SWNOVELS (Dis)content: Chapter 6
Ethan and I followed Grey and Carlos down the hall. The pair didn’t say much. Then again, neither did we. Grey unlocked the door, and Carlos stepped aside to let us in. As I passed, Grey handed me a spare keycard. Ethan set his bag on the far bed, and I took the side furthest from the other two. Ethan didn’t comment.
I ducked into the bathroom for a much needed pee while the other two set their bags on the bed. When I came back out, Ethan was waiting with a clean change of clothes in his arms.
“’Bout time,” I said, moving aside for him.
“Didn’t know how bad you wanted me neck’d.” He never said naked the right way. I couldn’t even remember how it had started. Probably one of the first times I’d slept over at his house. Man, how old had I been? Eleven? My parents most definitely had been fried by then.
Ethan closed himself into the bathroom. The TV was on, Grey was gone, and Carlos sat on the end of his bed.
“Aren’t we using the buddy system? You lost your buddy,” I said, sitting on the end of my bed.
“He’ll find his way back. He always does.”
I couldn’t be sure if that was a joke or not. A timid knock on the door distracted me before I could decide. Carlos stood and answered it.
“I’m here to talk to Isabelle,” Michelle said.
Nervousness exuded from her. Carlos nodded and let her in. Then, he left the room, closing the door behind him.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“Don’t kill the messenger,” she said with a cringe.
“Uh, that doesn’t sound good.”
The water turned off in the bathroom. World’s fastest shower. He was worried about me.
“Did you even use soap?” I called. Michelle jumped at my sudden volume.
“Wanna come sniff me?”
His muffled reply made me grin. I shook my head and focused on Michelle again.
“What has you all nervous?”
“They asked me to come talk to you about—”
Ethan opened the door. He had a towel wrapped around his waist and the tube of muscle cream in one hand. When he saw Michelle, he froze.
“Good to know we have company,” he said, giving me a hard look.
“Hey, Ethan,” I called as if he were still in the shower. “Don’t come out in a towel. We have company.”
“You’re useless,” he said before turning around and closing himself in the bathroom once more.
I loved all this Ethan time. Between the exercise and his constant snarky humor, I was feeling great. It was hard to remember I’d been bashed in the head and was on the run from people who could change into dogs. Why did I just think that? Way to ruin a mood.
“Maybe I should come back later?” Michelle said.
“Nah, you’ve scared him for now. We should have at least five minutes before he’s ready to show his face again.”
She moved to sit on the bed that Carlos had occupied.
“Bethi told you the basics about us, but no one’s told you anything about them, the werewolves. The Elders thought you might have a few questions.”
Her term for the old people in the group made me want to smirk.
“If the Elders thought I had questions, why didn’t they come here?”
“You don’t seem to like any of them.”
“Yeah, well, they’re a bit bossy. Since I am too, you can see where there might be some personality conflict.”
She remained silent for a heartbeat.
“Do you have any questions?” she asked hesitantly.
“Nope. Honestly, I haven’t stopped to think about it, and I’m not sure I’m going to. I’m along for the ride. I just want to get rid of this emotion siphoning thing and move on with my life.”
She looked down at her hands, fidgeting. There was a message they’d sent her to share. I was sure of it.
“What questions should I be asking?” I asked.
“When I first saw Emmitt, he felt familiar, almost as if I’d recognized him, even though we’d never met. My stomach went crazy, and I just couldn’t stop staring. It turns out, the werewolves have this built-in sensor that goes off when they see their Mate. A pull. That’s what Winifred calls it. And, apparently, we feel it too.” She stood and moved to the door. “Let me know if you think of any questions.”
I stared at the closed door for several minutes, too stunned by the bomb she’d just lobbed at me to react in any way. Ethan poked his head out the door, looked around, and stepped out fully dressed.
“I hope food’s been ordered. I’m starving,” he said, crossing the room. He shoved his dirty clothes in his bag. “And you can rub me in tonight.”
Shaking myself from my shock, I stood before Ethan could notice anything wrong.
“Sure.”
As we left the room to meet with the others, I refused to read into what Michelle had just said. It was information. That was it. Nothing more.
