by S. J. Pierce
“She suspects Naomi’s time in the cabin was spent studying the darker craft, and somehow, she managed to bring Alicia into the fold.”
“Well, nothing brings people closer than mutual hatred.”
She huffs a laugh. “True. Here’s the thing, though—yes, Naomi hated you for what she thought you did, but normally, something like that doesn’t spiral this out of control. She’s mated, so I know that must be hard to also hate the person you’re mated to, but get counseling, for God’s sake. Try to find happiness in a new life. Not completely go off the deep end and focus all your wrath on one person, when obviously, her husband is the bigger problem. Phaedra thinks the black magic had something to do with how weird it got…as well as having Alicia in her ear the whole time.”
“It was a recipe for a holy shitstorm of a disaster,” I agree.
“Exactly. I’m just glad it’s over now.”
I absently trace a lash mark on my hand with my finger. Think of Jaxson. “Me too.”
* * *
When she leaves to run errands, I settle in and watch a couple episodes of Maury. As awful as it sounds, it feels good to know there are other people out there with their own holy shitstorm disasters.
By late afternoon, I’m rummaging through her pantry for something to eat and check my phone. She hasn’t called or texted, and she’s supposed to be back by now. Or at least any minute. Maybe she got caught up somewhere.
That’s when I notice a note on the counter by the coffee pot.
Jaxson’s number.
She left it for me to find…because she’s a meddler like that.
I hold it in my hands a moment, stare hard at the numbers, my heart gaining speed at the thought. Something in the deepest corners of my being plead with me to call him.
I look at my phone.
Briefly consider it.
The man saved your life.
But I ball up the paper and throw it in the trash.
My final decision still stands. I’m not a whole person yet, and I have some healing to do before I drag anyone else into this mess.
And Maddie knows that too. She does. It’s why she made me promise to get counseling. But she also wants me and Jaxson to happen so badly, for me to give him a second chance so we don’t end up missing out on something great altogether, she can’t help herself.
She’ll have to be disappointed for now.
As I smear mustard on a slice of bread to make a sandwich, my phone rings.
Maddie.
“Hey, sis.”
“Hey…um…I think I need you to come get me.”
I set down the butter knife. “You think you do? Or you do?”
“I do.”
I search for my purse and shoes. “Okay…” Unease settles in the pit of my stomach. “What happened?”
Silence. “I…it’s a little hard to explain.”
“Maddie? You’re scaring me.”
“I got arrested.”
I pause. “Wait, what?”
“I’m at the Sherriff’s office.” She hesitates. “Back in Dark Moon Falls. Can you just come down here and get me, please? My car’s in the parking lot.”
“What parking lot?”
“The one outside my building.”
“I thought you were out running errands?”
She doesn’t offer an explanation.
“Where did you put my shoes?” I can’t find my shoes…
“By the TV.”
“What did you do?” She’s never even had so much as a parking ticket.
“I’ll explain when you get here.”
“Was it Barnett? Who arrested you?”
Hesitation. “Ralph.”
What the hell? “I’m on my way.”
* * *
I arrive at the Sherriff’s office in less than forty-five minutes. Ava, the dispatcher who’s worked here for eons, stands to greet me. She gives me a sympathetic look as she smooths the front of her slacks. “Hey, dear. You here for-”
I shoot past, hunting for Ralph.
“Oh dear,” she huffs and dials a number. “Sir, you better get out here.”
I’m met in the hallway by a wall of khaki and a badge. Barnett. He sees the look on my face and holds his hands out. “She’s fine,” he says calmly.
“Take me to her,” I spit out.
I’m not in the mood for pleasantries or paperwork. I want to make sure she’s okay.
I halfway expect to get pushback. They don’t make exceptions because someone’s sister is mad, but he surprisingly acquiesces.
I guess the Dad thing.
I follow him to the cells, and he starts to unlock the one in the back. “What happened?” I say, finally calming.
He gives me a strange look. Swings the door wide and motions in. “I’ll let her tell you.”
Puzzled, I rush past, and as I’m looking for a light switch…why would they have her sitting back here in the dark?...the door slams shut behind me, and he slides the lock into place.
What the…?
I bang on the plexiglass with my fist. “Barnett? What the hell are you—”
“I wouldn’t bother,” someone says behind me, defeated. But it’s not Maddie. “They won’t open it.”
Chills race down my spine, and I stutter out, “J…Jaxson?”
“Over here.”
I squint through the darkness and make out a shape in the corner. He’s in a chair. “What’re you doing in here? Where’s Maddie?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
“About why you’re here or about Maddie?”
As if on cue, a soft rap on the door steals my attention. Maddie. I rush over and press my hands against the glass. “What’s going on?”
She grimaces. “Sorry about this. I didn’t see any other way. You kind of put us in a time crunch with wanting to head home today.”
Us? Who’s us?
I’m at a loss for words.
She points behind me. “You only have fifteen minutes. Get to talking.”
