The Hollowing (COYWOLF Series Book 2)

by Abby Tyson

  Savi was so distracted by everything Dave had said, on top of her own fears, that she hardly noticed when Marley, wearing a Florida Gators baseball hat, opened her door for her.

  "Ravishing as always, Ms. Claudie," he said, giving her a mock bow as she climbed in.

  As soon as he got in and closed his door, he leaned in for a kiss. Before their lips touched, she asked, "Are you going to break up with me tonight?"

  Marley's confused face hovered mere inches from hers. "What?"

  "If you are, you may as well do it now so we don't have to waste time on a fake date."

  Falling back in his seat, he said, "What are you talking about? Why would you ask me that?"

  The sharp pain in his face was all she needed to know that she'd been horribly wrong. She looked down at the purse in her lap, hating herself for more reasons than she could count. "I thought... with Lila around, maybe you weren't... since she's a coywolf, that maybe you wanted --"

  "Savi." Marley's hand slid over hers, squeezing it almost too hard. "Lila means nothing to me. I don't want anyone else but you."

  He sounded so sure, so convinced, but how could it possibly be true?

  "But she's so strong and skinny, and I'm --"

  "Tell me that you believe me." It wasn't a request, or a plea. It was an order.

  Still Savi couldn't let it go. "You guys would be perfect --"

  Marley slammed his fist on the dashboard, leaving a dent. "Do you want to break up with me?" he shouted.

  "No, but --"

  "Then drop it, okay?" he snapped, turning the car on and starting up the brick road.

  "I'm sorry," said Savi as he pulled onto the main street. "Dave was getting all psychobabble on me, and it messed with my insecure brain. Can we start over?"

  She sniffled and straightened up in her seat, giving him an exaggerated once over, although her ogling was fully warranted. His hunter green button-down shirt made his eyes even more arresting, and the fuzzy beard that had begun to grow over the past week was gone, leaving skin so smooth that his cheek was against the back of her fingers before she even realized her hand had moved.

  "You look particularly handsome today, Mr. Bolden."

  Marley's hard expression began to soften, and he even almost smiled as she wiggled her eyebrows at him. But when he spoke, his voice still held an edge. "Tonight," he corrected.

  "You know it's 3:15, right?"

  "Not according to this clock," he said, pointing at the car radio, which read 6:15. "I'm bringing you back to my place for a romantic candlelit dinner."

  "Oh, yes, of course." Savi gazed out the window at the cloudy sky. "Look at all those shimmering stars. Couldn't ask for a better night."

  At a red light, he took her hand and brought it to his lips. "And you are beautiful tonight, Ms. Claudie, as always."

  He leaned towards her, but as Savi moved to meet him, he pulled back and said, "Don't ever talk about us being apart again."

  Her first instinct was to say, I can talk about whatever I want. But seeing as how she'd already almost ruined their evening, she put her mouth to better use, like tasting Marley's lips.

  Savi stepped through the door to Marley's motel room. "Where'd you send Ren off to?"

  Closing the door behind them, he put the plastic bags with their dinner on the small table by the window, carefully avoiding the two tall, unlit candles in its center. Pulling out one of the chairs, he said, "Your table, madam?"

  "Ooh, fancy," she said, sitting down. "Thank you,"

  "Why do you want to know where Ren is?" asked Marley, closing the heavy drapes beside them.

  "Just wondering if I should expect him or Nissa or someone else to come barging in here."

  Marley picked up some matches from the nightstand. Lighting the candles, he asked, "Are you guys getting along better -- since the Zuun lab, I mean?"

  Savi watched the small flames flicker and come to life. "I've barely seen him since then, so... I don't know. Although when we were in the van, before we were caught, he was acting... different. I think he was apologizing for being mad at me for saying no to the origins, but he never actually said so." Savi laughed at the memory. "It was an odd conversation."

  Marley closed the curtains in front of the back slider door as well. Although there were no lights on, the candles and the weak glow of daylight along the edges of the drapes gave the room the same feel as if it were nighttime and they were indeed having a romantic dinner.