* * * *
The door to Charlene’s room opened before Ethan could even knock on it. Grey stepped aside to let us in. Everyone else was already there, and there wasn’t much room to move. Ethan and I stayed near the door and leaned against the wall.
I glanced around the room. When I saw Carlos, my stomach did a happy dance. Had it done that before? If it had, I’d never noticed it. Usually I was too focused on everyone else’s emotions and responses to pay much attention to my own. Why did Michelle have to go and point it out? Now, my reaction to Carlos was probably just like that time in elementary school. Someone had gotten lice and when the school nurse had shown up and explained why she needed to check our hair, I’d started scratching at my head like crazy.
A sudden wave of anger and frustration brought my focus back to the present situation, and I realized Ethan and I had arrived in the middle of a tense conversation.
“We need to decide,” Bethi said impatiently with a look at Winifred. “There are too many of them to keep running like this. We almost lost Gabby and Isabelle. The drive to find us is only going to increase as the end of the cycle approaches.”
Everyone else in the room seemed to be watching Winifred, who was giving Bethi a troubled look.
“The risks of trying to remain hidden are still better than if we expose our existence. Once we do that, we’ll have both the humans and the Urbat hunting for us,” Winifred said.
I glanced at Ethan while Bethi nodded. Was he as lost as I was?
“You’re right, we will,” Bethi said. “But that’s what will make it safer. The pressure won’t just be on us. It will be on them as well. Thanks to Gabby’s sonar, when we reveal ourselves, we can also reveal the Urbat and their location. They’ll have to scramble. During that chaos, we might just have a chance to find Olivia. With her, we can end this.”
The importance of what they were discussing hit me. They wanted to reveal themselves to the world.
“It could work,” Michelle said. “If we use Blake’s name.”
“What’s to stop him from revealing ours?” Winifred asked.
“Blake needs all six Judgements,” Bethi replied. “And he’ll know he won’t stand a chance at getting us back from humans if we are taken. He can’t risk revealing anything about us because of that.”
It surprised me that they were even considering revealing themselves. The panic it would cause…I shuddered. I didn’t want to be anywhere near that wreck when it went down.
“If we do this, we’ll need to go through a reputable source so it’s not brushed off as a hoax,” Michelle said. “A news station would be best. Preferably one with broad coverage.”
“I agree,” Bethi said. “We need to decide where and when, soon. We can’t just keep running around aimlessly. Gabby’s got to sleep sometime, and that’s all it’d take for them to get lucky again.”
“The where will help determine the when,” Michelle said.
“If we’re looking for broad news coverage,” Gabby said, speaking up for the first time, “New York would be the place to go. But, it puts us much closer to the danger because the Urbat are primarily in northern New York.”
“That’s actually perfect,” Bethi said. “Blake knows we need Olivia; I think once he sees we’re headed that way, he’ll call his troops back in. You know, fortify home base. He won’t expect us to stop at a news station.”
I liked how Bethi’s mind worked, but there were still some large holes in her logic.
“How are you going to get anyone to even listen to you, let alone put you on air?” I asked.
“Charlene will convince them,” Bethi said.
I glanced at Charlene. She looked uncomfortable, and I felt a wave of worry roll off her.
“Will you?” I asked her.
“I’m capable of manipulating wills. I’m not sure I should, though. Yet, I agree that Bethi’s plan has merit. It’s better than a life on the run.”
“Why aren’t you sure?” Winifred asked.
The worry grew stronger.
“Once we expose our existence, there’s no going back.”
I studied her for a moment longer. It wasn’t just worry but a hint of guilt. I spoke up.
“It’s not just the existence of the Urbat and werewolves we’re exposing. We’re risking exposing ourselves too, right?”
She held my gaze as a subtle thread of fear flavored her emotions. Then, she nodded. Something more was scaring her. What? Silence reigned for several minutes as the rest of the room thought over the situation.
Ethan shifted slightly beside me. He was probably bored. He had no real stake in this, and I just wanted to eat and then see if one of these guys would spar with me. Each second standing here meant that much longer I’d need to exercise.
“Seriously. If anyone has a better option, say it. Otherwise, we’re just postponing the inevitable,” Bethi said.
I applauded her impatience.
