Vann grunted, which she forgave since it was midnight where he was. “How could this possibly be good for us? Wait a minute, aren’t you supposed to be overseeing brunch right now?” His voice was doing that sexy creaky thing that she loved. When he would wake in the middle of the night, roll over to snuggle her and say the wonderful things he would say. She’d doubted he was fully awake and aware of the things he said, but he could have read the weather report in that sleepy voice of his and it would have made her happy.
“I’m taking your advice. I’m letting the staff handle things today. I’m at home, taking a mental health day. It’s a good day for us to talk.”
“Talk,” he said.
“You know,” she teased. “Get to know each other.”
“You called to talk?”
She bit her lip. “You said to call you any time, day or night, if I needed you. Well, I need you now.”
Vann let out a long, slow yawn then tried his best to sound cheerful at being awakened at midnight for a chat. “Of course, anything you need, Peaches.”
She stifled a laugh and said, “I’m kidding. I’m naked under my bathrobe and I’ve been saving it up.”
His breath hitched on the other end. “Oh thank fuck,” he said, “because it’s so late, I’m no good for any amount of conversations besides sighs and grunts right now.”
“You mean you’re not even going to give me instructions?” She pouted.
He sighed. “Can I just lie here and listen?”
GiGi had a better idea.
Chapter Sixteen
Vann
He wished he’d been the one to think up the idea of FaceTime sex, but he was so happy his fated mate had as much of a dirty mind as him.
He’d gone to bed just a couple of hours earlier, thinking of nothing but the next day’s shoot. And now he could barely remember what country he was in; GiGi had him in her ferocious little claws, even thousands of miles away.
On his phone, he watched her spread her robe open, and then her legs. The bright midday light on her side of the world showed him everything. He could see parts of her were still wet from the shower.
He would have thought his mind was still too drowsy for dirty talk, but the sight of her, vulnerable and alone in the middle of the day brought out the alpha wolf, and he wanted to be in charge of her pleasure. The more he resented not being there, the more he knew how much better it would be when they were back together in the same bed.
“Touch your breasts for me, GiGi.”
She obeyed but also teased him. “I thought you were too tired to tell me what to do.”
The beast roiled under his skin. “Just follow my lead, woman,” he gritted out.
The flush that crept across her skin told him she trusted him. “Do you like that when I get rude?”
“Yes, tell me what else you want me to do.”
Vann, fully awake now, said, “Slowly run your hands down, all the way down.” As he narrated, she did exactly as he said, her lips parted, her eyelids hooded, her feet kicking off the pillows the more he made her squirm. “Show me. Slip your fingers in between your lips and then show them to me. I want to see how juicy my Peaches is for me.”
Her breath caught as she slid her hand down.
“So pretty. Such a pretty kitty,” he said.
GiGi’s nostril’s flared whenever he used cat nicknames with her in bed. “You don’t want the cat to come out,” she breathed.
“Maybe I do and maybe I don’t. First, tell me what my Peaches tastes like.”
She didn’t even hesitate. GiGi slipped her fingers into her mouth and sucked off her own juices, then said, “…like what you’ve been missing.”
The way that landed, with all the feelings he wasn’t prepared for. Oh, he felt them. He’d felt them from the beginning. But he knew at that moment there was something more she needed, even if she didn’t know.
Vann instructed her to keep going. To keep pleasuring herself while he talked to her, but only if she wanted to.
“I have something to say. Do you know how incredible you are? Do you know that I knew you before I even knew that I knew you? The wolf part of me found you before the man even knew what was happening. You had me before either of us knew each other as humans. It was meant to be, but it’s more than that. It would be one thing if I’d simply ended up with my mate, with the person I imprinted on because of basic, primal instinct. I don’t think you understand how lucky I am that it was you.”
“Vann,” she said, her voice watery, but he kept going.
“You are the most amazing woman I’ve ever met. I hate that we’re spending this time apart. I’m kicking myself for letting you talk me into finishing out my contract. I’m kicking myself for not finding a way to take you with me. But I love you because you stick to your word. You stayed because of your commitments and you made me stick to mine, and I love you for that. That’s who you are.”
The noise she made was something guttural that might have been his name and might have been “I love you too,” but he couldn’t quite tell.
“Peaches, are you okay?”
On the screen, he could only see that she was wrapped up in a blanket on the bed, and she was wiping her eyes.
“Did I go too far?” he asked. “Did I ruin your plan for today?”
GiGi shook her head and smiled, her eyes closed. “You finished me off with your words. I fucking love you.”
“I’m so glad to hear that, Peaches. I’m so glad you took the day off.”
She smiled and snuggled deeper into the