  "Why would you think we were getting along better?" asked Savi. "Did he say something to you?"

  He glanced at her before bending over to open the mini fridge. "No, it was just something Lila said, about when you guys were in the lab together. She said you two were laughing a lot."

  Savi remembered Ren laughing in the bed beside her, but the most vivid memories in that drugged up haze were of being forced to divulge her most intimate secrets, and that was the last thing she wanted to think about on a date.

  "Can we talk about something normal?" she asked. "Something other than me being held captive by bigoted scientists?"

  Placing two bottles of water on the table, he pulled his phone from his pocket. "You're the one who brought him up," he said, tapping the screen.

  "Yeah, because you two are sharing this room, not to discuss our shared traumatic experience." He was still looking at his phone. "What are you doing?"

  Slow, gentle notes of a piano filled the room, followed by the tender voice of a female jazz singer.

  "You like jazz?" asked Savi.

  "It's okay," he said, putting his phone on the nightstand. Savi started pulling the takeout containers from the bags.

  "Don't!"

  Savi nearly dropped the box in her hand at Marley's shout. "Why?" she asked with a startled laugh.

  He took the container from her. "You aren't lifting a finger tonight." Savi bristled at the commanding tone, but then he took one of her hands and brought it to his lips, and she forgave him.

  It's my fault he's so nervous. Leave it to me to begin a first date by talking about breaking up.

  Dave's words about keeping people at arm's length, and forcing those around her to make a special effort, once again echoed in her mind.

  I've certainly been doing that with Marley, she thought, watching him free their plastic wrapped utensils and open their boxes of Thai food.

  But aren't you supposed to do that with guys? To make sure they're actually interested in you and not just your body?

  "What are you thinking about?" asked Marley, placing her meal in front of her.

  His nervous smile, the sincerity in his voice, the warmth in his eyes -- Savi felt a sudden wave of regret at the way she had been treating him. The image of him on the shore at Alligator River, the morning after he'd been stabbed, flashed before her. She'd been so relieved to see him, she hadn't wanted to let him go.

  "I'm sorry," she said.

  His smile disappeared. "Why? What's the matter?"

  "You're always really sweet to me, and I'm always... not so much."

  "You've been through a lot," he said, reaching across the table to cover her hand with his. "You're still going through a lot."

  "See?" she said with a tearful laugh, "super sweet." He started to say something else, but she waved him silent, smiling away her tears. "This is supposed to be our perfect date. Pretend I've been nothing but charming and funny so far."

  "Deal," he said, "as long as you forget that there's no kitchen in this place and pretend that I've spent the past hour chopping vegetables and cooking up this incredible meal."

  Picking up her fork, Savi said, "Dinner smells delicious. Did you use a recipe?"

  Chapter Thirty

  The date steadily improved as the "night" wore on. There were a few awkward moments, like when Marley insisted on feeding Savi some of his meal, or when she mentioned how uncomfortable the bed in the cottage was and he immediately got up to give her a massage, but ended up bruising her with his overly powerful fingers. But mostly i
t was pleasant -- especially when he wasn't talking with his mouth full -- and they delved deeper into each other's lives, building on the conversation they'd had on the way to Roanoke.

  "So, this might be an awkward question," started Savi, as Marley cleared the table, "but if your mom was a coyote, and the only time your dad saw your mom was when he was a werewolf, which he has no memory of when he's human, how exactly did you and Ren -- or any coywolf, for that matter -- survive when you were a baby?"

  As he put their leftovers in the fridge, Marley pulled out another plastic container and a can of whipped cream. "Dad said that all he remembers is waking up one day, and hearing babies crying inside a den beside him. Apparently he and his wife, Farida -- my ex-stepmom -- had been trying to have a baby for a while, so when he brought us home, she thought we were a gift from God. Dad wanted to bring us to the police, but agreed to wait a day, to give her some time with us. When we altered into coywolves that night, it didn't take much to figure out we were his." He put the plastic container, which held two large brownies, on the table.

  "That must have been really hard on -- what was it? Farida?"