“You’re asking a lot of us,” Winifred said. “We need time to consider all the possibilities.”
“You’ve had over a week,” Bethi said, tossing her hands up in the air. Luke immediately reached for one of her runaway hands, and she calmed slightly.
Winifred looked at Grey, then Sam. Then, she sighed with a slight shake of her head.
“For better or worse, we agree with you. We can’t remain as we are.”
Thankfully, we were saved from more discussion by a knock on the door. Grey turned to answer it. A man with a cart waited outside and started passing in covered plates. Since I was third closest to the door, I had to pass twelve plates. Twelve delicious smelling platters warmed my palms. I wanted to raise the lid of each dish and lick whatever I found under it before passing it on, just because.
As soon as Ethan had his plate, he lifted the lid.
“Two burgers? Z, hit me. I’m in heaven.”
I had my own plate in my hand and lifted the lid. A single third pound patty rested between the two halves of the toasted bun. I glanced at everyone else’s plates. Michelle, Charlene, Bethi, and Gabby also only had one cheeseburger. I scowled at Ethan as I took a bite of my puny patty. Stacked with lettuce, tomato, fried onions, and two slices of cheddar, it made my mouth happy and lifted my mood a little. In all likelihood, I wouldn’t have finished a second burger. Ethan would probably be hard pressed to finish his. But I still would have liked to try.
Charlene turned on the TV. I appreciated the noise. It covered the sound of fifteen people chewing.
I watched TV with everyone else and gradually cleared my plate. Ethan drastically slowed down halfway through his second burger. I was half-tempted to steal it but knew what it would be like sparring on a packed stomach.
“Hey, Ethan,” Jim said. “If you’re not going to finish that, I will.” Jim had been checking out everyone else’s plates as soon as he finished his. Charlene shook her head but said nothing.
“All yours,” Ethan said, handing over the plate.
Everyone started passing their empty plates and lids back toward the door. Grey stacked them in the hall.
“If that’s all, I want to go check out the fitness room.” I stood, waiting for someone to object.
At Winifred’s nod, I left the room before everyone was done passing their plates.
Ethan left with me, as usual. Once the door closed behind us, I sighed in relief.
“Want company?”
“Nah. I’m going to run on the treadmill for a while.” Despite his amazing blocking, I needed some distance, even from him.
We walked back to our room. I changed into my three-quarter length exercise pants, then left him watching TV.
The fitness room was empty when I found it. I closed the door behind me, found the stereo, and turned on a local pop station. There was a certain smell to the exercise room—plastic, sweat, and metal—that relaxed me. I went to the treadmill and studied the panel. It had a bunch of preprogrammed options. I chose to control my own speed.
After ten minutes of warm up, I opened up to a run.
* * * *
When I opened the door to our room, I found Ethan passed out on the bed. The room was otherwise empty. I quietly shut the door behind me and grabbed my bag so I could go shower.
Ethan hadn’t moved by the time I reemerged. He lay on his back, one hand on his shirt over his stomach and the other almost behind his head. It was a familiar position.
Wisps of emotion drifted from him. Worry, mostly. After I set my bag on the floor, I eased myself onto the mattress beside him. I let myself take his worry until only happiness remained. He needed more of those kinds of dreams.
* * * *
“Z, they’re going to leave without us.”
Ethan’s voice penetrated my dreamless sleep.
“Good. Let ‘em.”
I rolled over, away from him. He swatted my butt, hard. My eyes popped open.
“They’re going to dinner. Still want them to leave without us? It’s an Italian place around the corner. All-you-can-eat pizza.”
That had me sitting up and rubbing a hand over my face. All-you-could-eat pizza sounded good. I was happy until I noticed we weren’t alone in the room. Carlos and Grey waited by the door. Grey had a hand on Carlos’ shoulder, and Carlos was completely focused on Ethan. My stomach flipped before I tore my gaze from Carlos. Nothing flavored the air but Ethan’s twisted humor and Grey’s concern.
What was up with Carlos? He acted so detached most of the time. Not when someone touched me, though. Then he went all weird. Michelle’s words came back to me, and I shook my head. Nope. That wasn’t it. It definitely wasn’t attraction. I didn’t do attraction.
