He led me to his car, opened the door, and helped me in before he went to his side. We drove for a few miles before he pulled up at the beach. He got out and came round to open the door for me.
A perfect wolf-gentleman.
“What are we doing here?” I asked when we finally reached our destination. I was glad I wore jeans and a button down shirt under the gown. If I’d worn the girly dress and high heels Maria had picked out, I would have felt even more uncomfortable if we ended up in the water.
His lips rose in half a smile. “You’ll see.” He took my hand and led me towards the rocks at the far end of the beach.
“I’ve watched this movie before.” I stated taking off my tennis shoes. “The girl always ends up washed up in the morning naked and stabbed a couple of times. Her eyes wide open in terror.” I tied the shoelaces together then hung them over my shoulder. “Would you like to know how it ends?”
Ash laughed. “I’m sure you’ll tell me.”
“They arrest the jealous boyfriend a few days later and give him the death penalty. The electric chair,” I said the last part with a little drama, like when they introduced vampires in the old movies. “But he didn’t even leave the courthouse jail because during the trial it’s revealed that the man in question is a gay party planner. He hangs himself in his cell using his shirt. ‘Denise and Dennis forever’ written on the wall in blood.”
“I don’t get it and your humor is worrying.” His tone was a little too serious and made me uncomfortable. I was acting weird again.
“It comes with the background.” I kicked the sand around. “In a disturbing way it’s kind of romantic.” He stopped walking and turned to me with a worried look on his face. “What?”
He pulled me in a tight embrace. I placed my head on his chest. I felt so warm and completely safe there. Moving right now would be a brutal punishment. “Lee, I’m sorry about your family.”
I wrapped my arms tighter around his waist, making myself even more comfortable in his embrace. I could fall asleep like this. “It’s okay. It wasn’t your fault.”
“It was. I got there too late, and now you and Dave are paying for my mistake.” He sounded sad and angry. This wasn’t the time for self-loathing or regrets.
“I’m dealing with it, and I’m doing well. I don’t have nightmares anymore. I haven’t been this happy since it happened so stop with the guilt trip and give me my present.”
He smiled but he still looked pained. “I love having you close to me.”
“You’re growing on me too.” I yawned.
“Are you sleepy?”
I shook my head trying to clear the fog that was creeping inside. “No. I don’t know why but I feel really tired.”
“Do you want me to carry you?”
“That’s so romantic, like a scene from a romance movie. Me in your arms, walking on the beach as the sun sets in the background.” I failed miserably trying to imitate a romantic. I kept yawning after every two words.
Ash smiled down at me. “It’s four o’clock in the afternoon.”
“If you squint your eyes just right, the sun will look like its setting,” I said squinting my eyes.
Without warning, he scooped me up in his arms and started walking. “Normally it would take me ten seconds, but I’ll take ten minutes to get to the tent. So you can rest for the duration.”
I nodded. Giving into the fatigue, I placed my head on his shoulder close to his neck. His sweet scent filled my lungs. It was better than fresh air.
* * * *
I stretched out on the silky soft ground. It felt warm, but there was a cool breeze coming from all directions. I propped myself on my elbow and looked around. I was on the beach in a white tent. I remembered Ash’s gift, did I fall asleep through it?
I cringed. I can’t believe I did that!
I got up and walked out. It was dark except for a bon fire a few feet away. Ash was standing close to the water staring out at the moon over the ocean. I walked to him and wrapped my arms around his waist, hugging his back.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep.” I felt guilty. I’m a horrible girlfriend.
“Don’t worry about it.” He pulled me to stand next to him, and tucked me under his arm. “Isn’t the moon beautiful?”
“Yes. What time is it?”
“Three o’clock in the morning.”
“What! Why didn’t you wake me?” How could I have slept for so long?
“You looked peaceful. Don’t worry you’re awake for the second part of your gift.”
“What was the first part?”
“The sunset. I wanted to give you this night of beauty and quiet, just the two of us. Without your dad listening in on us.” He chuckled softly.
“I’m sorry.” I was feeling even guiltier.
“Stop apologizing.” He led me back to the tent and sat down, putting me between his legs and cradling me, my back against his rock hard chest. “I hope holding you like this won’t make you sleepy.”
I chuckled. “No chance of that happening, I promise.”
“I never thought I’d be this happy again.” He sounded so relieved.
“Why?”
“My family was killed some years back. Since then, happiness had been a distant memory to me, until I met you.”
“That’s something I know very well.” I waited a heartbeat before I approached the heavily guarded topic, “Do you mind my asking how they died?”
After what felt like an hour he spoke. “A jealous man did it. He killed my son and my pregnant wife without flinching. He hated me, and that was the best way to punish me.”
I could hear the agony in his voice. I didn’t like it when he was sad. He would fall into that pit and it would take a lot of effort to pull him out of it.
“It’s a good thing you are still alive, otherwise we would both be in worse pain if we hadn’t met.”
“If I had died your family would still be alive.”
