Chapter 169

Helen’s POV

At first, it was awkward sitting on the floor on the cushion next to Justin. Behind us, Randy and Russo had taken opposite sides of the couch and munched on their popcorn. On the loveseat, Julianne had curled in against Peter’s shoulder, resting her head and leaning against him. But otherwise, they weren’t doing anything.

All I could think while I was watching them was that if that were Justin and me, we would have our hands under each other’s clothes, rubbing various sensitive points, rather than sitting there watching the movie. I took a sideways glance at my mate. What was I supposed to do with him?

The first movie started, and it was a comedy about an intern and their boss, and some mix-up with the intern’s identity, so that their first day on the job, the boss thought that they were the new social coordinator. And, of course, the boss needs a date for an event, and the poor intern has no idea how to get one and can’t admit that she’s not actually the social coordinator. So, she agrees to be his date.

I watched with fascination as the two bumped into one another awkwardly and giggled and jolted every time even their pinkies touched one another. It was all very sweet.

Nothing between Justin and I had ever been what I would describe as sweet. It was hot and ferocious. But now that I was watching this, I thought maybe I would enjoy a little sweetness in my life.

Of course, being a romantic movie, by the end, the boss and the intern had realized all of the mistakes that had been made, but none of it mattered because they also understood that they belonged with one another.

Before we started the second movie, Randy disappeared into the kitchen and came back with bowls of ice cream covered in sprinkles and chocolate sauce. “I thought we should have sundaes if we’re going to keep up the movie marathon,” he said.

“I didn’t even see you bring the ice cream in,” I gasped. “That was so nice of you.”

Randy grinned. “I have my ways.”

He handed around the bowls of ice cream, and then we started up the next movie. Again, it was a slow burn as the two main characters fell in love but didn’t realize that they were falling in love because the woman had disguised herself as a man and taken a job as the main character’s bodyguard.

Needless to say, she fell in love with him. And he thought he was falling in love with her, but then felt confused because he thought she was a he, only to get to the end and swear to his supposedly male bodyguard that he didn’t care that he was a man and that he loved him. And then he was confused, followed by delighted when he found out that she wasn’t a he but was actually a she.

Like the first, this movie was full of all of the little touches and bumps and oopsies that flustered the main characters and sent them blushing and their hearts beating wildly.

There was a rush for the bathrooms after that movie while everyone took a restroom break. Being the luna does have its benefits because I found myself at the front of the line, thanks to some very polite house guests. And while I felt like, as the hostess, I ought to offer the restroom to them first, I had been crossing my legs for the whole second half of that movie.

I hurried in to do my business, and when I came back out and took my spot on the floor cushion, Justin was the only other one in the living room. He leaned back on his hands and grinned at me.

“How are you liking the romantic movie marathon?”

“I love it,” I said. “I wish we had done stuff like this sooner. I wish I’d been able to do stuff like this my whole life.”

He nodded. “It’s sad that you and I never got to, but honestly, I’m glad that we’re getting a chance now.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a good romp between the sheets with you, but this is kind of nice.”

“I fully agree,” I said.

I leaned back on my hands, too, waiting for the others to return. Slowly they trickled back in and took their spots on the sofa. And this time, Randy picked a movie and started it up.

While the opening credits were getting underway, I felt the slightest touch on my fingertips. Shock jolted through me, and I looked down. Justin’s hand had crept over, and his fingertips rested just over the tops of mine.

A different sort of heat than I was used to when I touched my mate zipped through me. It was some sort of sweet anticipation. Had he done that on purpose? Was he courting me like the shy boys in the movies? Or was this completely accidental?

My heart flopped against the inside of my ribs, and I realized that all of the fluttery feelings that the main characters in the movies felt were real because now it felt like things were fluttering around the inside of my stomach.

I left my hand under Justin’s. Russo had said no hanky panky, but he also said Justin and I should start to date again to try to keep my urges and Justin’s under control without jumping straight back into bed with one another. So, this seems like as good a place to start as any. But it was odd, and it made my head swim. Because this interaction, this touching was nothing like what I was used to. And I didn’t know how far we were supposed to go or how to make the next move, or what to do at all.

By now, it was well past midnight. Justin lay back with a yawn, leaning against the edge of the sofa. He patted the floor next to him, and I took the offer, laying back, and leaning against him the way Julianne leaned against Peter. Now Julianne lay across Peter’s lap, and he had his head tipped back on the sofa. The two of them looked like they were barely awake but still watching the movie.

If they could do this gentle contact and the people in the movies could do it, I could too. Between Justin and I, our mate connections zipped and hummed with heated energy. But rather than letting that entice me into touching Justin between his legs, I let it flow through my stomach, turning up those fluttery feelings even more and making my chest tight with anticipation.

I honestly wanted to know where this would go next, and I kind of liked having the other people in the room because we couldn’t just strip down and have sex. Well, I suppose we could. Justin and I had done stuff like that in the past. But we weren’t really in the position to do that at the moment. Besides, finding out what exactly was going to happen without having sex was nearly as much fun as having sex in the first place. Nearly. Because at the thought of sex with Justin, the sweet spot between my legs gave a pulse.

It had been a while since I’d had a good orgasm from him, one that rippled through my body with the assurance that he loved me instead of one born of anger and violence. I wanted to go back to the loving sort. And slowly getting there might be just the thing.

Right now, my ear and cheek grew warm against Justin’s chest. Being next to him was soothing in a way that I hadn’t really remembered. I hadn’t really had a good night’s sleep in a very long time because I was constantly being plagued with nightmares from the Huntsman. And against my will, my eyelids started to drift closed. I really wanted to continue the movie night. But my body was calling an end to the fun.