Page 114 of Not Looking
I took a deep breath. “I was prepared to end things… because I love you. I couldn’t let myself fall any farther if I was going to lose you.”
I opened my eyes and turned to face him. “I love you, Craig.”
His answering smile lit up his face.
I returned the smile, then settled in his embrace. “It’s going to take time. I want to hear it, but…”
“Don’t go overboard?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“I can do that.”
“Thank you.”
He kissed my head. “Beautiful Randy.”
I hummed, comfortable in his arms.
“Do you want me to go home so you can process?”
I considered, then shook my head. “Make love to me?”
Every instinct demanded that I reconnect with my alpha.
“Ok.”
I stood and took his hand as I led him upstairs to the bedroom.
His kisses were sweet—gentle.
Something deep within started to heal as he sank into me.
Chapter 24 - Craig
~Christmas Eve~
“Is this your Randy?” Papa asked from where he sat on his end of the video call.
I grinned. “It is. Papa, Dad, this is Randy. Randy, meet my parents, David and Curtis.”
Papa’s smile brightened his whole face. “Finally, we get to put a face to the name, and just in time for Christmas.”
“Hi,” Randy said softly from beside me.
“Oh, it’s so good to finally meet you,” Papa gushed. “Even if it is just a video call. Craig can’t stop talking about you.”
“I’m not that bad,” I argued.
Dad snorted. “Don’t let him fool you, Randy. He hasn’t been able to talk about anything else since he started courting you. He’s always so excited to tell us about something you did together, or something you made.”
“Really?” Randy asked.
Papa laughed. “That bowl you made… last week? The one with the bark still on the edges? He sent so many photos,gushing about how hard that was to do with that particular wood. How bark dries at a different rate than the rest of the wood—and even if it didn’t fall off naturally, that it could have come off so easily when you turned it.”
“He told you I practically drowned it in glue, right?”
Dad chuckled. “Of course. But you still had to keep the bark on long enough to get there. I don’t understand wood the same way he does, but he said you had to dry it extremely carefully in order to preserve it.”
