by M. J. O'Shea
“So good,” PC moaned. “I had no idea it would feel like this.”
I managed to smile through the pleasure haze. “I doubt it usually does,” I murmured into his neck and arched my hips against him.
“I’m sure you can guess but I’ve, uh, never done anything like this before.”
“Yeah, me neither.”
“Wait, were you into girls before this? Oh no, I’m so sorry―”
I cut him off with a kiss. “No, I’m not straight, just really shy. I’ve gotten a few offers, but they weren’t what I wanted.”
“To be completely honest, I wasn’t exactly a raging hormonal straight guy either. I was telling the truth when I said I’d never noticed a guy, but I hadn’t really noticed women either. You’re the first person I’ve ever wanted like this.”
“Me too—well, except for Zack.” I couldn’t resist teasing him. PC bolted up into a sitting position and looked at me accusingly.
“My Zack?”
I laughed and pulled him back down, cuddling him close in my arms where he belonged. “I think he’s Noah’s Zack, but yeah, him. He’s pretty hot. I had a huge crush on him at the beginning of the school year. Funny how it’s vanished completely.”
PC looked mulish. “You sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure.” I chuckled again. “Hey, what do you care anyway? After this bond is broken, you’ll take off. I should be able to have a crush on whoever I want… not like I could compete with Noah, God of Gorgeousness, anyway.”
PC made a low growling noise in the back of his throat. The hair on the back of my neck rose, but the shivers were pleasurable.
“You’re mine,” he growled from his throat, and I realized I’d better lighten the mood before I lost it.
“Of course I’m yours, silly. At least until your mother gets here.”
He made a half growl, half grunt noise and tugged on my arm until it was wrapped around his waist. He turned, then, and wriggled closer until we were connected from our shoulders all the way to our toes, my chest plastered up against his back. My body shivered and settled again. We fit together so perfectly. I inhaled contentedly, loving his skin and the clean smell of his sweat. Then I cuddled my face to the back of his head. And I’ll be damned if it wasn’t there… the faint sweet fragrance of coconut.
Chapter 6: Explanations
I WOKE to the insistent vibrating of my cell phone. It took me a while to come out of my warm, sleepy haze. It had been months since I slept so comfortably—if ever. I leaned over to get my phone from the bedside table and PC tightened his arm around my waist, pulling me back against him. Sometime during the night we’d shifted so he was holding me, his arm and leg sprawled across my body. I shouldn’t have been surprised by how amazing it felt.
The message on my phone screen made me laugh:
Are u alive?
Hey Lisa. I’m fine now… well sort of. You’ll never believe what’s going on.
There was a long pause. I snuggled back into PC’s arms and closed my eyes, thinking maybe she’d reply later. The buzzing on my chest after a few minutes woke me up from a half doze.
I’m glad you’re fine. Now I can come kill you!! What do you mean sort of ok? WTF is going on?
I’m working at 3. Come to the store. There’s way too much to explain over the phone.
You better tell me everything. No more of that evading shit.
I will…. Jeesh! I’m going to go back to sleep for a minute. I slept like crap for the past few days.
Ok. C u at 3.
I dropped my phone on the floor next to my bed and flopped back into the pillows.
“Why are you awake?” PC’s sleep-grumbly voice rumbled against my side.
“My phone woke me up. A friend was texting to see if I was okay.”
He pulled me close, smiling with his eyes closed. He took a gentle bite of my shoulder. “Are you okay?”
I grinned and climbed on top of him, squirming against his skin. “You tell me. How do I feel?”
He moaned. “You feel amazing.” He squished his face up. “Jesus, Miles, we shouldn’t keep doing this kind of stuff. It’s probably going to make the bond stronger.”
I put my finger on his lips.
“Shhhh. Just kiss me.”
WE GOT to the store around two thirty. It gave me a half hour until my shift, supposedly to get ready, but in actuality I spent it walking around the store with PC, pointing out all my favorite books.
