She slid for what seemed like forever, breathing a sigh of relief when she managed to stop. Giving the wall the evil eye and feeling more than a little bit smug at her success, Charlie turned to prance away only to see that her antics had had witnesses.
It figures, the one time I’m ungraceful, she thought wryly.
Surprise danced across her face when, one by one, the guys lined up at the far end of the gym and took turns running towards her at full throttle, skittering much the way she had, only to stop just short of the wall. It became a game of chicken and she joined in for awhile before weariness nibbled at the corners of her mind.
Breaking away from the pack, she trotted towards the bleachers, climbing up on a small cement platform and laying down. She had no longer closed her eyes when someone snuggled up beside her, warm and cozy. Lifting her head, she found herself gazing down at Zane, sprawled on his back beside her. He was wiggling closer in an imitation of a submissive pup and she had to laugh.
What’re you up to?
Just seeing if you’re okay? Zane’s voice echoed in her head, hesitant.
I’m good. Tired, but it’s a good tired.
Oh. Me too. Well, I guess I’ll leave you alone, then.
Charlie heard the wistful note in his voice as the white wolf turned to move away. Part of her wanted him to leave her alone, but another part yearned for him to stay, to just snuggle up next to her and let her pretend that none of this had really happened. Let her pretend that she’d wake up in the morning and things would be back to normal. Whatever normal was.
Her heart gave a pang and something inside twisted. Her inner-wolf took over before her human mind could process the action, and then she was tugging him back, inviting him to lie with her.
His gold eyes brightened and he showered her face in licks and nuzzles. With his tail wagging its delight, he curled up beside her, his body radiating both heat and a sense of safety that she knew she shouldn’t be feeling right now. Not wanting to process emotions and feelings at the moment, Charlie laid her head over the back of his neck and let sleep claim her.
***
They guys spent most of the afternoon bitching and moaning about being trapped inside the trailer and Zane actually felt bad for Conner when they diverged to convince him to let them live their lives. They were getting cagey, even despite last night’s run, and Zane couldn’t blame them. He felt it too, but he was going to guess his was for a completely different reason.
The whole look-but-don’t-touch thing with Charlie was killing him. He wanted to be in the shower with her, wanted to wash her back for her, wanted to take her slowly, passionately under the waterfall of hot spray. They had the trailer to themselves, they could be as loud as they wanted—and it was digging at him.
But what he wanted more was just the comfort of her touch. The feel of her fingers against his skin, her hands cupping his face. He wanted nothing more than to lay with her on the bed, her body pressed against his, her kisses soft. He wanted her to look into his eyes and tell him that she’d stay here with him, that she wouldn’t leave. That she forgave him.
So he busied himself with making lunch. Nothing special, just grilled cheese and tomato soup from a can, but he used actual dishes and silverware instead of paper plates and plastic sporks, and he set the table just as he heard the shower turn off. He waited outside the bathroom door, feeling a little like a stalker, and waited until she came out. Then he cupped his hands over her eyes and murmured in her ear, “Guess who.”
“Zane.” She said the word on a laugh.
“I’ve got a surprise for you.”
She sniffed. “Are you cooking? Zane—”
“Don’t worry about it, sweeting. Come with me.” Keeping her eyes covered, he led her into the kitchen and nudged out her chair with his foot. He eased her down into her spot, then sprang to the other side of the table to catch the surprised expression on her face as she took in the whole meal. He flashed a smile. “Will you eat lunch with me?”
“Did you burn it?”
He rolled his eyes and took that as a yes, then sat down across from her. “Best I could do given the time frame. Still, what part of grilled cheese could you not like?” He took a big bite of his after soaking it in soup. “Mmm.”
“Where’d the other guys get off to?”
“They were bored, so they went to convince Conner to let them have a supervised jam session.”
“Poor Conner.”
“My thoughts exactly.” They ate in an easy sort of silence for a few minutes before Zane reached across the table and touched her hand, just the barest brush of skin. “Charlie, will you go out with me?” He must’ve taken her by surprise, because for a moment, she just sat there.
