Hello again, my lovelies :D! Chapter 9. I figured this one needed a name too because really it is Nathan's first compromise. Enjoy guys! Vote and comment as usual :D :D !
I'm going to try to make this chapter bigger than normal. Operative term being "try".
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"Any reason for that grin, Kitten?" he asked me, tracing my mouth with his index, while his other hand was pressed, open-palmed on my back. That hand pressed me to him. Close enough that we were breathing in each other.
"You're breathing hard." I said, pleased with myself.
He raised his eyebrows, confused.
"And?" he asked, looking at me with amusement sparkling in his eyes.
"And you never breathe hard." I said, grinning wider.
His mouth curled with bemusement.
"You look mighty proud of yourself, Kitten."
"You have no idea, Natey." I said.
He made a face. I laughed. He didn't like being called Natey.
Tough luck, sweety.
I traced a line along his eyebrows, down his cheekbones and across his jaw. Then, I pressed open mouthed kisses along his jaw. He leaned forward, letting me pet him. My hands were curved around his shoulders when I felt a rumbling along his chest that shuddered through me.
"You're purring." I marvelled, pulling him down a little more and kissing his brow.
He didn't say anything but the rumbling increased, telling me I was doing something right.
And I lost balance on my skates again.
Laughing, Nathan caught me.
"You're way too much trouble, sweetheart." he said, chuckling.
I held on to his shoulders for dear life.
"Please. You wouldn't have me any other way." I said, pressing my lips just below his shoulder.
"No, I wouldn't have you any other way." he said.
I placed my cheek against his shoulder.
"Maybe we should get off the ice. I don't want you to hurt yourself. That would just ruin the whole point of this date." he said, taking my hand and leading me off the rink.
I pouted.
"Do we gotta go?" I asked.
He took his skates off and seating me on the bench, took mine off as well.
"I'll bring you another day." he said, pressing a soft kiss to my cheek.
"Promise?" I asked, leaning closer to him.
"On chocolate. With chocolate sauce and chocolate chips." he said smiling.
I grinned, content that he'd bring me again. I watched him go place our skates on the shelf filled with all sizes of skates in different colours. I think there was even a florescent orange colour.
Yuck.
"Let's get you to your dorm." he murmured walking back and holding out his hand.
I placed mine in his and watched how he unconsciously tightened his hand on mine, possessively.
"How do you manage to get past security and sneak into the girl's dorm?" I asked, as he pulled me up and we walked out of the room, hands swinging between us.
He threw me a sideways glance.
"I bribe the guy." he said, flashing his teeth.
I gasped.
"You bribed him!? Oh, God, with what?" I asked.
"Mostly money and sometimes even...Beer." he said turning to look at me to see if it upset me.
I worried my lip.
"Nathan..." I said. He didn't need to waste money like this on me.
He shook his head at me.
"Don't worry about it, Indigo. It's nothing. It's a small price."
"It's a price nonetheless." I said, looking at him with pursed lips.
"No, it's not." he said, placing his hands on on my cheek.
"Nathan, really, it's such a waste-" I started.
He dropped his hands from my face and his eyes started to brighten.
"Don't." he said, cutting me off "Don't tell me it's a waste."
"I didn't mean-" I started, but he just shook his head at me and continued to walk.
Ah, crap man.
I walked silently behind him, knowing that nothing I say now would be heard by him. He'd closed off.
I was swearing in my mind. God, I was such an idiot.
I didn't mean that him coming to see me was a waste... or that I didn't want it or appreciate it.
I just meant that I didn't want him to have to burden himself by having to pay all by himself to see me.
I was just feeling guilty... I just couldn't explain it right to him.
I kept thinking through how to explain this to him. We'd reached my room and he scratched the back of his neck and looked away, while I leaned against the door and looked at him.
Ah, screw this.
I grabbed his arm and pulled, but he was too strong for me to be able to budge him, so in the end I ended up pulling myself to him.
"Will you let me explain, or are you going to shut me out like this?"
