Free Octavia's Time [The Klawinken] (Siren Publishing Allure) by Natalie Rosewood

with her words and her actions from the night before. There was no denying that there was something between them that went beyond the fact that he had taken her virginity.
    She shook her head, taking both his hands in hers. “Please don’t give up on me. Can’t we be friends for now?”
    “Friends,” he practically spat, his face turning cold. “You want to be friends. Have you forgotten what happened between us? That our bodies mated as one? Did it really mean nothing to you? Can you be that cruel to not only deny me, but yourself the truth of who we are?”
    “I don’t mean to be cruel,” she choked out. “I’m just scared, Mathieu. I’m so scared.” Tears tumbled down her cheeks. Every pent up emotion from the last few days came out in a torrent of tears that shook her from head to toe.
    Mathieu’s arms brought her into the safety of his chest as he kissed the top of her head. “Please don’t cry, Octavia. I’m so sorry. It’s okay to be scared. I understand. I’m such as ass. I want you so badly, need you so badly, that I can’t see beyond my own desires.”
    “I’m sorry, Mathieu,” she whimpered.
    “Let’s go in the house. I’ll make breakfast, and then we’ll go to the homeless shelter. I want you to meet some of my friends. I think meeting other Klawinken will help you understand us better.” He drew her away from him so that he could look into her eyes. “I will give you the time you need, no matter how difficult it is for me. Everything’s going to be okay, I promise.”
    Mathieu guided her into the house where he proceeded to cook up some scrambled eggs and toast. As she was making the coffee, she couldn’t help but look over at Mathieu and compare him to Tobias. Mathieu was drop-dead gorgeous, and there was nothing about him that wasn’t perfection. However, he wasn’t Tobias. Tobias was bigger than life, and there was, she reminded herself, a reason for that. Comparing Mathieu to a dream was doing him a terrible injustice. She needed to put Tobias out of her head, learn more about her Klawinken heritage, and find out about these gifts that Mathieu kept referencing.
    After breakfast, Mathieu put the dishes in the dishwasher while she ran upstairs and changed into a clean pair of jeans and a pretty turquoise top that she had always liked. She tied her hair back in a ponytail and put on some light makeup. She felt better when she came back downstairs. Mathieu smiled when he saw her, his eyes lighting up. She knew he thought he was in love with her. Everything he did told her that. It would have made everything so much easier if she had just fallen totally in love with him as he had expected. But nothing that had happened to her since her twenty-first birthday was what she had expected.
    Mathieu opened the passenger door for her and then went around to the other side of the car and slid into the driver’s seat. She had been about to ask, “Do you need directions?” but thought better of it. He was extremely sensitive, and she didn’t want to imply he didn’t know where he was going. However, when he made a wrong turn, she couldn’t help but speak up.
    “Mathieu, this isn’t the way to the homeless shelter.”
    “I know. Remember, I said I wanted you to meet a few of my friends.”
    “I didn’t realize you meant today.”
    “It won’t take too long, and I think it’s important. Plus, we’re here.” He smiled.
    He parked the car in front of a gallery called the “Half Moon.” Octavia touched the birthmark on her neck, wondering why she hadn’t put that together before.
    “Your place of employment?” She looked over at Mathieu.
    “One of them.” He then added, “It’s an interesting gallery, and I think you’ll like it, along with my friends.”
    Mathieu showed her into the gallery where a young woman was in the process of directing the hanging of a painting. She turned and smiled when she saw Mathieu. “Mathieu, we missed you last night. Hello,