Page 31

Sam

I hit the bathroom, turning the water as cold as it would go. I doused my hands, wrists, and splashed my face. I needed cold water on other body parts but didn’t think a public restroom was the best place for that.

I closed my eyes and braced my hands on the sink, head bowed.

Unbelievable. There was no other word. My wolf leaped around like a pup. This mate thing was going to be even more of a problem now. Every cell in my body was hyper-aware of her. It was bad enough after I kissed her chastely to quiet her wolf. Now that she had kissed me?

Her lips were like a drug. And when she’d opened her mouth and my tongue slid in—I groaned. I was hot all over. I took a deep breath. Then another. One more for good measure.

She kissed me. Megan kissed me.

Was it possible she could want more? I tried not to hope, but it was there. It had taken root. My heart was absolutely getting mangled before this was over.

I took one more splash of water to the face and grabbed some paper towels.

There wasn’t a line at the snack counter, and I ordered two different soft drinks. I hoped Meg liked one of them. I thought about getting a bucket of popcorn but settled for chocolate instead. I knew Meg loved chocolate.

As I turned to go back into the theater, a strange scent caught my attention. It was wolf, but not one of ours. My wolf bristled. It wasn’t unheard of for another werewolf to be in town, but as packs, we were pretty territorial. We tried to give other packs either a wide berth or a heads-up that we’d be in the vicinity but meant no offense.

My wolf scented again, solidifying the smell to memory. I’d keep an eye out. I wasn’t overly concerned, but Dad wasn’t wild about random wolves roaming around.

The theater was dark when I came back in, sodas in hands, chocolate wedged in my back pocket. I got to our aisle and immediately felt the tension radiating off Meg. That couldn’t be good. I handed her the drinks and got the box out of my pocket before I sat down.

“Which one?” I whispered, unsure how to proceed.

She handed a cup over. I didn’t care what it was. Once drinks were settled, we sat there, an awkward space between us in the dark.

I held my breath and slowly reached my hand out to her. She didn’t move as I took her hand. The breath rushed out of me as I felt the tension start to slowly ebb from Meg as she twined our fingers.

Okay. Meg kissed me. I was tempted to try for number two, but Meg’s back was still pretty straight. I didn’t want to push my luck and definitely wanted a repeat performance at a later date. I squeezed her hand instead.

Her eyes flashed up to mine, a shy smile on her face before she turned back to the movie.

A girl who kissed the way Megan kissed me shouldn’t even be capable of looking shy. My mouth tipped into a grin. We were okay for now.

****

I had no idea what the movie was about by the time the credits were rolling. Meg’s hand was still firmly planted in mine. I had allowed myself the liberty of tracing tiny circles on the back and palm of her hand with my thumb during the movie, and honestly, it was all I could concentrate on. I had replayed our kiss fourteen ways from Sunday and was convinced that the memory of her lips was better than anything on the big screen.

We started filing down the stairs to the exit, and I felt Meg’s fingers slide through mine. Did she hesitate? Was that reluctance I felt as her fingers left mine?

Tammy caught up with us as we were entering the long hallway back to the main lobby.

“Hey. I rode over here with Jake and Cindy, but they’re going out to catch a bite to eat. Can I ride back with you guys? I don’t want to be a third wheel, ya know.”

I bit back a retort about being a third wheel in my car, too, but swallowed it. “Sure,” I said with what I hoped didn’t sound like false cheerfulness. So much for a ride back alone with Megan.

Megan and Rachel were chatting ahead of us, and I stepped up and let my fingers graze the small of Megan’s back. Her head came up immediately, a light blush staining her cheeks again. She was so beautiful.

“Tammy needs a ride back. Do you mind?” I wasn’t sure if it was relief that flashed across her eyes or not, but I hoped it wasn’t.

“That’s fine. No problem. Rachel, catch you Monday?”

“You bet. Call me tomorrow if you want.” Rachel winked. My own skin flushed. I had no doubt that Rachel was insinuating The Kiss that she and all humanity witnessed in the theater.

The ride home was uneventful. Tammy kept most of the conversation going, though she was cold toward Meg a few times. I’d have to ask her about it later. That wasn’t like her. Something must be bugging her.

****

The sun was setting as we pulled into the driveway of the cabin. I glanced over at Megan.

“How’s the wolf?”

“Tolerable, but she’s going to need out soon.”

“I bet there will be a few others out back within the next twenty minutes,” Tammy offered. “We can all go for a pack run together then?”

“That should be fine,” Meg said.

I mentally rolled my eyes as I hopped out of the car. That meant Tammy was going to stick around the cabin until then. Which meant being alone with Megan would have to wait until after the pack run. I needed a good run. My nerves were strung so tight after our kiss that I had pent up energy coming out my ears. I wanted to talk to Meg about the kiss, but at the same time, I wanted to savor it and live in the bliss that maybe, just maybe, she wasn’t only pretending?

Gravel crunched outside, and I peeked out the cabin window. Cade and Raven were here along with a few others.

I glanced back to Meg and Tammy. They were chatting about something going on at school. Tammy’s shoulders were all scrunched up. She wasn’t relaxed like usual. I wondered if maybe she’d had a fight with her mom. They were alike in nearly every way and butted heads frequently.

I opened the door for the new arrivals as they came to the porch.

“Hey!” Raven called out.

Meg smiled back. There was a potential friendship between them. I waved everyone else in but Cade.

He got to the door, and I grabbed his arm, jerking my head back into the darkening night.

“Be back in a sec,” I called into the room and shut the door without waiting for a reply, dragging Cade with me.

We went a respectable distance from the house so we wouldn’t be overheard, but I kept my voice down, in case others were coming on foot for the nightly run.

“Cade, she kissed me. She kissed me!” I hissed the words. My hand fisted into his shirt as I dragged his face closer to mine. “Seriously, I am never going to recover.”

Cade laughed. “Dude. That’s awesome.”

I rolled my eyes.

“So—it was decent?”

I snorted. “Only mind-blowing. I had no idea a mate bond could be this intense. And we’re not even…you know. I mean, she has no idea!”

Footsteps approached then, so further conversation would have to wait.

Cade clapped me on the back. “You may get her after all.”

I hoped so, but I wasn’t holding my breath.

****

We ran as a pack that night, Meg beside me. The wind was cold, almost biting. It was glorious. We covered about twenty miles, running wild, free, uninhibited. Once we were back at the cabin, people slowly dispersed. I was still antsy. Wolf was still keyed up about the kiss and even the long run in the wild wasn’t enough to completely calm him.

Based on how I felt about Megan, the more tired I was, the better. I’d have less energy to act on my desires.