“I’m up. Let me brush out my hair.” I hadn’t done anything to my hair before falling asleep.
They all waited as I yanked a brush through the tangles until it pulled through smoothly.
“Let’s go,” I said, tossing the brush back into my bag.
Carlos led the way. Ethan and I followed. Before we reached the lobby, Ethan reached over and took my hand in his.
“Thanks, by the way.”
I knew he meant the dreams and shrugged away the thanks then gave his hand a squeeze. His love poured out for a moment before he let me go.
The rest of the group waited in the lobby. As soon as we appeared, they started out the doors. The walk to the pizzeria was short, and the aroma inside the place made my mouth water. Several long buffet tables were set up with different pizzas, and another table had salad and bread sticks. The best part was that we were the only people there. Heaven.
One of the waitresses saw our large group and started pushing tables together. I ended up sandwiched between Carlos and Ethan. Once everyone ordered drinks, it was a mass exodus to the buffet. I stayed sitting, unwilling to let Ethan trample me on his way to his favorite food.
Carlos remained sitting, too.
“Good call,” I said. “We might want to wait a few minutes. They can clear out the old pizza, and we’ll get the fresh stuff.”
His eyes drifted to my lips as I spoke, and my pulse jumped. Heat flooded my cheeks, and I looked away. Darn Michelle and her little talk. She’d planted thoughts in my head, and now I was reacting to a stupid glance. Werewolf pull, my butt.
Unwilling to sit there uncomfortably for the next five minutes, I stood and went to the salad bar to reluctantly fill a plate. I had nothing against salad. I just liked pizza better. When I returned to the table, half the group was back with their own food.
I noticed Michelle and Charlene both had salads on their plates, too.
Conversation floated around me as I ate. Charlene’s words caught my attention.
“I raised you better,” she said to Jim. He had an obscene stack of pizza slices on his plate.
I turned to Carlos.
“Are they related?”
“Charlene and Thomas are Emmitt and Jim’s parents. Grey is Thomas’ brother,” he said.
As I studied the group, Ethan’s words rang in my head like a gong. Two men from the same family paired up with one of us. How weird was that? I glanced at Ethan. He either hadn’t heard or didn’t care. He continued to scoff his pizza with abandon.
Finished with half my salad, I set my plate to the side and went for pizza. I’d been right. They’d brought out fresh stuff. The gooey cheese gave me some trouble, but it was trouble I willingly dealt with.
Gabby wandered over to the salad bar. Her slow steps caught my eye, and l noticed her semi-vacant stare. She was checking her sonar again. No one ever asked her to do it; she just did it all the time. Her brow furrowed ever so slightly then cleared again, and I wondered what she saw. Since she continued to fix herself a salad, I figured it wasn’t too big of a deal.
Happy with the cheesy goodness that loaded my plate, I headed back to the table. When I sat down again, I picked up my fork and licked the salad dressing from it.
A storm of desire hit me so hard I dropped my fork. Metal clattered against china, and just that fast the desire disappeared. It didn’t fade; it vanished completely.
I looked up from my plate and found everyone watching me.
Where had that come from? I glanced at Clay. He didn’t look the least bit guilty, and I felt his curiosity when he found himself under scrutiny.
Beside me, Carlos slightly shifted in his chair.
“You okay, Z?” Ethan said softly.
“Yeah. Fine.”
I refused to look at Carlos. It couldn’t have been him. I picked up my fork and carved out a bite of my pizza as if nothing was wrong. But I had a feeling there was a lot wrong. And most of the wrongness sat to my left, quietly eating his food.
Gradually, everyone started to eat again and conversation resumed. I remained physically focused on my pizza while my thoughts drifted.
Why was Carlos so detached? It took Ethan years to hold back his emotions, and he only just recently discovered how to close himself off. However, even closing himself off didn’t completely save him from me when I pulled. Yet, when I’d pulled, Carlos hadn’t seemed affected at all. If things went south and this group turned on Ethan and me, Carlos’ ability to block me could very well screw any chance of escape.
