King of My Heart

TWENTY-FOUR

"Okay," I state. "But I still don't like you."

His face lights up and he wraps his arms around me, pulling me into a bear hug. His mind boggling scent takes over me and it takes all of my strength to not hug him back. Slowly, I push him back and I can tell he isn't happy about that by the small growl that escapes his chest.

"You still have to earn my forgiveness," I declare.

"I'll do anything," he says, matter of factly.

"Why don't you clean yourself up before you die of hypothermia and I will think of a punishment that fits the crime."

He furrows his brows, looking at me in confusion, but that is quickly changed into a look of determination. He nods his head and runs upstairs. I get out of the chair and decide to watch some TV until he returns.

Liam really took me by surprise with his apology. It was the last thing I expected. I would have never imagined the big, bad Alpha to kneel down in front of me and beg me to stay. Handcuffing me and forcing me to stay sounds more like his style, so this was a pleasant surprise. It must have taken a lot of courage for him to expose his vulnerable side to me. It's not in my nature to hold grudges but I can't blame myself for assuming the worst of him. I didn't really see any other side of him besides the controlling asshole, until today.

I'm not cynical or anything but I just never had any faith in relationships, or love, but seeing all of these werewolves being so happy with their mates does give me hope. Even my mother is in a loving marriage now. So maybe, I should give this whole mate thing a chance as well. After all, you have to take risks in life to achieve happiness.

I'm so lost in my train of thought, I don't even notice Liam return until he sits down next to me with a thud. His hair is wet from a shower and he's wearing sweatpants and a navy turtleneck with the sleeves pulled up, leaving his forearms exposed. Being mad at him is not going to be easy with him looking like this all the time.

"If you're done checking me out, I'm ready to be punished," he grins.

"You wish I was checking you out," I lie and immediately look away as I feel my cheeks redden.

He lets out a soft chuckle.

"Anyway," I say trying to move on from my embarrassing moment, "You can start off with unpacking all my stuff. Since you're the reason I packed it, it's only fair."

His eyes look guilty and I instantly feel bad for saying that. He shakes his head and the grin returns on his face.

"You got it, boss," he says with a salute.

"Alright then, let's go." I stand up.

"Wait, now," he asks looking up at me.

"Unless you have something better to do," I ask, tilting my head.

He shakes his head and follows me up the stairs.

"Oh, and I would also like a snack while you work," I order.

"I think the best snack in this house is me," he states.

I stop and turn around with a straight face, giving him a glare. He looks very proud of himself for saying that but I don't budge. I raise a brow at him.

"Alright, alright," he mumbles and turns back towards the kitchen.

I get back to my room and jump on my bed. Switching on the TV, I scroll through some channels, finally settling on The Bachelorette. Nothing like bad reality TV to chill out to. A few seconds later, Liam walks in with a jar in his hand. He passes it to me and I open it and it's filled with cookies.

"Alright now, get to work," I say, jerking my head towards the packed suitcases. I start munching and get back to watching TV. I sometimes steal glances towards Liam, who seems to be hard at work.

It takes him about half an hour to get done with one suitcase. He takes my clothes out, which I had basically just thrown in, folds them and puts them in the closet. Then he starts with the second bag.

"How many shoes did you bring," he asks in shock. I look at him and he has a pair in each hand and is frowning at all the other pairs making a mess around him.

"I didn't bring them all. I bought some here," I say like it's not a big deal.

"Who needs this many shoes," he continues in amazement.

"Stop complaining and get back to work. Chop chop," I clap my hands at him and get back to the TV.

A few minutes pass in silence with only the sound from the TV filling up the room, until Liam speaks up again.

"And where do you want me to put these," he asks.

I lift my eyes towards him to check what he is talking about and am caught off guard when I see him sitting next to the bag with a mischievous grin on his face, holding up bras in each hand. I let out a loud gasp and leap off the bed.

"This one is really sexy. I wouldn't mind seeing you in it," he says looking at the lacy, red one he has in one hand and then turns to me and winks.

I snatch them both from his hands, throwing them back in the bag and shutting the lid. I can feel my ears heat up from embarrassment while Liam throws a laughing fit.

"Alright that's enough. Now get out, I wanna take a nap," I say, walking back to the bed as I try to hide my flushed face.

Thankfully he doesn't say anything else and walks out, still chuckling. I turn off the TV and get into bed. All of the exhaustion from the day suddenly hits me and luckily, I slip into a dreamless sleep before I can die of embarrassment.