His Redemption (Complete His Series)

Azalea

“I think finding out we are still mates is the best thing that has ever happened to me,” he said. His eyes bore into me with sincerity. He stepped closer to me; he was now only inches away, and I could feel a pull towards his inviting warmth.

Part of me didn’t want to run away; part of me wanted to just melt into his arms and forget everything else existed. But how long could we ignore reality?

He reached toward me, gently grabbing my chin and tilting my face towards his. “Please come back and eat with me. This has been the best night of my life, and I never meant to hurt you,” he pleaded. I looked into his eyes, trying to figure out why he was trying so hard. I was being silly; I knew I was being silly. Here he was giving me the best date of my whole life, and I was trying to get him to reject me. We were having such a great time before I messed it up.

“Okay,” I whispered as I nodded my head ever so slightly. He seemed to relax just a bit as I agreed. He still didn’t move his hand from my chin.

“Do you forgive me?” he asked softly.

“Yes,” I whispered again. Still, Liam held onto me. After a moment, he seemed to snap out of his trance. He released my chin and stepped to the side so I could lead us back to the picnic blanket. I began walking with Liam right beside me.

Hesitantly, I reached for his hand. He let my small hand grasp him before holding it lightly. I didn’t want to tell him how comforting it was when he grabbed me, even just my hand. I have never felt so secure with anyone and never expected to feel so safe with him. Was this our mate bond?© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

We made our way back over to the picnic blanket. We sat down, and he looked at me before asking, “Um, are you hungry, or would you like to start the movie?”

“I’d love to have some macaroni and cheese, please,” I replied quietly.

“My pleasure,” he said, more encouraged now. He let go of my hand reluctantly to make our plates. He handed me a plate and then started to get up. I looked at him quizzically.

“It’s getting dark now, so how about dinner and a movie?” he asked.

I nodded my head with a smile. I hoped some of the awkwardness that had settled in would dissipate with a bit of distraction. He went behind the giant screen and started the projector.

He came back with a nervous smile on his face. “I hope you like it. I didn’t know what you had seen, so I just picked a funny movie.”

“I haven’t seen many movies, actually. Just a couple of little kid ones we have watched with Abi.”

He looked at me, shocked. “Wait, so you never even watched the movies they showed at school?”

I shook my head. “No, I either did my homework or took a nap. Unless they were educational films that we were being tested on.”

“Not even like on weekends or during holidays?” he asked.

I stared at him with my head c****d. Did he really think I spent my time doing as I pleased? After a few minutes of not having an answer for him, his eyes widened in understanding.

“Oh. Well, uh…” he started.

“It’s okay. I always have preferred books anyway,” I said to spare him the awkwardness. I didn’t want to make him feel bad about what happened to me while living at the packhouse. I looked down at my plate and started eating. This was really good. Far better than anything I can cook.

As the introduction music started on the movie, Liam looked at me with sincere eyes, “Azalea, will you tell me about it sometime? About growing up in the packhouse? I know we didn’t have the same experiences; I want to understand.” He looked at me hopefully.

I sighed. “Sure,” I said, not exactly thrilled at the thought of reliving my childhood. Maybe one day I could tell him.

“Thank you,” he said. With that, he turned his attention to the screen. The movie began, and we fell into a comfortable silence eating the dinner he made. When we finished, he took our plates and placed them back inside the picnic basket. It was now completely dark out, and the only light around us was the movie screen slightly illuminating our lounging forms. I began to shiver slightly, realizing the temperature was dropping.

“Are you cold?” he asked quietly.

“Just a tad chilly,” I said.

“Here,” he said, reaching next to the picnic basket to produce a blanket. He scooted himself closer to me, wrapping the soft blanket around my shoulders.

“Thanks,” I said, blushing slightly. I had almost ruined tonight over something silly when Liam had tried so hard to make this night perfect. I began to feel guilty about trying to leave earlier.

“Are you warm enough?” he said, breaking me from my thoughts.

“Yea, I am great now,” I replied, a small yawn escaping my lips. I was so excited all day that I was now much more tired than I realized.

Catching my yawn, he adjusted himself even closer to me. This time he scooped me up, placing me right in his lap between his legs. He laid my back to his chest, wrapping his arms around me. I yelped in surprise as he lifted me but immediately relaxed when he wrapped his arms around me.

He leaned his face next to my ear. “Is this okay?” he asked, his hot breath fanning the side of my face. It sent pleasurable chills down my spine.

“Yea,” I managed to squeak out. His proximity alone was starting to have an effect on me, one I wasn’t sure if I should revel in or be terrified of. I felt him smile next to my ear. He moved his head, placing his chin on the top of my head as we continued to watch the movie.

I had to admit; he was comfortable to sit with. Not only was this blanket soft, but his body blocked the wind from hitting me, and his warmth invaded me from behind, creating the most relaxing atmosphere. I could also smell him, on the blanket and around me, as we sat cuddled together. The fresh forest scent invaded my senses in an almost sensual way.

It wasn’t long before I could feel my eyes droop, and my body relaxed further into his. He must have noticed because I could hear his low, gravelly voice in my ear again moments later. “You’re going to miss the best part, Azalea,” he said. Then he lightly nibbled on my ear, waking me right up. The smallest of m***s escaped my lips at the pleasurable feeling of his lips on me. He chuckled. “So, I do affect you.”

“Umm…” I said, not knowing how to answer.

He reached his hand up to my chin and turned my face to the side to look at his. “You are in control here, kitten,” he said. His eyes held nothing but sincere promise in them as he peered down at me. “Say the word, and I will k**s you, touch you, anything you want.”

