Climbing behind the wheel, he started up his car. Several of their peers were looking into his car, and he wanted to grab Scarlett and kiss her so everyone saw who she belonged to. He doubted she would like that kind of attention. There would be a time when he would prove to all of these assholes that she was his.
Driving out of the parking lot, he headed in the opposite direction of her home.
“Erm, Marshall, you’re going the wrong way.” She glanced behind her as he drove.
“I’m not. There’s something I wanted to show you.” He reached over, grabbing her hand to lock their fingers together. His wolf calmed. The possessive need rushing through him, dimmed with her touch. So long as he was close to her, he didn’t need to worry about his wolf wanting to make a claim.
“What?”
“I’m taking you back to my place. Well, my parents’ place, but I live there.” He gave her a wink to which she laughed.
“You’re completely crazy, you know that right?”
“Yep.”
I made her laugh.
The small victories meant so much to him. She settled back still holding his hand as he drove toward his house.
“You live near the forest?”
“Yes.”
“You know I was sure I could hear wolves there this summer,” she said, surprising him.
“Real wolves?”
“I don’t know. A lot of strange stuff keeps happening lately.”
She hummed something. He wished he knew what she was thinking. She wasn’t giving off any fear. What was she thinking about wolves? Did she believe in them? Crap, he didn’t know what to say. He’d grown up to know that he had to keep his ancestry a secret.
Pulling into the driveway, he parked the car.
“Is someone here?”
“My parents.”
He inwardly groaned as he heard the sexual moans coming from his home. His hearing had gotten better since his turning.
“Come on.” The moment they heard Scarlett, they’d stop. He slammed his door closed, rounding the car, and grabbing her hand once again.
“Your home looks beautiful,” she said.
“You’ve not even got inside yet.”
She chuckled. Scarlett hiked her back up onto her shoulder as they made their way inside his home. Something crashed in his father’s office, followed by smashing.
Shaking his head, Marshall waited for the door to open. His mother appeared first looking ruffled. He was a wolf, and they were used to their sexuality being on display.
“Marshall, I didn’t realize that was the time,” his mother said.
“Mom, I’d like you to meet Scarlett. Scarlett, this is my mother, Carla.”
“Hey,” Scarlett said.
“Oh, you brought a girl home. Luke, he brought a girl home.” She shouted toward his father as she moved forward, cupping Scarlett’s cheeks. “You’re so beautiful.”
“Mom, please,” Marshall said.
“What?”
He made sure he was a step back from Scarlett so she wouldn’t see. “Fear.” He mouthed the words so his mother would understand.
Carla instantly dropped her hands away from Scarlett’s face.
“Hello,” Scarlett said.
His father came out of the office, completely dressed. He stepped behind Carla, gripping her shoulder. “Hello, Scarlett,” his father said. “Marshall has told us a lot about you. He didn’t mention you were stopping by.”
“Yeah, I didn’t know I was coming here either until I was in the car,” Scarlett said, glancing back at him.
“What happened to your face?”
Scarlett touched the bruise. “My face was introduced to a dodgeball.”
“It looks painful.”
“It was. Not so much now.”
“I’m going to show Scarlett around.”
“Okay, stay clear of the forest, you never know what you’re going to find,” Luke said, warning him. Wolves were out running in the forest, and he didn’t want Scarlett finding out about their kind until after Marshall made his intentions known.
“Will do.” He took Scarlett’s hand and made his way toward his bedroom.
Should you go to the bedroom?
He started to doubt the direction he was going when Scarlett started talking. “Your parents are nice,” she said.
“Yeah, they’re amazing.” He didn’t know what else to say.
Taking the lead, he took her down the hallway to his bedroom. In the distance he heard his parents talking. His mother was squealing about how adorable Scarlett was. She was a nice girl. The innocence she possessed came off her in waves. No one had touched her. Marshall wasn’t a virgin. He’d been having sex for a couple of years. It was probably something he shouldn’t have been doing, but he’d always been highly sexed. There was no way he was going to be having sex anytime soon with Scarlet. He’d be happy to wait. She wasn’t even eighteen yet.