  Marley shrugged. "She did her best, but she never really warmed up to me and Ren. Dad made up for it though." He opened the brownies and put one on a small paper plate for her. "Ren found out later -- I guess from Patty -- that coywolves are born animal and stay that way until the first full moon cycle after we turn a month old. Otherwise I doubt any of us would make it." Smiling, he asked, "Any other morbid questions?"

  "I was curious!" she laughed. Surveying their dessert, she said, "These look delicious. You must have spent hours slaving over a hot oven making these perfect brownies."

  "Peanut butter chip brownies," he clarified, beaming with pride.

  Savi peered closer at the chocolate square in front of her and noticed the tan specks. "Ooh, this night just got interesting."

  "Whipped cream?" he asked, wiggling the can with mischief in his eyes.

  "No, thanks."

  "What?" He staggered back with a hand over his heart. "You're kidding. Whipped cream has got to be the best humanity has to offer."

  Savi shrugged. "It doesn't do it for me."

  He held it out to her. "Here, try a mouthful and tell me you don't want this cloud of goodness floating on your brownie."

  Smiling, she put up her hand to block it. "I'm good, thanks."

  "I insist," he said, bringing the spout right next to her mouth. "If you don't open your mouth I'll just spray it all over you." Bringing his lips close to hers, he whispered, "and then I'll have to lick it off."

  She knew he was trying to be sexy, but the thought of being covered in sticky whipped cream was not arousing to Savi in the slightest. In fact, she was starting to get irritated at his refusal to accept her wishes, but then she reminded herself of her promise to be less prickly, and whipped cream wasn't so bad that she wanted to ruin their night over it.

  "Fine," she said with a forced laugh, reaching for the can.

  "Nope," he said, keeping it away from her. "The best way is when you don't know it's coming."

  "I find that hard to believe." But she opened her mouth like a baby bird, feeling ridiculous.

  Her mouth filled with the sugary fluff. Marley filled his own mouth, then nodded expectantly, moaning with satisfaction. When her mouth was empty, she shrugged. "Meh."

  He shook his head, unbelieving. "Opposites attract, I guess." Hiding his brownie beneath a white foam blanket, he sat down. "So how is it living with your mom and Dave?"

  Savi had been waffling on whether to tell him about her mom all night. It wasn't a particularly happy subject -- to her, at least. But if she was trying to be more open with him...

  "He asked her to marry him."

  Marley's fork froze halfway out of his mouth.

  "She said yes."

  "Wow. That's crazy."

  "Right?" Savi was relieved he agreed with her. "She told him how Berto forced her to come down here, and somehow that made them reach the conclusion that getting married is the smartest thing to do."

  Marley took another bite. "I can see how that might happen."

  Pushing back against the disappointment that coursed through her, and forcing herself to look at Marley's eyes rather than the brown and white mush in his mouth, she asked, "How?"

  "Picture it," he said, staring past her and becoming more wistful with every word. "They're talking about how quickly life can turn a corner, how everything can change in the blink of an eye, how one day you wake up and regret the things you never did, not to waste the time you have, how family and those you love are the most important..." His eyes flickered to hers, but quickly settled on his brownie. "I can see how they'd get there."

  Savi sat back and folded her arms. "That's what they said."

  "I think it's romantic," he said. "You said before that he's a good guy and they definitely love each other. So what's the problem?"

  "Problem?" Savi scoffed. "I don't know, maybe that she doesn't even know what happened to Monty, or what he really was."

  "You haven't told her yet?"

  "I didn't want to mess up her relationship with Dave by drudging up old emotions."

  "But you just said her not knowing will mess up their marriage."

  Savi groaned. "Because she's obviously not over him. Not having closure will eventually eat away at her."

  Shrugging, Marley said, "Then I guess you need to tell her."

  "But what if she has a breakdown like she used to, and Dave realizes she doesn't love him as much as she loved Monty, and he leaves her? Either way, it's my fault."

  Marley leaned forward, the candlelight reflecting in his eyes. "Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds, or bends with the remover to remove: O no; it is an ever-fixed mark, That looks on tempests, and is never shaken."

