Page 58 of Mated in Ink

"Maybe."

I trailed kisses along his shoulder to the mark on his neck. "How about now?"

He laughed. "Jury's still out."

I rested my hand on his good shoulder and tugged him toward me until I could reach his mouth. We kissed until we were both breathless.

"Mm-hmm. That's much better."

"I don't want to hurt you," I reminded him.

"You won't." He climbed into my lap, straddling my hips. Then he groaned and pressed his forehead against mine. "I did this to myself," he whined.

"It's all right," I said as he rolled off me and slipped under the covers.

"It is not. It's our anniversary, and my over-the-counter pain meds didn't work."

I kissed his shoulder, careful not to bump his tattoo, and curled against his side. "We don't have to do anything tonight. We have a whole week off."

He sighed before shimmying back against me. I wrapped my arm around his waist and tugged him closer. He settled against me, his arm resting on top of mine. In no time, his breaths evened out into soft snores.

I kissed his nape and curled tighter around him. After ten years, I still couldn't believe my luck, er, fate. My omega was smart, spirited, and so very talented. With Keith's husband's help, he and Becca had both quit their jobs to run an art studio in Costa Diablo. They took turns teaching classes and hosting workshops, when they weren't creating new product ideas or counting inventory for their shipments to stores all over the Pacific Northwest.

I was so proud of him and grateful to be his. "Love you," I whispered against his nape.

"Love you, too," he mumbled back between snores. Talking in his sleep was another quirk I loved about him, along with his lists, which kept us on time without forgetting anything, and hisgiant bag of everything and anything we could need when we left the house. If he ran out, Becca was there to pick up the slack.

The two were still inseparable, but that meant Bruce and I had time to reconnect, too. We were even closer now than we had been when we were kids, and we had our own kids to thank for that. Each had their own personality, entertaining in their own way. I loved them all.

Love surrounded us, and I loved Gabe most of all. Sometimes, I wondered what my life would have been like if he'd rejected me for a more alpha-like alpha, but I didn't linger on those dark thoughts. He chose me with the help of his magical meerkat tattoo, and that was all that mattered.

THE END