by C. Larsen
"Oh, come on, it's a party." He gives me a crooked grin.
"Yeah, well, it looks like I'm playing DD tonight."
"That's no fun."
"Someone has to cart your drunk ass home," Gray says, taking my place to support Caiden. I relinquish my position and massage out my shoulder. Caiden’s a lot heavier than he looks.
"I thought you were staying," I say coolly.
He gives me a half-grin. "You can't expect me to be thrilled about driving your ex-boyfriend home. It's not exactly the way I envisioned this night turning out."
"No one's forcing you. I'm sure you can find a ton of girls here who'd be more than happy go home with you," I respond haughtily.
His grin widens, heating up his eyes. "Yeah, well, I don't want to go home with any of the girls here. Just you, moya luna." He winks.
I roll my eyes at him. "Then I guess you're going to have to go home with me and my pretend ex-boyfriend."
Caiden, oblivious to everything else, picks up on my last comment.
"I'm going home with you, Em?" He smiles. "We gonna have another sleepover?"
Gray raises an eyebrow at me and I feel my face heat up. "He crashed on my couch when he was guarding me against you."
"Yeah, I remember," Gray says.
"What do you mean ‘you remember'? You weren't even in town yet... were you?"
Gray gives me a look while weaving in between people, leading Caiden toward the front door. "Just because you didn't see me doesn't mean I wasn't there."
My eyebrows shoot up. "You were stalking me?"
"Mm hmmm." He nods. "While Caiden was snoozing on your couch, I was up all night guarding your house."
"What? Why?"
"To keep you safe, of course."
"Um, thank you?" I'm not sure how to respond to that, so my thank you comes out more like a question. "Wait—you didn't come to town until after Bianca's party. How could you have been spying on me then? That happened right after our trip to Ashwood. There's no way you found me that fast."
Gray rolls his eyes. "I followed you back to town less than twelve hours after we caught you two sneaking around Madelyn's. You were ridiculously easy to track, even across two states."
I shake my head, not wanting to dwell on Gray's stalker tendencies right now. "Let's just get him home."
"Where does he live?"
"Actually..." I watch Caiden's glazed eyes stare vacantly around. "It might be a better idea to have him crash on my couch again... I don't want his mom to see him like this." Their relationship is strained enough without him coming home drunk.
"You've got to be kidding me..." Gray grumbles.
Caiden's bleary eyes focus on Gray. "What's he doing here?"
"He's coming home with us."
"He's not coming to the sleepover, is he?" Caiden stage-whispers to me, smiling playfully. "You should tell him to leave. Have it just be you and me."
I stiffen, his words reminding me of our conversation earlier in the week. "There is no you and me," I say coldly.
Gray easily drags Caiden out to the street. After opening the back door to Gray’s Hummer, I turn to help Caiden inside.
Emerald eyes capture mine and a wave of dizziness washes over me. There's a slight pressure behind my eyes and then the rest of the world fades away. It's just me and Caiden, his heated gaze igniting a fire deep in my gut.
My lips part on a gasp and I bite my lower lip, imagining Caiden's mouth on mine. I can feel his lips, soft and hot, moving against mine, his tongue invading my mouth as his body presses me down on the hard ground. I hitch my knees up to give him better access and groan as I feel him press into me.
Then someone clears their throat and I blink, coming back to reality. Thin filaments still cloud my mind, urging me to go to Caiden, to take him in my arms, press myself against him. I fight the compulsion, shaking my head to clear it.
When the last of the cobwebs fade away, I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Damn, Caiden's powers are stronger than I remember.
Being from the Love Gods, Caiden has quite a potent ability to cast lust spells, but I didn't know he could cast such powerful, realistic illusions. I can still feel his warmth all along my skin, the hard jut of his body pressing into mine.
I know from past experiences that Caiden absolutely loathes this power of his. The last time he accidentally did something similar, he was so horrified he barely spoke to me for days.
Looking at him now, I doubt he has any idea what he just did, and if I have any say in it, he never will.
I clear my throat and try to slow my pounding heart.