It would be a long few months.
Opening his bedroom door, he walked into his room, quickly stashing the books with her pictures in it into the nearest empty drawer. When he turned around, he found her still waiting on the threshold of his bedroom.
“You’re not a vampire, are you? You can come in?” He winced at his own words.
“Erm, I’ve never been in a boy’s room before. I don’t, I’m not, I’m, erm, I’m not comfortable right now.”
Feeling like the worst kind of idiot that ever lived, he went to her. “Nothing is going to happen, Scarlett. Seriously, I just didn’t want to be alone. I knew my parents would be home, and that’s why I invited you here.” He took her hand, leading her into the bedroom. “This is why I brought you here. I knew you wouldn’t want to be here without an adult present.” He slowly pulled her into his bedroom. She didn’t need to know that his parents being home wouldn’t stop him touching her if she let him.
Marshall curbed those needs instantly. She wasn’t here to help him with his dick.
“See, nothing else is going to happen.”
She chuckled as he eased her inside, going back to close the door. When he saw her eyes widen, he quickly opened the door back up.
“I won’t try anything I promise.” Going back to her, he took her bag, placing it on the floor.
“Why did you bring me here?” she asked.
“I wanted to share something with you.”
“Why?”
Taking her hand, he led her to his bedroom window. His room overlooked over the forest and lake. Around Christmas when it was covered in snow, it always looked totally beautiful. He would spend hours looking out of the window.
His mother was in the kitchen, buzzing around to make a meal.
“I’m proving to you that I’m not here to hurt you. This is part of that promise. I’m sharing with you part of me.”
“You’ve never brought a girl here?”
“No.” He stepped behind her, resting his hands on her shoulders. She wore a denim jacket, and he slowly removed it. “It’s too hot for you to be still in that jacket.”
She glanced over her shoulder, smiling at him. “Thank you.”
Throwing the jacket onto the bed, he placed his hands back on her shoulders. She didn’t flinch away from him as he touched her. He tried to work out the kinks that were in her shoulders. Slowly, she started to relax. He was starting to realize when it came to Scarlett, he had to give her time to feel comfortable.
“You’ve got a beautiful view.”
“Thank you.”
“The lake, do you go there often?”
“Yes.” He leaned in close, breathing in her floral scent.
Don’t scare her away.
He tightened his grip on her shoulders in an effort to stop himself from scaring her.
“This is beautiful.”
Sliding his hands down from her shoulders, he rested his hands on her waist.
No, you’re beautiful, and I’m a fucking prick for not seeing it before.
“Cheryl was wrong,” he said.
She made to turn around, but he held her tightly.
“I know you don’t believe me, but what she said is all lies. You’re beautiful, Scarlett, and I’d be happy to call you my girl.”
“Stop,” she said.
Pressing his hand on her stomach, he rested his chin on her shoulder. It was as close as he could get without scaring her. The urge to press his face against her neck was strong, but he held it back. He kept control over his wolf. It wouldn’t do him any good to lose control.
“I’ll stop for now, Scarlett, but I’m not going to hide what I want.”
She pulled out of his arms to turn to look into his eyes. “Please, stop.”
He cupped her cheek, stroking over the dark bruise. “I fucked up. I was an asshole to you, and nothing I say is going to change what I said and did to you.” He ran his thumb over her bottom lip. “But I’m going to prove to you I’m a changed person, Scarlett. I’m going to prove to you that when you’re in pain, hurt, crying, you’re going to come to me. I’ll take care of you. I’ll be the one you depend on.”
Someone knocked on the door, interrupting the moment. Letting out a sigh, he glanced over to see his father on the threshold.
“Carla wants to know if you’d like to call your parents. She’s happy for you to invite them to dinner or at least to let them know you’re here,” Luke said.