My cheeks flamed as I swallowed audibly. A smile crept up across his lips. “Okay,” I said.

“Okay what, kitten?” he asked into my ear, his breath hot on my neck. I don’t know what was coming over me, but I had this sudden need to be closer to him. My mind began racing while wondering what his lips would feel like on mine. I never felt this way before, and it made me blush even harder. My face was probably as hot as he was right now.

“K**s me,” I said in the quietest voice possible. I could feel his face break into an even bigger smile. He raised his hand to my cheek, gently caressing it and coaxing my head to turn to the side. From behind me, he pulled my face to his and slowly closed the distance between our mouths.

Slowly and gently, he pressed his lips to mine. It was like fireworks had erupted in my face and sent pleasurable little explosions radiating through my body. He gently moved his lips against mine, coaxing me along. A small m**n passed through my lips, and he used the opportunity to invade my mouth with his tongue. Our tongues mingled as he probed every inch of my mouth. He tasted divine, and I knew that I could lose myself in him.

All too soon, he pulled away. Without opening my eyes, I pouted and whined a bit at his lips left mine cold and wanting. Without warning, I felt my shoulders being jostled. I opened my eyes to see only the movie screen in front of me with credits rolling. Oh no! Had I fallen asleep?

I heard a chuckle from Liam. I turned my head to look at him behind me. “What?” I questioned.

“Nothing, you just dozed off is all. It was actually pretty cute,” he said, still chuckling at me. My cheeks reddened at his words. I had fallen asleep and dreamed about kissing him! What was wrong with me? I turned my face away from him, trying to hide my blush.

“Sorry about that,” I said timidly.

“It’s alright. As long as I didn’t bore you to sleep,” he said lightly.

“No, no, no!” I said quickly, turning around to face him. “I was just warm, and it was really comfortable….” I trailed off before admitting how being in his arms felt. A small, sweet smile graced his lips.

“Well, I am happy to be your pillow any time.”

“Thanks,” I said with a small smile. He knew all the right things to say. I looked around, needing to prevent any awkwardness from sweeping in. “Wow, it’s beautiful out tonight. You can see so many stars.”

“It is stunning here,” he said without removing his eyes from me. I could feel another blush creeping back onto my cheeks as I looked down at my hands. He cleared his throat, then looked away and said, “There is somewhere else we can go to look at the stars. It is even prettier than this.”

I smiled up at him, “That sounds lovely. Maybe another time.”

He looked back at me with a giant smile. He wiggled his eyebrows and said, “So, there will be a second date then?”

I giggled and nodded my head. “Yes, I think that can be arranged.”

“Well then, I should probably be getting you home. You did fall asleep on me after all,” he said. I could feel his excitement.

He lifted me from his lap and placed me next to him. I immediately felt a little disappointed not to be held in his arms anymore. You would think I was as light as a feather with the ease at which he picked me up. It was kind of sexy to think about how strong he must be. He was an Alpha, though, and Alphas were much stronger than average werewolves. He got up and grabbed the picnic basket. I stood up and unwrapped myself from the blanket. I grabbed my cardigan and pulled it on to help fight off the chill that was creeping back in without his body heat around me.

I handed him the blanket, and he folded it up, placing it in the picnic basket. Once it was folded and put away, he grabbed everything in one hand and held out his other for me.

I grasped his hand and instantly felt his warmth radiate from his palm up my arm. A smile crept its way across my face.

“Ready, baby?” he asked. I nodded my head.

He led the way back out of the stadium and down the road towards the Inn. As we walked, I couldn’t help being both happy and sad. This was my very first date, and it was amazing. He was so thoughtful and sweet. Dinner was amazing. Being in his arms during the movie somehow felt so right, like we were supposed to be like that. But was this all just because of the mate bond somehow not being severed? Without that bond, would he even give me a second glance?

Before I knew it, we were approaching the Inn. We stopped in the parking lot at his car so he could put the picnic stuff in his trunk. Then we made our way to the back toward my apartment.

“Is something wrong, Azalea?” he asked me.

“Oh, uh, no, nothing is wrong,” I said.

“Are you sure? You look like you’ve been sad since we left the field. You can tell me; I won’t judge,” he said as we approached my door. I began to fish my keys out of my little clutch before answering him.

I turned and looked into his brilliant blue eyes. “This was absolutely the best night of my life, Liam. I wouldn’t change anything about it. Thank you so much,” I told him.

His eyes flashed with joy for a minute before glazing over with concern. I looked down, not wanting to tell him what was running through my head. I hadn’t lied, but I didn’t want him to know my doubts.

“I guess I should probably go….” I began.

Suddenly, he grabbed my chin and brought my face up to face his. Before I knew it, his lips were on mine. At first, he didn’t move, and I just savored the feel of his soft lips on mine. Then he began to deepen the k**s, and I wanted to melt right there. His hand inched around my waist, pulling me close to him as his other hand moved from my chin up my cheek. He wrapped his large hands around my head, spreading his fingers through my hair. He moved his lips over mine, pouring emotion into this k**s.

A m**n escaped my lips, making him smile over my mouth. He tasted better than in my dream. He gently pulled away, leaning his forehead against mine. We both took a minute to catch our breaths before I broke the silence.

“Wow,” I whispered.

“Tonight was incredible. Thank you for allowing me to spend it with you, Azalea. I hope I made your first date a good one,” he said as he pulled away from me. He leaned in once more, kissed the top of my head, and murmured “Good night” into my hair before turning to leave. I watched him walk across the lawn and around the Inn. Once he was out of sight, I exhaled a breath I didn’t know I was holding in.