21. I'm Yours

Eden turned off the engine and turned to Marley, who was sitting beside him staring at the front with parted lips.

"When I want to escape from everyone, I come here. It's peaceful. Isn't it?" He looked at his mate with the same admiration.

"Yes." She replied with a nod, still dazed by the beautiful scenery in front of her.

Right before her eyes was whole Marshville, glimmering with all colors of lights. The woods followed by tall complexes, small and large houses... every part of the town looked so tiny as if she could hold it all in her palms. It was mesmerizing.

When they'd left the diner, Eden wanted to take Marley to his 'special place'. She had no idea that this place would be a small cliff at the one end of Marshville's forest.

As soon as she got out of the car, Eden picked her up, making her let out an embarrassing squeal. He laughed and walked around before depositing her on the hood of his car.

"What are you doing?" Marley yelped, glaring at the smiling boy, hovering over her.

"You're so squishy." Eden grinned.

"There's nothing wrong with that!" She countered, color rising to her cheeks.

He shook his head still finding hard to suppress his grin. "Of course not, it makes you look cuter." He wouldn't change a thing about her.

"It's getting late, we should go." Marley said, in desperate attempt to change the subject, meanwhile also restraining herself from snapping at him for calling her cute.

"You're in hurry to leave me. Aren't you?" Eden fake pouted, making her frown. He gave her a light peck on her lips, catching her off guard, before turning serious. He had to let his thoughts out. "Look Marley, I know I was such a jerk before meeting you and god knows how much I want to change that."

"Eden?"

"No, I have to make this long ass speech so we can move past this. I don't want you to ever feel insecure." He remembered Marley's dejected face at the diner and he never wanted to see her like that. He liked her seeing irritated, blushing, smiling, nervous, groaning but miserable, it didn't suit her. "You know, I was so stupid before I met you. I slept around with other girls but now when I think about it, I feel like I wronged you. I should've waited." He sighed, digging his fingers into his tousled hair. "But you should know that now you're the only one for me. Man! I don't even find other girls attractive." He pointed a finger at her. "You messed me up pretty bad. It's not just the freaking mate bond... **it's you**... I guess all I'm trying to say is that I'm yours as much as you're mine. So, I'm sorry-"

Marley crashed her lips on his, cutting him off. It was a bold move from her side but she did it anyway to show Eden she appreciated his honesty. Her lips moved sloppily against his, turning it into a messy kiss. But she didn't care and knowing from the way Eden kissed her back, neither did he. They both basked in it under the starry night.

************

"Marley!" Mrs. Brown yelled in surprise as she saw Marley and Eden making their way inside their house. "What are you doing here?" She paused and after thinking for a moment, looked at Eden suspiciously. "Did he kidnap you again?"

"Yeah, always think worst of your son. And for the record, I only did that once." Eden groaned, shaking his head and then walking past them to lounge on the couch, leaving the two women alone.

Twice... No, almost thrice. He abducted her thrice. Marley thought to herself.

"No Mrs. Brown, he didn't do anything like that." Marley smiled, reassuring her.

When the time had come for Eden to drop Marley home, he couldn't bring himself to do that. He didn't want their night to end so soon. The thought of spending her night alone in a lonely house also didn't seem appealing to Marley. So, when Eden had asked her to come home with her, she nodded shyly, putting both of them out of their dilemma.

"Well then, come on in." Mrs. Brown gestured her inside with a smile that reminded Marley of Eden's.

Soon, Marley found herself sitting on the couch with little Ethan on her lap and Eden's parents on either side of her. They were looking at their family photos. A warmth radiated from all of them and she felt at home with Eden's family.

"Look, he looks so scared. We took it when Eden turned into a wolf for the first time. He almost peed his pants" Nicholas pointed to a photo, capturing a frightened looking fourteen-year-old Eden in the midst of a forest. "That day I had to buy him three ice creams to calm him down." He laughed.

"Stop!" Eden shouted for the millionth time from his room. When Catherine had pulled out the family pictures, he immediately left the room because he knew soon his family would be thrashing him verbally with the words like 'cute, adorable, aww...' in front of his mate while looking at his childhood pictures. The only thing he could do was to avoid further embarrassment by leaving them to their pleasure.

Marley laughed with them, gently caressing Ethan's back who was now sleeping soundly in her arms.

"It's getting late now." Catherine said, getting up from the couch. She collected all the photos, lying on the table. "Nicholas, please put Ethan to bed." She requested as she put the pictures in a drawer, placed at the other side of the room. Then she turned to Marley. "You should sleep too. I bet Eden is getting impatient waiting for you."