Yet, with all the leaking emotions around me, I didn’t feel one bit of dishonesty or disloyalty. Instead, there was a ton of happiness and gratification. I lifted my eyes from my food and traced the source to Jim as he sat with another plate piled with pizza. A glance at the buffet table showed the decimated remains of three pizzas. Geez, had he been eating while putting more on his plate? He lifted a piece and consumed the triangle in four bites. The piece wasn’t small.
Jim caught me watching him, grinned, and lifted the next piece in a salute before eating that one, too.
“How long do you give the manager before he comes out and asks us to leave?” Ethan said, following my gaze.
“I think Jim intends to find out.”
Jim winked at me.
The rest of the men ate just as heartily but were more discreet about it. Since the women, except for Winifred, didn’t seem to have the same aggressive appetites, I guessed it was a werewolf thing. I went back to my pizza.
By the time I finished what I had on my plate, I was full of pizza and emotions. Though Jim broadcasted his satisfaction of his gluttony the loudest, Gabby’s emotions drew my attention. Something was bothering her, but never to the degree that she stopped eating or spoke up about it.
A waiter came with the bill, even though the guys were still eating, and asked if we would care to order any dessert.
“Is it all-you-can-eat?” Jim asked.
Charlene shot him a warning look.
“No, sir,” the waiter answered.
Jim shook his head and went back to his pizza.
“I think we’ve eaten our fill,” Thomas said, as soon as the waiter walked away. However, I caught his gaze straying to the buffet table as he ate his last piece.
Emmitt went to pay, and the group began to stand. I felt a burst of amusement and looked up in time to see Emmitt swipe two slices of pizza on his way back past the buffet. He discreetly passed a slice to his brother, Jim, as we walked to the door. The amusement had come from Grey.
If I hadn’t felt so tight with overload, I would have been amused too.
* * * *
The first mile on the treadmill took the edge off; the fifth mile saw the immediate tension drained. I was used to running after eating. When I’d had a job, I had often gone to the gym over my lunch break, just to make it through the day. That midday relief hadn’t always been enough to keep me from wanting to punch someone in the face, though. But hopefully, this run would be enough to get me through the night.
I slowed the treadmill to a walk and reached for the towel I’d draped on the handle.
“Want to spar?”
Carlos’ voice made me yip and miss a step. I stumbled backward and shot off the end of the treadmill. Thick, bare arms wrapped around me, catching me before I hit the ground. A tingle of awareness zipped through me.
I quickly straightened away, and he let me go.
“Thanks, but I’m good for now,” I said as I hid my blushing face by wiping it with the towel. Other girls reacted to boys. I didn’t. What the heck was wrong with me?
“Z, you need twenty minutes. Running’s not enough.”
I pulled my face from the towel and caught Ethan leaning in the doorway of the exercise room. He arched a brow at me when I scowled at him.
“I’m drained.”
He grinned at me.
“If that were true, you wouldn’t be scowling at me.”
Damn him, he was right.
“Fine. Whatever.”
I tossed the towel aside and faced Carlos. He wore the clothes I’d bought for him. The sleeveless t-shirt stretched across his broad, muscled chest. The material clung to his chiseled abs, too. His shorts encased his massive thighs. I swallowed and met his eyes.
“You make it look like I shopped in the junior’s section.”
He didn’t react one way or another, but Ethan chuckled.
“I’ll be in the room watching Bonanza. There’s a marathon.”
He turned and left, and I shook my head at the empty doorway. Ethan’s taste in TV was weird. A person would never guess his love of Westerns by the way he spoke or dressed.
A brush along my spine had me spinning; but Carlos was a distance away, watching me.
“Kicking,” I said. It seemed a good idea to keep him at a distance.
He nodded.
We settled into a rhythm, and once he had my pattern, I picked up speed. I loved sparring against these werewolf guys. I could go as fast as I wanted, and they met each move. And I didn’t seem to hurt them like I could Ethan.
Fingers stoked my ankle as Carlos deflected a kick. The lingering tingle returned my focus to the sparring. I bounced back a step and eyed him. Was he playing with me again?
He waved me forward. I balanced and kicked twice, turned, and jabbed at his right shoulder. The unexpected combination caught him off guard, and I connected with him. He flashed me a quick smile. It was like lightening, there and gone again.
