With Hearts to Hear| ✔

|11|

Killian smiled seeing her combat boots by the door; he could get used to the sight. He gravitated towards her much like the way one is drawn towards the warmth of the sun, or the smell of coffee in the morning. She looked lost to the world, humming gently whilst she strummed the pliable strings of the instrument in her small, calloused hands.

"I love hearing you play," Killian sighed dreamily. His entrance startled her, the music turning to silence in an abrupt ending that sent a quietness crashing into them.

"I love playing," She rested the instrument back in its case, allowing him to capture her full attention. He always seemed to fill her up, whenever he was around her, she wasn't sure how or why. "It makes me feel grounded."

Killian dropped her bags that he had brought in where he stood before strolling over to where she sat. His large body moved with a grace that Rachel didn't think possible of a man as tall or as muscled as he; he was just a river of effortlessness, of unrestrained comfortability.

Rachel wasn't sure if it was because he was comfortable in his home, or himself, or some kind of mixture of the two, all she knew was that it was attractive. When he kneeled beside her, pressing a kiss against the back of her strumming hand, then to her collar bone before nipping at her lips all she could do was let him.

His lips coaxed her teasingly, and she smiled, almost tempted to give into him until she had the sudden uncomfortable thought of her unceremonious encounter with his mother which was more than enough to kill her mood. She guessed that the woman had left, and Killian didn't seem too worried so she figured he had sorted the whole thing, but still she couldn't help but want to know what had happened.

"How did things go with your mum?" She pulled back, her hands pulling his hair off its bun and running through his thick waves. "She seemed really... angry?"

Killian grimaced, "I think we've reached an understanding. I'm so sorry for the way that she–"

"It's fine." It wasn't, but Rachel didn't like the thought of Killian apologising for his mother; not when she was in control of her own actions, and worse yet, she wasn't entirely sure the woman would extend an apology herself.

"No it wasn't." He gave her a tight lipped smile, only easing up when she pecked his lips gently. "I love her, but man she makes it hard sometimes."

"Yeah I think most mums are like that." Rachel chuckled, she thought of her own mother whom she loved dearly and yet, she still felt as though she didn't have a place with her. Her heart clenched painfully at the thought. "If she's annoying you, then I suppose it means she cares. She wouldn't bother if she didn't."

"I just wish she'd care less about what's happening in my love life." Killian mused with a roll of his eyes. In all honesty, he was hurt that his mother had been so rude to Rachel, and worse yet encouraged him to reject her even after finding out exactly who she was to him.

"You're a grown man, you can make your own choices, what does it matter if she makes an input?" Rachel mused, though she realised the words might have sounded a tad unfeeling and didn't entirely come out in the way that she hoped they would have. "I just mean that–"

"I know what you meant," Killian stopped her, and he had. Perhaps it was because even in the short amount of time that he had come to know her, he knew exactly what she was like, or perhaps it was a quality of the matebond to prevent misunderstanding between mates. He wasn't entirely sure, but he didn't think it mattered. "It's just, her input can often be very intrusive. I hope you never find out, but I have a sneaking suspicion that she'll just be picking her battles from here on in."

"You don't think I can handle her?" Rachel gave him a sly mischievous grin, her question entirely rhetorical. He had seen her in action, and even if he hadn't, her bravado as tough as the earth's crust was enough to convince him that she could hold her own.