“No, I mean it. Hear me out. Our last date was a little rushed, kind of my fault, not that I regret what happened afterwards. But I want a second chance. No strings attached, no pressure, no groping involved. Just you and me, having a little bit of fun. I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.”
Hope rose in his chest when she didn’t immediately shoot him down. She chewed her last bite of food thoughtfully, so he added, “I know you’re tired of being cooped up in here like a fussy hen.”
“True. Okay. I’m probably insane, but okay. One date, but it’s my choice and we get to listen to my music on the way there.” She squared her jaw and looked him right in the eye, as if expecting him to challenge her.
Zane only smiled. “Deal.”
Together they cleared the table. Charlie offered to wash the dishes while Zane hopped in and out of a fast shower, and then they were off. First step was talking Conner into it—which would probably take a little elbow grease, if Zane had to guess.
He was right. Conner raised a brow at them, crossing both arms over his chest as they lightly argued over the subject. “If you want my opinion? This is stupid.”
“Probably,” Charlie said.
Conner groaned. “Fine. You want to take a chance, take a chance, but take your gun—and I’m sending security to watch over this fiasco waiting to happen.”
“Ever the optimist,” said Zane cheerily, not even bothering to care when a couple of guys followed them to where their cars were parked. Charlie snagged his arm and led him over to her personal car. She opened the driver’s door and he paused. “Hey, I’m taking you out on a date, not the other way around.”
Charlie stuck her tongue out at him. “Shut it and get in the car.”
As they pulled out onto the road, she opened the sun visor and plucked a CD from the case up top. It slid into the stereo with a whirr and a moment later, the feminine pop-rock taste of Sunspot Fortune began to blare through the speakers. Zane groaned and reached to turn off the radio, but she swatted his hand away. “You promised.”
“Shit.”
Sunspot Fortune was one of High Velocity’s rival bands and had been since the beginning. Led by the spicy werewolf, Sloane Gray, Sunspot Fortune always put on exotic, tasteful shows with amazing lights and no matter what Zane did to try and outshine them, it never seemed to be enough. If he had asked anyone else, they would’ve laughed: Sunspot Fortune wasn’t better than High Velocity—simply different. He was trying to compete against a fish as a bird.
“How can you like them?”
“Hm, I don’t know. There’s something about Sloane’s voice, the way she purrs her words…” Her lips curved into a wicked smile. “Don’t tell me you don’t think she’s hot.”
Everyone thought Sloane was hot, but that wasn’t the point. Reaching for Charlie’s hand, he kissed her knuckles with a wolfish grin. “Baby, you’re ten times hotter than that. Besides, even if I did like her, Sloane’s gay.”
“Just because she shot you down doesn’t mean she’s gay.” Charlie narrowed her eyes at him, sliding him a glance. “Don’t you think it’s a bit awkward for a date conversation, talking about the girl you struck out with?”
He looked at her. “I’ve never made a pass at Sloane. She’s more Micah’s style. Y
ou should know that, just to set your record straight. The only person I want to wake up next to is—” He bit off her name with a sharp shake of his head. “Not going there. You’re right, this is weird. New subject, moving on.”
Great going. What happened to no pressure? Not wanting to dig himself a deeper hole, Zane kept his mouth shut and withstood listening to Sloane’s wispy voice pull from the speakers.
When Charlie pulled into Krazy Kats Arcade, he was a little confused. “Haven’t we already…”
“If I remember right, someone dragged me out to the car to have mind-blowing sex before we had the chance to visit the arcade.” She batted her eyelashes at him, then got out of the car and trotted towards the entrance. Security hung back to give them space, but they waited and watched, alert.
When he finally caught up, he found her at the front counter, two cups of coins in her hands. She offered him one and blazed the way fearlessly, and he couldn’t keep his eyes from tracking her every move. He didn’t want to lose this.
