CHAPTER 75: CHAPTER 75 FORGIVENESS

Draven’s POV

Ryan, Nate and I were standing in Harbor Bay’s most exclusive flower shop, surrounded by an explosion of colors and scents. I was still hesitant about this whole flower plan, thinking it might be too extravagant.

"You sure about this?" I asked Ryan as the florist showed us arrangements that would barely fit through a standard doorway."These are massive. Isn’t this a bit... excessive?"

Ryan clapped me on the shoulder. "That’s the whole point, Alpha! These arrangements are so ridiculously huge that they’ll have to call us to complain."

"And then we swoop in like knights in shining armor to rescue them from their floral prison," Nate added with a grin. "Giving us the perfect excuse to see them at work."

I had to admit, the strategy was clever in its absurdity. Plus, I was desperate to see Caroline again, to continue earning her forgiveness. "Fine. But if this backfires, I’m blaming both of you."

"Trust us," Ryan said confidently. "This will work."

When we walked into the Puma Global building that afternoon, I saw Ryan searching the lobby for Ruby. We’d all planned to get our women at the same time, all of us sorry wolves trying to make things right with our girlfriends.

When Ryan and I got to the girls’ floor and walked to their desks, I almost laughed out loud. The flower arrangements were even bigger than we thought. Caroline and Ruby had piled books at the corners of their desks to hold up the flowers, just to see their computers.

It looked like they were working in a tiny jungle. I looked at Ryan, and we both tried not to laugh.

"How are the most beautiful women in the world doing today?" Ryan asked with his usual charm, making the girls look up.

They shared a look before glaring at us.

"Do you know how many flowers are in here? Because we do. Our colleagues started a betting pool to guess how many flowers were in our ’personal gardens.’ Even our boss joined in." Caroline was furious.

"Do you know what they’re calling us here? The spring girls. And that was the nicest thing we heard all day!" Ruby was just as mad as Caroline. Maybe we had overdone it. But they looked so cute when angry.

"Ruby, don’t be mad! It was just a small romantic gesture. Maybe we got a little carried away." Ryan took Ruby’s hand and kissed it.

"Romantic? Really, Ryan? This is just crazy!" Caroline huffed.

"Sweetheart, don’t be so mad." I pulled her close for a quick kiss.

"Whoa, what do you think you’re doing?" She tried to step back. "I’m not your sweetheart, and since when can you just kiss me like that?"

I silenced her with a movie-worthy kiss, pulling her into my arms and dipping her back like in old films. Her coworkers whistled and clapped. When I set her back up, she was breathless.

I looked over to see Ryan doing the same thing, leaving Ruby just as flustered. My Beta had the biggest grin on his face.

"Finally kissed my redhead!" Ryan announced proudly.

"Come on, ladies, we’ll take you home and be your servants tonight," I said, lifting that huge vase from Caroline’s desk. We might have gone too far, but seeing her blush made it worth it.

We met Elle and Nate in the elevator. Elle said she was going to her mate’s place since I’d be taking Caroline home. At her building, Mr. Cooper, the friendly doorman, was at his post.

"I see you’re really persistent, young man!" Mr. Cooper commented with a knowing smile.

"And I’m sure I’ll earn her forgiveness, Mr. Cooper," I said, returning his smile.

"So you’re part of this conspiracy too, Mr. Cooper?" Caroline asked the gentleman, hands on her hips.

"My dear, I’m an old romantic! And I can see this wolf loves you. You make such a beautiful couple. Let him grovel at your feet, be tough on him, but forgive him in the end, dear. Nothing in life is more beautiful than experiencing true love." Mr. Cooper was truly an excellent ally.

"I’ll think about it, Mr. Cooper. Good night," Caroline said and headed toward the elevators.

I thanked Mr. Cooper, who gave me a thumbs up and waved for me to go. I ran to the elevator after my mate.

When she unlocked the door, Liam ran straight to me for a hug. She introduced the babysitter, who was leaving soon. While Caroline went to shower, I used the chance to plan a surprise with my little helper. Liam helped me order dinner from a nice place, and I made sure to get chocolate cake for dessert.

