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He crossed his arms and eyed the sky. “I don’t know. It just deepens the mystery surrounding you. I swung by the station earlier and dug up your file. I kept a printout. It’s in the truck. We can look through it together, if you want. When you’re ready.”
Loren nodded, though she wasn’t sure if she was ready at all. Not now, at least. Her heart pounded the same way it had when she stood at the threshold of her father’s house. There was something lurking in her past she wasn’t ready to face.
Though why was that? He had something to do with it. She could feel it. When she looked up at him, she swore he tensed, as if he knew the question that might leave her mouth next.
“I… I feel like you’ve been avoiding me.”
Again, she didn’t mean to sound so pathetic.
Bill, however, didn’t shy from the accusation. “You’re young,” he said firmly. “You’re scared. I don’t want to overwhelm you. I know it seems like I’m being evasive. I’m being cautious.”
Loren noted the subtle wrinkles etched into the skin around his mouth. They alone hinted that he was far older than she was. Just how old? She sensed that even if she asked, he would never tell her, using the information as a wedge to force even more distance between them.
And suddenly, she felt that irrational anger again. It wasn’t his choice to make.
“I’m eighteen.”
His eyes flickered, sensing the challenge conveyed in that statement. “You’re young,” he repeated.Don’t question me.
The air between them shifted as a subtle dynamic came into play. Loren imagined it was something similar to a set of scales, swaying from one side to the other with the slightest provocation. They were weighted in his favor now.
But…
“You kissed me.”
Just like that, the balance shifted, and she was on dangerous ground. Picking a fight with him was a battle she would never win. And yet, at the same time, a part of her insisted that she had to fight. Challenge him. Provoke.
It was the only way to make him listen.No one controls me.
“A mistake.” The heat in his voice startled her. He meant it. Kissing her was a mistake.
Stung, she moved to run, but his hand latched onto her wrist before she could take a step.
“Wait—” The word seemed ripped from his chest. Against his will. He wanted to release her. But something deep within wouldn’t let him. Wouldn’t let her go.
She turned to face him, caught off guard by his expression. Pained was the only word for it. Her very presence was a knife stabbing through his chest. An agony he couldn’t evade.
Hehadbeen avoiding her. It was all he could do to restrain himself…
Until he couldn’t. One hard tug yanked her closer. Their lips met, and it was lightning. Shocking. Punishing. Even as he broke the kiss in the next breath and backed away.
“I don’t want to fight with you, and you don’t want to fight with me.” His voice broke, reducing the threat to an outright plea.Don’t make me put you in your place.“You should go back. Get some sleep—”
“Is this a lycan thing?” Loren’s chest heaved with the effort it took to breathe. “That I can feel your emotions. That I feel… Is this what it’s like with everyone?”
“No.” He looked pained again. “Your emotions are out of control. I can’t imagine how confusing this is for you, but I need you to trust me—”
“Why? You’re lying to me!” Where did that come from? She didn’t know, but she felt it. The same way she could feel her pulse surging like mad through her veins. “There’s something you aren’t saying. I know it.”
“You’re right,” he admitted. “You promised me three days, remember? Give me two more.”
Her head swam as that impulse rose up, demanding she resist. Argue. He owed her respect, not coddling. She wasn’t a child.
“I am not a child.”
His eyes flashed. “You think I don’t know that?”
Snap.She could almost hear one bastion of his self-control breaking. Another cracked as he shifted his weight to the balls of his feet.