He raised his eyebrows at my angry tone. I just met his stare head-on.
"I love that you're going crazy lengths just to be with me, Nate. I love that you adore me enough to come to me wherever I need you. And trust me, I need you a lot. More than you know and more than I let on. But really, paying your way through is not necessary. I can wait and see you the next day. It's got to be a burden. I can't imagine how you feel everytime you pay, and it's making me feel so guilty-"
At this point, Nathan realized I was rambling and placed a finger to my lips, making me stop.
"Don't feel that way. I love coming to you every night. I don't care about the booze or the money, Indy. They don't mean anything to me. I told you, it's something small." he said, his eyes serious.
"Then share the cost with me." I said, steeling myself for a fight.
"What the fu-"
"I will hurt you if you finish that sentence." I warned.
He threw me a fierce grin.
"Money doesn't mean anything to me." he said again slowly, like he was talking to a five year old.
"Don't patronize me." I snapped.
"It may not mean anything to you, but it means a lot to me." I said.
When he started to shake his head and say something I cut him off.
"That's my deal Nathan. Take it or leave it."
We glared at each other for thirty seconds, before I let out a breath and spoke again.
"Please? It makes me feel like I'm one of those girls who is after your money and doesn't care how much you pay or who you pay to see me. It sucks that you have to pay at all. But that's how it is and I have to face that. But I'm not that girl, and I don't like feeling that way." I said.
His jaw was clenched and his glare was dark. "You're nothing like that, so you shouldn't feel that way."
I let out a breath, not wanting to do this in the corridor. I knew that Sara wasn't back and probably would be MIA for the whole night.
"Why don't you come in? I don't want you to get caught." I murmured.
He was looking away, seemingly deep in thought.
"Nathan?" I murmured, opening the door and cocking my head to the side, indicating that he should enter.
He looked at me, sighed and walked into the room.
He was running his hands through his hair, something I realized he did when he wanted to say something, but doesn't want to reveal too much.
Walking upto my mate after shutting the door behind me, I placed my palms against his cheek.
"Please? For me?" I asked.
He let out an angry breath.
"I'm not going to let you pay for me just to come and see you. I like being with you and I enjoy spending time with you." he gritted out.
"Isn't that exactly how I'm feeling? So it's okay for you to feel that way, but not me?" I ask, scrunching my eyebrows at him.
"Don't be unreasonable." he snapped.
"Oh, I'm being yourself unreasonable? That's rich." I said.
"Don't." he said. "Stop fighting with me for no reason.
"We wouldn't be, if you would just give in." I said.
"Why don't you give in?" he challenged.
My hands were fisted at my side and my legs were spread apart. Funnily enough, his stance mirrored mine.
"Why should I?" I asked, and my anger crackled in the air.
"And why should I?"
"Because I'm asking you to imagine what I'd feel like when you're treating me like-" I stopped myself from continuing.
"Like what?" he asked, his green eyes were glowing again, daring me to say what's on my mind.
"Like someone who's lesser than you, and doesn't deserve to be your equal." I said.
Nathan's eyes widened. He dropped his stance, and took two long strides to me, enveloping me in his arms. I went willingly, melting in the comfort his touch brought.
But the fight was still on, and I sure as hell wasn't backing down.
"Oh, baby." he murmured into my hair "Never say that. You're so much more than me. I've never treated you like you were lesser. And I never will. You're perfect for me. Never lesser."
"Then prove it. Let me pay half of the cost."
He let out a huff of laughter.
"I should have seen that one coming." he said.
"Yeah, you kinda should have." I said. laughing.
I leaned back, looking into his face.
"So, will you?" I asked.
He let out a low growl.
"Why are you pushing this so hard?"
"You should know how much it means if I'm pushing it so much." I said.
He regared me for a few minutes.
"Alright." he said.
I let out a squeal but he put his index finger up, telling me I should wait a second.
"But only half of every alternate amount."
"Nat-" I started.
"No." he said, his eyes we're hard and his will like steel.
