Damon’s warm eyes flashed with determination. “I’m fully trained and capable of treating you. I brought you here so I could look over you and be sure you were safe. But yes, I can take you over to get checked out by first aid.”
“Am I in your bedroom?”
“No.” He shook his head. “My room is on the other side of this wall.”
So many conflicting thoughts rushed through her mind, ranging from gratefulness for his concern, to confusion by his strange manner of caring for her. She pursed her lips and glanced around, looking for a clock.
“Do you know what time it is?”
“Around eight.”
“Where’s my jacket?”
“It’s in the living room to dry out. Why do you need it?”
“I need my phone, if it’s not dead.”
When she moved to climb off the bed, Damon jumped to his feet. “I’ll get your phone. Please, stay here until you’re ready to move. I’ll make you some breakfast to help restore your energy.”
He opened the door, and she glanced through the doorway to see an open space with picture windows and a chocolate brown sofa. This was where he lived. A shudder of awareness danced through her. How strange this all was. Maybe she’d be able to process it once she had her wits back.
Damon returned and handed her the phone. The battery read one hundred percent. She glanced at him. “You charged it for me?”
“Of course. I said I’d take care of you.”
Her lips twitched. What should she make of all this? “I don’t understand why, but thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” Damon held her gaze for several seconds. “Will you stay for breakfast? I can make waffles, coffee, bacon...”
Her mouth watered. Since she was already here and weak, a little food in her belly wouldn’t hurt. “Sure. Thanks.”
She texted Tara in case she was awake and worried. Be back soon. She’d explain everything later—once she had a clue as to what happened herself.
As he walked out of the room, Sophie watched him. He stood as muscular and impressive as she’d remembered in the club. Despite his intimidating size, he seemed considerate and caring.
And now—he was cooking breakfast for her?
What a strange night indeed.
Damon
As Damon prepared breakfast in his kitchen, his wolf urged, We can’t let her leave.
We can’t make her stay here, Damon countered.
But she’s our mate. We’ve waited for her for so long.
Damon exhaled. And it’s like I’ve said for years—mates are nothing but trouble. In just one night, it might have led me to start a pack war.
A mate would be worth that.
Damon continued to struggle with his wolf’s insistence to convince Sophie to stay. Soon the cabin was filled with the scent of brewing coffee, sizzling bacon, and waffles.
He didn’t want her to leave as much as his wolf, but he also couldn’t force her to stay. Besides, the human part of him—the more rational side that considered things rather than relying on his wolf’s primal instincts—still questioned whether this was crazy. He couldn’t change his life because of a woman he didn’t know. In just a few hours, her arrival had thrown his life and that of his pack into chaos.
Especially since he was just as eager as his prowling wolf inside to be close to her again.
After Damon finished making breakfast, he set up a tray to bring it to her in the guest room. He snorted—what guests? He didn’t invite others to stay with him. Funny how he was playing such a hospitable role with her.
Once he returned to her, a strange sense of euphoria filled him again. Having her there felt—right.
He’d heard about this feeling. A wolf would be in agony while yearning for his mate, and the world would feel balanced again when around her.
He groaned inside. Trouble indeed.
Sophie sat up in the bed, her dark auburn hair spilling over the white cotton pillow she’d propped behind her. “It smells delicious. But you don’t have to wait on me, Damon. I could sit at a table.”
“Nope. You were already lightheaded and almost fell.”
“Maybe because I sat up so quickly. I don’t feel so unsteady now.”
“Still, I don’t want you exerting yourself at all until you get some energy back.”
She succumbed, sinking against the pillow behind her back. “What about you? Aren’t you going to go eat as well?”
“I’ll get a plate for myself in a minute.” He positioned the tray over her lap and ensured it was stable.
“Will you bring your plate in here and sit with me?” Her blue eyes implored him.
An unfamiliar but pleasurable sensation filled his chest. She’d invited him to sit with her. That was one step in the right direction. It meant she didn’t fear him as she had when she had awoken.
“Of course. I’ll be right back.”
Once he filled a plate for himself and refilled a mug with coffee, he returned to the bedroom. He brought a chair from the kitchen and set it up as a little side table and then sat near the foot of the bed. He grinned to himself.
“Why are you smiling?” Sophie asked.
“I never thought I’d be having breakfast here in this room quite like this.”
She arched a brow and grinned. “That makes two of us.”
Her smile dazzled him. It was the first time she looked at him without wariness since she woke. A desire in him grew—he wanted to be the one to make her smile from this point on. He wanted to make his mate happy.
Ugh. He closed his eyes. Mate? Nope. Making her happy? Why was he allowing himself to think this way?
She did not live here on this mountain. She would be out of his life before long.
His wolf nudged him not to think that way. Not if we can convince her to stay.
Damon squelched that insane idea before