"Help me get him in the car,” I say to Gray, trying to appear normal. I don't think it works. He’s staring at me like I've grown two heads.
Caiden suddenly goes limp. Gray snaps out of it and lurches to catch him. I guess Caiden’s accidental power surge used up the last of his energy. He's completely spent.
We help Caiden into the backseat of the Hummer, Gray tossing me strange looks the whole time. As soon as Gray and I are settled in the front seat, he turns to me.
"What the hell was that about?"
"What?"
"The moaning? The licking your lips? You looked like you were about to tackle Caiden to the ground."
"Oh, that..."
"Yes, that. Pretty weird, Ems," Gray says, a joking tone to his voice. "Especially considering the guy is practically comatose. I'm all for having a good time, but I draw the line at helping you take advantage of the drunk and defenseless."
My eyes widen at his insinuation. "Oh my God, Gray. It so wasn't like that."
"Looked that way to me," he says, only half joking as he pulls away from the curb.
"If anything, it was the other way around," I say, rolling my eyes. I know Gray is only kidding, but I feel an absurd need to defend myself. "He's the one with the lust mojo, I just got caught up in his spell."
Gray's face scrunches up. " 'Got caught up in his spell'? Are you trying to be poetic or something? 'Cause I gotta tell you, I'm no good at riddles."
"What? No. I'm being serious. Caiden's from the Love God Class. He has the ability to alter people's moods and emotions. Sometimes he does it unintentionally."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up. Caiden had you under some sort of spell? Some trance that got you all hot and bothered and made you moan like that?" I expect Gray to be amused, but instead his face darkens with anger. "Has he ever used it on you before? Is that why you're so hung up on him? Has he been manipulating you, forcing you to—"
"What? Of course not, Gray! Don't be ridiculous. Caiden would never manipulate anyone like that."
"He just did! What would have happened if I wasn’t here? Do you have any idea how dangerous that could have been?"
"Relax, Gray. Jeez, nothing even happened. He sent a few images my way, made me feel a little...whatever. I broke out of it in less than a minute. It never would have happened to begin with if he hadn't been completely trashed; he didn't know what he was doing. If he ever finds out that he so much as sent a whisper of power in my direction, he'll be horrified."
Gray visibly unclenches his jaw. "I still say he's dangerous."
"Funny; I'm pretty sure he'd say the same about you."
A small smirk appears on Grays lips, the anger fading, softening the planes of his face. "Probably. The difference is, I've never pretended to be an angel."
Chapter 8
When we get back to my house, Gray helps me carry Caiden inside and settles him on the living room couch.
"You're not gonna puke, are you Caid?" I ask, eyeing the white carpet. "We just had these carpets steam-cleaned. Took them days to get out the blood stains from my dad's attack."
"Nah, won't puke. Your carpet’s safe." Caiden leans his head back against the couch and closes his eyes. At least he’s more coherent than he was on the way home.
"Gray, can you get him some water? And some aspirin? It's in the cabinet in the bathroom over there. He's gonna have one hell of a headache
in the morning."
"It'll serve him right," Gray grumbles. "I finally get you to agree to go out with me and he crashes the date."
"Date?” I scoff. “I only agreed to the party because you were withholding information.”
"Whatever you need to tell yourself, lyubimaya," he says.
I raise one eyebrow at this new Russian endearment, but Gray's already left the room. I hear him rummaging around in the bathroom for aspirin and I smile to myself.
"What's so funny?" Caiden's eyes are open now, watching me hazily.
"Nothing, Caid."
"Hm," he grunts, shifting into a more comfortable position. "I thought you were laughing at our role reversals. Usually you're the one getting wasted at parties."
"That's true." A small smile touches my lips. I sit down on the sofa next to him. "So, what happened? Why were you even there tonight? And why on earth would you try to match Ryan Winters for shots? What were you thinking?"
"Ah, that's the thing. I'm tired of thinking. Tired of always having to be in control. It doesn't do any good. I couldn't fix Lydia. I killed your mom. Never does any good..." he mumbles, eyes drifting shut.
"What? Wait, Caiden!" I shake him, forcing his eyes open. "What do you mean you killed my mom? That wasn't you, that was Caroline. She said so herself. Caroline killed my mom."
