Claimed by the Primals

Chapter Eight

Owwww...

God, have you ever done a full-body workout when your body isn't used to it? Well, that only begins to explain the discomfort I was in the next morning. My arms and legs felt like anvils, my neck and jaw were stiff, and my abs cramped up like I was on my period (I wasn't, I checked). Oh, and that didn't even begin to describe the ache between my thighs. It was that good and bad after-ache from rough sex times ten. Christ, I should have thought of that before letting Kade fuck me.

I would have loved nothing more than to stay in bed and not move for the rest of the day, but it was also hot as hell, especially with Warrick's heavy arm draped over my waist. He didn't seem to notice though. The guy was out cold, and it was a bit of a struggle lifting the dead weight off me.

Once I was free and looking down at him, I wasn't able to stop looking at him. I know, I know, I've said it a million times already, but... he really was beautiful. His chest rose and fell with his steady breathing, giving life to the gold lines etched into his skin. I could just see the edges of more tattoos on his back, but he rolled over in his sleep and blocked my view.

I decided to let him sleep and crawled out of the bed as quietly as I could. My legs were like jelly, and it took a minute for them to hold my weight. I got dressed again in the borrowed clothes, lamenting the lack of underwear, and exited the room.

I half-expected Kade to be downstairs, since he hadn't been in the bed when I woke up, but he was nowhere to be seen. I stood in the middle of the loft for a second, wondering what the hell to do. Stay? Go home? Run as far away as possible?

None of those felt like a really good option. I really just wanted to find a time machine and go back to getting ready for the bar, change my mind, and just stay home with Matthias watching movies and eating takeout. Then again, if time travel was real, I would have gone back a lot further than just a few nights.

The instinctual need for coffee took over while my already racing mind continued to attempt to comprehend what the hell was going on. I'm not going to lie, having a few minutes without either of them around was exactly what I needed. No one explaining anything to me, no one dropping anymore reality-breaking bombs, just... time.

Unfortunately, without them there to distract me, I immediately started wondering why I was never told. Why my mom, dad, and sister never explained it to me. Like... I could understand my dad or my sister... but mom? And what about the other guys in dad's squad? If they were her other mates, then they could have told me, too. So why didn't anyone tell me?

That was the state Kade found me in when he walked through the apartment door; huddled on the couch, wrapped around my fourth cup of magic bean juice, chasing that same question around and around in my head. I didn't even notice him at first. Not until he was right beside me and it was impossible not to notice. "Earth to Jayden," he was laughing as he sat down on the edge of the coffee table. "Is anyone home?"

"Yeah," I squeaked and coughed to clear my sore throat. "Yes, sorry. I was just... thinking."

"Is that what that smell was?" I glared at him, but that cocky grin just made me feel all warm and tingly on the inside, and I smiled back. He nudged a couple of shopping bags next to him. "I bought you some clothes. Figured you'd appreciate something that actually fits. As much as we enjoy seeing you in ours."

"Thank you!"

My body protested moving, but nothing was going to stop me from putting on a bra again. Kade played it smart by going to the sports aisle of whatever store he went to. He didn't have to guess an exact size for anything, just something that looked close and with enough elasticity to fit up to a size bigger.