I wake up in Max's bed, my naked body pressed up to his. I roll over so I can face him, taking in every line of his face so I can memorize it. I trace the line of his jawbone, the curve of his eyebrows, the edge of his hairline. All of it. The best part is that it's all mine.

"Good morning," he whispers, his lips curving up into a smirk. A small gasp of surprise slips out of my mouth. I had no idea he was awake. "Are you enjoying yourself?" he pops his eyes open, and I'm immediately entranced by the darkness of them. Even after three days of staring into them almost non stop, I still don't understand how eyes as dark as his can display as much love as they do. Understanding or not, though, they're beautiful and I could never get tired of looking at them.

"Yes I am enjoying myself," I whisper, smiling at him. I can't help it. My mate is the most attractive person I have ever laid eyes on, and I wish I could lay across from all day just staring at him.

"Me too," he says, leaning forward and pressing his lips to mine. I wish I could say it was an innocent little good morning kiss, but hands start to roam and one thing leads to another. And who am I kidding, I don't wish anything other than that.

Breathing heavily, Max rolls off of me but keeps me close. I bury my head into his neck, planting delicate kisses along his neck and collarbone. I can feel his body shivering from the pleasure, and I can't help but feel proud that I'm able to do that to him with something so simple. A moan escapes him, and it's one of the sexiest sounds I've ever heard. "Fuck, B. You have no idea what you're doing to me." His hand tangles itself in my hair, grabbing the back of my head and guiding my face up to meet his. Our lips collide, and his arms slip around me so tightly that my breasts hurt from the pressure. The heat and passion from the kiss makes it hard to even realize it though, and his arms on my bare back are a huge turn on.

I wrap my arms around his neck as our legs tangle together, trying to pull myself as close to him as possible. Every part of our bodies are touching, and were so entangled in each other that we're practically one. It's impossible to figure out where one body part ends and another begins.

I pull away from the kiss, keeping my forehead pressed against his as I take a deep breath. I feel lightheaded, but I don't know if it's from the lack of oxygen or the effects of being with my mate. "Wow," Max says, his breathing coming out in pants. He flips us so he's on top of me again, paying careful attention not to crush me. "I'm still not over how beautiful you are." He brings a gentle hand up and caresses my cheek, staring into my eyes.

"I love you," I whisper.

"I love you too."

He falls onto his side, pulling me into him. There's no sexual touching or kissing this time; just the two of us wrapped up in each other's arms. I nestle my head into the crook of his neck, pausing to just bask in his scent. He smells so amazing. I close my eyes, suddenly feeling how exhausted my body is. It doesn't matter than I haven't even been up for an hour.

"B?"

"Mmm?" I respond, too tired to fully answer.

"When can I meet your family?" I open my eyes, not expecting him to ask that.

"I don't know," I say quietly. "I still haven't even told them about you yet."

"I didn't tell my parents about you, and look how that turned out. They already absolutely adore you," he points out, and he's right about that. I could almost see the wheels in his mom's head turning last night, already making wedding plans. It warms my heart to know that they've accepted me so easily, but my family isn't the same as his. My family is absolutely insane, and I'm worried that if I introduce him to the entire thing at once, all hell will break loose.

Who am I kidding? If I introduce him to my entire family at once, I know all hell will break loose.

Anyways, I like having him all to myself. It's kinda fun sneaking around, trying not to get caught. It adds a little excitement to our relationship.

"I know," I whisper, not knowing how to put my feelings into words on why I'm not ready yet.

"Do you not want me to meet your family?" he asks, sounding just a tiny bit hurt.

I shake my head immediately, because that's not it. "I think..." I start, feeling the gears in my mind spinning as I try to formulate a sentence. "I think that I'm still mad that my parents never told me about me being a hybrid and my birth mom dying after giving birth to me. They've been lying to me for my entire life." I take a breath. "I think I might be keeping you from them as some sort of payback. Oh god, that sounds horrible." When I say it, I know it's true no matter how much I don't want it to be. I hate myself for sinking to that level, for being petty enough to keep something this big from my family. My family means the world to me, so why am I doing this?

I cry. It's not an ugly cry, I'm not gasping for breath or anything. The tears roll silently down my cheeks, and when the first one rolls off my cheek and lands on Max's chest, he guides my face up so I'm looking into his eyes. "Hey, B, don't cry," he says softly, and he wipes away the tears as they come.

"I hate that I'm acting like this. I'm acting like a child," I say. I feel more tears pushing their way out, and Max wipes them away again.

"You're not doing it on purpose. I know you're not. You're not that kind of person," Max says, sitting up and pulling me into his lap. The sheets drop to our waists, but his eyes stay glued to mine and his hands on my face. The love I have for him skyrockets in this moment, because even my naked body on display isn't enough to distract him from making sure I'm okay. "What they did, lying to you about who you are, they shouldn't have done. You can't go back and change that though. All you can do is move forward in the future and focus on what you can control."

I smile at him through my tears, and his face breaks out into a grin when he sees it. "Thank you," I say quietly.

"I'm not going to pressure you into meeting them, and I'm sorry if I was being pushy about it. You decide when you're ready to take that step," Max says. I lean forward and press my lips to his, grasping his face between my hands. He grins into the kiss, not wasting a second before responding.

"You know," I say against his mouth. "I think I could really use a bath to help calm me down."

"On it," he says, and he's off the bed in a split second, already rushing into the bathroom. I laugh and follow him in, only thinking about how seriously lucky I got to have him as my mate.