Turned out we had similar taste. PC wasn’t much into the paranormal stuff, with vampires and werewolves. He said it was annoying when they got all the details wrong. But he liked sci-fi and said that even before I worked at the store, he’d spent long hours in there with his head buried in the books. It was only in recent months that he’d stopped coming because he felt so strange in his skin that he couldn’t sit still long enough to read.
“I’m glad you came in the night I saw you,” I murmured, straightening a row of books out of habit.
“Something told me I wanted to be here. I knew the second I walked in who you were, and I spent the whole night watching you. I wanted to tell you that I was the wolf so bad, but I figured you’d think I was nuts.”
I smiled and touched his nose with my fingertip. “Obviously not. As soon as I saw your eyes, I knew it was you. They’re so beautiful.”
He leaned in and nipped my lower lip. “I should probably stop doing that, but it’s really hard,” PC whispered.
“Then don’t stop. It’s just for today, right?”
I kissed him again, backing him into the bookshelf, my arms on either side of his head. I let my tongue slip inside and rub against his. Soft, warm fingers crept under my shirt to rest on the small of my back. I trembled. His taste was hypnotic, exciting and newly familiar. I wanted more. Last night had been nowhere near enough.
“Miles, are you in here?” Lisa’s voice rounded the corner to the row where PC and I were hiding. “Oh.” She sounded embarrassed. Nowhere near as embarrassed as I felt.
“Uh, Lisa, this is PC. PC, Lisa.” I could feel my face heat up. Not exactly how I wanted that introduction to go.
She was standing there with her hand on her hip and a bewildered look on her face.
“Are you going to tell me what’s going on with you, Miles? First you get mugged and start acting all weird, then you disappear and say you’re sick when you’re obviously not, and now I find you in the store, out of nowhere making out with some random boy, an adorable random boy I have to say, but still. What’s the deal?”
“Lis, PC is the guy who saved my ass that night.”
She regarded me silently for a few long stressful moments.
“Why do I feel like there’s more?”
PC gave me a wary look and I nodded. It was okay to tell her. He dipped his chin in agreement. Ha. We we’re doing the silent talking, just like Zack and Noah.
“There’s so much more than I can even begin to explain.”
“You’d better start trying.”
PC chuckled. “I think I like this girl.”
I looked over to where Megan was organizing her sandwiches. For a second I grinned, wondering if she’d notice the one I pilfered the previous night, and then I remembered the task at hand.
“Let’s sit. You guys want coffee?” They both shook their heads.
I looked at PC, hoping he would rescue me. He gave me a look that said “No way, she’s your friend, you deal with this,” then proceeded to play with the corner of a magazine that had been tossed on the low coffee table between the chairs.
“Hey, are you guys trying to have a heart-to-heart or something, ’cause I could always take my lunch?” Megan called from behind her counter. I was surprised. It was the nicest thing she had ever done. “Not that it wouldn’t be fun to watch you tell crush girl that you’re the biggest homo in the universe.” And then she was back to being Megan.
Lisa glared. “I know he’s gay, thanks. But it would be great if you could vacate for a while.”<
br />
I was grateful to Lisa for talking so I didn’t end up saying something, then wishing I hadn’t.
“Leaving,” Megan held up her purse as evidence and flounced out the door.
“Okay, Miles. You’ve probably got twenty minutes to spit whatever it is out before she comes back. I’m guessing this isn’t coffee bitch’s business, whatever you’ve got to tell me.”
“No. This isn’t anyone’s business. So our secret, okay? I just think you need to know if we’re going to keep being friends.”
“Yeah, lips sealed. Promise.” She turned to PC. “So you really saved him that night? No offense, but you’re not any bigger than Miles. Are you like the Karate Kid or something?”
I chuckled. “Not even close. Okay, so there’s a reason I was acting really weird after that night in the alley….”
I proceeded to tell her the whole unbelievable story, from the night in the alley to recognizing his eyes in the bookstore. Every few seconds she’d glance over at PC, as if she was waiting for him to contradict one of my seemingly wild and impossible statements. Every time he didn’t, her eyes grew wider. When I was done, she looked at me in shock for a few long, silent seconds before she burst into laughter.