I let out a breath, knowing this was the as much my soon-to-be Alpha mate could would give.
Hell, if I still won't push.
"Fine every alternate FULL amount. You pay once fully, I'll pay once fully. Deal?"
"I'm going to go prematurely grey." he mumbled.
"Deal?" I asked, tapping my foot on the floor, restlessly.
He looked at me, looked away and looked back.
"Fine, deal." he grumbled.
I grinned.
"You sound like this is the first time you've given into something." I said, walking around him to pick up an elastic band lying on my desk to tie my hair up.
He didn't say anything. No smart remark, no sarcasm. Nothing.
I whipped around, looking at him.
"It is, isn't it!? Was that the first compromise you made?" I asked.
He looked away, uncomfortable.
I laughed, delighted, wrapped my arms around my sulky mate.
Aw, he was pouting.
Hot.
I'm so in need of medical help.
"I want to pet you." I said.
His head snapped up, grumpiness forgotten.
"Even though we fought?" he asked.
I threw him a WTH expression and asked "We fought?"
And before he could reply I pulled his shirt, dragging him to the bed, and pushing him down.
"I like where this is going." he said, grinning up at me.
"Shut up, you perv." I said.
I settled down on the bed, facing him and sitting Indian style when he surprised me, dropping his head on my lap, pressing on the heels of his shoes to take them off and kicking his feet up onto the bed.
He looked up at me, like he'd let me do anything. Like he trusted me to any extent.
Heat enveloped my heart and I burried my fingers in his hair, smoothing the strands over and watching as they rebelled and sprung back to their original shape.
Letting out a small laugh, I continued playing with his hair. Then pressing the pads of my fingers against his scalp, I massaged his head.
He let out a small moan of happiness and shut his eyes. I smiled.
But the smile faded when I realized that the fight had taken it's toll on him. It had... turned him icy. Like he'd expected me to hold it against him that we'd argued. Like he thought that it would somehow affect our relationship.
I drew it out of him. Taking it in. Taking care of my mate.
"Sleep baby." I whispered to him, inducing sleep into him.
He let out a small sigh and fell into a deep healing sleep. I let my hands stay in his hair, playing with the strands, because every time I removed them, he'd shift...as though even in his sleep, he could feel that I wasn't touching him.
I don't know how long I stayed watching him sleep. His long lashes fanning his cheeks and casting long shadows on them. His face was that of an angel. I noticed that his guards, his walls, everything... were all down. He was completely open and vulnerable.
He'd let me see him many times. But there were things even I didn't know... things that seemed to haunt him even as he slept. But tonight, he'd be free of those nightmares. I'd make sure of that.
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I woke up to the gentle prodding on my shoulder.
I blinked the sleep from my eyes to look at Sara. Showered and fresh, my roommate seemed to be trying to refrain from grinning.
"Good morning, sleepy head." she whispered.
I grinned at her, noticing that Nathan's arm was around me and my leg was in between his and his face was burried in my hair. He was still asleep and would be that way till I woke him.
"I'm surprised that he's didn't wake up when I sneaked in. Was it my sleuthing skills or did you use some of your Empath mojo on him?" Sara asked.
"Definitely not your sleuthing skills." I said.
She made a face at me and spoke.
"I'm going out with Jeff. It's a weekend so we get to go into town. You guys can make it too, if you want."
"Nah. You guys have fun... I think I we'll stay in today."
Sara wiggled her eyebrows at me.
"Bow chica pow wow?" she asked, grinning.
I rolled my eyes at her and making a shooing motion with my free hand, I asked her to leave.
Laughing silently, she left, via the door for a change. I turned to look at my sleeping mate, smiling at a small pout he seemed to make when he was asleep. I leaned forward, kissing his bottom lip. He shifted closer, searching, but still asleep. When he couldn't reach me, he made a small frowny face and burried his face into my pillow.
I smiled.
Baby.
I wiggled out from underneath his arm, wondering when I fell asleep and how we'd fit in that bed without either of us punching another in the face or falling over.
