Chapter 60. The Best Time

**60. The Best Time**
***Astrid's POV:***
As the morning light spilled through the curtains, I groaned and cocooned myself in the duvet, but my sleep had already been disrupted. Turning around, I noticed Rafael's sleeping figure.
He looked stunning, bathed in the sunshine that accentuated his beauty. My thoughts drifted back to the previous night, and a flush colored my cheeks as I recalled his gentleness and the emotions he had stirred within me—feelings I couldn't articulate. Rafael had been cautious, ensuring not to cause any harm with each tender gesture.
With his disheveled hair and a few strands dropping on his forehead, he looked ravishingly attractive right now. When I swept my fingers over his hair, he moaned, and his hand snaked around my waist, drawing me closer to him.
I needed to empty my bladder, so I gently attempted to separate myself from him so as not to disturb his sleep, but I failed horribly.
"Stay," Rafael replied, opening his eyes slightly to stare at her.
"I need to go to the restroom," I said, shaking my head.
"ugh" he sighed, releasing his hold on my waist. I managed to slip away, taking the quilt with me.
When I blushed and moved away from him, he was wide awake and gawking at me.
"Would you like me to join you?" he said, raising his brow.
My thoughts wandered to a sinister notion. I turned around and grinned at him, letting go of the quilt and letting it fall to the ground. His eyes widened and changed color, but before he could respond, I smiled and dashed into the bathroom, closing the door behind me.
A commanding knock echoed through the door. "Open up, little dove," Rafael's authoritative voice urged.
"No," I taunted, and went on about my routine, standing in front of the bathroom mirror and looking at myself. I had never looked so beautiful to myself. My heart was at peace, as was my intellect, and it showed on my face. I raised my hands and brushed them against the side of my neck, sending shivers down my spine as I remembered how he had kissed me the previous night and left his imprint, and then my attention fell to my wrist, where the phoenix mark had altered.
I came to realize earlier that the mating mark was above my neck, visible only when I tied my hair up in a bun or something similar. Twisting my neck, I saw our mating mark, now partially healed, on the opposite side.
"Azael's mark is healing rather nicely," Rafael commented, catching me off guard when I saw him inside the bathroom. He stepped closer, lightly brushing his fingers on my shoulder.
"Yes, it's fairly nice now," I said, looking him in the eyes through the mirror.
"That's a good sign," he said, brushing his lips across my shoulders.
I moaned, grasping the sink's edges. "Rafael," I said, the intensity of the pleasure he was giving me being too much for me to manage.
He turned around and gave me an endearing smile. "Yes, little dove," he whispered, kissing my jawline. His electric blue eyes blended with scarlet, indicating the effect I had on him. I held onto his shoulder, finding it impossible to stand on my own. I completely forgot what I was going to ask him.
"How did you get in here? I remember shutting the door before coming in," I said.
"Did you forget about my teleportation ability, little dove?" he asked, still kissing me.
Oh, how could I have forgotten? He returned, this time pleading with me.
"So, where were we?" He didn't wait for my response before picking me up off the floor. I squealed and wrapped my legs around his torso. "Yeah, you invited me to join you in the bath." He smirked at me and led me into the bathtub, where we washed each other off, and, of course, you wouldn't expect us to finish without doing it again.
We were voracious, inseparable, and felt complete. Ready for Azael's possible appearance, Cindy suggested it might happen right away or take some time.
"Little Dove, have you ever tried surfing?" Rafael asked.
We were snuggling in the living room, watching what we thought was a romantic movie, but it was actually rather boring.
"No," I said, shaking my head.
"Would you like to give it a go right now?" I could feel him furrow his brow. I couldn't see him since my back was against his front and his chin was resting on my head.
"Did you forget that I can't swim to save my life, and you're talking about surfing? and even if I wanted to, I'm not going to do it now since it's chilly outside, and I love this warm place." I shook my head, cuddling closer to him.
"Freezing, is it?" he chuckled. "Then now is the time for us to enjoy," he said before I could absorb the significance of his words, teleporting us to the beach, and a cold wind struck my skin.
"Rafael, you can't be serious," I said, trying to escape from him. "Little Dove," he sneered at me, and I backed away. Soon, we were racing on the coast, and he was after me.
"Rafael, don't," I said, still running, but was he ready to let me go? He quickly grabbed my arm and tackled me to the ground, landing on top of me. He grabbed both of my hands and pinned them over my head. "So you were saying?" He lifted his brow and smirked.
"Let me go, Rafael, or..." I warned him.
"Or what will you do?" he challenged, edging in closer.
"Or else I'll scream," I threatened. I wish I could have heard myself talk before I spoke. What's the point of yelling when there's no one around?
"Just like you did in the middle of the night, screaming my name," he joked. He laughed when he caught me blushing. I am sure my cheeks were red like ripe tomatoes.
"Rafael!" I shrieked, pushing him by his chest.
He smiled and began leaning in closer, his stare fixated on my lips.
