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“That was amazing,” West said. “Although not as amazing as my bear being willing to pose for all those hours. Patience is not one of his best characteristics.”
I stepped into my shorts and led the way back inside, holding the rest of my clothes. His were in the dining room where he’d undressed. “My fox enjoyed it so much. He is completely enchanted with your bear and insists we do that again soon.”
West set down his shirt and came over to gather me to him. “Every time we’re together is better than the time before. Can I see the painting now?” I hadn’t showed it to him yet, wanting him to see it finished. “I’ve never seen my bear.”
My heart squeezed. “Not even in a mirror?”
“He doesn’t fit in the bathroom very well.”
“Then of course. I actually saw my fox in a photo once. It was really special to me. Maybe we could get someone to take a picture of our animals together?”
He turned away from the canvas. “Is that how we look?”
“Well, pretty much. You can see it’s kind of shadowy because I wanted to show how I experience him with you even in this form.”
“Wow.” He turned back to the painting. “I’ve seen enough photos of my human form to know this is a special interpretation of my human form as well.” He held up a hand when I moved to protest. “Oh, it’s the right arms and legs and everything else, but there’s a glow I’ve never seen before.”
“I paint what I see.”
“You’re so talented.”
The moment seemed right to ask him something important… “West, why don’t you just move in? We’re together most of the time, and I miss you when we’re not.”
From his startled stare, he hadn’t seen it coming.
“It’s just a suggestion,” I said. “How we are now is good too.”
“As the alpha, I should be offering you my home, but it’s just a house I bought recently. This place has history for you, your studio is almost done, and I would be honored to move in, if you’re sure you want me to.”
“Want to come to our bedroom and see if you need any changes, then?” I took his hand and tugged him away from the dining room.
“No changes I…oh.” He followed me, grinning. “I’ll be glad to inspect.”
Chapter Sixteen
West
On Mondays, I didn’t open the truck but, even though it technically was a day off, it really wasn’t. There were no days off when you worked for yourself, I had discovered.
I drove to the city and bought new supplies. New flavors to try out and some different cups and straws. Antoine had opted to stay home. His stomach had been upset lately off and on. We chalked it up to too many shaved ice cups. Completely my fault for making him try every new flavor combination and then some.
It was a lot of sugar.
I got everything I could for the next day, minus the ice. I had it delivered every other day and bought a huge freezer courtesy of the money from selling my house. But business had been good and I could see myself actually being able to help provide for us.
We worked as a team, Antoine and I. We’d thrown out the roles of alpha and omega, except, of course for the bedroom roles. He worked so hard day in and day out to the point where sometimes I had to remind him to get sleep or eat.
Especially lately with the upset tummy business. Even his scent had changed a bit.
I put all the supplies into the garage and walked inside, ready to see my mate. He was especially gorgeous when he painted. He had been working on a piece that required the morning light streaming through the dining room and so, when I walked into our home and saw him standing there in the sunshine, wearing only a shirt and underwear, I felt like I was in heaven and he was my angel.
“Good morning,” I said. Sometimes I got a greeting from him; other times I didn’t. My mate didn’t have a rude bone in his body, but there were times he was so engrossed that the world around him, including me, simply ceased to exist. It was one of the many things that I loved about him, his passion for his work.
Instead of a greeting, he put his paintbrushes down, always more than one in his hand, and groaned.
“What is it?” I asked, rushing over only to be shoved out of the way. He ran to the bathroom and, soon after, I heard the sounds of heaving.
He had been doing that too much lately.
