Chapter 6 - Mandla

# Chapter 6: Mandla

SUNLIGHT CUTS THROUGH THE BLINDS, alerting me that another day has dawned. I don't know how long I slept after we made each other come last night, only that it was the best night of sleep I've had in months. Maybe longer.

I reach for Naledi, eager for the warmth of her soft body, but the bed is empty.

Panicked, I roll out of bed and pull on a pair of tracksuit pants. I hurry down the hall, slowing when I discover her sitting on the floor, back against the couch. There's a tablet in her hand and a cat curled up beside her legs.

"You're up," she says, smiling but not looking up. Her focus is on the screen and whatever she's drawing.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to sleep so late." I move around the back of the couch — she's right, the thing's a piece of shit I've been meaning to replace — to spy on her screen. From where I'm standing, it looks like some black and white map. "What's that?"

"Side project," she says.

"You draw maps now?"

"Mostly for fantasy and romance authors, yes." Aries stretches out, pressing his paws against her bare leg.

My cock grows hard just thinking about those same bare legs under my sheets. She was so fucking wet last night. As much as I want to discover if she's still that wet this morning, I stay behind the couch and simply watch her draw. I've waited too long for this to happen between us to rush it.

"Have you eaten?"

"No," she says, shaking her head. A few strands of dark hair escape her messy bun in the process. "Didn't really feel like leftover spaghetti for breakfast."

"There's eggs," I say.