77. Visiting (Erik & Liona)

Erik was pleasantly surprised at the easy affection that Liona afforded him. As they waited for her car to be brought around, she rested her head on his shoulder. After hearing that his greasy work shirt wouldn't easily ruin her pretty dress, he wrapped his arm around her and drew her closer. She fit perfectly by his side and in his arms as they sat there. Despite the somewhat obvious glares of some of the hotel staff, he was happy that she wanted to be physically close to him, even in a somewhat public setting. He had never dreamed of having a real relationship with a girl before, where he could be affectionate in public and not be afraid of what others might think. Now he wondered why he had never thought he'd find someone who could put these fears to rest. 

He was still feeling a little inadequate, but when Liona opened her eyes and caught the glares of the hotel staff, she just got downright petty. She smirked and pulled his face closer and kissed him deeply. Not one to complain that his mate was wanting more than a little kiss, he obliged and kissed her back wholeheartedly. He became so absorbed in their kiss, that he didn't notice that the valet was back until he cleared his throat loudly as he waited for them to stop. Embarrassed, he reluctantly pulled back from Liona who looked just a bit starry-eyed. She received her keys and smiled before pulling him back for one last kiss before she stood up and tugged him with her. She practically sashayed out to her car with him in tow. When they got in, she turned to him and grinned.

"Erik, don't worry about the hotel staff, or anyone else, for that matter. You are my boyfriend and my fated mate, and no one gets to tell us off or disapprove of our relationship. I hate petty people who display their jealousy in such a manner. It makes me want to rub their noses in it all the more to piss them off! You're my man, and you can wear my scent mark proudly!" Liona huffed as she programmed their destination into the nav unit.

Erik laughed, "Is that why you smirked at them and kissed me so passionately?"

"Damn straight!" Liona laughed.

Erik smiled as Liona kept him entertained while the car drove to wherever their destination was. She was so charming, and she also had a wicked tongue. Using it for both kissing and for telling people off, it seemed. She was a remarkable kisser, and he loved it when she just pulled him under like a wave bringing in the high tide. Sooner or later, he would drown in her rose scented self, and when that happened, he would gladly surrender to his alpha for her. He just hoped that when that happened they were both prepared for it.

Liona delighted in kissing Erik. It was so entirely different from any other guy she'd ever kissed before. Sure, his kissing could use some work, but it was the spark and thrill that those kisses gave her that felt like an addictive substance. She would gladly surrender herself to that wave of desire, and that was the dangerous part of the addiction, she was sure. If they weren't prepared, they would both be swept up into an ocean of passion. For now, though, their suppressants were doing their job.

Pulling into the driveway of her house, Liona's car communicated with the gate, and it slid open for them to pass through, and it parked itself in the third bay of their garage, her designated parking spot. She was glad to be home, and now she could get changed out of her formal gown and into her favorite lounge clothes. She stretched a bit as she observed Erik's face as they arrived. He seemed a bit hesitant about their location.

"Are you nervous being here? Would you prefer to go somewhere else? If you just give me a few minutes to go up and get changed, I'll take you wherever you want to go when I'm done."

"What about your parents? Won't they be home soon?" Erik asked as they got out of Liona's car.

"They'll be at my family gathering for a while longer, possibly the rest of the night. Some of our family, they haven't seen in a year, so they will likely be catching up with them for a while." Liona explained as she led Erik through the side door of the garage and up to the side entrance to the mud room, just off the kitchen.

Placing her hand on the doorknob was all it took for the door to unlock and let them in as it read her biometrics. Her parents would get the alert that she had arrived home, which would appease their likely unspoken worry at her abrupt departure earlier, as well as the excuse that she wasn't feeling well. She knew they wouldn't bother with the security footage since the alert would be for her biometrics entry to the house. They wouldn't suspect that she had Erik with her. She could always say that she intended to give him a ride home after finding him walking the street on her way home if they questioned her about it later. It would be a partial truth at the very least.

"Come on in, Erik." Liona encouraged as she entered the house.

"Um, okay." Erik followed Liona inside a dark room, before a light came on as she moved further ahead of him. 

As the light came on, he could now see that this might be what movies called a mudroom in fancy houses. He was glad that he liked all those romantic dramas with mismatched main characters. His sister made fun of him for liking those kinds of movies, but he enjoyed the drama and the stories as the characters fell in love. There were a ton of old movies that were free that they could watch, at least when they found a public library that wasn't in the upscale part of a town that had movies you could check out. 

The older movies were the only ones that had played on their old phones. He and Nikki consumed a lot of media when they had to take public transportation everywhere and had hours to kill before their bus and destination were reached. The thing about those old digital books and movies, were that at the end of the allotted rental, they didn't have to return them since they just lost access when that time was up. It was just easy to find another library and sign up for another account in another city, so browsing different digital libraries were part of the little entertainment they could afford.

As Erik followed Liona through the house, they exited the mudroom, and entered the hall he recognized that led to the dining room, and he assumed the kitchen as well. When Liona turned right, she led them to the foyer where the main stairs of her house were at. He expected Liona to go up those stairs, but she continued to lead him to the living room that he had spent a good portion of the time at her party in, the last time he was here.

"Okay. Wait here and make yourself comfortable while I go up and change. I'm so done with this dress." Liona laughed at Erik's expression. "I'll be quick, don't worry about being here. No one is home to question it. Besides, you're my guest and that means that you can be here." Liona gave Erik a quick peck on his cheek before she hurried up the back stairs to her room.

After reaching her room, Liona sighed in happiness. Her omega was happy, she was happy, and she felt so much better after clearing up the misunderstanding with Erik over not being able to contact him. She had tried to contact him several times, but it seemed his phone was now so old that it no longer could communicate with her devices. Which is what made her determined to donate the ridiculous amount of new devices that she had been given for her birthday. She didn't need all these things, she was perfectly happy with her current phone since it worked and did all that she needed it to. She didn't understand the need for the latest, greatest tech gadget, when the previous generation of gadget did the exact same thing and didn't cost extra for a facelift. Snorting, she thought about some of the things that were touted as new features, when if you actually took a look at your device, that feature would be there, just buried deep within the settings.

While Liona was getting dressed, Erik took a good look around the living room. Now that it wasn't decorated for Liona's party and without a bunch of people around, he could see that it was a cozy and surprisingly relaxing feeling room. The main focus of the room seemed to be a large TV that took up a good portion of the wall, with a low, sleek wooden table of some kind below it. There were also a handful of electronic devices he could not identify at a glance. Then there was also a massive couch that he hadn't noticed during his last visit. It looked like it could seat up to 8 people comfortably. His mom would be envious of this couch since they barely had one that sat three or four of them depending on if the littlest of his sisters were sitting with them. Oftentimes, the littlest of his sisters just cuddled on their laps while they played a borrowed kid's movie for them. His little sisters loved an old anime, Equal Princess Magic, that had spawned several seasons and a handful of movie spin-offs.