I chuckled, as I usually did when Naomi was being flippant. Although I wasn't in a brat-taming mood at the moment, I always appreciated how she kept me on my toes.
"I see. Very important stuff, naturally."
"Naturally."
I took a sip of the wine, and it settled me a bit.
I hadn't fed in a while, not because of a lack of enthusiasm on mine or Naomi's part, but because busy schedules plus her period arriving four days early had thrown things off.
While she insisted she would be fine, I wasn't comfortable with her losing any extra blood at that time.
Shifter doctors didn't have much experience with menstrual cycles, considering almost all shifters had heats instead.
And while my girl had pseudo-heats that were very similar to the type of horny that came with ovulation, it lacked most of the other biological aspects.
"Why don't you come to bed, my love?" Naomi murmured, still stroking my back. And God, the touch felt like heaven. "I still have the curtains down, so it's super dark. Maybe rest your eyes a little?"
"Thank you, baby, but I just have a little more to do," I said, feeling recharged.
However, it was tempting. Ever since my incident with the loose tile almost ended my whole being alive streak, I'd started looking into better solutions because I wanted to cuddle with my girlfriend and not be forced to use my coffin so often.
It had taken a while, but I'd found a vampire contractor who put in rolling, metal curtains over my skylight and windows that covered the area around each as well.
It just required a click of a button on a remote and all of the possible ways light could get into my house were sealed within ten seconds.
I still had my fabric curtains, of course, just in case something malfunctioned, but I now felt much safer in my bed.
"Are you sure?"
"I am."
"Are you really sure?"
"I am."
I felt her stiffen behind me, but she relaxed soon after. "Okay, handsome man. How about another half hour, and then you come rest?"
"That sounds good to me."
She gave me a kiss on the top of my head and I heard her retreat. It was difficult to refocus, but the wine helped with that. Still had nothing on my lovely fiancée, but it was better than running on empty. Or near empty, rather.
With all the catastrophes handled, I moved on to the other important, but less nuclear tasks.
Finalizing our flower selection for the tables in the reception, a few of the periphery décor, and the ribbon color for the backs of the chairs.
Before planning this wedding, I had no idea there were so many options for modern accoutrements, but between gift baskets, cake toppers, thank you cards, name tags, guest books, I've learned there were about one million little details that all needed to be decided with great care.
I knew Naomi would be happy with whatever we did—she'd confided in me she thought I would never want to get legally married—but her just being happy wasn't quite enough for me.
I wanted her to be ecstatic. I wanted our wedding to be her dream celebration, where she was able to share our love with everyone she cared about.
And while once that would have been a very small group of people who could have been counted on a single hand, now that circle had grown to include so many more.
Including two of her brothers, which was one of the changes that I really was the most grateful for.
Even though a woman didn't have to be given away by any means, I couldn't help but think it was better if she chose not to have that tradition rather than not having any options.
And I knew my darling Naomi was looking forward to all of those traditions she had been told would never be for her.
So yeah, maybe I was pushing myself, maybe I was worrying over the details, but it was all worth it if my love could have the day she wanted. Besides, usually she was putting in just as much work as I did. This night was more of an anomaly than anything else. Damned headache.
In all my eagerness to make sure that I was on track, I might have lost track of time. Which I only realized when Naomi called down from the stairs, her voice bemused but with the tiniest hint of admonishment in it.
"I opened the skylight," she said.
"That's nice, dear," I said, glancing at the clock and realizing that it had been almost an hour. Whoops. "I promise I'm almost done, really. I apologize that this is taking so long."
"It's okay. But goodness, my ring is sparkling so prettily in the starlight. It kinda looks like one itself."
That hit me right in my pride, which I was sure was Naomi's intention.
I was never into jewels or finery all that much, but I had splurged on her ring to get something that suited her beauty and grace.
The idea that she was looking at it now, admiring the beauty of it as it reflected endless celestial wonders, filled me with a sort of contentment and flattery that I hadn't been expecting.
"That's wonderful!"
Honestly, it almost made me wish that I could see it in the sun.
