When they touch me (Shelagh Milano)

Chapter 93 ARTEMISIA

"You don't have to worry about making too much of a fuss. You would deserve it, but I respect your wish not to do so," Cayden says, leaning against the door.

I love how we just sat down, blocking the door to my bedroom while leaning against it.

"We could tell everybody at the ball," he offers, making me scrunch up my nose.

"How is that not making a fuss?"

He chuckles, caressing my thigh, "We have to announce it in a bit more spectacular way though. It's not like we can just make it happen and expect people to find out by themselves."

"I know," I sigh, leaning my head against his shoulder. "It's just a lot, and I still haven't talked to my parents properly about everything. And now I'm going to be a Luna."

Kissing my hair, he manages to make me feel protected already. "How about we invite them and we speak to them together? You have a lot of twins in your family. I'm sure they will understand. Maybe we can tell them that there will be a coronation and marking ceremony soon which they will be invited to, and I'm sure they will be happy for you. I know how much they love you."

Closing my eyes, I smile, "Yeah, they do."

After a moment of silence, I finally get the question that was buzzing around in my head from my chest. "How is it going to work anyway? Is there some kind of protocol?"

"You are cute," he laughs, caressing my side as he lays his arm around me. "But there is no protocol. It's quite new for us too, so don't worry. We will go through everything together."

He clears his throat, shifting in his seating position to turn himself more towards me. "We will have a beautiful ceremony where you will be crowned Luna and we get the blessing of the Moon Goddess for your mating with all of us."

"We aren't going to do nasty things in front of everyone, right?" I ask, scrunching up my nose.

"No," he cracks up, the sound of his happy laughter making me smile. "No, darling. We will mark you and you us in a more private circle. And you get to choose who will be first, but the order doesn't really matter."

I nod, biting the inside of my cheek. "What about Fynn's mark?"

He sighs, leaning his head back against the door. "I will talk to Corvina about it to be sure, but maybe he should go last, in order for you to be already strengthened by our marks to withstand his."

"I can't wait!" I say, getting him to smile again.

Lifting his hand, he caresses a strand of hair out of my face. "Me too."

He leans in to kiss me softly, and I sigh happily as he breaks the kiss again.

This is just amazing.

"I know that you said that you want to stay with Logan tonight. But maybe you want to go out with me tomorrow evening, and stay with me for the night?" he asks, his forehead still leaning against mine. I smile, keeping my eyes closed to enjoy the feeling of his kiss still lingering on my lips. "I'd love to."

"Awesome," he distances himself from me, starting to get up.

He offers me his hand to take and helps me up to my feet.

"Want to come to the venue for the ball with me? We could take a look at how the decorations are going."

"Oh, I would love that," I answer elated, my heart jumping in my chest as I think he just provided me with an excuse as he wants to spend another bit of time with me.

We take the limousine with the driver and reach the venue too fast in my opinion.

Because as soon as we are in the car, he pulls me close, kissing me as much as the short journey allows him to.

I love how he barely takes his hands

off me while we get out of the car and into the venue. Even during our tour through the already partly decorated venue, he always has his hands on me. It's mostly little gestures like laying his hand on the small of my back while following the banquet manager through the astonishing halls, but still. Every time he gets the chance to get close to me, he does, making me feel happier by the second.

He looks incredibly sexy when in work mode, and I know that he is a great Alpha by the way people are hanging onto his every word.

As we finish going through the plans with the decorator, we decide to go for lunch before returning home.

"How much do you really have to do?" I ask him, taking a bite of my food.

He clicks his tongue with a gorgeous smile. "A lot, actually. There is still this trial going, and the council is sending Hendrick back in a few days before they rule on the case.

Apparently, he is freaking everybody

out."

"Sounds like a fun guy," I chuckle, taking a sip from my soda.

Cayden sighs, leaning back in his seat with a grin, "One of his kind."

"I just thought that we could spend a bit of time together as you always work so much. We could grab an ice cream and eat it while taking a stroll back home," I suggest, making him lean in. "Could it be that you don't want to go home?" he asks me in a whisper.

I shrug, playing with my food. "Maybe... Does that make me a bad person?"

"I wouldn't put it like that. You had a bad fight, it's only normal that you are anxious to face him. But you'll see that you two will make up fast." He takes my hand in his, caressing it with his thumb. "And I actually would love to skip work to spend a bit of time with you."

My heart skips a beat at his happy expression, and I lower my gaze back to my plate as I fear that I must be blushing horribly.

After finishing our lunch, we get our ice cream but instead of walking back home right away, we end up sitting at the river while eating ice cream, forgetting the concept of time.