Dream of Us
Chapter Twenty-Six

Ani’s POV.

Although I’m desperate to feed the flames burning inside me, Adrian has a point about not rushing into things. Reluctantly, I slide off his lap and sit next to him. I keep my hand on his thigh, wanting the contact. He places his hand over mine and the intimacy remains.

“Sorry for pouncing on you,” I apologise sheepishly.

“It’s okay, I enjoyed it.”

“I’m actually really surprised that I did that, I’m never usually so…physical with someone.”

Adrian’s eyebrows raise up, but that is the only indication he gives of his surprise.

“Not even with past boyfriends?” He asks tightly, clearly an uncomfortable topic for him.

“No,” I answer with pink cheeks, feeling embarrassed. I cover my face with my hands. “God, this is so embarrassing…I’m a virgin.”

I feel Adrian tense up next to me. Seconds later, his arm is around my shoulder and he’s rubbing my back soothingly.

“Don’t be embarrassed,” he tells me.

“I’m twenty-five, it’s pretty embarrassing,” I mumble as I pull my hands away from my flaming face.

“No, it isn’t,” he reassures me. “It’s your body and your choice. If you haven’t found someone you’re comfortable with, that isn’t anything to be embarrassed about.”

His words are comforting. Even Gwen and Sian at the restaurant don’t know my big ‘V’ secret. It was bad enough at eighteen, but now, seven years later, it’s like these huge secret I’m carrying around.

I considered losing my virginity to Jaymie. At least then it would be over with, and I trusted Jaymie, he was good to me. Something always held me back, though. I knew it wasn’t right between us. I’m really glad I didn’t do it now.

Adrian and I cuddle on my sofa for the rest of the evening. When it gets late, I invite him to stay over in my guest room, but he chooses to go; he doesn’t have anything with him. I have to say goodbye to him, which I reluctantly do. He leaves with a parting kiss and a promise to organise another date this week.

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Denali’s POV.

Having Ani confess that she is a virgin to me is a surreal experience. I had hoped that she hadn’t lost her virginity in the ten years we’ve been apart from her, but it wasn’t a strong hope. I was being realistic. Without her memories, she has no idea who we are. She doesn’t know she has soulmates; we couldn’t blame her if she had slept with someone else.

To find out that she hasn’t, that she has remained a virgin all this time…it’s a huge relief to me and will be to her other mates, too. We would have forgiven her of course, we would never have held her choices against her, but to know that we will lose our virginities to each other is so much more special. It’s how it was meant to be before she was taken from us.

The doorbell rings and I snap out of my thoughts. Earlier in the week, Ani and I planned for her to come round to my flat on Friday evening. I couldn’t resist stopping by the diner and seeing her throughout the week. Luckily, she finds my need to be near her cute. She has no idea how much deeper the connection goes.

I spent the morning in town, buying everything I need for tonight. Not only is Ani coming for dinner, but she’s also going to stay the night.

The guest bedroom is made up for her already, although I’m hoping she’ll want to stay in my bed with me. It will be hard to keep my hands to myself, but I know that I won’t go all the way with her until we have her other mates back.

She’s standing on my doorstep, holding an overnight bag and a bottle of red.

“Hey,” she greets me shyly.

She’s wearing a white dress that brings out the blue in her eyes. It wraps around her body, flaunting her curves. I step aside to let her in and take her things from her as she removes her shoes.

“Thank you for coming,” I tell her softly.

“Of course,” she smiles.

She hesitates for a moment and then leans up on her toes to peck my lips. It’s so adorable, I can’t resist sliding my arm around her waist and pulling her flush against me. I kiss her again, for longer this time. When I pull back, she’s blushing.

“Come on, I’ll show you around the place. It’s not very big.”

I spent the afternoon cleaning so that my basic flat would look its best for her. She’s polite as I show her around, commenting on how tidy it is, it makes me glad that I made the effort.

