It feels like someone stuffed cotton in my mouth- that's my first thought as I wake up. Wait... is there cotton in my mouth? I bring my fingers to my lips and sigh in relief when I realize that I'm perfectly fine. I open my eyes and notice that I'm lying in Grayson's bed. It takes me a few moments to remember why I'm here, and the memories instantly start flooding my brain. Eli must have removed the sleeping spell because I had a dreamless sleep. Thank goodness!

I remember feeling fearful that Eli would betray me, but he stuck to his word and saved my life. I didn't forget that he was the reason it was in danger in the first place, but he did seem full of remorse as he attempted to make it right. I still have a lot to say to him, and Elle, but for now I just really want some water. And coffee. And food. Okay, I want a whole freaking buffet- sue me!

I shift into a sitting position and feel a slight pain in my left arm. I find an IV inserted, so I slowly start peeling off the tape. I cringe as I pull the small tube out of my arm- I can't go downstairs and get food while dragging around an IV pole. Thinking of food, I eagerly stand and aim for the door, but my legs feel like noodles. I fall to the ground like a sack of potatoes and groan at my stupidity... How long have I been asleep?

The door bursts open and I immediately feel the warmth and sparks that indicate that my mate is touching me.

"Fuck, baby. Are you okay? I leave for one minute and you fall!" Grayson easily brings me to my feet as he looks over me with concern. I chuckle and give him a hug. My arms wrap around his torso as I close my eyes and relax in his hold. I feel so refreshed- and alive. The past week has been extremely rough on my body and mental health, and I'm just grateful that I'm alive and able to hug Grayson. I think I'd go mad if I had to experience one more dream with Grayson dying.

"Why did you take the IV out? You could have hurt yourself even more! The doctor should check you out first before you start walking around and-"

His worrying is kind of cute, but he needs to stop nagging. I place my pointer finger over his lips so he stops talking, and I smile at his shocked expression. I guess the Alpha's not used to being shut up...

"Gray, I'm absolutely fine. I'm a little stiff, but I'm perfectly healthy. How long was I asleep anyway?" I ask him the question expecting him to say anywhere from 12-15 hours.

"Two and a half days," he grumbles as he pulls my body closer to him. I'm completely shocked. I slept for two and a half days straight?!? I didn't even know that was possible!

"W-what? H-how did I sleep f-for that long?" I ask as I pull away from his embrace. I begin pacing the room impatiently. I guess that's why I had an IV- I needed nutrients for the DAYS I spent sleeping and not eating. I must have missed some school. That's upsetting. Hopefully I don't fall behind. My mom wouldn't be happy about my missing school and- WAIT!

"Holy shit! My mom has no idea where I am! She probably thinks I'm dead in a ditch somewhere or kidnapped by some homeless man or something!" I begin pacing again and pulling at my hair. What am I going to tell her? I can't say I was with Grayson for two days- that will seem suspicious. I would have texted or called her in that span, so she'll think something fishy is going on. Oh my god! She's probably freaking out and-

I stop pacing when I hear an amused laugh. I turn and glare at Grayson with my arms crossed at my chest and my nostrils flaring in annoyance.

"What? What's so funny?" I grumble as I begin tapping my foot on the ground. Grayson walks up to me and grabs me by my waist and pulls me towards him until there isn't an inch of space.

"You're cute when you're angry," he explains, and I huff out a breath when he only finds my anger hilarious. "I texted your mom from your phone. She thinks you've been staying with Cooper." I'm glad she knows I'm alive and well. I let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Also," he drawls, "I've never heard you curse before. It's kind of hot."

My breath stalls as I look up into his silver eyes. His pupils begin to dilate the longer he stares at me. His grip on my hips tightens infinitesimally. It almost seems like he's afraid to hold me too tight, yet he can't let me go. I can only imagine how he must be feeling right now. He's a man who has found his soul-mate. He probably wants to move faster than I'm ready for, yet he's been so patient and understanding with me.

His lust is battling with his common sense- the fact that I just woke up after having slept for two and a half days because of a warlock's spell intended to kill me. I make the decision for him when I stand on my tip-toes and bring my lips only centimeters away from his.

"I'm human, not glass. You won't break me." The words come out in a low, seductive voice that I didn't even know I possess. As I whisper the words, my lips lightly touch his. He loses his patience and smashes his lips to mine. The kiss is hot and passionate, and it's exactly what I need right now. I forget my hunger for food and feel a deep hunger for something else- something new.