After that, I kept things random. He never attacked me, only blocked. But whenever I left an opening, he would let me know with a soft, trailing touch. When I focused on kicks, I usually felt his hands on my legs. When it was my fists, he left the skin on my face and neck prickling.
Fifteen minutes later, I stopped. My chest heaved and sweat soaked my back. I could feel a trickle trailing down my lower spine. I’d depleted everything and dodging his roaming touch was now impossible.
“I’m done,” I said, bracing my hands on my knees.
“Five more minutes.”
Something in his tone stopped my panting breaths. My lungs screamed for oxygen as I looked up and met his focused gaze. He stood before me, balanced on the balls of his feet as if ready to spring. His hands shook. No, his whole body shook. Did that shaking mean he wanted to go full wolf? Right now? I’d seen him like that twice before and didn’t want to see it again.
I forced myself to inhale slowly and keep still.
“For you or for me?”
He closed his eyes as if struggling for control. He’d never seemed to struggle before. That he did now worried me. I knew how fast he could move. Could I make it to the door? I shifted my weight to my right foot, ready to turn and find out, but his eyes popped back open. I stopped moving again.
“Five more minutes.”
Dude was like a broken record. I would have laughed if not for the shaking. Where was that old guy when I needed him?
“Is Grey going to need to put a choke hold on you again?” As I spoke, I eased back a step.
The shaking grew worse.
“Come here.” The softly spoken command made my stomach flip weirdly.
I took another step and gasped when Carlos blurred before me. One second he was five feet away; the next, he was coming at me with open hands. He brushed my forearm, and I batted him away. He caressed my bare shoulder, and I jabbed him in the gut. He leaned in, and I freaked out and slapped his face.
Why did I always go girly on him? Next time, aim for the nuts, I scolded myself.
The slap did the trick, though. He straightened away, and the shaking eased.
“I apologize,” he said.
Then he left the room.
“What the hell was that?”
Unfortunately, the exercise equipment had less of an answer than I did.
I took my time walking back to the room and opened the door warily. Ethan lay back on the bed, his head propped up with several pillows. The room was otherwise empty.
When he heard the door click, Ethan turned and looked me over.
“Looks like Carlos worked you good. I like it when you’re all sweaty,” he said, grinning at me.
I stepped into the room and closed the door behind me.
“Yeah. I’m empty for real, this time.” But I shouldn’t have been. As soon as Carlos had started acting weird, I should have started pulling. Even though I couldn’t pull from Carlos, there had probably been other people nearby. Enough to feed me the energy I would have needed to protect myself. Why hadn’t I tried?
I crossed the room and grabbed some clean clothes out of the bag.
“I’m hitting the shower.”
“Want some help?”
“Keep dreaming,” I said; and, with a laugh, I closed myself into the bathroom.
When I came out several minutes later, clean and refreshed, Ethan hadn’t moved.
“So, are we going to talk about the big guy?” Ethan said without taking his eyes from the TV.
“What do you mean?”
“He keeps watching you. You move; his eyes follow.”
“Yeah, right.” I stretched out next to Ethan on the bed. It felt good to lie down despite the recent nap. Some days that felt like my routine. Sleep, eat, exercise, repeat.
The show Ethan watched didn’t interest me, so I closed my eyes.
“I’m serious,” he said. “What do you feel from him?”
“Nothing.”
“Ever?”
“Ever.”
“Don’t you find it weird that he doesn’t have any emotions to pull? You always said you couldn’t be with anyone because you’d drain the guy. Z, you can’t drain him.”
I opened my eyes and turned to look at Ethan. He was still facing the TV. He looked relaxed, and I couldn’t feel anything from him, but his words told me he was feeling something. What, though? Worry? I gave a little pull, testing his hold.
“Don’t, Z.”
“Then tell me what’s going on in that head of yours.”
He turned and met my gaze.
“I never had you, and I’m losing you.”
My heart went “aw!” and my brain went “oh, crap.” I took a moment to sort through the two emotions.
“You’ve always had me, and you always will.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I’ve never loved anyone more than I love you, Ethan. What we have has to be enough. If it’s not, if you push for more, I’ll leave because I love you. I won’t hurt you.” Guilt hit me. “More than I already do.”
