Page 31 of Same Thing

His glowing blue eyes lifted to hers, and her heart beat faster at how different he looked. His cheek bones were sharper, his jawline more defined. His eyes had a slight tilt to them. Red had crept up his neck, and landed in his ears, and there was a heaviness in the air around him.

“He used my words.” Woo, his voice was gravel and velvet right now.

“Which words.”

“You’re mine,” he gritted out. “I told him that the other day. I told him to leave you alone because you’re mine. And he said those words to you. He shouldn’t have done that.”

“I’m a stranger though. Remember? I’m a stranger today and I’ll have to be a stranger tomorrow?”

He shook his head slowly. “That doesn’t work anymore.” He inhaled deeply and stood. “Where is your bag. I’ll carry it down for you.”

“Liam, will I be safe?” she asked.

He turned at the mouth of the hallway, a frown etched onto his face. “What do you mean?”

“I mean if you take me to your territory? Will I be safe? Everyone’s heard the horror stories.”

He huffed a laugh, and his smile softened his face. He approached her slowly and pulled her in, held her against his chest. “Who do you think started those rumors?”

“I don’t know. People who accidentally got lost in your territory? And almost died?”

He chuckled. “We started them. We don’t want a bunch of humans hanging out in our woods, making fuckin’ s’mores and leaving their trash piles around. Makes it too tempting for us to make mistakes and go after one. It is safest to keep separate, but you won’t be in any danger. You’ll be with me.” He eased back and searched her eyes.

She felt raw and vulnerable under his gaze but so be it. He’d already seen her at her worst, in a panic attack. She hadn’t had one in months. “I hate that you saw me like that,” she whispered.

“I don’t. I liked being here. Hate that you went through it but liked seeing you pull out of it.”

She held on to his wrist as he slid his hand to her cheek, and she leaned into his touch and closed her eyes. “When I panic like that…it’s a part of my life that I like to keep a secret. I don’t like talking about it and I don’t like other people knowing.”

“Okay, but it’s really not something to be ashamed of, Nory.”

“Thank you for being here,” she told him, changing the subject.

“I know what will make you feel better.”

“A Blizzard from Dairy Queen?”

A smile cracked his face. “Sure. We can get one on the way.”

“On the way to the werewolf woods.”

“I think it’ll be different than you imagine. You’ll be perfectly safe. You have my word.”

Nory didn’t know why, but she believed him. She trusted him. His anger on her behalf made her feel validated in her discomfort with Jackson. His kindness while she’d been panicking and on the verge of passing out had tethered her to him and fostered her belief in him as a man.

He wasn’t going to let anyone hurt her.

His word was good enough for her.

She locked up the house, and he carried her duffel bag easily, like it weighed a couple of pounds instead of being stuffed tight enough to strain the zipper with anything she might need. He held her hand as he led her down the stairway, and as they reached the bottom floor, he told her, “Jackson isn’t here. I checked already.”

She didn’t know why, but that made her feel better. She didn’t want his eyes on her back as she made her way to Liam’s truck. Layla bore down on them from the direction of the office, and the shrill tone of her voice startled Nory.

“I told you already, you are banned from this property,” Layla yelled.

“I’m leaving,” Liam told her calmly.

“I told you I would call the police—”