Page 14 of Trees Take the Long View

It felt good to just walk out of the station, to not have to stay.

I also felt about ten feet tall. I was suitably humble about it, didn't even swagger, but the way they all looked at me, you'd have thought I was a superhero dropped to earth, walking in to save the day and then look modest about it.

I was still feeling pretty satisfied with myself as I buckled myself into the passenger seat of Dean's car.

Dean drummed his fingers on the wheel. I looked at him, realizing for the first time he wasn't feeling quite the same way I was. "What is it?" He seemed to be hesitating on the brink of some decision. Then he turned to me...and I realized it wasn't a bad one. Not at all. A warm feeling started at the base of my spine and shivered its way upwards.

"It's a long drive back to your tent," he said. There was definitely fear in his eyes.

"Not that long, but go on." I was grinning now, couldn't stop myself. I tried not to be too smug about it. I was liking the turn of this conversation.

"Well." He swallowed, nervous as a teenager asking another out on a date that mattered so very much. "Uh, maybe you should, um, consider staying with me. In my hotel. Tonight."

"Hm." I tilted my head a little, smiling at him. "I will have to consider that."

"Jerk." He reached over and gave me a light sock on the arm, but he was grinning now, too.

"Well, I've considered it," I said breezily.

"Oh? And what did you decide? I await your answer with bated breath."

"I've decided we should definitely go to your hotel room." I unbuckled the seatbelt, leaned close, and kissed him quickly on the cheek.

"Foul!" said Dean. "Not when I can't kiss you back."

We continued to banter a little on the way, mostly just from feeling so cheerful, the high from saving the day, the knowledge that we were going to be in the same room tonight, and close.

Mind you, he'd by no means said we would be having sex, and I figured that was off the table till he decided if he was willing to consider being my mate. But just being near him, making out, hanging out together...well, it was a real treat.

Let's face it, I liked the guy. I wouldn't want him as my mate if it was only about sex. I felt a connection with him. Sure, I wanted to get hot and sweaty with him, between the sheets or basically anywhere, but I could definitely enjoy the journey.

"Sorry for the mess," he said, as he flicked the lights on. "I didn't know I'd be bringing anyone back with me."

"Obviously," I said sarcastically, looking around at the very neat room. There were no clothes strewn around or anything. Still, I didn't like the way he said "bringing anyone back with me." It made me think about him picking up men; not a happy place to go right now.

"Are you hungry?" He glanced at me, looking uncertain. "I don't actually have anything to eat here. I should have thought of that."

I shrugged. "I'm still full from the diner meal." While shifting really did use up a lot of energy and make me hungry, it wasn't an instant thing, and I'd eaten beforehand. "I ate a lot, in case you didn't notice." I patted my stomach.

His eyes followed the movement, then lower. "I notice everything you do."

"That's what I like to hear." I leaned in and gave him a very, very soft kiss on the lips.

#

A phone was ringing.

I peeled myself off the warm, hay-smelling, masculine thigh and raised my head enough to squint up at Dean. Watching a movie with him, as well as snuggling and bantering and kissing him, well, that had all been very nice.

Waking up next to him was nice, too—but it would be nicer if I wasn't contorted into a weird position and being assaulted by a very irritating ringtone. I squinted at him, one-eyed, while he flailed around and grabbed for his phone, swearing softly, like grumpy little hisses and growls.

Oh yeah, I was in wolf form, had shifted sometime just before we both fell asleep, so I could snuggle up to him without reservation. Me, one to take shameless advantage? Never...

If I was in human form, he might not have let me drape myself all over him, if we weren't even having sex yet. On the other hand, a wolf is completely innocent, and incredibly furry and big-eyed, so who could possibly complain about that?

Last night, going to his room, I'd thought we'd surely have sex. But when it came down to it, we were both a little skittish—not ready yet. Possibly for the same reason, possibly not. It had felt right to keep things lighter. But I'd still wanted to be as close to him as possible.

"You're very warm, you know that?" he told me, shooting me an irritating look. His face was red on one side where he'd mashed it into the pillow during the night, and his hair stuck up in odd directions. He smelled of sweat.