scowl.
“If you say so.” He shrugs, pulling the room service menu out of my hands, ” will it bother you if I eat
without you? I’m starving.”
“Are you serious?” I demand, feeling my temper rising along with my indignation.
“Yes,” He answers, a mischievous glint in his eye, “you wore me out.”
“No,” I grit out, “I mean this act you’re
putting on, pretending like you’re okay with me rejecting you?”
“It’s not an act, Jane.” Ethan promises, offering me a lethal smile. “Because I know your rejection is only
temporary. You want this, and when you’re ready to ept that, you will – and when you do I’ll be here,
waiting.”