~~

Dietrich

~~

Shawn was one of the personal guards to the Luna so he was busy almost every day. I was glad that we had those first two days together and I still managed to get him to spend time with me when he was off duty though, which was good.

I think Shawn is finally starting to come around now, though nothing much has happened since that kiss. There hadn't even been another kiss, just the memories of that first one. I hadn't pushed things since then, not wanting to scare him off.

I would spend a good chunk of time at Shawn's place, or he would come to see me in my room after he got off work. I was happy to spend as much time with him that I could, but I won't deny that I was greedy and wanted more.

It was for that reason that I had asked if Shawn would have a picnic with me in the mountains, at the place where we had that first long talk on the day we had met.

I was going to count this picnic as our third date, but I figured that Shawn would consider it to be the first, unless he counted our dinner last week as a date as well. Also, we only had a few more days now until the wedding for Trinity and Reece, and I fully expected Shawn to be my date then too.

I planned this date down to the finest detail. The weather was perfect and clear which meant we could watch the stars as long as we wanted. I didn't have a kitchen to use personally, even though I could probably have used the one here if I asked, but I decided to order a meal that I thought would suit us well instead.

The dinner was going to consist of a variety of side dishes and horderves from a decently upscale restaurant down in the city. It was a nice enough place and their food would fit well with the choice of wine I had chosen for the night.

I picked out a nice, plush blanket and even some cushions for us to sit on. There was crystal stemware, gold plated utensils, and candles, it would cover everything that we would need.

I had asked Shawn to meet me after his shift at the estate. He came to my room just before sunset and knocked softly on the door. The look he was wearing, one of slight embarrassment with just a hint of excitement, that look made me smile with satisfaction. He was looking forward to tonight almost as much as I was.

"H-hey Dietrich." He stuttered slightly when I smiled at him.

"Hallo Herzchen." I was grinning, eager for the night to start, how could I not be with my mate standing right in front of me. "Shall we be going?" I grabbed the oversized picnic basket I had prepared for tonight. It might have looked cliche, but I didn't care, Meine Liebe deserved everything, cliched or not.

With the basket on one arm I linked the other arm around his, holding him close to me.

"Herzchen, will you close the door for me? My hands seem to be full." I joked, knowing full well I could have released him to shut the door but I didn't want to.

"Uh, sure." He used his free hand to pull the door closed behind us before we set off down the hall.

The walk from my room on the third floor to the place in the mountains where we had been before didn't take very long. Neither of us talked really, I just held Shawn close to me and rested my head against his as we were walking. It was a sweet, and romantic walk in and of itself.

Together, the two of us spread out the comfortable blanket and sat on our cushions. I put mine right next to Shawn's so we could be closer together, and I was happy when he didn't pull or scoot away.

The food was still warm and it was amazingly delicious, I wondered if it only tasted so much better because I was with Shawn. I figured it might have and I didn't mind, things would always be better with him by my side.

I only brought one bottle of wine, nothing that would get either of us drunk. I wanted us both to be pretty clear minded and to not let anything happen that Shawn was not prepared for. But the taste of the wine, the deliciousness of the food, and the candy for the eyes was more than enough to already have me feeling a little tipsy. I hoped this feeling would never fade.

While we ate we talked about how our day had been, the different things that we had done. Shawn was a busy man of great importance to his pack, and I loved hearing all about what he had done.

"You're in the inner circles, you know what is going on as much as I do." He was smiling as he spoke. "I like that because it means that I am able to talk to you about what I do during the day."

"Ich bin auch meine Liebe. I am too."

"I like that you do that?" He smiled shyly after saying that, like he was embarrassed.

"You like what?"

"That you will translate your phrases when you know I won't understand them."

"Keine bange, Shawn, no worries at all. I know you don't understand it all yet. But in time you will." I stroked the side of his face as I spoke, causing him to blush a furious shade of red. I wondered how long he was going to be so shy towards me.

"I'm glad I am learning. But how long is it all going to last?" He looked sad now for some reason, and the sight of the heartache in him brought physical pain to me.

"Was meinen Sie? What do you mean?"

"This? All this? Us? How long is all of it going to last?"

"Herzchen, why do you doubt me still? All of this, us, everything, it is forever. I will never leave you. I will never again find someone for me. You are it Liebling. Why do you doubt me so?"

"I don't mean to doubt you. It's just, this is all still so new to me, so confusing. I've never had someone want me like this before, so I guess-." He trailed off, unable to finish what he had been saying.

"You don't feel like you're enough, is that it?" He just nodded his head to answer my question, self doubt and fear filling his eyes. "Bitte denk nicht so, please don't think like that." I pulled his face toward me, cradling it in both of my hands so that he would look at me and only me. "Shawn, meine Liebe, you are more than worthy, you're are more than enough. I am happy, beyond happy, that I have finally found you. Please, do not ever think that you are not enough for me, or that you're not good enough. I will never want anyone other than you, man or woman. You are it for me, Liebling."

I could see tears forming in Shawn's eyes, I didn't know if they were happy tears or sad tears, but they broke my heart nonetheless.

"Liebe, please don't cry."