“I can’t believe the tour’s almost over.” Their eyes met for a moment. “Any idea what you’ll do afterwards?”
He picked a two-player game with western style guns as their controllers. He continued to talk, even as their coins plunked in and the game started. Aliens danced across the screen, goopy and green, and Zane aimed his gun, squeezed the trigger, and missed. “We’ll probably record our third studio album. I’ve got a few title ideas floating around in my head. Maybe take a little bit of a break. Go back to Elysium for the holidays. What about you?”
Charlie was quiet as they played, but when Zane’s character died, she wasn’t far behind. When they turned away from the game, her answer was brief. “Guess I’m leaving it up to fate.”
They took turns playing games, joking and laughing between themselves, but Zane couldn’t get himself to focus. He just kept watching her, the way her hips swayed, the way the tip of her tongue peeked out between her lips in concentration. He didn’t know what he’d do if she really did leave after the tour. Would his wolf pine for her? Would he ever take another woman as his mate? Was it possible to die from loneliness?
He shook his head to ward off the thoughts that spawned to take over his mind and tried to have fun. It wasn’t hard—Charlie made him feel at ease with the world, and he enjoyed her company. He’d just like to enjoy it for the rest of their lives, that’s all.
They played through their remaining coins, then took their wads of little red tickets up to the ticket counter. “Pick whatever you want. My tickets are your tickets, babe,” Zane said easily, waving to the prizes lined up on the shelves behind one of the employees, who looked bored.
“That looks perfect.” Charlie pointed to a large disco ball that cast glassy reflections up on the ceiling. Zane lifted a brow, wondering what the hell she was going to do with a disco ball, and she thrust it into his hands. “Happy birthday,” she said with a grin.
“Aw, you shouldn’t have.”
A squeal from behind made him jump and when he turned, he saw three girls, too old to be in high school but too young to drink, moving towards him. Fans. Shit. “Exit, stage left,” he murmured to Charlie, then grabbed her arm with his free hand and took off for the parking lot. She unlocked the car and they slid into their seats on nervous laughter, slamming the doors behind them. Charlie gunned it and they left security behind to deal with the aftermath.
Once they’d gotten back on site, Charlie parked and together, they slowly made their way towards the trailers. After a few minutes of quiet ebbing between them, Zane reached out on a whim and twined his fingers with hers, relishing the jump of his heart as their skin touched, and the buzz it created in his soul when she didn’t pull away.
He unlocked his trailer and swung the door open to find the place dark and empty. She shut the door behind her, leaned against it, and flipped the lock. Their gazes locked and Zane stepped towards her. The look in those blue eyes was want and need and worry and uncertainty and he just…
With his heart pounding wildly, he spoke and his words sounded breathless, “I love you.”
In the time he took to close the distance between them, her eyes clouded, but his lips stole her words away with a passionate kiss. She breathed in sharply, her hands rising to find his chest, not dragging him closer, but not pushing him away either. He cradled her face in his hands and as if he’d flipped a switch, she responded to his touch. She fisted his shirt in her hands and his fingers twisted in her dark hair, dragging her in for another kiss.
For a moment, the world stopped spinning. His other hand skimmed lower, across the crest of one breast, and it drew a soft sound out of her—a sound that brought him crashing back down to the present, and reality.
No. Not like this. He wanted her to be in control, wanted to be sure she wanted his, not just driven by need and lust that would turn into regret. He didn’t want to be her regret. He wanted her to need him. Not just his body, but him.
And even though it killed him, he broke away and stepped back to put distance between them. As he sucked in a deep breath, he studied her flushed face, the desire in her eyes making them deeper, darker. He pushed against the ache in his heart, shaking his head with a wistful smile.
“I love you,” he repeated, as if maybe chanting the words over and over again would make her see the truth behind them. He turned and walked away, closing himself in the bathroom and took a long, cold shower to chase away the needs surging to the surface.