He closed his eyes and heaved a sigh.
“I can handle a bruise from a girl.” The derogatory way he said that made me smile. He lifted his right arm and pulled me to his side. I gently laid my head on his chest, avoiding his bruised shoulder.
* * * *
Soft sounds brushed my consciousness enough to pull me from sleep. I lifted my head from Ethan’s chest. The room was dark, and Ethan breathed evenly beside me. The clock showed it was the middle of the night.
The hushed rustling stopped. No doubt one of the other two had shifted in their sleep.
I eased myself from Ethan’s side and stood, needing to go to the bathroom. I kept my hand on the mattress to guide my way around the bed. Where was the light from the hall? I didn’t think hotel rooms got so dark. I moved slowly, so I wouldn’t trip on anything.
A thread of worry soured the air, and I paused by the end of the bed. Someone wasn’t sleeping.
“Who’s awake?”
I strained to hear something and was rewarded by a whisper of noise right in front of me. Something brushed my cheek. I jumped a little, and a hand gently cupped my bruised jaw. I knew the hand…that gentle touch. My pulse leapt when both of his large hands cradled my face, and his fingers burrowed into my hair.
His hold should have made me feel trapped or threatened. However, I felt anything but. For a moment, neither of us moved. Then, his thumb brushed over my lower lip.
My breathing hitched, and my lips parted in surprise. I felt him move closer as his thumb continued its soft caress.
“Z?”
Ethan’s tired voice stopped the gentle touch on my mouth, and the fingers at the back of my head twitched.
“Going to the bathroom,” I said quietly, as if Ethan and I were the only two awake.
I listened to him roll over and grunt when he jarred his right shoulder. Guilt poked a hole through the moment and whatever might have happened next. I turned my head slightly, freeing myself from Carlos’ hold and walked the rest of the way to the bathroom.
I closed the door before I turned on the light and almost screamed to see Carlos standing right behind me in the mirror. He spun me around and backed me against the wall before I could blink. My eyes grew wide when he leaned in, and my heart started to feel like it was trying to beat free from my chest. But he didn’t kiss me. He rested his cheek against mine, breathed deeply, and spoke close to my ear.
“You’re sleeping in the other bed.”
His words were a rumbled growl, and my insides went crazy. He wanted me to sleep in his bed? I didn’t think so. I remembered my knee and lifted it with every intention of bringing him down.
One of his hands dropped to deflect the move with ease. At the same time, he brushed his lips against the shell of my ear. I struggled to breathe.
Then, he moved away and plunged us into darkness. The door clicked softly. I reached out, found the wall, and then the light switch. I checked the mirror. My reflection looked pale and shaky. Pale was my norm, given the red hair. The shakiness wasn’t.
Ethan had been right about everything so far. It was weird that the other girls were all matched with a werewolf. And, though I desperately wanted to deny it, the black hole was interested in me. Worse, my pulse jumped and my stomach reacted like I’d swallowed a bowlful of butterflies around him.
I took a calming breath, used the bathroom like I’d intended, and then opened the door with the light still on. If Carlos thought I was going to sleep with—
Grey lay on the far side of his bed, closest to Ethan. Carlos lay near the window. In the same bed as Ethan. The light reflected off Carlos’ eyes as he watched me. He wanted me to sleep with Grey? I studied Grey. His eyes were closed, and he was on top of the covers. A thread of worry drifted from him.
What was Grey worried about? Maybe he was afraid I’d spoon him. I shook my head, turned off the light, and shuffled to my new assigned spot. As long as it wasn’t with Carlos, I was too tired to care.
I pulled back the covers, and as I slid under, another wave of worry washed over me.
“Relax, Grey,” I said softly. “Your virtue is safe with me. No spooning unless requested.”
Rolling on my side, I grinned as amusement replaced the worry. It tapered off, and I let myself relax.
I hadn’t lied when I’d told Michelle I didn’t care about what made werewolves tick. I was just along for the ride. The almost kiss in the bathroom, Carlos’ apparent jealousy, and my sudden girly hormones didn’t change a thing. Once I was done with these people, it would be just me and Ethan again. An E-Z future.
Why was I having such a hard time believing that?