51. Massage

Eden irritatedly shut the book in his hand and threw it on the other side of bed. There was a war coming to his territory, but he had to study for the fucking exams. He cursed out aloud at his pathetic situation.

A knock on the door halted the string of profanities coming out of his mouth. The door creaked open and the head of his mate peeked in.

"Is that my book?" Marley asked, looking at the English textbook lying distorted on one edge of the duvet. She stepped inside and threw a disapproving look at the werewolf before picking it up and placing it on the table.

"Sorry," Eden mumbled sullenly, making the human shake her head.

She sat down beside him. "You look tensed." Her boyfriend just shrugged his shoulders at the comment. "Want to talk about it?"

"I just want to forget about it for a moment."

Marley nodded understandingly. She too needed a moment of peace, without the thoughts of murderous knights swarming inside her head. Eden could use some break. Suddenly, an idea popped into her mind.

"Take off your shirt," She commanded.

A devilish smirk replaced Eden's previous tired face, and immediately Marley regretted her abrupt words. "A simple make out was enough for me, but who am I to deny my girlfriend her needs?" He teased.

"Shut up." Marley groaned. "I am only going to give you a massage." She didn't even bother to throw another tantrum as Eden's smirk widened. She too had to admit that this arrangement sounded a bit sensual.

"Do I get to massage you too?" The werewolf asked. He leaned towards her, their noses almost touching. His close proximity made her stammer out incoherent breaths.

"No." She finally managed to say out, giving him a small push. Her answer would've been opposite if not for his wicked smirk, which associated a simple massage with something sinistrous. "You know what forget it. I'm going to read you a book or something. It's therapeutic too. You-"

Before Marley could finish, Eden had already discarded his shirt and lain down on his stomach. "Go on, do your thing."

*Well, that was fast...*

As her eyes traveled on his naked back, she thought of revoking her previous reply. Maybe, she wouldn't mind this gorgeous hunk giving her a massage.

Eden let out a mocking moan when Marley straddled his hip, and in return received a sharp smack on his shoulder. "Oww!"

"Quiet," She instructed, and grabbed a bottle of lotion from the bedside table. "Just relax and enjoy." The sound of thick liquid squirting into her palm filled the room.

As soon as his mate's fingers came in contact with his upper back, unconsciously a soft hum of contentment slip past Eden's throat. His eyes closed themselves. Her hands felt like that of angel when they trailed along his skin spreading the cold lotion and sweet tingles. It was amazing... and arousing.

Eden felt a very familiar tightness in his lower region. The same sensation he felt whenever he made out with a girl sitting on top of him. After being with her for more than four months, the wolf had learned to control his primal urge, at least, until he was alone. So he tried to ignore it--just like he had done other times--and focused on her soft hands which were unknotting his cramped muscles. And it felt so good.

Marley had long ago lost herself to the feel of his bare skin. Her hands were moving on their accord, touching every curve of his sexy back. With her actions it was difficult to conclude whether she was massaging him or just blatantly feeling him up. So much for it not being sexual.

When Marley found her eyes closing and a small moan almost slipping out of her lips, she immediately took control of herself. She had almost lost it, and the thing was a small -large- part of her wanted to lose it.

With each passing second, it was becoming difficult to tame her wandering mind which was imagining all sorts of things she could do with her mate. She knew if her obscene thoughts didn't stop, soon Eden would be able to smell her arousal. *Damn these wolves and their highly sensitive noses.*

"So..." She drawled out, starting some conversation in hopes of diverting her mind, her palms still rubbing his back. "Emilia told me that soon some wolves of other packs will come here."

"Yeah," Eden replied, his answer followed by a relaxing moan.

"She also told me about Thea."

The werewolf at once jerked his head up, his calm demeanor gone and eyes wide opened. "What did she tell you?" His voice come out panicky.

