Dire(37)
I followed him inside and turned on a lamp. A king sized bed dominated the room, while a purple bedspread added a pop of color to an otherwise colorless space.
He closed the doors. “This is when you’re going to tell me you don’t want to sleep.”
“I did sleep for hours in the truck. You didn’t, so feel free.”
“You want me to sleep while you do what? Sit here?” He pulled off his shirt and tossed it on the end of the bed.
I glanced around the room, noticing a partially open door. I walked over to investigate what turned out to a beautiful bathroom. “Maybe I can take a shower.”
“Maybe I can join you?” He said from right behind me. “I could use one too.”
“Oh. You can use it first then.”
“Are you afraid to shower with me?”
“That’s an intimate thing to do together.” Something I wasn’t ready for. But would I ever be ready?
“And you’re my mate.” His eyes were glued to mine.
“Almost,” I whispered.
“Are you afraid to let me see you naked?” He ran his hands down my arms.
“It’s not fear. It’s preference.”
“Preference?” He raised an eyebrow. “Then what if it’s my preference to see you naked?”
“It’s my body.”
“I could argue that it’s also mine now, but I won’t because you’re just going to say ‘Hunter stop.’”
I shook my head. “You’re learning.”
“But you can’t argue with me that this is my body.” He undid his belt and took off his pants. He tossed them over to where his shirt waited. “So I’m going to assert my preference to be naked around you.”
I averted my eyes. “Hunter.”
“Wait? No stop?”
“Why are you pushing me? Why here? Why now?”
“Because taking it slow still means moving forward. If you can’t even look at me naked, we’re in trouble.”
I looked up, but only to his eyes. “I can look at you naked.”
“So it’s just a preference thing?” He smiled.
There was a loud knock on the door.
Hunter opened the door without putting his pants back on. “What is it, Marni?”
She didn’t seem concerned with his nakedness. I was never going to get used to how open they were about being nude. “Gage and I are going out for a run. We’ll stay close, but it might be a while.” She didn’t hide the excitement in her voice. I wanted to believe it was just to run, but I didn’t.
“Marni? You ready?” Gage called.
My chest clenched. He also sounded excited.
“That’s fine. Keep him in line. We’re leaving early in the morning.”
“We’ll be back.” Marni smiled at me. I knew it wasn’t meant to be reassuring.
Hunter started to close the door, and a few moments later I heard giggling. “Gage, you are such an asshole!” Marni yelled.
What was he doing to her?
I pushed the question out of my head. He’d moved on. Even if it wasn’t Marni, he’d have to one day. He knew I’d promised myself to Hunter. Besides, what reason did he have not to? Hunter was right. All I’d been to him was a temporary distraction. We’d never even dated.
Chapter Fourteen
Gage
“Someone’s putting on the theatrics.” Marni pushed open the back door to the house.
“You told me we had to convince Hunter I was over her. If he thinks I’m already trying to sleep with you, I’m doing that. Of course, that also requires Chet not trying to kill me.”
“He doesn’t care. He trusts me.”
“Should he trust you?” I didn’t want to be a jerk, but I was having trouble finding the line between fact and fiction with her. She said she wasn’t into me, but all the signs pointed to her wanting me. Maybe it was just a Dire thing.
“Yes, but I don’t trust you. You’re not over her.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It does. Your responses matter.” She pulled out the hair tie holding up her long brown hair.
“I can keep my responses in check.”
“Can you?”
“Yes.”
“I bet Hunter is fucking Mary Anne right now. She’s screaming out his name in passion.”
I could feel my blood boil, but I tried to keep myself calm. “Oh well.”
“She’s begging for more.”
“You can stop, I’m fine.” I wasn’t fine. I could feel my whole body tingling, begging to transform.
“He’s telling her not to worry, he plans to stay inside her all night long.”
Without realizing what was happening, I was in my wolf form. I had Marni pinned to the ground. She’d shifted too.