My brain came up with a naughty idea, so I let him kiss me first, and when he pulled away, he was staring at me, caressing my face. "I think we should stop surfing. I have better plan for us." His eyes shone an intense blue. I grabbed some sand from beneath, and before he could react, I thrust my palm forward and slammed the sand into his eyes.
He groaned and drew away from me, and I took advantage of the chance to do the same. I laughed and began running away from him. I came to a halt as I heard his excruciating cry. I turned around to find him wiping his eyes on the ground on his knees.
"Rafael!" I screamed and dashed towards him. He was still screaming in pain.
My heart rate increased as I grabbed his hand.
"Do your eyes itch?" I asked, my face flushed with tears. He nodded slowly.
"I am sorry. I didn't realize what I was doing. I am really sorry." I started crying, thinking I had hurt him. I couldn't even form a word; my voice was becoming too hoarse.
"Let's go" *hiccup* "S-Splash" *hiccup* "some" *hiccup* "water."
"Little Dove" Rafael was OK when he opened his eyes. He was tensely gazing at me.
"I'm sorry," I managed to say while not meeting his eye and my thoughts being too preoccupied to register anything.
"Little dove, nothing happened to me; I was only teasing you." Rafael gently drew my chin back and forced me to look at him.
My brain registered his words, and I blinked a few times.
"How could you?" I clenched my teeth and began punching him in the chest. "You know, I was so scared, thinking sand may be irritating your eyes." I yelled and began striking him again, and he had the audacity to laugh at me.
"Are we going to surf now?" he asked.
I reluctantly consented, and he taught me how to surf, and to say I had a good time would be an understatement.
Three days later, I went surfing again, this time by myself while Rafael was inside doing something. I went inside to check on him, but he was not in our bedroom.
"Rafael!" I yelled, looking for him in the room next to ours, but he wasn't there.
"I'm here, little Dove," he said as I approached the top floor.
I had left Scarlet in charge the previous day, and we both loved our run in the bush behind the villa. Scarlet was relieved to be let free after such a long time. Now that my body is acclimated to having Scarlet, she isn't as feisty as she used to be. She coordinates well with me, and sometimes I forget that I am a Lycan. I am back to being my own self, free of anxiety.
I walked over to the patio, where he was standing by the glass pool.
"I had no idea there was a pool here," I answered, staring at the pool and walking towards him.
Rafael responded, "Yes, but I brought you here to show you something."
"What?" I was now directly in front of him. He turned around with a smirk.
"This is for you," he said, moving a canvas and some pencils in front of me. My eyes widened.
"Is it for me?" I asked enthusiastically.
"No, it's for my mate." He came up behind me and embraced me. I cocked my head and began kissing his jawline.
"Thank you very much; you're the best," I said.
"I'm not giving it out for free," he said, shaking his head.
"What do you want, then?" I inquired.
"I want you to draw me a drawing of your initial architecture so that I can examine it and determine where you fit," he said.
"Do you think that was good?" I asked.
"No, for the time being, I need another favor," he grinned.
"And what is it?" I scowled.
"Come join me for a swim," he said, knowing how chilly the weather was and how I was continually denying anything that may have added to the cold. Rafael is usually the one who denies me everything cold because his blood is inherently frigid, but these days he is drawn to cold things.
My phone started ringing just as I was going to agree with him. "That's Cindy," Rafael remarked ahead of me.
"How do you know?" I asked.
"I can see it," he answered.
Oh, and how could I forget about his new gift? He can not only read other people's thoughts, but he can also see images of their thoughts. The only catch is that he can only see them when they are relevant to him or me.
"All right, you get in there, and I'll join you," I said. His palm flew to his brow, massaging it as though he were in pain there.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
"Yeah, nothing; I simply felt like doing so." I could clearly see he was lying, but I chose to keep silent.
He nodded, removed his vest, and waded into the pool.
I picked up the phone. Cindy was simply being herself, asking whether anything relating to Azael had happened and taunting me about little matters.
I hung up the phone, promising her that I would notify her whenever we saw any changes.
I quickly changed into my bikini and joined Rafael. We played in the water for a while, and then he gave me another swim lesson. I could sense him zoning out on occasion, and when I asked, he shrugged it off.
"Uh, that's enough for today," I said, shaking my head.
"Yes, I think," he said, and I was the first to exit the pool.
I began drying my hair with a towel when Rafael appeared from behind and began drying me.
"Let me do the same for you," I said, taking the towel from his grasp and beginning to dry.
He closed his eyes, drawing in the sensation. He abruptly shook his head.
"Are you okay, Rafael?" I asked, but he wasn't opening his eyes. "Rafael, tell me what's happening to you. I know there is something wrong."
His brow furrowed. I sensed something was bothering him.
"Rafael." I smacked his cheek softly. "Open your eyes, love, and look at me," I said.
After a few agonizing minutes, he recovered his calm and opened his eyes.
I gasped, looking at his eyes, which had turned completely black, including his eyeballs.
"Hello, Little Mate," he said with a grin.
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