What?
I look to Jaxson. “They want us to talk, I guess,” he adds.
“They?”
A shrug of his broad shoulders. “Barnett called me and told me there was an emergency here. Then he Shanghaied me like he did you.”
I shoot a glare at my sister through the door, but she’s already backing away with a victorious smile, finger still pointing. “Fifteen minutes!”
Brat.
She crossed a new line. This is beyond meddling. Why was me and Jaxson talking so damn important to everyone?
“I’ll get you for this!” I yell at her.
“I can live with that! I knew you’d never get over yourself long enough to talk it out with him, and we all knew he’s too respectful to push the issue.” A wink before she disappears behind a door. “Make it count.”
32
Just Talking
“I’m pretty sure this is illegal,” I grumble, making my way to Jaxson. “Sorry about this.” I could really just die from embarrassment. And I thought him catching me in a tiara and wolf shirt was bad. “My sister has issues.”
A grim chuckle. “Don’t we all?”
I nod my agreement, but I’m not sure he can see it.
Who thinks of this stuff?
Wait a sec…didn’t I see something like this in a movie? Something with…what’s that chick’s name from Sex and the City?
Sarah Jessica Parker.
This is basically a repeat of the end of it.
Failure to Fly? No, Failure to Launch.
My sister has officially been banned from all romcoms.
I make my way in his direction, and he offers me the only chair in the room. If I wasn’t still so stiff and sore, I’d decline.
When I’m settled, he props against the wall beside me. Gives me space to gather my thoughts. He’s already had time to do that.
Fifteen minutes.
“We could be defiant and not talk,” I say, halfway kidding. “Then what
would they do?”
He chuckles. “Ground us for another fifteen?”
Probably.
He slides to the floor. The dim light of the hallway illuminates his face enough for me to see the unease there.
He likes this about as much as I do.
“Or we could just talk,” I offer. Get it out of the way. Make them happy so they’ll let us leave.
“If that’s what you want.”
I grin. “Do you always have to be so chivalrous? Be a dick for once.”
“I thought I’d covered that already.”
True.
Awkward silence.
“Well…” I say with a sigh, reclining into the hard, plastic chair.” Here’s your chance to make your case.”
He hangs his head, runs his hands through his hair. Neither of us is happy it’s being forced on us, but it’s an opportunity, nonetheless. “I knew about Trenton,” he finally says.
My stomach drops. “Knew about him?” What does that mean?
“Not like, knew-knew. About what he did to piss you off, but everyone knows how he’s…”
“How he’s a raging douchebag?”
“Precisely. When you asked me that night if I was a wolf, I knew why.” He kicks at something on the floor. “Asshole almost ruined it for me before it barely even began.”
“I’d say you did a fine enough job of ruining things on your own.” I say it with an even tone, but flames fan again inside at the thought.
He doesn’t argue.
I’m going to need something more than a sorry this time around if we’re ever getting past this. Even as friends. I’m still not giving in on dating him. I’m in no condition.
But I do understand what he’s getting at. He was going to be punished for Trenton’s mistakes, and he couldn’t accept it. Thought maybe, after his nine Jack and Cokes, he would try to at least spin it in his favor.
He thought wrong.
“It was a stupid thing to do,” he admits. “A snap decision. And I won’t even blame it on the drinks. I guess I thought when you got to know me, it wouldn’t matter anymore. But I see how flawed that is in hindsight.”
“Way,” I agree. Way flawed.
“You’re right, though. I lied to manipulate you. But it wasn’t because I wanted to use you and throw you away.”
“Then what?” I counter.
“I wanted to get to know you and give you a chance to know me. I just wanted…I wanted a fighting chance.”
I rest my head against the wall with a sigh. Okay…that’s better than a sorry. He’s not out of the woods, though. “Why, though?” I ask, voice softening.
“Why what?”
“Why a fighting chance? To me, that suggests you were after more than a one-night stand at the bar, but you never gave me that impression.” If he was, he played it really damn cool.
Before he can answer, I lift my head and shoot him a smile. “And you better not say it was because I was different.”
“You might vomit?”
I laugh. “I’ll vomit.”
“Well…” he says thoughtfully. “First of all, you had on that Art School shirt. You had my attention right away.”
I snort inwardly. In a bar full of barely clothed women, he had his crosshairs on the girl with the art shirt.
I’ll guess I’ll buy it, knowing what I know now.
“Second, after less than a minute of conversation, I could tell you’re a woman who’s sure of herself. I like that.” A long pause. “Especially sexually.” My breath hitches. “I like that too. And you have layers to you. Layers I’m looking forward to peeling back—” He catches himself; that was too presumptuous. And it was, but I don’t interrupt, so he takes it as a sign of approval. “One by one. You’re tenacious and beautiful and maddening and just…fucking amazing. We like the same things—”
The words fly out, interrupting him before I have a chance to really think them through. “Funny,” I say, leaning toward him. “I like you for all those same reasons.” I then realize I said like, not liked. And I read everything into it.
