CHAPTER 14
Lucie wrapped a large, gray, fluffy towel around her body. The towels had a fresh, sweet smell to them, with a hint of lavender. She took a few steps toward the door when she felt a hair-raising sensation.
There are things in life that bother everyone. And while she had no problem gutting her enemies and mowing down the masses, there was one thing that terrified her. In fact, her brother always teased her about it. It was a big weakness, and embarrassing for a werewolf. But she was still human, and she couldn’t help her fears.
She felt an all-too-familiar feeling of something crawling on her shoulder and then down her arm. Turning her head, she verified her suspicion. A large black jumping spider was now staring directly at her. She let out a high-pitched yelp as she batted the spider away, only to panic even more as it leaped away from her hand and she lost sight of him. She was a goner. Thespider was an assassin, and she’d just lost its location. But she knew the spider knew where she was and was planning to leap at her at any moment. Panic set in as her heart raced. This was it. This would be how she died.
The door crashed open and Ryan came storming into the bathroom. On second thought, this was how she would die. From pure and utter humiliation. But first things first. The assassin.
“Lucie, are you alright?!” Ryan asked in a panicked voice.
“Is it on me? Is it on me? I lost it! It was here and it’s gone. It’s on me, isn’t it? Get it! Get it, get it!” She squeezed her eyes shut. Because obviously, if her eyes were closed, the spider couldn’t see her either, right?
“Lucie, calm down. There’s nothing on you. What is it? I don’t see anything?”
“Check my hair. Are you sure?” She could just envision the little ninja hiding and waiting to strike, since that was obviously the only reason for the existence of spiders. To attack with its deadly assassin stealth.
Two strong hands landed on her shoulders, and she opened her eyes, only to find his amber gaze already on her, full of concern.
“Lucie, there’s nothing on you, I promise. Unless you’d like for me to check under the towel.” A smile pulled at the corners of his lips as he tilted his head at her.
Now she was back to the real reason she would die. She bit her bottom lip and glanced around the room, deciding it would be better to escape. She quickly took a few quick steps to reach the bedroom where she could examine herself safely. Her wounds pinched a bit from the excitement, but it wasn’t anything major. Looking up, she saw Ryan leaning against the door frame.
“So, you want to tell me what happened?” He assessed the damage he’d done to the door. It would need to be rehinged but was salvageable. He was just wondering what warranted a scream from her. Maybe it was a fairy he couldn’t see? Though he couldn’t imagine her being so panicked about that. He saw her cheeks heat up and she turned away from him. Now that made him want to take a bite out of her for being adorable.
“You’ll laugh at me,” Lucie said with a small pout.
Ryan’s eyes glinted with humor. This side of her was too cute. He wanted to scoop her up and pull her into his chest. “I’d like to know the reason I’m going to have to fix my bathroom door.”
“That’s because you knocked it down,” Lucie said simply, still refusing to make eye contact.
Ryan chuckled lowly. “And I wonder why that is. It couldn’t be because of the screech my mate made and the sound of her racing heart.”
“You heard my heart racing from out here?” Lucie turned to face him.
Ryan tilted his head to the side as he thought about it. “It was more like I could feel it …” He tapped his own chest. “In here. I could feel your distress in here.”
“But we haven’t even marked each other. And even then, something like that?—”
“Is rare,” Ryan said simply, keeping his gaze on her. “This is something that’s only common for soulmates in my kind.”
“My kind too. My grandparents are the only soulmates that we even know of, and before them … not sure. It’s that rare. That can’t be what this is,” Lucie said in a whisper.
“Then how could I see your dream earlier?” Ryan asked pointedly.
Oh gosh, her dream from earlier. For a brief moment, she’d forgotten about that embarrassment. Man, she was racking them up today. Then she felt something tickle her leg. She knewit! The assassin had latched onto her, preparing to kill her. She jumped and spun as she looked down. A small yelp escaped her as she looked for the culprit.
“Lucie.” Ryan wrapped her into his arms. “Hey, calm down. What’s going on?”
Lucie looked down at her legs as she felt the strange tickle again and noticed a tiny string from the towel brushing against her leg. She sighed in relief and leaned into Ryan’s chest. She didn’t mean to, but she was just so relieved. And then she immediately felt ridiculous.
“Could you please not look at me while I find a place to crawl under and hide?” Lucie mumbled into Ryan’s chest.
“What is going on? Is there something in here? You need to talk to me.” Ryan felt panicked. There was something attacking Lucie that he couldn’t see. But whether he could see it or not, he would protect her. She just needed to tell him what he needed to do.
“Ugh … this is so embarrassing, but, ummm … there was a black jumping spider on me in the bathroom, and I felt something just now, but it was a string on the towel.” Lucie felt her face heat up as she kept herself hidden against his chest. She didn’t dare look at him while she spoke.
“So, this was over a spider?” She felt his muscles relax as he sighed in relief, his tension easing as he pulled her in even closer. Then she could feel the soft vibrations underneath her that sent sweet sparks through her body, little vibrations that turned into loud, rolling laughs.