“That was pretty freaking good, Miles. You had me going for a second there.”
I smiled at her laughter but remained sincere.
“Lisa, it’s not a joke. Everything I just said is completely true.”
“What? You’ve gotta be effing kidding me. There’s no such thing as werewolves.”
PC made an annoyed growling noise in the back of his throat. “Yes there is, but I’m not one of them. I’m a lycan. It’s very different.”
It was the first time PC had spoken. Lisa looked at him skeptically. “You two really expect me to believe this?”
“Well, actually…. PC, can you prove it? Or do you have to get mad to, uh, change?”
“We call it shifting, remember?” PC answered. “And, sure, I can show her.”
Lisa’s eyes grew wide. “Wait, so you’re going to turn into a wolf, like, right here?”
“Sure.” PC rolled his eyes and chuckled.
“Now?”
“Why not?” He was so casual about the whole thing that it was almost funny to watch. While PC was laid back and unconcerned, Lisa was about to blow a hundred different gaskets. All I could do was chuckle.
She looked at me. “Miles, go lock the door. Put the Out to Lunch sign up. I’ve gotta see this.”
I jumped up and headed for the door, locked it, and pulled down the shades, then quickly flipped the sign to say that we would be back soon. I was eager to see PC’s wolf form again too. I wanted to pet the soft gold fur and feel the strength of his presence.
“I, um, have to take my clothes off or they’ll get shredded.”
Lisa scoffed. “It’s nothing I’ve never seen before, honey. Go for it.”
He stripped quickly, looking vaguely embarrassed. As soon as he was naked, he crouched down. His form glowed slightly for a few seconds, then started changing. It was fast. I couldn’t see his skin turn to fur, or his legs and arms change shape, but there was no magic trick. It was obviously him. Less than two seconds after he bent over, a huge red-gold wolf was standing in his place. Even though I expected it to happen and knew what he looked like in his wolf form, I was still awestruck.
My mouth was wide open, I’m sure. Lisa’s was too. She took a step closer. Just like me, she didn’t seem to be even remotely afraid.
“He’s gorgeous.” She stared for a few long moments. “You’re right, Miles. The eyes are the same. Can he understand us?”
I nodded and sank cross-legged to the floor.
“Hey,” I murmured and held out my arms.
PC trotted over to me and walked right into them. I wrapped myself around him, inhaling the sweet coconut smell of his fur. He nuzzled my neck with his wet nose and gave the curve of my ear a gentle lick. I shivered.
Lisa was standing behind him with her arm outstretched.
“Go ahead,” I whispered.
She drifted to her knees and reached out to sink her fingers into PC’s warm fur. It was impossible to resist him. I don’t know how long we sat there running our fingers through his coat before PC stood slowly, grabbed his folded jeans and shirt in his mouth, and ambled behind a row of bookshelves. When he came back out, he was pulling on his T-shirt.
“I like being the wolf.” He grinned. “Everybody pets me.”
Lisa and I both laughed, breaking the solemnity of the earlier minutes.
“You smell nice too,” she told him with a smile. “Like coconuts.”
PC made a grumbling noise. “Leila shampoos me sometimes when I’m in my wolf form. I hate being dirty. She always uses her stupid girly soap, though. It’s hard to be menacing when I smell like Victoria’s Secret.”
Lisa and I both laughed at that.
“Who’s Leila?” I asked.
“One of my nosy roommates. You’ll meet her tonight, probably.” He glanced at Lisa. “She’s not a huge fan of getting up early.”
“PC, Lisa already knows so much. Can’t we just tell her the whole thing?”
Lisa rolled her eyes. “You better. Start with the beginning.”
