"Of course you will retain the information." He turned to look at her. Frowning, he tipped his head. "Why would you ask such a question, Lilly? Is there something I need to know that you haven't told me? And no, I'm not in your head, so you really do need to tell me if there is something. You have a very expressive face," he added.
"No, I just honestly don't remember needing to get to the phone. So I just wanted to make sure that I would recall a conversation that we were having if I were trying to get a landline. That's what has me worried, I guess."
"Do you remember us talking in the morgue? When I wouldn't let you look at the body again, then when I took you up to our office and made you lay down on the sofa. Do you remember any of that, Lilly?" he asked softly.
"Yes, I recall us talking in the morgue, and I remember us laying down on the sofa, but the morgue thing is really fuzzy, and getting worse with each moment that passes. I honestly couldn't tell you who was in there, other than you, me, and a body. A female, right?" Her frustration rolled off of her in waves, he could feel her upset rising another notch with the end of her words.
"Briar was there. She's the one that called me when you went into your trance or fugue or whatever we're going to call it. So you remember me and the nap," he said quietly. "That's good. Which means it's only in the moments preceding me arriving. Which was the time that you were staring at the body. As soon as I got there, I pulled your attention away. Do you remember how I got your attention?"
Her frustration was palpable when she spoke, "No. No, I don't recall what you did to pull my attention to you. I hate that I don't know as well. How are we going to survive this?" she asked quietly.
"Hey," he said, moving toward her. Taking her hands, he drew her to her feet and then cupped her face. "We will figure this out, Lilly, but getting frustrated isn't going to help. I realize it's a very frustrating situation. But you need to remember, you are not alone. Not anymore, all right? And, since you don't recall, I think I need to remind you, if you would like me to."
"I would like that very much." She moved so that she was closer to him and sighed. "I feel better when you are close. I feel as if things are going to be okay. They will, right? We will figure this all out and take care of it before it causes serious issues for us?"
"We will," he told her with a small smile. Leaning in, he brushed his nose to hers lightly. "I pulled you out of your trance right in this position. Made you look at me and then … " His lips touched hers, slowly and then a little harder.
Lilly felt the kiss all the way to the tips of her toes. Wrapping her arm around his shoulders, she pulled him closer, pulled her body as tightly to his as she could. A low moan escaped her, and she shivered fully. When they parted, she licked her lips and shivered. "Goodness. I can see how that would affect anyone. You are truly remarkable."
"Hardly." His voice sounded deeper. He licked his lips and dropped his hands to her hips. "It's all you, darling. Most definitely you." He let out a ragged breath. "You completely fry my brain with a kiss like that."
"And that thing you do with your tongue, when it brushes up against the roof of my mouth, it makes me shudder. I love it when you do that part." Her voice was a little shaky, her desire evident in her tone. "I really, really love your kisses and think you should kiss me often."
"I think you may have said something like that the first time I kissed you," he said softly. "I'll kiss you anytime you want, Lilly. Gladly. I quite like kissing you. You're so sensitive and responsive." His words were a soft caress to her senses.
"Only because it's you," she whispered honestly. "I happen to really, really love having you kissing me. And yes, I will tell you often that you should kiss me. I just hope that you won't mind if I try to pull you into closets or whatever while we are at work and sneak a kiss here and there."
"As long as you don't mind me doing the same," he said quietly. Pressing a light kiss to her lips, he drew back. "We need to get moving, Lil. You ready to head into the office?" he asked. Stepping back, he ran a hand through his hair.
"Yep, I am as ready as I am going to be." Taking a deep breath, Lilly looked to Ax. "Just don't forget that I will from time to time lean heavily on you. You are my rock. I know we barely know each other, but you truly are my rock and I need you in life."
"I'm not going anywhere, Lilly," he said softly. "I'll be right with you through everything. Promise. Now, we need to get moving. Otherwise, I'll keep kissing you and we'll never get anything done today."
"Good." She moved so that her hand was in his and gave it a squeeze. "We will go, because I could go on kissing and touching you all day and that would get us into trouble. Especially if we continue before Gav comes back home to us, right?"
"Potentially," he said. Lifting her hand, he pressed a kiss to her wrist. "Shit, need to grab my band. Meet you at the front door," he said, letting her hand go. With a wink, he was gone in the next second. Literally! He'd been right there and then … not. What the hell?
Aloud, she voiced her thoughts. "What the hell?" He had literally disappeared on her. "Oh my." She didn't move, instead she just stood there and shook her head. When she saw him again, she had her mouth open and wide. "Dear God, what in the hell was that?"
Shrugging into his jacket, he shot her a curious look. One that slowly inched into a smug grin. "What was what, darling?" he asked. Stopping a foot from her, he cocked a brow up. "Is there a problem, Lilly?"
"You. You disappeared. What in the hell was that? I mean like, poof, and you were gone." Her mouth was moving, opening and closing in total shock. "And why did you have to have your cuff? We know that we are supposed to be together, right?"
"The cuff is to cover the mark, a private matter between mates. Until the mating is complete, it's to be that way. After the mating, it will be a choice, to advertise or not. As to the other," he grinned wider. "I'm very, very old, Lilly. In that time, as I previously mentioned, I've learned a great many things. One day I might just share them all with you. Today, my dear, is not that day. Coming?" He held out a hand to her.
"Yeah." Her hand slipped into his and she licked her lips. "I think that you should make me disappear with you one day. That might be interesting. As for the cuff"-she shrugged, her arm moving to wrap around his waist, and pressed her cheek to his shoulder-"I will leave that up to you and what you want."
His arms wrapped around her tight, keeping her close to him. "I don't know if I'll ever be able to leave it off for long. I've worn it for so long now." His chest lifted and then lowered quickly in a sigh. "I'll have to think about it. I've kept the mark private for so long I don't know if I'll be able to share it with another outside of our home."
"And I would be perfectly fine with that. You are mine, I am yours. That's all that matters. I know that it's there, as do you and Gav, so that's what is really important. I don't mind at all if you both want to continue to wear them. As long as you leave them off when we are home."
"Always little mate," he said, giving her a quick squeeze. Then his arms dropped. "Let's get moving. We have a full schedule today. And"-he stepped back, turning to look at the clock on the wall-"we're going to be late for our meeting with the captain soon."
"Not again." She hated meetings. "Okay. Let's hurry or we will be late, and that will be just bad. Although, I'm sure that he's gotten a full report on me already and has learned that I'm seldom ever on time for anything, really."
Snorting at that, Ax tightened his hold on her hand and tugged. "We're not going to be late. We will arrive on time. Even if I have to use every trick I've ever learned, and probably make up a few new ones along the way." He pulled her out the front door and toward the truck on the driveway.
"Then I look forward to learning your tricks, because I am notoriously late." She got into his truck and, when he got in, added, "So if you could help me stay on schedule in the future, I would be very, very grateful, please."