Heart of Stone (Part III)

III. Chapter 7 | Part 2 - Stone

The run didn't help to calm Stone down at all. His mind was still racing a thousand miles a minute. Talking with Dom gave them an opportunity to plan the trip back, but now another meeting would have to be called regarding him coming with them as well.

It didn't help that his head wasn't in the right place to begin with.

Especially when he returned to the pack house and saw Aubree talking with Laurencius with a towel wrapped around her chest.

Goddess, what was she wearing underneath? He got a hard-on just thinking about it as his eyes took in the swimsuit ties around her slender neck.

Even when she unwrapped the towel and pulled on one of his T-shirts that came down to her thighs, those exposed legs taunted him with memories of them wrapped around his hips, his name on her lips, as he thrust into her.

Aubree didn't see Eramis appear around the corner of the building as she walked into the sliding doors to the kitchen. Nor did she see the grimace that shook Laurencius' entire body when he made eye contact with his father, but Stone saw it.

Laurencius lowered his head in submission before jogging to his father.

Eramis' eyes met Stone's. His brows knotted.

Stone inclined his head before turning and following Aubree into the kitchen.

The kitchen in the main house was large and spacious. Granite countertops lined one wall of cupboards with a huge island in the center with pots and pans hanging from the ceiling.

The scents of two other wolves hit him before he saw them peering into the kitchen from the living room beyond. Their eyes flitted between Stone and Aubree.

Stone moved to her side and put his hand on her lower back as she searched the fridge for something to eat. With his body between hers and theirs, he shot them a look, daring them to even try and come any closer to her.

Deep furrows of their brows, wrinkled noses, and curled lips with exposed canines snarled back in silence before they withdrew and left the living room. Had they been in their wolf forms, they would have slunk away with their tails tucked between their legs.

Aubree didn't seem to even notice them. Instead, she looked up at him when he touched her back and asked him if he was hungry too.

After she ate and changed her clothes, Dom met them in the courtyard and drove them to the public grounds at the Grand Canyon.

Her face lit up in the sunlight as she snapped photos of the canyon on her phone before Stone caught her snapping a few of him and giggling.

Her smile was more dazzling than the natural beauty of the canyon. He watched her eyes dance, caught the slight skip in her step, and heard her heart beat in excitement. He'd seen the glory of the canyon before, but never with his soulmate. Never had he been more captivated by all the little subtleties in her movements, behavior, and glances when she was surrounded by such awe-inspiring wonder.

He knew she could feel his gaze on her. She caught his eye every few moments and would either grin or blush. He wanted to steal her attention like he would steal kisses. Unanticipated, fleeting, and sensual.

As the evening wore on, her stomach growled, much like his own insatiable appetite for her glances, touch, and lips.

They returned to the pack house at sunset, when they were both ravenous, but Eramis had invited them into the main house for dinner.

After expressing interest in pups over their meal, Elena took Aubree out to the gardens, where she was permitted to touch and play with the youngest two members of the pack—a twenty-year-old male, who looked like a four-month-old wolf, and a sixty-year-old female, who looked nearly full grown.