Chapter Seventeen
Charlie woke slowly. Her limbs heavy and her eyelids resistant to the idea of opening, she shifted on the couch that was now her bed and groaned at the memories that flooded to life. Last night with Zane had been, admittedly, the best date of her life…and it had left her reeling. His touch, his kiss… She had been ready to burst into flames when he’d stepped back from her. Why had he stopped?
But she knew why.
She rolled to lay flat on her back and finally forced her eyes open to stare up at the ceiling. This entire tour had been a rollercoaster ride of emotions, danger, and feelings that she hadn’t quite given a label to yet. Unfortunately, the ride would be over in just a few days and it was time to make a decision. Stay and be with Zane—or leave and say goodbye for good.
Fingers dancing in a rhythmic pattern on her belly, her eyes open but unseeing, it seemed like the whole trailer was closing in on her, suffocating her. She swung her legs over the side of her makeshift bed and strode into the bathroom with brand new determination.
She was going to make up her mind. Now.
Her choices were simple: Forgive Zane for all of his stupidity and announce her love for him. To someday become his mate, maybe even become the alpha female of Elysium, despite her less than social behavior with the pack in the past. She knew the guys would welcome her, blaze the way for her.
Or she could walk away at the end of the tour with some amazing memories and a handful of bad ones. Hands flattened against the countertop, Charlie leaned forward and stared at herself as thoughts, memories, and choices danced round and round in her head. Until, at last, she forced her mind to stop resisting and just—choose.
She loved Zane.
A thrill ran down her spine, light and tingly, and the beast inside seemed to know exactly what was going on, because Charlie felt a definitive shift as she settled. Finding herself smiling, she bent over and pulled out the hidden away box of hair dye. Ripping it open, she began to read.
A couple of hours later, Charlie was grateful for the fact that Zane and the guys were in Conner’s care, practicing for the show and far away from the mess in the once-tidy trailer—hair dye and Charlie were apparently a bad combination.
Looking wearily around the bathroom, she felt a giggle form in the back of her throat. She had managed to get purple droplets all over the place and the longer they were out in the air, the darker they got. What was a bright and spunky color in her hair made the walls, floor, sink—okay, pretty much every surface in the bathroo
m—look like a bottle of grape jelly had exploded, violently. Having never dyed her hair before, Charlie now understood why women shelled out a ton of cash for a professional to do the dirty work.
Charlie hummed a merry little tune and began to tame her black and purple tresses and once the roar of the hair dryer had ended, she stared up at herself in the mirror with worried eyes. The entire underside of her hair had received the bleach kit then the Velocity Violet dye. Once dried and pulled into a ponytail, there was no missing the large amount of purple, or how crookedly it’d been done. But it had been done.
Shaking her head, she started to wipe at the worst of the mess, then stopped. It was probably going to take some heavy duty cleaner to get the dye out, so why bother? She could practically feel the hustle and bustle going on outside and knew the stadium had to be filling up with ready-to-rock fans. The excitement in the air snapped and crackled and with a bounce in her step, ready to make her declaration to Zane and enjoy the first show as his official girlfriend, Charlie quickly got dressed.
She pulled on skin tight leggings, an equally tight black baby-doll tee, and a pair of killer boots before bolting down the steps, merging with the crowd as she headed for her destination. She waved to the few stragglers that hadn’t yet made it backstage and changed her direction just a bit when she saw Lola loitering just outside of where the backstage access area began.
Lola had been an obnoxious burr up her butt, the reason Charlie had bought the hair dye to begin with, and she really wanted the other wolf to see it, no matter how petty that made her. Possession rolled in, clouds on a sunny day. Zane was hers. Even thought she hadn’t gotten to say the words out loud to him yet, it felt amazing to declare it to herself.
She loved Zane. Mine… Her beast rumbled in agreement.
“Hey Lola.” With a casual air to her voice, she relaxed her stride and eased to a halt next to the woman. Lola was dressed in black leather and spiky-heeled boots.
“Hi.” The one-word greeting might as well have been “drop dead”.
Resisting Velocity Page 15