His hands don't remain on my hips- they move to my back as he sensually rubs my body. As his tongue enters my mouth, his hands travel down to my butt and he squeezes it. I gasp, allowing his tongue to delve deeper into my mouth. I lightly suck on his tongue, causing a throaty growl to release from him. I throw caution to the wind and let my body do the talking. His groans only raise my confidence, so I decide to take it one step further.

I place my hands on his abdomen- right at the bottom of his 8-pack - and I lightly use my nails to scratch up his chest as we continue making out. My hands finally make it to his shoulders, so I place my hands around his neck to pull him even closer to me- if that were possible.

Before I know it, we're on the other side of the room and I'm straddling Grayson as he sits on his bed. We've never taken things this far, but I'm not in the right headspace to tell him to stop- I don't want him to.

His hands remain on my butt as he pulls my body closer to him so there isn't an inch of space left. Since there's no space, I feel all of him- all of him. His member is hard against me, and I pull away from the kiss as my inexperience gets the best of me. I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I know this feels good to me, but Grayson is way more experienced than me. What if he isn't enjoying what we're doing? What if he wants to have sex now? I don't think I'm ready for that quite yet, but I'm really enjoying what we're doing now.

Grayson uses his thumb to pull my bottom lip out from in between my teeth. I didn't even realize I was biting my lip- nervous habit, I guess.

"What's wrong, baby? Talk to me." His concern and gentleness baffles me. How did I get so lucky? I merely shake my head and look down at the ground. I can't believe I'm ruining the moment by being insecure and shy! Ugh, I'm so stupid!

"Thea, look at me." The command in his voice is gentle but there. I look up at him as he holds my cheek in his palm. "Are you okay? We can stop at anytime. I thought you wanted-"

"I do!" I blurt out a little louder than I intended to. He chuckles and gives me a quick kiss on the lips.

"So what happened? Did I do something wrong?" I can't believe he's asking me if he did something wrong! I don't think he could do anything wrong in that department if he tried! He's a literal God and I'm just an average human girl.

"You didn't do anything wrong. The opposite, in fact. I just don't... I've never... And you..." I can't even get a coherent thought across. I'm so flustered, especially since our position hasn't changed. I still feel him hard underneath me which is doing strange things to me.

"Listen to me. I know you're inexperienced. I don't care. I actually prefer it that way. I want to be your first everything. Your first love, your first sexual experience- I want to be your first and your last. You're it for me, baby."

I don't know how he managed to say the perfect thing, but he did. He managed to tame my wildest fears for our relationship in seconds. He doesn't care that I get flustered easily or that I don't know what to do sexually yet. He wants to be with me forever. My heart warms at the notion and a blush forms on my cheeks.

I immediately place my hands behind his neck and bring his lips back to mine. I'm so happy right now, and my only thoughts are of Grayson. The kiss starts out slow and sensual but quickly picks up speed again so that we're basically back to where we started before I freaked out.

His hands on my backside pull me into his hardness and I unintentionally let out a loud moan. He lets out a throaty growl and brings his hips up to meet mine. The friction is bliss. My body feels so tingly and there's an irresistible feeling building in my stomach. If we're still fully clothed and it feels like this, then I can't even imagine what sex must feel like. I'm beginning to understand what everyone's been talking about.

My breathing turns shallow as he picks up speed. My kisses get a little sloppy as time goes on, and I feel like I'm floating. I've never felt a sensation like this before.

"Grayson," I moan as my mouth hangs open. My eyes close on their own as I focus on the building tension in my stomach. "Please."

"Please, what?" He's teasing me, but at this point I don't care. I need him to fix this aching in between my legs.

"Please," I whine again.

All of a sudden, he stops grinding his hips on mine. I open my eyes and basically pout as I confusingly look at him. Why did he stop?

"Say what you want- then I'll be more than happy to help you," he says with a smirk on his face. I bite my lip, unsure if I can outright ask him for what I need. Along with the smirk, I can still see the caring Grayson who won't push me past my limits. I must be taking too long to answer because he brings his forehead to rest on mine.

"Do you trust me?" he whispers.

"Yes," I say immediately.

"Okay. Then tell me what you want. I promise you won't regret it." I'm still a little nervous, but I'm more comfortable now after he says that.