"That she's soon to be the Alpha of Eastbourne's pack, and right now her mother is the Alpha. Thea won't take the title until she finds her mate because her mother thinks of her kind of unruly and all, and needs a mate to ground her," Marley replied, ignoring Eden's alertness. Emilia was originally from Eastbourne, and Thea and her were good friends. "Emilia told me lots of fun stories about her."

"So." He relaxed a little.

"There's this one thing confusing me," She said, pausing her movements. "If Thea has Alpha blood then why did Odis took me when he has a better option available. He told me that only I was 'available at the moment'. But Thea is unmated Alpha wolf, she's way better than me. It's not like I want her to get kidnapped or something but this whole thing is kind of confusing."

Eden sighed, not wanting to recall the whole Odis ordeal. "First of all, no one's better than you. You're the best," He said, and Marley rolled her eyes. "As for Thea, she's adopted. Her mother, Thalia, couldn't conceive with her mate so they adopted. It's an open secret here, no one talks about it but everyone knows. I guess that's why Emilia didn't tell you that." He looked back at her cute frown and continued. "It used to be frowned upon for an Alpha couple not able to produce offsprings because people believed that only a wolf with the Alpha blood could lead the pack. It was also a leading cause of homophobia among packs... and still happens to be so.

"But I think this is all bullshit. You don't need to have Alpha blood to be strong, I've seen many contradictions myself. Just being born to an Alpha family doesn't naturally turn you into a leader, you've to face a lot too to prove others that you're capable. The whole Alpha blood thing is wrong, and fortunately many other people also think the same, aside from few. I guess Odis happens to be one of those few."

Marley nodded. She too had found Odis orthodox in his ways.

"Marley," Eden called, interrupting her thoughts and making her look back at him. "Can you press here?" He demanded with a frivolous smile pointing at his middle back, and buried his face into the pillow.

She did as he asked with a little too sweet smile. "You know Emilia told me something else too." She pressed his sides a little harshly, a popping sound coming out of the bones, followed by his groan. "She told me Thea was your first."

"My first?" Eden muttered innocently. Marley once again gave a rough jolt, bringing another groan out of him.

"The first person you had sex with. In simpler terms, you lost your virginity to her."

"I thought you didn't believe in this vague concept of virginity established by patriarchy- aah!"

"Don't change the subject."

"Does it matter if she was my first?" He questioned softly.

"Not really," Marley mumbled with a pout. But it kind of made her feel jealous and insecure. She knew it didn't matter with who Eden had been in the past, but then again jealousy never came from the rational part of brain.

Some newly developed instinct inside her wanted to claim Eden, and let everyone know he was hers. *Only hers.*

A sudden realization crashed down on Marley, making her scared of herself. She was becoming just like this possessive fool.

"Hey, you don't have to worry about anything," Eden said, his eyes fixed on hers. "I'm all yours now."

"I know I don't have to worry about anything." She retorted with a feigned nonchalance and went back to rubbing his shoulders. As Eden put his head down, a notorious thought entered her mind. It wasn't fair for her to be the only one feeling this way.

"We never really talked about my past experiences," Marley started wittily, and Eden's body at once turned stiff under her fingers, but she kept on massaging him.

"You never had any experience, so there's nothing to talk about."

"Yeah, but there was one time when I almost had sex with a guy," She countered, feeling him taking long breaths underneath her.

"Who was he?" Eden said calmly, too calmly.

"I was on a camping trip with my classmates." She began in a poetic tone, ignoring his question. "After midnight, someone came up with the idea of playing 'Ghost hunt'. I know, so cliché. And like a bunch of sixteen year olds, everyone agreed. Most seniors too joined in." Her fingers drew pattern on the werewolf's sturdy back in a sort of teasing manner. "I was playing too, and during the game, I got separated from my friends. No matter how much of a non-believer you are, the forest at night is enough to scare the logic out of you.

"I was lost and so scared, even crying. After wandering for half an hour, I finally saw a familiar figure. He was sitting on a boulder, alone, his back in my direction." Marley smiled, remembering the sweet memory.

