“Whatttttt? Nooooooo,” he said.
“Yes, you’re quite drunk, and I can’t leave you on the floor, in front of the door,” I said.
“Hmmmm… I don’t think that’s a gooooood ideaaaaaaaa,” he stammered.
“It’s just a bed to sleep in. Used to share a bed with Aspen,” I said.
“But… I… would want more than… than… that,” he said.
“Don’t we all, but you’re a little drunk for that,” I said. Wait, what the hell did I say out loud? Maybe he wouldn’t remember.
“I like you… you know?” he said.
“I like… you… too,” I said. Once I started, I couldn’t stop. I grabbed his wrist, pulling him to his feet.
We stood inches from each other, staring into each other's eyes. I swallowed the lump in my throat and turned away. I walked him to the other side of the bed and helped him get into bed.
I turned the light off and climbed into my side. I stared at the ceiling. What was I doing? What did I want? Did I really like him like that? Was it because he held me captive? No, because he was doing that under direct orders.
“Your heart is beating really fast… and you smellllll… well, really good,” he said.
“Sleep, Quinn,” I said, rolling away from him on my side. I knew what he smelled. I felt it, that pull toward him. I wanted him, but I didn’t want to complicate things. I didn’t want to ruin whatever this was that we had. We both had so many bigger things happening. I needed to go back to my family. He had wolf pack things to deal with. He was a wolf. I couldn’t be with a werewolf.
Chapter 22
The sunlight poured into the room, my eyes blinking open. My head turned to the side, and Quinn laid next to me. Not just next to me, curled into a ball, with one arm draped over me. He breathed deeply with a slight snore and a slow exhale. I didn’t want to wake him. I looked over at Lucy, who was crawling around on the blanket. She was hungry and would soon make calling sounds.
I glanced back at Quinn next to me. Even half asleep, he looked unbothered, peaceful in a way I rarely saw when he was awake. I wondered at what point he rolled my way and put his arm around me. I thought about yesterday with the near kiss, and last night with the things he said, what I said.
Mew. Mew.
Shit. I needed to get up before Lucy woke Quinn up. It hit me, what if Kai was still in the living room? Oh well, she couldn’t wait for her food. I slowly moved his arm off of me. He stretched his legs out and rolled over to his other side. I gently got off the bed, trying not to wake him up. I walked over, scooped her up into my arms, brought her to my chest, and kissed the top of her head.
I walked out of the room and up the hall. Kai was still lying on the floor like a starfish, deep into sleep. None of the bottles got cleaned last night, so I stood at the sink cleaning one, trying to be quiet. Footsteps behind me made me quickly spin around. Quinn. Thank the Lord. Kai may have been drunk, but drunkenbehaviors were sober thoughts escaping. I turned back around and filled the bottle up with water. He walked up to the other side of me, grabbed the can of milk replacer, and pulled the lid off.
I looked at him, and he flashed me a gentle smile. I immediately turned my head back to the bottle in my hand.
“Are you feeling up to our run this morning?” he asked.
“Sure, once I get her fed,” I said.
He measured out a scoop of formula and added it to the bottle. I screwed the lid on and shook it up. Lucy drank the milk quickly, as she typically did in the mornings. Most nights, she only woke up once to eat, but sometimes twice.
“I’m surprised you want to run after last night,” I said.
“Ah, I don’t get hangovers,” he said.
“Like ever?” I said.
“Nope,” he said.
“Like how?” I asked.
“Werewolf thing,” he said, giving me a big smile.
“Interesting… well, must be nice,” I said.
“Sometimes, I typically don’t drink that much anyway,” he said.