I was sure that the flex of illumination would hit the golden tan of Naomi's skin like the stroke of a master's brush.
Maybe I'd ask her to take a video for me when summer hit.
I was sure the honey-gold her hair was now would look like a literal halo.
Granted, that was if she kept the hair color that long.
She had been talking about being a redhead for our wedding, and I hadn't seen a shade that didn't look utterly scrumptious on her.
"I don't normally notice it, ya know?"
"Uh-huh," I said while I tabbed over to my checklist spreadsheet and marked off what I'd accomplished.
"But it's probably easier to spot now since it's the only thing I'm wearing. Distractions, ya know?"
"Abso—"
Hold on.
What did she say?
"Naomi?" I called, forgetting all about the spreadsheet as I stood.
"Yes, my love?"
"Would you mind repeating yourself?"
A light giggle wafted down the stairs, and I was already headed toward them. "I think you heard exactly what I said the first time."
I most certainly had.
I switched to taking the stairs two at the time, arriving in the hallway where a faint glow was coming from our bedroom door, which was cracked open. I was there in less than a breath, opening it to see my fiancée standing in the middle of the room, moonlight streaming down on her like a goddess.
I didn't even notice the ring or the stars above her head, because they couldn't hold even a section of my attention over her.
From the broad expanse of her shoulders, to the way her hair tumbled over them, only barely covering her full breasts.
She'd taken to growing it out since I met her, and although I liked all looks on her, there was a certain carnal convenience in having a whole lot of extra tresses to grab.
"Naomi," I murmured, my voice husky as I stepped forward.
"Yes, Rowan?"
She teased me, oh how she teased me, and I loved every second of it.
God, she was perfection personified. The way her hips flared into those perfectly thick thighs of hers, the ways her various tan lines striped her in such alluring ways.
How her jade eyes looked at me like she wanted to eat me and also be eaten.
I was more than happy to oblige.
Not a single thing in my life could justify how lucky I'd been to end up with such a vision, but I wasn't going to question it. Somehow, I'd cheated the odds and ended up with the most perfect partner I could ever ask for.
"I love you," I murmured, finally getting my hand on her indulgently, utterly soft skin. I loved that my fingers could sink into her flesh before being met by her hard earned muscle. The contrast drove me wild.
"I love you too," she said, cupping my cheek in that comforting way of hers. I turned my head for a moment, pressing my lips into her palm. "And I always will."
"Forever." A promise.
Returning my gaze to her form, I watched as my hands slowly, delicately roved over her, leaving trails of goosebumps in their wake.
Just like the contrast of her softness and muscle, I also loved the contrast of us.
Her sun-kissed shade from all her hours spent walking her four-legged customers, and my complete alabaster, the only color to be found being my veins and my eyes.
We were stark opposites, and yet instead of being repelled, it was like we completed each other into something truly beautiful.
"Forever," she repeated.
God, I loved her more than words could even communicate. But thankfully, I had other ways to show her.
My grip turned firmer as I picked her up, and she let out the cutest little sound of surprise as she wrapped her short legs around my torso. With us finally close—still not close enough—I kissed her.
I kissed her slow, soft, and sweet at first. I wanted her to sink into the honey of it all with me, where the only thing to distract us was the slight pitter-patter of paws as our pets retreated from the room.
They'd adopted that habit pretty quickly, which was good, considering how…
enthusiastic Naomi and I could be in our bedroom endeavors.
"See what I mean about taking a break?" Naomi said coquettishly once we broke the kiss, batting her eyes at me in the way she knew always got me.
"Oh, my darling, making love to you isn't a break," I practically growled before capturing her lips again. And this time, I was a bit more bruising, a bit more biting. Letting Naomi know she still drew out the fierceness in me, the beast, just as much as she drew out the gentleman.
That was the crux of it all, wasn't it? As complex as Naomi and I were, as much as both of us were a series of contradictions, we still meshed together just right. Two puzzle pieces told they'd never fit in, and yet we'd found who we were meant to be with all along.