RISK

20

Isabella nods. "But what does that have to do with me touching you?" She asks still embarrassed.

Xander sighs. "It's instinct for wolves to want to complete the mating bond once they find their mate. Most mates complete the bond within days of knowing one another, if they're old enough. One part of the mating bond is having sex. If my wolf surfaces, he'll really want to complete the bond but we're not there yet."

Isabella blushes. "Days?" She couldn't even imagine having sex with Xander weeks ago.

"Yes, but it's different for everyone. Even more so for us. You're...not a werewolf." Xander lies straight through his teeth. It is different for them because Isabella is not in touch with her werewolf genes yet.

Isabella nods again. "I'm sorry you've had to wait,"
she starts wondering about all the things that are different for Xander because his mate is human. "I'm sorry that I'm not a werewolf like you were expecting."

Xander instantly wants to comfort her and pull her close. He never wants her to think less of herself. He wants her to see herself as he sees her.

"Hey, no, don't think like that. Waiting is absolutely no problem. The problem is just me learning how to make sure my wolf doesn't surface because he wants to complete that bond. And so when you were touching me like that...kissing me like that, he starting taking over. I've had to force him back down because of anger before but never because of something like that. You didn't do anything wrong."

Isabella blushes at his words, relieved she didn't mess anything up.

"When do we have to, um, complete the bond?" she asks nervously, playing with a curl of her hair.

He shakes his head. "No rush. Whenever we're both ready. Ok?" He asks her looking into her eyes so she knows he means it.

"Ok." She nods.

"Now come back here." He holds his arms out to her and she smiles as she crawls back into his arms. "Want to watch a movie?"

"Always," She answers, "But you pick for real this time." She remembers the last time he was over and he picked the movie but only because he knew what she wanted to watch it.

"Ok, fine." He smiles.

Halfway through the movie Xander looks down at Isabella who is mesmerized by the screen. He's already seen it but it's one of those films you have to pay close attention to so you're not confused. He smiles in amusement and adoration when he can see the concentration on her face. He wipes off a small piece of a popcorn crumb that's on her lip from the snack she's enjoying.

"Thanks." She blushes and smiles quickly at him before connecting her eyes to the screen again. Xander kisses the top of her forehead and rubs up and down her arm. His touch instantly comforts her.

"I'm going to fall asleep if you keep doing that." She says honestly, enjoying his touch.

He smiles. "What would be so bad about that?" He questions.

"I want to finish the movie." She explains, still not taking her eyes off the screen.

"Ok, we'll nap after?"

"Mhm." She nods.

And just as they agreed, an hour later, Isabella is asleep in Xander's arms. Xander kisses her forehead before allowing himself to fall asleep too. Xander dreams about Isabella and her happiness. He hopes he can add happiness and security into her life from this day on. He'll stop Octavius and she'll have nothing to worry about. They'll be happy and that's all he wants.

A soft knock at the door wakes Xander up but Isabella only stirs in her sleep. He hears Melissa mind link to him that they have news about Octavius. Carefully, he tries to move Isabella over so he can get out of bed but she only cuddles further into his body. Xander watches her with a soft smile on his face before moving her over once again. He successfully gets out of the bed and exits the room quietly. He meets Melissa and Josh in his office.