We had dinner and spent time playing. Later, I tucked Liam into bed. He was such a sweet kid. Back in the living room, I pulled Caroline close to me.

"My love, we need to talk," I whispered in her ear.

"About what, Draven?" she asked, and I felt her arms wrap around me. My heart raced. It felt so good to feel her arms around me.

"About you having to forgive me."

"I have to forgive you? And why should I forgive you when you were such a jerk to me and hurt me so deeply?"

"Yes, I was a jerk, I hurt you, but you love me, your son loves me, even your doorman likes me," I said with a smile.

"Don’t forget that traitor Elle," she smiled against my neck.

"Ah yes, Elle. She’s not a traitor, she just wants to see you happy."

"And you’re my happiness, I suppose."

"Absolutely! Because only in my arms do you let yourself go like this, forget the world, and are truly happy." Alaric was purring inside me at having Caroline in our arms.

"Is that all?" she asked.

"Of course not. And also, I’m the only one who drives you crazy with desire." I said, pulling up her dress and, in a quick motion, grabbed her thighs and made her wrap her legs around me.

I brought her to the couch, laying her down and covering her body with mine. My kiss was hungry and desperate, and she responded with just as much need.

I’ve been crazy about this woman since the first moment I saw her. I kissed her mouth, licked and sucked her delicious lips, tasting her, savoring her flavor.Caroline responded with the same intensity, the same desire that ran through my body also dominated hers. And I knew that the same love that made my heart beat also paced the beats of her heart.

When we were almost out of breath, I pulled away from her lips. She smiled at me, her eyes sparkling into mine. I let my lips wander, leaving kisses across her face until I reached her ear.

"Ah, my Caroline, you have no idea how much I love you."

I gently nibbled her earlobe, following it with a kiss. I trailed my lips down her neck, kissing, licking, and giving little nips that made her gasp. I moved to her collarbone and continued planting kisses that made her squirm beneath me.

I quickly sat down on the couch, pulling her with me so she straddled my lap, her burning core grinding against my hardened length. I moved beneath her while gently biting her right nipple through her dress. She pushed herself against me as if trying to merge our bodies and let out a soft moan that drove me wild.

I kissed her again while pulling down her dress zipper. Ryan tried to reach me through our mind-link, but I blocked him right away. This was not the time for pack business.

But he wouldn’t give up, kept trying to contact me.

I shut him out completely. Nothing was going to interrupt this moment with my girl.

Just as I was about to pull Caroline’s dress down her shoulders, my phone started ringing loudly from my pocket. Caroline burst into laughter, leaving me confused. She looked into my eyes, held my face with both hands, and said,"I bet that’s your Beta. Answer it, he won’t give up."

We both started laughing as I reluctantly grabbed the phone.Sure enough, Ryan’s name was lighting up the screen.

"Cell phones are the worst invention in the world!" I groaned before answering. "Damn it, Ryan! Did you put a tracking device on me that alerts you every time I’m about to make love to my woman, you interrupting bastard?" I said, laughing despite my frustration.

My smile dropped when I heard what my Beta had to say. "Alright, we’ll meet at your place in half an hour."

I hung up the phone and sighed. Caroline looked at me seriously, still sitting in my lap. It felt so good having her this close and accepting my touches.

"Is everything okay?"

"Looks like Alpha Arthur found out who Linda’s been sending information to," I said seriously, watching her eyes for any sign of hurt when I mentioned it, but found none. "I hope we can get rid of her now."

"I’m glad things are moving in the right direction."

"Well, I don’t know if ’right’ is the word, but they’re moving towards being resolved," I said, kissing the palm of her hand. "I hope we’re also moving towards being okay." I looked at her pleadingly.

"Draven, I don’t know..." she squirmed in my lap before getting up. I let out a frustrated groan."Damn cockblocker!" Her smile lit up when she heard me curse. "Baby, I need to go, but I don’t want to. Can we finish this later? Right where we left off?" I asked, still burning for her.

"Call me. I might be feeling generous..." I grinned at her playful words, gave her one last kiss, and reluctantly left to handle pack matters. Alaric wasn’t happy, growling at having to leave Caroline behind.