So we did. PC told her about lycans and werewolves, vampires and witches and hunters. I added to the conversation when there was something I knew—which was understandably not very often. Most of what he was telling Lisa was news to me too. I learned about PC’s family who lived in Europe and how Noah and Zack had to rescue his mom and cousin from his crazy vampire-hunting grandfather and the rest of his bloodthirsty clan. There was so much to know. I realized that what he was telling us was probably nowhere near even scratching the surface. Lisa and I spent much of the conversation with our jaws on the table. When we got to the part about Zack and Noah, she actually laughed out loud.
“Wait? Hottie Zack from class is a vampire?”
“Yeah, and his boyfriend is too,” I answered. “And wait till you see that one. He looks like he fell out of a Michelangelo painting or something.”
Lisa screeched again and started to giggle. “Zack’s got a boyfriend? Since when is he gay?”
I laughed along with her. “Probably since always, you dork.”
“Aren’t there any straight guys left for me?”
“Nah, we’re taking over the world. I already drafted this one onto the dark side.”
PC smirked and pinched me lightly on the arm.
“And your roommates are both vampires but girls?” Lisa asked PC.
He nodded. “Leila is Persian. She’s very old, but you’d never be able to tell. Amanda is Noah’s cousin. Noah and Zack turned her a few months ago because her crazy gramps shot her and she was bleeding to death. It was their only choice. She’s eighteen too and a total brat. I love her, though. Leila’s boyfriend isn’t a vampire. At least, not yet. He’s a witch, but I think he’s considering being turned.”
“PC, hold on. You guys hunt bad vampires?” My mind stuck back at the part of the conversation where he’d casually mentioned that he and his friends regularly went out to investigate violent offenders.
“Yeah, and other creeps. Somebody’s gotta do it.” He shrugged. “Can you imagine if they got to roam around wreaking havoc unchecked?”
We both shook our heads, unable to think of what else to say. The thought of PC and my two new vampire friends roaming around hunting like Buffy and her crew kind of did my head in.
Lisa finally spoke. “The only thing you left out is what’s happening between you two. Is this just puppy love?” She grinned at her own joke.
I wasn’t quite done with the violent offender hunting, but I let the subject go. “Not exactly,” I murmured. PC and I exchanged a look. “Have you heard of imprinting? Not like baby animals with their moms, but like what, uh, wolves do. You know, in stories, with their mate?”
She grinned. “What girl hasn’t? Hunky shirtless tattooed werewolf can’t help bu
t to want to be near you and get all hot and jealous―wait a second. You two?”
We nodded. I tried not to smile, but it was impossible to hold back. Lisa smothered a laugh.
“Since when?”
“We think since always, at least since Miles was born,” PC answered. “I’m a few months older. We’ve been unknowingly drawn to each other since we were kids and living on the opposite side of the country. Miles always wanted to come here.”
“And PC used to have dreams about rowan trees and looking for something he needed.” Lisa’s eyes widened. “I think there’s more too. Didn’t you say you started shifting when you were seventeen, and you had a hard time with it because you kept getting angry?”
PC nodded.
“That was junior year. It was awful. I was always fighting with my mother over nothing, getting these flashes of weird anger, and I spent a ton of time in my room with the curtains drawn. I don’t know what my problem was. It could have been me affecting you; it could have been the other way around. Who knows?”
“So you think we can feel each other’s emotions, like Zack and Noah can?”
“Yeah. I think we probably can. We haven’t tried to do it consciously, but we’ve been probably been communicating for years.”
“Wow….” Lisa glanced back and forth between us.
“The first time I saw him as a human, when I saw his eyes, I just walked around the counter and kissed him. I didn’t say a single word. It was like I couldn’t control my body. I had to touch him.”
“And it felt so familiar,” PC added. “I’d never done anything like that before, but I felt like I’d kissed you a thousand times.”
“You’ve never kissed anyone else?” I felt my heart melt a little.
“No. I’ve spent most of the years since I was old enough either worrying about why I wasn’t shifting or trying to figure out how to control it once I started. And then there’s the charming side effect of looking like one of Peter Pan’s lost boys. Wouldn’t exactly land me a hottie at the club.”
I grinned at him.
“You don’t look that young. Plus, I think you’re hot. Isn’t that all that matters?” At least for now….