  "Is that your way of saying that you and Shakespeare think I should tell her, and hopefully they'll work it out?"

  Hanging his head, Marley laughed softly.

  "What?" she asked.

  He bit his lip as he gazed back up at her, making Savi's own lips tingle in anticipation of meeting his. Standing up, he extended his hand. "May I have this dance?"

  Leading her to the space between the two beds, which had been pushed farther apart for apparently just this reason, he put a hand on the small of her back and drew her close, holding her other hand against his shoulder.

  "What I'm saying," he said softly into her ear, "is that love is stronger than you give it credit for."

  There is no greater fear than love.

  Pushing Berto's words down alongside her anxiety about her mom, Savi rested her head on Marley's shoulder. Closing her eyes, she listened to the singer's slow, smooth voice, and waited for the scent of cedar that was usually so strong on him to envelop her. But after seven days on the road, his usual fragrance was gone, replaced by brownie breath and musty motel.

  So she focused on Marley's arms instead, always so tender, so gentle, and the sensations of her body moving with his. She let go of his hand and put her arms around his neck. His hand slipped down to join the other on her back, and her body quivered at the motion. Taut muscles rippled beneath his skin, and the memories of him leaving a dent in the dashboard, or lifting a car, were so counter to his soft touch that she could scarcely believe it was the same person holding her.

  The song ended too soon, and Savi started to pull away. Marley held her tight, and she didn't resist. A saxophone began a smooth and seductive song as one of his hands slid to rest above the halter top knot at the base of her neck. Her skin was especially sensitive there, accustomed to having a protective curtain of hair to hide it, so when Marley's thumb began gently rubbing back and forth, her whole body caught fire from the feel of it.

  "Savannah," he whispered, his lips lightly grazing her bare shoulder, "the open plain." He kissed her softly. "No faults, only graceful curves where I rest my head."

  Savi felt dizzy with ecstasy. He'd written this
poem for her -- about her.

  Kissing her after every line, he slowly traced a path along her shoulder and up her neck. "The forbidding cloak of clouds is shed, disrobed by warm breath on my skin."

  He gently nudged the strap of her dress aside to kiss her skin beneath it. She trembled with pleasure, her legs weak as he continued his ascent.

  "More stars than dreams, heaven's eyes spell the name of my angel." His breath was hot as he whispered the final word into her ear.

  "Savannah."

  He tipped her chin up, giving her a glimpse of the hunger in his eyes, every muscle in his face taut with need. Then his lips were on hers, and she answered him with her own hunger. The need to touch Marley and be touched by him was all she knew.

  Lips pressed to his, she clawed at the buttons of his shirt, demanding -- needing -- to find his skin. But even when the button-down was gone, his chest was still covered. She couldn't get beneath his t-shirt fast enough for either of them, and Marley ripped it over his head, tearing the flimsy cotton. Hearing such evidence of his strength stoked the flames of Savi's primal desire further, and as his bare chest pressed against her, they both moaned with pleasure. She clung to him, running her hands through his hair and down his bulging arms and over his back, tasting him all the while, yet unable to quench her need.

  Then his hands started searching for her skin. He was as unsatisfied with her bare arms as hers had been, but when his fingers began untying the knot of her dress, the icy chill of reality poured over her.

  Don't lose yourself, said her mom's familiar voice.

  But another voice, just as strong, unexpectedly countered, Keeping those who care about you at a distance hasn't worked in the past, and it will only make things harder in the long run.

  She had to stop pushing Marley away. Wasn't that what she'd promised to herself barely an hour earlier?

  Marley's hands, hot on her skin, had stilled, resting on her bare back. He pressed his forehead to hers and took a steadying breath. Instead of letting him calm down, Savi grabbed his face and brought it to hers, wrapping her arms around his neck, urging him on.

  After only a moment's hesitation, he lifted her off the floor. Their lips remained locked together as Marley lowered her onto the bed. Her heart started pounding as the familiar fears tightened her throat and gnawed at her mind, but she held Marley to her, not wanting a breath between them.