Eden didn't like the image of his mate crying.

"I was so happy on seeing him. He turned around. He had probably heard my sobs. At once, he was on my side, rubbing my shoulders and telling me it's okay, which just made me burst out even more. I probably looked really ugly with red eyes and runny nose."

"*You can never look ugly.*" Eden thought.

"When I had stopped crying, he made me sit on the boulder beside him. I asked if he was lost too. He wasn't, he said his sense of direction was way better than me. He was just there to enjoy some alone time. The reply had made me feel guilty for intruding into his space. I think he knew how I was feeling because he commented that his night just got better with a 'beautiful company'." Marley chuckled, her eyes glazed with nostalgia.

*Slick bastard!* The boy beneath her cursed internally.

"We spent couple of hours talking about random stuff, it was mostly him saying and me listening. He told me he liked forest and its smell. I liked nature's smell too, but the way he vividly explained each and every scent was astonishing. It was kind of unbelievable, yet I believed him. It was impossible not to believe him.

"I don't remember how it happened, but suddenly we were staring into each other's eyes. Maybe it was the moon, or the movie-like romantic surrounding, or it was simply me who just wanted to kiss her longtime crush so badly. And our faces started moving towards each other, I could almost feel his breath, it smelled of carrot soup that we had for dinner. I guess I smelled the same. We were so close to kissing but my friends showed up." She felt Eden slumping in relief.

"They were looking for me. And just like that, moment was gone. What a great timing they had." Marley sighed, but a small smile still lingered on her lips. "I knew if I had kissed my crush then, it was bound to get more heated."

"Who was he?" The werewolf asked again, his attempt to control his growl was not successful.

Marley tugged at his hair, turning his head to look at her. "Does it matter, Eden?" She retorted wickedly.

He swivelled his head back with a grunt. Of course, he felt like a fucking jerk and a hypocrite. What right did he have to be angry when he was far more guilty? Marley hadn't even kissed the fucker.

When her warm hand soothingly rubbed his shoulder, Eden realized something new. He didn't care if Marley had kissed that guy or not, or even if she had sex with him. Okay, maybe he cared a little bit. But that wasn't the real concern.

The concern was her feelings. The fact that she had feelings for another guy. Before meeting her, the werewolf never wanted anyone. For him, sex or any physical intimacy used to be merely an agreement between him and the other person, looking for a sexual relief and enjoyment. He hadn't tangled himself into feelings.

But Marley had. And unlike him, she had wanted someone. Someone other than him... and it mattered.

"It doesn't matter." Eden groaned, his head pushed into the pillow.

"Really?"

"If you don't like him and don't want to kiss him now, then it doesn't matter."

Marley grinned and excitedly lay on top of him to hug his back. "Looks like someone is growing up." She giggled happily, kissing his shoulder blade. "By the way, it was Flynn. Maybe, I have a thing for Alpha wolves."

*Fucking Flynn!*

"Don't push it Marley," Eden warned in a light tone.

His brain then suddenly realized the closeness of his mate, and as her breath hit the vulnerable spot on his neck, her presence became even more prominent. So did the bulge between his legs.

"Baby, can you get off?" He said, trying to get himself out of the compromising position.

"Why?" Marley gave an oblivious impression. But she was from oblivious, she had felt his unmistakable shudder underneath her, caused by just a simple breath. Something had possessed over her to make her tease him again.

"You're crushing me," he mocked.

"I thought werewolves were supposed to be strong." She protested and buried herself more into him, once again feeling his shiver. To add to the effect, she pressed a light, but very wet, kiss on the side of his neck.

*Holy fuck!* That was it for the wolf to let go the last strain of his control.

The up and down motion of his heaving chest, and the sounds of his heavy grunt made Marley's own heartbeat rise in excitement.

The game had begun. And it was time to get back at the wolf.

******