Heart of Stone (Part III)

III. Chapter 8 | Part 1 - Stone

Stone returned shortly after the sun rose. Hoping to slip inside unnoticed, he was surprised to find Aubree watching TV in the living room. An empty bowl of cereal sat before her on the coffee table.

She turned in her seat and looked over the couch. Her eyes grew large before dashing away with inflamed cheeks.

He smirked to himself. When was she going to get used to seeing him naked?

"So, um," she stammered, "where did you go? I heard you get up and I got cold."

He came up behind her and kissed the top of her head. Heat from her embarrassment continued to rise up and warm her face and neck. She was wearing another one of his T-shirts and he hoped nothing else.

Taking a deep breath in and out, he tried to clear his mind as he inhaled her scent. His still mingled on her skin from their love-making earlier and it was hard to think of anything else.

"I'm sorry if I worried you. I needed some fresh air. You didn't have to wait for me."

She shook her head as she ripped the fuzzy blanket from her legs and held it up for him as she avoided looking at him. "I couldn't fall back asleep. I kept getting a pain in my chest. It went away about fifteen minutes ago."

A small grin slowly spread across his face as he took the throw from her and wrapped it around his waist. While it covered him from the waist down to his feet, it did nothing to conceal the activity taking place in his nether region in the last few seconds of being near her and seeing her flushed.

Yet, she intrigued him, making his stomach flip-flop in titillation. "Really? In your chest?"

"Yeah." She pressed her lips together before looking up at him, her brows knitting. "I was getting worried about it. Like, was I having a heart attack or something? But then it went away."

Stone moved around the couch and sat down next to her. He pulled her face forward with both hands and clasped her lips with his, relishing in the feel of her and the emotions that flourished within them as the kiss deepened. Before it could take on a life of its own, he let go as he ran his tongue over his bottom lip and pressed his forehead to hers. His chest burned with the desire for more.

"That was me, Love," he whispered. "You were feeling me and my emotions."

Her breathing was a little heavier now, making her voice waver. "How? I wasn't touching you. You were outside."

He smiled to himself before kissing her softly. "I know. This was the first time you felt me from a distance. I've felt you... since the moment I met you or touched you, I don't know which. I felt your extreme pain and sadness from a distance. I knew when you were about to break up with Dan. I could feel it. It tore through my heart like a knife. I never wanted you to have to feel that again."

But then you found out about the danger of having pups. Of being denied the family you always wanted...

He swallowed as his brows pulled together, remembering all the times he'd hurt her.

"It's the nature of the matebond. Even though we haven't sealed it, you feel me now. My extreme emotions." He brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear and trailed his fingers along her jaw as he pulled away to gaze into her eyes. "It's getting stronger."

Those beautiful hazels searched his with a slight frown. "Why is it like that?"

"I don't know, Love."

Reaching up, she trailed her fingers down his temple to his jaw. "What's wrong? Why were you in so much pain?"

Lowering his gaze, he pressed her hand against his cheek before brushing his lips across her knuckles, one by one. "I had to let go of some things."