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I’m panting hard as I come back down, opening my eyes to see Juliet’s body going slack on the bed. Her chest rises and falls at a steady pace as she stares at the ceiling, catching her breath and coming back into herself. Then she draws her hands out of her shorts, slowly sitting up on the bed.
I freeze as I watch her shimmy to the edge and rise to stand, afraid that if I move or breathe or even take my damn hand out of my pants I’ll give away my position. But it’s dark out here- nearly pitch black. There’s no way she’d be able to see me. No way I’d get caught.
Juliet walks toward the window, grabbing onto the edge of the curtain as she looks outside toward the forested treeline. My heart hammers against my ribs unrelentingly, because even though I should be hidden among the brush, I swear she’s looking right at me.
My breath catches in my throat as her lips tip up into a smirk.
Then she tugs the curtain closed.
10
“Hey Jules,” Eddie greets from the foyer of the packhouse as I’m crossing it to head to my room in the guest wing. The pack warriors have had a busy schedule this week, so I haven’t seen much of them around here. Thankfully, Shay has been keeping me company, but since she’s off on a date with Sam tonight I figured my Friday evening would be woefully low-key.
Or maybe it’s about to turn around.
I slow to a stop and glance over to see Eddie loitering near the front door with Tobias and Mike, all of them dressed in jeans instead of their usual gym shorts and nice t-shirts rather than the ratty cut-offs they typically sport when they’re hanging around the house. I smile in their direction as I clock their attire. “Hey, where are you guys off to?”
“A party,” Tobias provides, flashing me a handsome grin and carding his fingers through his auburn hair. “Wanna come?”
I glance down at my cropped tank and jean shorts combo with a frown. “Eh, I’m not sure if I’m really dressed for that…”
“You look great,” Tobias assures me without missing a beat, his eyes traversing my form, lingering on my bare legs and the strip of exposed skin at my midsection. “It’s casual anyways, just a kegger in the woods.”
As if he has to talk me into it.
“Alright yeah, I’m in. Just give me a sec to grab my shoes,” I say, heartrate kicking up a notch. A party definitely beats the plan I had in mind for the evening- a bubble bath and getting a jump on the assigned reading for my upcoming semester of classes at the U. Tragic.
Tobias grins like I just made his night, when really it’s the other way around. “Go on,” he nods. “We’re waiting on Bryce anyways.”
I give him a thumbs up like a fucking dork as I bound away, rushing to my room to slip into my sneakers and hurrying back to the foyer in record time. Bryce has already joined the other guys by the time I return and Tobias waves me over as the others start to head out the door.
We’re still in that sweltering stage of summer where the air barely cools off at night. It’s thick and humid when I follow Tobias out the front door of the packhouse, looking around for his big black SUV. It’s nowhere in sight, which must mean that wherever we’re going is within walking distance. Mike and Eddie take the lead, heading down the driveway, while Bryce, Tobias and I fall into step behind them.
“So what’s the occasion?” I ask as we start down the street, the streetlamps overhead casting an eerie glow over the pavement. “Or does your pack regularly have parties like this?”
“It’s my brother Bodie’s twenty-first birthday,” Bryce answers. “But that’s just an excuse, really. Any reason to throw a party.”
“I didn’t know you had a brother,” I say, giving Bryce a little nudge.
“You don’t know a lot about me, darlin’,” he flirts, nudging me back.
“Hey now,” Tobias interjects. He slides an arm around my waist, pulling me away from Bryce and toward him instead as a giggle spills from my lips.
Mike glances back at the three of us over his shoulder, rolling his eyes. “You guys both have a death wish,” he grumbles to his friends.
“What, he took back the whole look but don’t touch thing,” Tobias chuckles, tugging me closer so that our hips brush as we walk.
I jerk my head up, jaw going slack. This is the first time I’m hearing of this- but then again, the guys at the packhouse have been so busy with training all week that I haven’t really seen them. I threatened Cole that I’d take things to extremes if he didn’t lift his stupid order, but I guess I didn’t expect him to actually listen and do it. I should be thrilled with the victory, but for some reason I’m…not. It feels hollow somehow, like he’s throwing in the towel, officially done with our ongoing battle of wills.
I’m also thrown off by this news after what happened between us last night. I hadn’t seen Cole all week until I spotted him outside my window and spontaneously decided to give him a little show- and judging by the way I caught him with his hand down his pants afterward, it looked like he enjoyed it as much as I did. I figured it was safe to assume that there was still something between us after that, but if he’s giving other guys the green light to get handsy with me, maybe he’s not as interested as I’d thought. Which makes me feel damn foolish about last night’s antics.
“So?” Mike scoffs, looking back at Tobias again as we continue down the street. “Why do you think he made that rule in the first place?” He throws up his hands, shaking his head. “I’m just sayin’. I’m not getting anywhere near something the alpha wants. That’s playing with fire.”
“He doesn’t want me,” I object bitterly. “He just wants to control me. And shouldn’t I be able to weigh in here? Because in case you guys have forgotten, I’m a person, not an object to stake a claim over.”
“Damn right you are,” Tobias agrees, flashing me a boyish smile as we veer off the road and head toward the treeline at the edge of the forest.
Mike shakes his head in disapproval. “Whatever, man. It’s your funeral.”