"I'm not crying." He snapped at me before looking instantly apologetic. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell, but I'm not crying." He was right I guess, the tears still hadn't fallen. "But, when you say things like that, it's hard for me to think straight." He had no idea what he had just done to my heart with those words.

"I will happily make your heart race and your mind go blank for the rest of time." I looked lovingly into his eyes as I said these words. "I love you Herzchen, and I will love you always. Never forget that, please."

Shock, surprise, a hint of fear, and a dash of arousal, that is what I saw in Shawn's eyes at that moment. He had not expected my words, or my intensity.

There was just one thing that I wanted to do right then. There was only one thing that I could imagine with perfect clarity. The memory of our kiss, the feel of his lips, the warmth of his mouth under mine, it was coming back to me with such vivid details. I couldn't help myself. I couldn't stop myself from leaning in closer to him, closing the gap between us. I simply could not resist the allure, the pull of his lips.

I stopped trying to resist, I stopped trying to fight the urge and just gave in. With my hands on his face, one on each cheek, I held his gaze as well as his face. Like a magnet his lips were drawing me in, closer and closer with every second.

~~

Shawn

~~

Was Dietrich really professing his undying love for me? Was he really telling me that he wouldn't want any other person for as long as he lived? I knew what I was feeling with this mate bond, but I didn't know how much of it he was going through. I mean, he wasn't a wolf, could he feel what I felt? I was starting to hope, or believe, that he just might be able to.

Not only was he telling me how much he cared for me, how much he was already in love with me, but he was gazing into my eyes with such an intense and heated look that I couldn't help but hope for something a little more.

I didn't have to wait, or even ask for it. Dietrich was holding onto my face, cradling my cheeks in his hands. His hands, which I had once thought would be cold, nearly burned as they held me, the heat between us was so intense.

Those eyes, the pale, pale blue of Dietrich's enchanting eyes, they were nearly hypnotic as they seemed to hold me in place, happily spellbound.

I can't believe that I was hoping for this, waiting for this. I wanted him to kiss me, to press his lips to mine and show me what he had been talking about.

One minute I was looking into Dietrich's eyes, watching him and waiting, and the next I felt his lips press against mine. My eyes closed on a sigh of relief, for a moment I hadn't been certain that he was going to kiss me.

But this kiss. Oh it was so much better than the last one. I hadn't been opposed to the first kiss, but it had taken me by surprise. But this kiss, this one I was hoping for, this one I was wanting.

Dietrich's lips were even hotter than his hands as they pressed against mine. When I had sighed in relief, that slight opening of my mouth left the perfect opportunity for Dietrich to slide his tongue into my mouth.

Last time I had let him explore my mouth himself, I had let him do everything to make up for my surprise and inexperience, but this time, this time I wanted to kiss him back.

I once again wrapped my arms around his waist as he leaned over me. In a fluid, and gentle, motion Dietrich leaned with me and laid me down on the soft, plush blanket. He took his hands from my face and braced them on the blanket, his right arm down near my side and his left arm up next to my head, he was using this position to hold himself up and off of me.

My hands, resting against the small of his back, gripped and pulled with a small amount of firm pressure. This tug brought him closer to me, so that he was pressing his body against mine.

When our bodies were pressed against each other we both groaned in satisfaction. I never once in all my life thought I would be this happy with anyone pressed against me, let alone a man, but there was no reason for me to doubt it now, I was too far gone for it.

I let my hands explore up and down his back, holding him tight. My left hand moved even higher to play in his hair, his soft, soft hair. My right hand, moving around the lower part of his body, moved slightly lower than his back, to grip the hard, toned curve of his backside.

"You're getting more and more used to me now, Liebling." Dietrich whispered against my lips after breaking the kiss.

"Maybe I'm just not telling myself that I shouldn't believe it anymore." I grinned against his lips. "I was never not interested, you know, mate bond and all."

We continued exploring each other for a while longer. His lips running along my jawline and down to my neck. I felt the graze of his teeth, and his fangs, as he kissed and sucked along my neck.

"Hah." I gasped and jumped with a slight jolt of surprise at the feeling.

"Are you ok, meine liebe?" He asked me. I knew what his words meant, and he had said them so many times already, he was calling me his love.

"Yes, it just tickled and surprised me for a moment."

"Tickled? Hmmm." He hummed against my neck with his mouth opened and his lips pressed firmly at the place where my pulse thudded, it sent shivers throughout my entire body. "I might like that you are a little bit ticklish. I might like it a bit too much." He purred and hummed again sending another jolt through me.

"Ahhh." I cried out involuntarily. "Dietrich." I called his name on a shuddering cry.

"Hmm, now that is something I can get used to." He laughed softly. "I want to make you call my name, to have you screaming it all through the night." I stiffened then, surprised by his words. "But you are not ready for that, my love, and I know that."

"I'm sorry, Dietrich." I spoke with a voice full of repentance and sorrow.

"No, Liebling, I am sorry. I don't want you to feel pressured, we will move on when you are ready and not a moment sooner."

"Dietrich?" I sighed his name, happy and sad at the same time.

"I love you, Shawn."

"Dietrich-." I said his name again but then he cut me off.

"Shh, don't feel the need to say it yet, say it when you are ready, Herzchen, only when you are ready."