Touch of Innocence

31

Hadley ran her fingers over the mating mark on her neck, the one Clay left when they mated for the first time. It was the final step of their mating process and bound them together.

She loved that little mark on the side of her neck. When she felt lonely at school, was having a bad day, or needed comfort when being kidnapped by her parents, she would stroke the mark, feeling more connected to Clay.

"What are you doing?" Her mate asked as he walked into their bedroom.

"Nothing," she smiled.

His arms wrapped around her and pulled her into his strong chest. Comfort. Contentment. Safety. He inspired all those feelings she'd missed over the last day.

"I love my mark," she said as she stared at it in the mirror. "It's kind of weird though, to think my aging will stop in a few years."

"I get how that's hard to process, but the bright side is that you'll never get wrinkly."

She elbowed him in the side before turning around and hugging him.

She knew what he had been doing, and she was okay with it. They were her biological egg and sperm donor, but that was all. She felt no remorse for them, for what Clay would do to them. She just didn't want any part of it. She didn't want to see what happened to them.

She wanted to wash the grime and the feeling of her father's hands off her. "I'm going to grab a shower. Will you join me?" She asked, grabbing hold of his hand.

She wasn't afraid per se, but the situation had her worked up and she'd rather not be apart from Clay for a little while.

"Of course."

They walked to the bathroom and stripped down before stepping into the warm stream of water. Clay took over for her, insisting on washing her body.

He lathered her shampoo between his hands and then ran them gently across her scalp. A soft sigh left her mouth at his comforting touch.

"I contacted your school and explained the situation. I've coordinated with Ace to send a few soldiers to collect your professor and bring him back here. They've also allowed you and Hazel to take online classes for the rest of the semester."

She felt like crying. Her mate was so thoughtful, always taking care of things. She hadn't even thought about Dr. Acker or going back to school.

"They said Hazel could go online too?"

"She doesn't have to if she doesn't want to. But it's an option if she wants. I don't want you going back there right now."

She hugged him after he had rinsed the soap out of her hair. "I don't want to go back either. I don't want to be away from you." She kissed his chest and leaned forward for him to run the conditioner through her ends. "You always take care of everything."

Clay snuggled her closer to her him. He'd thought the worst when he realized Hadley had gone missing. He could feel her fear, her worry, her yearning. And when Hazel called asking if he knew where she was, he knew she had disappeared.

He'd thought the worst for a few hours, and now that he had Hadley back in his arms, he'd never let her go.

They finished showering and headed to their closet to get dressed.

Hadley was tucking her shirt into the waist of her jeans when the emotions of the last hours came thundering through.

"Why are you crying, baby?" He asked as he tilted her chin up.

"Hazel almost died for me."

He nodded. "Yes, she did, and she's put herself in both mine and the kingdom's good graces for sacrificing herself for the princess."