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That put a smile on his face, and I was glad to see it. We talked for the remainder of our time there. I learned that his father owned the apartment complex, but he was working on a way to buy it from him. Luc wanted to be an entrepreneur and invest in real estate—at least, that’s what he was thinking of doing right now as he had a tendency to jump around on ideas and his father was getting frustrated with him. There were a lot of issues with his father I was gathering, and I could relate. Having not had a father figure, a therapist would probably say that’s why I ended up with Rich, but I didn’t want to share that with Luc. It’s not like we were going out, this was just ice cream. Besides, I had already caused enough turmoil already, and it was nice to have a new friend.
A new friend.That put a smile on my face.
“What are you smiling about?”
“You’re my first friend I’ve made in a while. That’s enough to put a smile on my face,” I said, feeling contentment roll over me. Now that was a feeling I was not used to.
“You have a beautiful smile.”
“Thanks,” I said, feeling a blush coming on strong as he studied me. I balled up my napkin and looked at his finished sundae. “Well, that’s the last of the ice cream. Shall we head home?” I ducked my head and bent down for my bag before he saw my whole face and neck turn red.
“Yeah, lets.” He got up without another look back, and I hurried to catch up with him.
When we got back to the apartment, he walked me to the door. We lingered there for a moment, and I contemplated what had happened tonight. “I had a fun night,” I ended up saying.
“I did too. You going to be okay?” He didn’t seem to want to leave, and if I could admit it to myself, I didn’t really want him to either.
Before I could start leaning toward him, I made myself say, “Yes, I’ll be fine. I’ll see you later. Thanks for the ride home.” I then quickly unlocked my door, went inside, and shut the door without looking back.
I kept my hand on the door, listening for his footsteps to walk toward his place, but no sound came. Instead, I heard a sigh that sounded like it had come from deep within; a sigh that carried a lot of baggage. I so wanted to go back out into the hallway and ask him what was wrong, but instead, I just stood there.
At the sound of his footsteps retreating, I leaned against the door and slid to the floor. My heart was pounding so fast. What had just happened? This was crazy. I didn’t even know Luc. We had shared a little about ourselves, but nothing more than new friends would, and yet I felt strongly for Luc, more than I had ever felt for Rich. It told me this wasn’t lust but something more.
Oh no, Iwasgoing crazy! Who would want to jump into a relationship right after getting out of a horrid one? I needed alone time. And maybe tomorrow I’d call Becca to help me find a therapist. Yeah, that sounded like the perfect plan. She could talk me out of my ridiculous thoughts.
Luc
This was not goingto work. Not at all. I was falling for her more than I cared to admit. I needed to run, and run I did. I threw caution to the wind and shifted before I hit the tree line. The more I ran, the more my thoughts drew away from how good Jill smelled, how soft her skin looked, and how her heart pounded when she was near me.
Why did she stay behind that door waiting for me to leave? Her breathing had gotten fast, and I’d had to peel myself away from her door to get away. Why was this happening? I was never this bad when I was with Kit. She never drove my wolf crazy like this. All I wanted to do was wrap Jill up in my arms and never let her go. Be her savior in everything. Never let anyone hurt her again. Whoever this slimeball ex-boyfriend was better be sure to never cross my path.
After Kit, I had promised myself to never let another girl in. They were too fickle. One look from another guy and they were off, not caring that my heart was shattering.Jill will be the same,I told myself.You should move on while you have the chance.
I loved the feel of the wind blowing through my fur while I ran through the woods. This was where I belonged, and it was a huge part of who I was. Jill wasn’t part of this world or of the pack, and there was no need to ever bring her in on it. I realized then that if I was going to get through this infatuation with Jill, then I had to makeherstay away from me. I pondered on how I could do that as I ran. The thought hit me almost immediately—my brothers hadn’t come to visit in a while, and this gave me the perfect opportunity to invite them over. They’d each bring a couple of their pack members, and maybe the sight of us all together would intimidate Jill enough that she’d become scared and leave. I didn’t know what had brought her to our town, but I couldn’t allow her to stay.
I stopped running and breathed in the cool air. Yes, that would be exactly what I’d do. I’d call them tomorrow and set up a time to come visit me soon. And the sooner the better; my wolf couldn’t take this much longer.
Jill
“So, what happened?”Becca asked over a platter of freshly-made waffles with real maple syrup drizzled over them.
She had woken me up the next morning with a solid pounding at the door. Good thing for her I was already awake. Last night was filled with tossing and turning; I’d been tormented by constant images of Luc, with his sultry eyes staring back at me as he leaned toward my wanting lips.
“Hello to Jill! Yoohoo!”
“Huh? What?” I blinked at Becca.
“You’re daydreaming about Luc, aren’t you?”
“No, I’m not,” I said, but even I could tell I’d said that maybe a bit too quickly.
Becca was looking at me with a knowing look. “You just keep telling yourself that.”
I didn’t dare respond, but she persisted. “Come on, tell me. Did he drop you off at home, or did y’all go someplace else? Please tell me you didn’t come straight home.”
“I didn’t,” I said, and I could feel a blush coming on. “But it’s not what you think.”
“You did go for ice cream!”
