Chapter 33:

Every night that week Taine would try to coerce Camila into coming into his room again. And every night Camila would say no. Tact was not his strong suit and it often resulted in a battle of wills. Taine could be stoney and mean at the best of times and he wasn't used to not getting what he wanted, especially when it involved desires pertaining to the heart. The previous night he almost apologised for throwing her off the bed. The fact that she almost got a sorry meant that she was wearing down the poor guy.

Camila was sitting at the kitchen counter, with a hot drink in hand and her laptop perched on her lap. She could see Taine in her peripheral vision fidgeting around. He had turned off the T.V a few minutes before and assumed he would have been in bed by now. The pair had an early morning meeting.

She felt him stop at the foot of the stairs. She flicked her eyes to him and gave him a half smile, before continuing what she has been doing. He just stood there.

After a few moments of silence, he spoke. "I'm heading to bed now."

Only half listening half typing, Camila responded, "Yeah cool, have fun with that."

She felt Taine come up behind her and tentatively place a hand on her shoulder. She jumped at the gesture, still not used to his touch. He was clearly trying a different approach.

She flipped the lid of her laptop shut and swivelled to face him. She had to tilt her head up to meet his gaze. Her eyes landed on his lips but she mentally scolded herself from letting unwanted thoughts slip in.

"I'm sorry if you thought being roomies was going to be a regular occurrence, because it wasn't."

Taine scowled at her. She saw the expression he wore so often,closer than she had ever seen it before. Camila wanted to reach up and smooth out the wrinkles in his forehead. Taine really needed to learn to lighten up.

She really didn't know the effect she had on him and before she knew what was happening he had dipped down to kiss her. Electricity charged the air around them. His lips were soft and warm and turned her insides into mush from the second they pressed against hers. She kissed him back with a fierceness she didn't know she possessed. From the way he tensed when she grabbed his neck and pulled him close, she could tell he could feel it too.

Her thin sleeping shirt suddenly felt too thick and hot.

The space between them felt like a chasm.

He picked her up off the stool and placed her on the cold counter. Her legs wound themselves around his waist and pulled him close. The contact made her head spin and sent a wave of feeling through her body. Losing herself in the moment she pulled at the collar of his shirt, she felt his heart rate increase.

It was then, in the dim light of the kitchen, with messy hair, acne cream on her face and her butt beginning to freeze against the marble counter, that she realised she was falling for her mate.

Just because she had reached an emotional epiphany it didn't mean they were going to pillow talk late into the night.

She ended the kiss and Taine, out of breath rested his forehead on her shoulder. Camila kissed him on the cheek and hopped off the counter.

They had a lifetime together. Why did they need to rush.

They really did pick the most romantic situations to rendezvous.

"See you in the meeting tomorrow."

Taine grabbed her hand and stopped her from skipping up the stairs. "but..."

She turned to beam at him, not being able to contain it. She eyed his stance and expression and saw he was clearly confused and frustrated by what she had just done.

Later that night, her body still filled with adrenaline she took a shower and jumped into bed.

She thought about her parents. A night seldom passed where they did not flit into her thoughts. What they would say if they were still here? Before, when her past weighed heavy on her soul, the thought of being in this pack, let alone kissing their Alpha made her so guilty it crushed her soul.

But now she knew that ultimately, her happiness was the only thing that truly would have mattered to them. Holding onto hate, letting the darkness bubble inside her had only hurt herself.

And so, the question remained, was she happy?

The answer wasn't a yes...Yet...Each day she was finding more and more things that watered the seed of happiness within her. It was even beginning to flower. Reaching itself towards the sunlight so it could bloom.

Big things and little things were slowly helping her heal and grow and find peace. There was still hurt, longing and pain in her heart and she figured some of that may never leave, but the fact that she could accept it and live with it without letting it control her and eat her from the inside out, meant that she could finally put down her weapons and stop fighting the prospect of love and happiness and a future...with Taine.

She just prayed that they wouldn't screw it up.

---

The next day an overworked Camila had fallen asleep on the couch straight after dinner. She felt herself be lifted off the couch and into Taine's arms. Once Mason had tried to pick her up when she had fallen asleep in front of the T.V. Apart from the fact that he was a weak pre-pubescent at the time, Camila hated being man-handled. No matter how good the intentions. It took her right back to that night in the woods. She had flipped out on Mason, even left a bite mark on his arm. and even though he was surprised at first he understood her and never picked her up again without express permission.

When she felt the blanket being taken off her and the cold air bite at her feet she waited for the panic and anxiousness to arise. But it didn't. She actually felt normal, if not a little bit safe.

Taine was careful as he carried her up the stairs. He turned to take her into her own room.

She murmured into his neck, "You can take me to your room." She felt him smile against her skin.

So he did.

That was the night that Camila learnt she hated being the big spoon.