"I want you... t-to make me c-cum," I whisper. It's the dirtiest thing I've ever said, and it only makes me want him more.

"Your wish is my command," he says, and then he's kissing me again. He flips us so that my back is resting on the bed while he hovers over me. His elbows take the brunt of his weight, so he's not laying directly on me- however, his body is still fully touching mine.

He continues rubbing himself on my lower region and the tension continues to rise. One of his hands trails down from my face and the other trails up from my thigh. His right hand stop when it reaches my breast, and he takes his pointer finger and brings it around my nipple. I shudder at the new sensation and my back arches slightly. Me not wearing a bra right now really increases the pleasure. He's not directly touching me, but it almost feels like he is.

His thumb comes up and he lightly pinches my nipple. I let out a low moan as tingles shoot directly from that spot to my core. Grayson bites my lip and then trails kisses down my jaw, my neck, and he keeps going down until he reaches my other nipple. He licks it through my shirt and then begins sucking on it. My hands immediately find his hair as I grip it and push him further into my body. It feels sooo good.

While I don't think I can handle any more, he trails his left hand up my thigh until it reaches my pajama shorts. He doesn't remove them, he just places his hand over my clothed center and rubs on my clit. The combination of the touching and the sucking along with his grinding against me is sensory overload.

He moves even faster and harder against me and my breathing picks up even more. Grayson brings his head up to me and begins kissing and sucking up my neck. Once he reaches my ear, he lightly bites my earlobe before whispering in my ear.

"Cum for me."

As if on command, I release with a loud scream which Grayson muffles with his kiss. The feeling is euphoric. The waves of pleasure continue on as he continues to rub my core as I come down. A breathy sigh releases from my lips. I must have blacked out for about thirty seconds or so, and when I come back down to Earth, Grayson has a cocky smile on his face. I can't even blame him for it- he knows he has magical fingers.

With a lazy smile, I turn to him. "That was... " I stumble to find the words to express what that was like for me. He chuckles and pulls me into his side.

"Speechless? Just wait until I really touch you. My mouth can do so many things that you can't even imagine."

I hide my face in his chest to hide my blush, but I'm pretty sure he noticed it. He notices everything. We lay in bed for another minute or so before my stomach so rudely interrupts our moment as it releases a growl that rivals Grayson's.

"Let's get you changed and then get some food in you, yeah?"

I nod my head and give Grayson a slow kiss that lasts a little bit longer than I intended. Grayson is the one to pull back as he groans.

"Don't start something you can't finish." He shakes his head and smirks as he glances down to his you-know-what and my eyebrows raise. How could I have been so selfish? He helped me, so shouldn't I help him? Is that what he wants?

"D-do you w-want me to-" I don't even have time to finish the sentence before Grayson is shaking his head.

"No, love. Today was about giving you pleasure. I thoroughly enjoying watching you cum by my hands." He gets up from the bed and walks over to his drawer and pulls out a pair of clean boxers and sweat pants. He hands them to me and directs me to the bathroom where I change out of the... ruined... clothes I was wearing before. Who knew things got so messy?

When I'm all cleaned up, I open the bathroom door and find Grayson right in front of me. His clingy nature shouldn't surprise me at this point. I'm sure now that with the combination of us taking things a step further and with my almost near-death experience I won't be getting much space from Grayson. I don't mind. At all.

He looks down at me with a mix of adoration and affection. He scoops me up in his arms so that I'm being carried bridal style. I don't even try to get out, I just cuddle deeper into his muscled body and allow him to carry me to the kitchen.

He sits me down on one of the kitchen stools and he begins rummaging around in the fridge. "Is there anything in particular you want?"

I'm so hungry I could eat a cow. Okay, that's disgusting. But I would be fine eating anything at this point. "I'm just really hungry, Gray. Can you make something that's quick?"

He nods and pulls out cheese from the fridge and begins placing a pan on the stovetop. He also finds a loaf of bread and takes out eight slices. Five minutes later Grayson presents a stack of four grilled cheese sandwiches. I take one and immediately shove it into my mouth.

"Ohmygawd, thisissogood," I moan as I taste the melted cheese and the wonderfully warmed bread around it.

"Thea." Grayson gives out a warning growl. It's not threatening, but I'm still not sure why he's doing it.

"What?" I say with a full mouth of food.

He doesn't answer me.

😏