Filed to story: The Rise Of The Lycan Queen
“I promise. And those days are far behind.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” We needed to stop talking about it, and now. “Let’s go.” I started to walk around his car when his hand pulled me to a stop to face him again.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Was he playing games now? It would be best if he were. “What?”
“It’s only proper if I open your door.” He strolled over to the car and opened the passenger door. “You were about to jump in before I could do this.”
My heart wanted to burst from my chest. “No, I’ve got it.” I strode over and pushed him aside as I got into the car. As soon as I was settled, he shut the door before I could and walked around to his side.
I had to get my act together and calm my ass down. As he slid into the seat beside me, his earthy scent filled my nose. He smelled like home.
He started the car and looked in his rearview mirror. He had a Mazda that wasn’t much bigger than my Civic and had to be at least five years older, but it was kept in good condition.
“I honestly wasn’t sure if you would say yes.” He put the car into DRIVE and pulled onto the road.
“Technically, I didn’t say yes.” I had to make sure I didn’t do anything to confuse him. We were both going to make this harder, but maybe I could enjoy one night with him before I pushed him away completely.
“Really? You’re going to keep fighting this?” A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
“Am I that hard to read?” At least I wasn’t showing all my feelings like I’d been afraid I did. So maybe I had more composure than I realized.
“Yeah, you are.” He frowned and shook his head. “I don’t like it.”
I wasn’t even going to expand on that one.
“Where are we going?” I needed to change the subject and fast.
“I thought we’d grab something to eat first.” He slowed down at a pizza place. “Your stomach has been growling ever since we went outside.”
“But you’ll be late to your fight.” I glanced at the time and saw that it was already six-thirty. I hadn’t planned for this. I was only supposed to ride with him to the fight and back. No eating, no spending intimate time together. I definitely would’ve said no if I knew about this.
“Not at all.” He pulled into a parking spot and turned off his car. “It starts at eight, so we have plenty of time to get a pizza.”
“Okay.” That sounded good, and I was already in his car. If I jumped out and ran home, it would probably raise more questions and intrigue him even more, so I was stuck with my decision. The good thing was that I’d had my mind set on pizza ever since he rang my doorbell. “But remember, this is just as friends.”
“Yup. Totally exclusive friends.” He saluted me. “Got it.” He jumped out of the car and sprinted to my side.
He looked fucking ridiculous but so damn sexy at the same time. He was going to be my undoing.
“Here you go.” He opened the door and held his hand out for me to take it.
I hadn’t expected that, so of course, I reached out and placed my hand in his. The buzzing was now a pleasurable shock that sprang to life, and my wolf howled inside.
His breath caught as I stood on my own two legs.
“No fucking way.” He ran his free hand through his hair. “How is this possible?”
“What?” I forced my expression to remain indifferent and took a deep breath, trying to prevent my heart from racing. Not only was he confused since he thought I was a human, but this bond between us was escalating with little to no encouragement between us. This wasn’t how it was supposed to work, so what the hell was going on?
His eyes landed on my lips as the electricity increased the longer we touched. He leaned his head down and breathed in my scent.
Somehow, our bond had started, and I had no clue how. Mom had always said it began from the first kiss that the couple shared. Did last night already start this? “Come on. We need to go.” I slipped away from him and tried to get him to release my hand.
Instead, he held my hand tighter. “Nice try. Let’s get you fed. I have a feeling you’re not very fun when you’re hangry.”
“Maybe you’re pushing your shortcomings on me.” It was so scary how easy this all felt. I knew I had to pull back, but I wasn’t sure how to do it right now.
“Nah, I have a feeling I’d have a hard time finding anything wrong with you.” He opened the door to the restaurant that seemed to be, once again, full of college kids.
“Is that what you say to all your dates?” I wanted to slap myself. I’d only encouraged him.
“Date, huh?” He arched an eyebrow.
“Uh… I meant…” He placed a finger over my lips, causing our connection to spring to life.
“No, I like that.” He scanned my face and smiled. “Don’t freak out. Just go with the flow, okay?”
“Okay.” I was being ridiculous. We’d just agreed to do this. “Then it’s a one-time friendly date.”
“Wow.” He chuckled. “I’ve never been so ecstatic to hear those words before.”
“Mason.” A girl with long black hair ruined our bubble. She wore a low cut top that left little to the imagination and skin-tight shorts. She straightened her shoulders, emphasizing her boobs, and tossed a piece of hair over her shoulder. “Hey. We’ve got a table over here.” She pointed over to a group that included two other girls along with Ella and Alec.
It was foolish, but I kind of thought he was taking me somewhere so we could be alone. This was better though. The less alone time we had, the better. It might at least slow down whatever tension was building between us, and I could get my head on straight.
“Oh.” He glanced over and waved at the group. “I didn’t realize you were going to be here.”
When Ella’s eyes landed on me, her face lit up. “Aria.” She jumped out of her seat and hurried over to us. “What are you doing here?”
“It’s fine.” I took a step back. “I’ll just head back home. It’s no biggie.”
“No.” Both Mason and Ella said at the same time.
Ella’s eyes went to mine and Mason’s joined hands. “You didn’t know we were going to be here.”
When I tried to let go of his hand, he held on tight.
“Obviously, I didn’t, or we wouldn’t be here.” Mason huffed and glanced back at me.
“You were trying to take her somewhere, just you and her?” The dark-haired girl jerked back. “I thought you didn’t date.”
“It changed today, Meredith.” Mason glared at the girl and moved to stand slightly in front of me. “She’s officially my girlfriend, so your claws stay hidden. Got it?”
Whoa. This just accelerated, but I couldn’t bring my damn mouth to open and correct him. I didn’t want her to think she had a chance with him. This was a fucking awful idea.
“Humph.” She cut her amber eyes to me. “Don’t get too excited. He’ll be crawling into my bed before it’s all over.”
