The Eve of Darkness

Chapter 12

Warning: there is some spicy content in this chapter. Nothing major, but, just in case someone is sensitive to that.

Enjoy ;D

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It was nearing the end of the day that Aria had eaten breakfast with Xiomara and Hazel. It was just past dusk and the temperature had already dropped significantly from the hot summer heat to below sixty degrees. Aria laid on a couch in the Alpha Suite with her mate and ran her hands through his soft hair as he laid between her legs, hugging her stomach tightly. Camden's head rested on her rib cage as his legs were slightly curled up and hanging off of the edge of the couch. She couldn't image how the position could be comfortable, but, nevertheless, he had been resting like that for twenty minutes.

"Okay, but what about, like, condiments?" Aria asked, getting an amused snort in response as she grinned. The fireplace on the other side of the room crackled softly, providing a moderate but appreciated warmth. "No, seriously! How do you know which ones are the right ones? Do you ever mean to put syrup on your pancakes but accidentally put mayonnaise?"

Camden sighed and shook his head a little bit, the smile on his face contradicting any type of annoyance was feigning. "Well, for certain things, I have a braille label maker. So for some stuff, I can print labels that I read before grabbing anything." His arms tightened around Aria's waist before loosening again, almost as if he was checking she was still there. "Jude and I got a bunch of stuff to help us organize the kitchen, so for refillable spice containers, sugar and flour containers, or the box Jude refills with my favorite cereal, there are braille labels on them."

Aria hummed and smiled, leaning her head back over the armrest in thought.

"But what about the mayonnaise?"

Camden chuckled, the sound rumbling right through his chest and Aria's body. She had to take a deep breath to calm herself as her thighs tightened and loosened around her mate's ribs.

"I mean, for the most part I've memorized what the different condiment jars are shaped like, so I very rarely use the wrong one. Plus, I don't always use condiments in my food."

"So you never mess up your food? You never grab the mayonnaise by accident?"

Camden huffed a laugh through his nose as he lifted his head to raise his eyebrows at Aria. She giggled as he shook his head. "Yes, Darling, sometimes I accidentally use mayonnaise."

"I knew it."

He rolled his eyes and rested his forehead on Aria's stomach, laughing softly.

"You're ridiculous."

"No, I'm just curious."

Aria could feel Camden's smile before he softly kissed her abdomen. She couldn't help the way her muscles tightened at the gesture.

"Well," he started, his tone playful and upbeat. "Since you're so curious about how I do things, would you want to help me out with something?"

Aria grinned and began to nod her head before catching herself. The amount of times since she'd arrived that she failed to give audible responses to Camden was beginning to annoy her, truth be told. However, the idea of being able to actually be useful to her mate after an entire month of mooching off the pack was quite appealing in the moment.

"Sure!" She responded almost immediately. "What is it that you need help with?"

Camden rested his chin on Aria's stomach and smiled at her and her excitement.

"Would you read to me?"

The way Camden looked in that moment was enough to cause Aria's heart to skip a beat. Maybe it was his position between her thighs or the firm grip he had on her waist, but something about their current predicament suddenly had her body feeling much hotter and more sensitive.