He’s breaking my defenses again.
He shifts on the floor to face me. A burst of confidence. I’ve given him an inch….
“Rhee,” he says, and the sound of my name as it rolls off his tongue is…satisfying. “Will you at least be open to talking?”
I look to the ceiling with a sharp exhale. I’m open, I guess. Just not sold we’re ready for this yet. That I’m ready for this yet, so I try and break it to him the best way I know how, and if his patience with me this whole time has been an act, I’m about to find out. “Would it hurt your feelings if I say no?”
A long pause. “Maybe. It would, actually. But I’ll respect it.”
Huh.
I think hard before this next part but decide to say it anyway. “I just…have some shit to work out.”
He doesn’t pry.
“Then I’ll wait,” he says matter-of-factly.
I bark a laugh, but immediately reign it in. Now, I’m the one being a dick. “Sorry,” I say. “I’m not used to this.”
“Used to what?”
“Guys being…nice. Not completely egotistical and self-centered.”
“Then you were looking in the wrong places.”
I guess so. Looks like all the good ones live in mansions on a mountain. Go figure. “But that’s not fair to you. To wait for me to get my mental and emotional mess under control so whatever we have together isn’t a total train wreck.”
“Then it’ll give me time too.”
“Time?”
“I’ve got my own past demons to work through. This will force me to deal with them finally.”
Shit. Then we really have no business being together yet.
His voice lightens. “When you were snooping around my house, did you happen to run into an urn?”
I offer a rueful smile. “Yes?”
“That’s my dad. I banned him to the upstairs because I can’t stand to look at him.”
Oh. I can relate.
“It’s been half a damn century ago, but the pain is still raw.”
Half a century? Oh, right. He’s a wolf. They live longer.
I want to ask him what he did, but I know better. That’s for him to tell me. But it’s definitely not lost on me how that’s just another thing we have in common.
Damn, did Zenesha call it.
“We didn’t speak for years, and then he died.”
“And your mom?”
He goes silent.
“You don’t have to say.”
“No, it’s fine. One of the women he had an affair with went crazy with jealousy and killed her.”
Jesus. I shift in my chair, my instinct to immediately hug him, but I wait to see if he wants to tell me more.
He doesn’t.
“I know that pain, Jaxson. I’m sorry. I also know what it’s like to be judged based on someone else’s actions, and for that, I’m sorry too.”
It takes him a second to realize what I mean—that I judged him as a wolf, and basically all wolves, for that matter, based on the actions of another. Species-ist.
Something else for my future counselor.
“Thanks,” he says.
I then think back over his original question—if I would be open to at least talking. Maybe I was too quick to say no. We don’t have to date…like full blown date. Just stay in contact.
I move to sit beside him on the floor, the movement aggravating my bruised ribcage, and I try to keep my grunting to a minimum.
“You okay?” he asks tenderly.
“I will be.”
“I do like you,” he says simply. “But I understand your position.”
“Thanks.”
“At least you know where I am, right? If you ever change your mind.”
“I like you too.” The repeated admission is as painful as it is freeing, but I do. I bump into him playfully. “You do know I live like, five hours away, right?”
&nb
sp; A shrug. “What’s a little distance? I’ve always wanted to visit Portland.”
I beam like an idiot. “I hear we do have good wine. And a killer arts and crafts fair.”
He perks. “Now you’re talking.”
“You could sell your wood stuff.”
He laughs. “My wood stuff, huh?”
I reach over and give his necklace a tug. “I can see these selling.”
The graze of my fingers against his skin immediately sobers him, and he swallows hard. Gets it together.
Mr. Respectful.
I pick it up and tug at it, my mind officially made up. He tentatively allows me to guide him, and as our lips hover inches from each other, he says, “Rhee…are you sure?”
No. But I’m doing it anyway. “I think talking for a while won’t be so bad.”
His lips quirk into that gorgeous smile. “Just talking?”
My lips fuse to his in reply.
33
Details
Sex complicates things…or so they say. But when you’ve already had a drink of each other, it would complicate things even more to abstain. Even if you’re just talking.
At least, that’s what I’m telling myself as I climb on top of him.
As we kiss, as I breathe in his maddening scent and feel the hard planes of his body mold to mine, I realize what a huge jump this is for me. I’ve managed to clear a lot of hurdles in a short amount of time—openness. Forgiveness. And last but definitely not least, giving a wolf a shot in hell.
And no, it’s not lost on me how I had to nearly be killed and locked in a jail cell to accomplish it.
Who cares about details?
His strong hands grab my thighs, and I rock my hips against him, his erection pressing into me. Our kiss deepens.
The doorknob behind us turns, but we don’t break apart. In this moment, nothing in the world matters more than the two of us.
“You two playing nice in here?” my sister asks through the crack.
She flicks a light on. Sees us making out. “Oh...”
She flicks the light back off and leaves us to it.