We eat dinner together and I ask her about her time at the diner. She’s getting restless there, I can tell. She says she enjoys it because it’s different each day, but she also admits that the only reason she’s still there is because Gwen and Sian keep her going. Her boss, Michel, is an ass, I don’t blame her for wanting to quit. Hopefully, it won’t be long before I can tell her everything, then she can leave that job and we can get her mates back together.

The four of us will be reunited and those that tried to keep us apart will burn.

After we’ve eaten, Ani insists on helping me clean up. I wash and she dries, putting the items away as I guide her. When we’re finished, I pull her in for a kiss as a thank you.

I’m expecting a chaste kiss. A quick peck; nothing more. Ani has other ideas. She presses her lips firmly to mine, coaxing me to respond as her hands run over my cornrows and down to the back of my neck. Unable to resist, I grasp her waist and lift her onto the counter.

With my hands still settled on her hips, my tongue invades her mouth. She opens up willingly and wraps her legs around me, pulling me closer by pressing her heels against my ass. We’re wrapped up in one another, our tongues licking and caressing. I can barely contain the growls trying to leave the back of my throat, I want so badly to mark her and claim as mine. But she’s not mine, she’s ours. I can’t do anything until her other mates are back with us, it isn’t right.

Ani rubs herself against me and I struggle to remind myself that I’m not her only mate, I can’t take her virginity, she belongs to her other mates too. The urge to touch her has my hands digging into the flesh on her hips. She whimpers against my lips, and I start to wonder if it would be that bad if I made her orgasm.

That wouldn’t be too wrong of me, would it?

She’s uncomfortable without release. If anything, I’m only fulfilling my duties of looking after my mate and keeping her happy. I’m sure her mates would understand, they might even do the same if they were in my position…

“Adrian?” She murmurs against my lips. “Take me to your bedroom?”

This is a test of my strength, and I am feeling seriously weak.

“I’m not taking your virginity, Ani,” I warn her lowly, wanting to lay my cards on the table.

“I-I…that’s okay,” she whispers and trails her full lips over my jawline. “I just want you touch me, please.”

Her soft begging is my undoing. I reposition my hands on her waist and lift her off the counter. She wraps her arms around my neck and tightens her legs around my waist as I carry her through my flat to my bedroom. I lay her gently on the bed. She moves her hand to the back of my neck and pulls me down for a kiss so that I can’t move away.

She is so deliciously tempting. Her smell invades my senses, filling my nose until she is all that I can focus on. I can smell her arousal on top of her scent, she wants me as badly as I want her.

Ani takes my hands and pushes them under her top. “Touch me, please,” she asks breathlessly.

I unhook her bra, freeing her breasts to my hands. I squeeze them gently at first, tightening my grip when she mewls in encouragement. Our mouths lock in a passionate kiss full of nips and loving licks. She rakes her nails down my back over my shirt, making me wish I had taken it off.

I lose my patience with the situation and break the kiss to remove her top. She helps me by lifting her hands over her head. We both make quick work of her bra. I get to see her breasts properly. It has been a long time since we have seen each other naked, she doesn’t remember it, but I remember clearly. Our bodies were very different back then, we were much younger. We were fumbling teenagers the four of us, never going all the way but steadily learning how to make each other feel good.

Ani is a woman now; her body has filled out and she has a curve to her belly that makes me want to squeeze her tight. I was hard before, but it becomes almost painful seeing the upper half of her naked.

“Adrian.”

It’s jarring hearing her use my fake name. I will tell her my real name soon, that’s a promise I’m making to myself.

“Take your shirt off,” she asks quietly, her dark eyes watching me.

I can’t refuse her. I remove my shirt, keeping our eyes locked the whole time. She stares up at me like an angel, her expression turning lustful as she scans my body.

“I want to make you feel good,” she says and gets to her knees. I’m momentarily distracted by her breasts moving with gravity, swinging a little. She looks up at me with a butter-wouldn’t-melt expression. “Show me how?”

Have mercy on me.

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