Chapter 8

Alice woke up a few hours later and could see the moonlight shining through the window. Baldwin was still peacefully asleep next to her, his arm draped across her. She gently extracted herself from him and got out of the bed. All of her stuff was still down the hall but she felt super exposed with nothing on so she wrapped a towel from the bathroom around her. She sat down next to the window and opened it. The breeze from outside felt good against her skin. Mating with Baldwin had changed something within her, of course it would but she wasn't sure what she had been expecting. Alice looked at the ring on her finger as it sparkled in the moonlight and took the time to admire it. The ring was simple but intricate with an oval diamond surrounded by vines with leaves that had small amethysts and emeralds set in between the leaves. Although the ring looked new and never worn Alice could sense that it was old, which brought up questions that she would have to ask later. Looking over at the man asleep in the bed Alice realized she felt lighter…happier. Probably the happiest she had been in a long time.

Baldwin unconsciously felt that something was missing. Realizing Alice was no longer next to him he woke with a start only to find her at the window looking out. Baldwin admired how beautiful she looked sitting there, the moonlight shining off her blonde hair making her look more like a dream than something real. Sensing he was awake she turned to look at him and gave him a smile. The last of the fear he had felt at finding her gone from the bed melted away at her smile but then was replaced by concern. "Anything wrong my love?" he asked as he moved to sit next to her. "No I was just thinking about tonight," she replied with a shake of her head. "Thinking about what?" Baldwin couldn't feel that anything was wrong through the bond but was a little confused why she was sitting here at the window by herself. "Don't you feel that everything in the world has become right again? Like there was a piece missing and now it has been filled?" She asked him. Baldwin closed his eyes and after a moment he could feel within him what she was talking about. There was a part of him that he had not realized had felt empty but now after mating had been filled in by their bond. It then occurred to him that Alice must have also had that emptiness within her. He had not realized he had started crying until he felt her wiping the tears from his cheeks and was looking at him with deep concern. "Why are you crying?" Alice asked. Baldwin took her hand in his and held it up to his nose and took a deep breath of her sweet scent to steady his thoughts. Still holding her hand to his cheek he said, "I'm so sorry for making you wait so long. It was torture for me everyday I did not claim you as mine but I forgot it would have been just as equally painful for you as well." Alice patiently waited for him to finish as she could sense there was more he wanted to say. "I should have fought for us, instead of just going with what my father asked of me." "No," Alice interrupted, "you were only doing what you thought best, because he always knew what was best. And it's not like we kept our promises to him all that well," she added with a slight mischievous look in her eyes. Baldwin smiled at the memories of all their secret rendezvous throughout the years. "That may be so," Baldwin said, "but after he died, I stubbornly, if not stupidly, kept that promise. I could of…we could of…anytime in the last few decades." "Hey" Alice put both hands around his face, "Don't beat yourself up about it. Perhaps we were meant to wait until now. Yes it hurt more and more every time I had to watch you walk out the door. Never sure when I would see you next. I was never angry with you for not mating with me. I was just frustrated and also because I just wanted you to just let me love you." "I don't deserve you," Baldwin finally said. "Yes you do. You deserve to be loved and to have someone take care of you. We deserve each other," Alice replied. "I love you" Baldwin said before kissing her gently "I love you too" Alice said in between kisses. Baldwin lifted her up bridal style and carried her to the bed.

As they cuddled together, after making love a second time, Baldwin traced his finger along the scars on Alice's back. The newest one was behind her right shoulder and caused by a bullet during World War II, he gave it a gentle kiss. He then moved on to her much larger and much older scars that criss crossed their way down the rest of her back. "I have not added any new ones, if that is what you are checking?" Alice said feeling where he was touching. "You have an advantage over me," she added. "How so?" Baldwin asked. "You know the how and the when for all of my scars," she replied as she turned to face him, "but I do not know all the stories behind all yours." "Did you want to hear about them all now?" Baldwin asked with a raise of his eyebrow. "Not tonight, but maybe another night," she said leaning in to kiss him. Although a quick kiss Baldwin could still feel it go straight from his lips to his heart and found himself wanting more. So he kissed her bruisingly hard but found it to be not enough. He rolled her over on her back and moved to hover over her. FIrst he ran his fingers through her hair before running his nose through it taking in as much of her scent of flowers and fresh rain as he could. Alice could feel the end of his nose brush down her cheek and then down her neck, the sensation sending small bolts of pleasure that spread throughout her body all the way down to her toes. Baldwin finally settled his head upon her chest with his ear right above her heart so he could hear her heart beat in time with his. He sighed with contentment as he laid the rest of his body against hers. "Is that all you needed?" Alice asked. "Mm hmm" Baldwin hummed. Alice put her nose to his copper hair and took her own large breath of his scent, first smelling the leather and fire but then catching the more subtle earthy notes most other creatures usually missed. These were her favorite as they reminded her of being in a forest. Baldwin then felt her arms tighten around him. Here they stayed the rest of the night. Not sleeping but neither moving. Both enjoying the feeling of their mating bond finally being complete.