I spared a few more minutes watching my mate as he slept on his stomach.
Letting out a sigh that came out embarrassingly dreamy, I shook my head and stalked towards the bathroom after taking my toiletries bag and a set of clothes. I quickly brushing my teeth, showered and pulled on my holey T-shirt and pink polka dotted pyjamas. I tried towelling my hair but it was too wet and I was restless to get back to Nathan, so I just tossed the towel aside and walked out of the bathroom.
Nathan hadn't moved an inch.
I stalked upto him, and straddled his thigs. Leaning over, I whispered in his ear.
"Wake up, cat."
He stirred, then stilled. I lifted myself off him a little so he could turn. He turned and stretched like a cat, folding both his arms below his head, he looked up at me with lazy, sleepy eyes.
Then in a lightning fast move, he pulled me onto him, and rolled over so that he was on me, his face burried in my hair and his breath fanning my neck and my legs around his waist.
I laughed.
"I like the way you say good morning, Nate." I said.
Letting out a small growl, he kissed my neck. Shivering, I stayed still, scared that if I moved he would stop.
But he didn't. He kissed his way up my neck. Clenching my wet hair in his fists, he gently pulled, causing me to automatically lift my head, arching my back and giving him easier access. I shut my eyes as my breathing became unsteady.
I felt him smile against my neck.
"You did something, didn't you?" he asked, lifting his head and looking at me seriously.
"What?" I asked, confused and more than a little dazed.
"I don't sleep the whole night, Kitten. I'm a horribly light sleeper. I know you did something."
"So what if I did?" I asked, lifting my chin, in defiance,
"What if I didn't like it?" he asked, his eyes twinkling.
"Touch luck, sexy." I said, grinning at him, knowing that he wasn't serious.
He cocked his head at me.
"I didn't have any dreams either...did you do that too?" he asked.
I nodded, silently.
He smiled.
"So you were taking care of me?" he asked.
I shrugged.
He kissed me then, hard. But not bruisingly. This time was nothing like the first, and though I'd enjoyed the first, I loved this one. He was demanding. Biting and nipping at my mouth, using his hand and pressing my chin to open my mouth. I was having too much fun to resist and annoy him, so I opened for him.
I let my fingers meet the skin of his back and he shuddered, and another need hit me.
Raw and demanding.
Pulling back I said.
"I want to see you...I want to see my tiger."
This time, when he shuddered, he didn't fight his tiger. He let the change take over, and the pain and pleasure he felt rippled through me, pulling a gasp out of my mouth and causing me to tighten my hold on his back...
Back that was now soft fur.
My eyes widened as a magnificent tiger stood above me, green eyes glowing.
But what shocked me the most, was that my cat was a white tiger. A complete contrast to his hair colour in human form, Nathan was a White tiger.
Letting out a breath, I said.
"You're so beautiful."
He let out a growl at that, annoyed.
I rolled my eyes. "Sorry, I mean hot, and sexy."
He purred then.
"Looks like your ego is still intact." I said.
He settled next to me on my bed, his tail flickering back and forth, hitting my legs as I turned and rested on my side with my head on my palm and my elbow placed on my pillow.
He placed his head on his front paws and watched me.
Tossing my leg over him, I said whilst giggling "You have a tail."
I saw amusement flicker in his eyes. I ran my hands through the fur under his neck. I picked up his paw and looked at him, warily.
"Don't have any ticks on you, do you?" I asked.
He growled at me, letting me know how he felt about that question.
I laughed, throwing my arms around his neck and pressing my face to his.
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. I love grumpy Nathan." I said.
I don't know how long we remained that way, with my leg over him and his tail flicking back and forth and his eyes never straying from mine. But I knew this was my most happiest moment, where I could touch and cherish my mate as he looked back at me with a possessiveness that I loved.
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Hope you liked that :D! My fav chapter so far! :) Picture to the right is Nathan in tiger form. Vote and comment guys :D :D!