The thought of him being dead, never meeting him, didn’t sit well with me.“Things happen for a reason, Ash. We suffered what we did so that we could have each other. Tell me about your eyes, why silver?” I asked quickly changing the topic.He was quiet for a while before he answered me. He was still stuck in that sad pit. “Silver because I don’t drink human blood,” he said bluntly.“What!” I shot out of his embrace and stared at him, shocked.“Now I’m sure you won’t fall asleep.” His eyes darted to the ground and he looked so uncomfortable. “Why do mine turn golden?”“Because a part of you is still human and your blood keeps them gold.” That didn’t make any sense. “I don’t understand.”“Your human blood is feeding the part of you that has been changed by the venom inside you.” “Why the diet change? Apart from the ethical part.” I was glad his conscience trumped his pleasure principle. Otherwise this would have been a barbecue instead of a romantic getaway.His lips curved up into
Maria and Ann looked at each other, and then they looked at me. They were afraid to ask. We had all been waiting to find out what chaos we had inadvertently pulled ourselves into.Normally, the only chaos a girlfriend gets into was the guy’s unruly friends, a mother who didn’t think she was good enough for her son, a father who thought she was a distraction, his sister who wanted to play dress up or spy and turtle tale or his younger brother who had a crush on her. We never expected to be attacked by a six-foot, two hundred, pound psycho ex-girlfriend-wolf, or the constant fear for our lives.“Dad, they want to know about the wolves.”He pursed his lips, his face tensed. He exhaled and spoke, his voice rigid, “I suppose you deserve the truth.” He sat upright in his chair. “The guys’ part of the history, they’ll have to tell you. I’ll just tell you as much as I know.”We went quiet, waiting for the stories to begin.“Ash is Alpha, the original werewolf. I never bothered to ask him how,
I blinked my eyes open waiting for the pain to hit me. Nothing. I exhaled in relief. I never want to feel that kind of pain again. Getting killed by Sabrina would have been far less painful than that.I pushed myself up on my elbows scanning the room to see where I woke up this time. I was in my room—correction, our room. The ‘our’ before room sounded so sweet, so together. I smiled thinking of all the other things I could put our before.In the midst of my daydreaming, I noticed I was alone. That was unusual. My sisters’ never left me alone when I passed out. How long was I out for this time?I pulled the silk covers off me and got out of bed. Before I could touch the door handle, the door flew open startling me. Within a second I was off my feet and getting crushed between something. It took me a while to realize I was in Ash’s arms. The familiar musky woods scent gave him away.I hadn
“Lee!” Ann and Maria rushed to me, almost knocking me over. They hugged me tight, not as tight as Ash did but tight enough to hurt my already throbbing ribs. “Careful with her, she just woke up.” Ash spoke softly behind me. I could feel his fingers on the small of my back, probably prepared to catch me if I fell or passed out again. I pulled out of their embrace and turned my head, just enough for him to see my sarcastic expression. “It’s a miracle, he speaks!” My voice echoed the sarcasm. His eyes mere slits glared at me. I couldn’t help but smile victoriously. “What?” Maria asked confused. I turned to her; she was shifting her gaze between Ash and me. “He’s giving me the silent treatment. Apparently, I’m not taking my fainting spells seriously enough,” I answered her. “We are taking you to the hospital!” Ann commanded. Before I could say anything, three voices boomed harshly, “No!” It was Joe, Billy and my dad. Ash said nothing he di
“What?” I stopped. I couldn’t believe it. That meant my dad’s mind wasn’t the only one I read.Ash pulled me forward forcing me to walk. “After you eat and you get checked out, we’ll talk.”I wanted to talk about it right now, but I knew Ash wouldn’t say a word unless I did what he said. He was bossy and stubborn—not as stubborn as I was but close enough.* * * *“So what’s the verdict?” Ann stood by the door, far away from the smell of the raw meat. Maria sat across from me with Joe next to her.Billy and Dad had gone out. I asked Ash where they had disappeared to, but he wasn’t offering any explanations. That only meant they had either gone hunting for food or Sabrina.Ash brought another plate of peppered steak and replaced it with the empty one I had. I cut into it, relishing its bloody taste. Maria was getting used to all the
I didn’t bother to answer him. My eyes were fixed on his perfect lips. Before he could say another word, I reached up and pulled his head down locking my lips to his.I had missed his taste. His lips were hard as they responded to mine. My legs felt weak; I grabbed and held on to him for support. It always felt new when he kissed me and always very intoxicating.He broke the kiss and held me back. I whined. It had only been a few seconds. But when I looked up his face looked labored, his eyes were closed and his head lowered. His breathing was a little ragged. I hadn’t even noticed Joe was standing next to us. He looked relieved. I shifted my gaze between them. Did I miss something?“Did I do something wrong?” Ash licked his lips lustfully, Joe moved closer. Damn, I’d forgotten about the bloody taste. “I’m sorry, I forgot.”“I forgot you attack when baited.” Ash’s lips curved into a crooked
“Lee, how do you know this is the right way?” Ann asked from the back seat.I didn’t feel comfortable telling her that I was following Ash’s scent. I wasn’t comfortable knowing that either. I just picked up his scent, how, I don’t know. I followed it into the woods, driving slowly and carefully. “I think you’ve had enough shocks for today.”“Are we getting any closer?” Maria asked excitedly.I inhaled deeply—Ash’s scent was getting stronger. I felt awkward answering her. “Yes.”We drove for a few more minutes before I stopped. I could hear Ash’s voice but it wasn’t clear enough. I got out of the car and walked towards it.“Lee, are they here?” Maria whispered behind me.The voices were much clearer; Ash’s scent was stronger. “They’re here,” I answered enthusiastically.“We are going to get int
It was dark when we pulled up into the driveway. The one and a half hour drive didn’t help me relax one bit. I was still fretting. Usually Ash’s temper never scared me this much, but there was a neon sign in my head warning me away from him.The door opened and Dave stepped out, closing the door behind him. He had his hands in his front jeans’ pockets and a huge grin on his face. We got out and walked towards him, our shopping bags in hand.“Hi, girls!” he called out cheerfully.“Hi, Dad. How’s everyone?” By everyone I meant Ash.“Fine.” He hugged all of us when we got to the door.“Explain fine?” I wanted to know what exactly to expect when I saw Ash.“They were really angry about what you did, but when it got dark and you weren’t home yet they got worried. They’re waiting for you.”“Thanks. Why aren’t you mad?” I had bee