On cue, the redness made its way on Marley's face. Her stomach was flipping upside down, thinking about sharing a bed with Eden. To say she was nervous was an understatement.

"Come here, little guy." Nicholas muttered as he picked up snoring Ethan from Marley. "Goodnight, Marley." He spoke softly, and left the room, carrying Ethan after hearing same wish from his son's mate.

"Listen Marley, if Eden tries anything with you, don't hesitate to shout for me." Catherine appeared beside her, starting the human.

"Mom!" Another groan came from upstairs, making Catherine smile mischievously.

"Uh... okay." Marley replied hesitantly, not having anything else to say. *What was she supposed to say?*

"Goodnight, Marley."

"Goodnight, Mrs. Brown."

Catherine disappeared as she turned to the hallway, leaving her alone.

Marley knocked tentatively on the wooden door as she stood before Eden's room. The door was slightly open, illuminating the dark corridor outside.

"Who's there?" Came Eden's reply from the other side of the door. She didn't miss his taunting tone. Marley bit back a groan at his poor attempt at a 'knock knock' joke.

She slowly pushed the door open and winced at the small creaking sound that it made. At that moment, she missed the bold Marley that made the appearance only an hour ago.

She saw Eden leaning in his bed, his hands behind the head as his back rested against the headrest. He had changed into his pajamas and a tank top, letting Marley see bulging muscles of his arms. She couldn't help but stare at them. He sported his infamous smirk immediately making Marley a fidgeting red mess.

"Lock the door." He commanded, his voice sensual.

"We are not going to do anything." She said immediately.

Eden picked himself up from the bed and started walking to her, like a predator stalking his prey. Marley just stood there frozen, not knowing how to respond. She could feel her heartbeat rising with excitement.

Finally, he stood right in front of her, closer than necessary. He leaned forward and Marleystared at him, anticipating his next move. He leaned more and a second later she heard a light 'click'.

"I always lock my door." Eden backed away and smiled at his mate's adorable flushed face. "And why do you think I'm going to do something to you?" He raised his brows mischievously. "You should stop reading those eroticas, they are messing with your head."

Marley placed her palms on his chest, pushed him away lightly, and huffed in annoyance. Her eyes immediately found the wooden floor, unable to take his teasing gaze.

"You should change, I'll give you my clothes." As much as Eden liked turning Marley red, he decided to not to taunt her more and changed the subject. He walked over to his closet and pulled out a t-shirt and shorts. "Here." He tossed them to her.

Marley rushed to the bathroom without uttering another word, not trusting herself to come up with any coherent sentence. She wondered if Eden had some sort of power to make her feel like that.

When Eden saw Marley walking out of the bathroom, wearing his clothes, he couldn't help but only look at her in lust. If she looked beautiful in her dress then in his black t-shirt and striped shorts she turned into a tantalizing package. It took everything in him to chain down his inner beast.

"You should wear my clothes more often." He muttered, his eyes still moving up and down, imprinting every inch of hers in his memory.

"You should be quite more often." Marley bit back, making Eden look at her in slight surprise. He liked that his mate was getting more and more comfortable with each passing day.

"Come to bed." He gestured and shifted a bit, creating some space for her.

Marley slowly walked and a moment later found herself standing at the edge of the queen size bed. Suddenly, her throat felt heavy and she gulped.

Eden rolled his eyes. "I am not going to bite. Not unless you want me to." He mocked but he was just as excited as Marley, if not more. He couldn't wait to rub himself all over her, mixing their scents, a wolfish way to mark her as his. He waited for this moment for so long.

"Eden." Marley mumbled, shyly.

"Yes?"

"Shut up."

"Okay."

With every analyzed moment, she finally sat beside him but the impatient werewolf was having none of that. He swiftly pulled her down, making her lie on his bed. "Don't be afraid, I'm not going to do anything. Relax." He said as he switched off the lamp beside his duvet, turning the room dark.

"Eden!" Marley yelped in surprise when she felt an arm snake around her waist and a leg wrapped over hers. Now, her back was touching a stone hard chest, making her blush profusely.

"What? You couldn't expect me to not do that, baby." Eden buried his nose inside her neck and moaned in delight. "You smell so good and you're so comfy. If I could only cuddle with you all day." He smiled, hearing Marley's rapid heartbeat at his remark.

There was something very homely about the way she was in Eden's arms. It felt so right. Marley found herself relaxing and drifted to sleep, finding comfort in her mate's warmth. For Eden, there was no doubt that this was the best night that he ever had.