Touch of Innocence

23

When she woke up the next morning, Clay's fingers were running through her hair. They gently untangled her curls. His chest was pressed against hers as they lay next to each other.

"Good morning," she mumbled as she stretched.

"A good morning indeed."

She rolled her eyes but smiled at him.

His hand rested on her rib cage as he stared down at her. "Are you sore?"

"Mmmh, I don't think so."

"Good," he said.

"Um, how are you?"

"I'm great," he said with a smile.

He dropped his head next to hers. "I loved last night."

Her face heated up. "I did, too. It was definitely worth the wait."

"It was." Clay pressed his lips to hers. "Do you feel different? Emotionally?"

According to Clay, all mated vampires, after completing the mating, can feel the other mate's emotions. They can't read thoughts, but if a mate is feeling a certain emotion strongly, the other can feel it. His dad, Ulric, said that you can also feel when your mate is in pain.

"I feel like I can feel you. Like we are connected somehow," she answered. "It's almost as if your emotions are radiating from your body to mine. Do you feel that way?"

"Yes," he said.

"What am I feeling right now?"

"You're happy. Deliriously happy. And there's also this sense of anticipation like you want me inside you again, but also a hint of timidness, like you're embarrassed to ask."

The pink flare on her cheeks alerted him that he was correct.

Hadley watched as he stretched his body out before crawling off the bed. "Do you want to take a walk around the lake?"

She nodded excitedly and got out of bed too. They showered together before getting dressed and heading out for the day.

They walked hand in hand up a trail that led them through scenic views of the mountain and the crystal clear lake.

I wonder how the water is so clear, so untouched by the influence of people, she thought to herself.

"Wait here," Clay said. He dropped her hand and started walking down the bank toward the lake.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting you some rocks. You said you wanted to take some home."

He stuck his hand into the almost freezing water and pulled out a few of the smooth black stones. When he walked back up the incline, he placed the rocks in my hands.

"They're so cold!" She gasped, almost dropping them on the ground.

"Well, the water does come straight from the mountains."

"Don't patronize me," she murmured, pressing her cold wet hand against his face. He took the stones back and shoved them in his pockets so she didn't have to carry them.

After finishing their trek around a section of the lake, they walked back to the cabin to have lunch since Hadley was getting a bit hungry.

"Can we do something before we go inside?" She asked, stopping near the dock in front of their cabin.

"What?"

"We should do a polar bear plunge."

"You want to jump in?" He asked, sounding unconvinced.