"It was me," he mumbles, bleary eyes half shut. "It was me. I love you, and I killed your mom. My fault. I killed her. Killed Lydia. Killed them both..." Caiden trails off, slumped against the side of the couch, mouth slightly open, fast asleep.
I sit frozen, breath trapped in my lungs. I don't know if I'm more shocked about his confession about my mom or those three little words that have my head spinning and heart threatening to pound out of my chest.
I love you.
I killed your mom.
I don't know which one to process first.
"Everything okay in here?" Gray asks from the doorway, water and aspirin in hand.
"Uh, yeah," I say, clearing my throat. "Why wouldn't it be?"
Gray gives me a look. "Em, I can hear your heart pounding from the other side of the house. You think I didn't hear what Caiden just said?"
"Right. No secrets with a werewolf in the house I guess."
"Try living in an entire town filled with them," he says, giving me a rueful look. I smile half-heartedly. "Come on, let's go get some sleep." He places the water and bottle of pain-killers next to the couch for Caiden in the morning, then takes my hand and begins pulling me up the stairs. I follow along in a daze until we get to my bedroom.
What did Caiden mean? He killed my mom? Not possible. He doesn't know what he's saying. He's delirious.
The sight of Gray pulling off his shirt snaps me back to the present.
"Whoa there, big fella. What do you think you're doing?"
"Getting ready for bed."
"You think you're sleeping in here? With me?"
"You're letting Caiden sleep over. I should stay here too. You know, for protection."
"Protection from who? Caiden?" I laugh at the idea. "That's ridiculous. Caiden wouldn't hurt me."
"He's your drunk ex-boyfriend who's not in complete control of his powers."
I cross my arms, unrelenting.
"Just think of me as a really big guard dog. I'll keep you safe from the lust-wielding witch downstairs." His lips twitch into a smile, but I notice a tightness around his mouth and eyes that belies his playful tone.
"We've been over this. I don't need a babysitter.”
“I’ll tell you what, because I'm a gentleman, I'll even let you have half the bed." He grins roguishly and I fight a smile. No matter what I say, I can see he's made up his mind and no amount of arguing is going to change it.
"Not a chance, Gray. Here." I toss him a pillow. "If you want to play guard dog, you can sleep on the floor like one."
"Did anyone ever tell you you're not very nice?"
"All the time."
When I wake up the next morning Gray is snoring on the floor next to my bed, blanket pulled down exposing his bare chest.
Some watchdog. I tiptoe past him and slip down the stairs to check on Caiden.
The faded comforter I covered him with sits folded on the end of the sofa, the aspirin bottle and empty water glass placed neatly on the end table with a note.
Thanks for the ride last night and letting me crash.
—Caiden
"That's it? That's all I get?" I ask the empty living room.
"He left a few hours ago," Gray says, yawning as he passes me on the way to the kitchen. "Please tell me you have some coffee."
"What?" I follow him, Caiden's note still clutched in my hand. "Why didn't you tell me he left!"
"You were sleeping." He rummages through my cabinets until he unearths a bag of my dad's expensive breakfast blend. "Ah, the good stuff."
I slump onto one of the stools at the breakfast bar, completely deflated. After what he said last night, Caiden sneaks out before we even have a chance to talk?
Gray busies himself with the coffee maker before turning back to me. "Cheer up, Ems. You can hunt him down later. Give the boy the morning to work off his hangover before you start interrogating him. He already admitted he's in love with you. Hard part's over, right?"
I hold my breath, waiting for some sort of sarcastic remark or flirtatious come-on, but serious, almost sad eyes stare back at me.
Then he grins, the expression wiped away. "I'm starving. Want some eggs?"
"Yeah, why not."
Gray makes us omelets, using an entire carton of eggs.
"Wow Gray, these are really good," I say as I take my first bite. "I'd never have pegged you as the type of guy who can cook." I dig into the gargantuan plate in front of me, surprised at how hungry I am.
"I'm a man of many talents," he says with a wink. "My mom taught me a bit before she died. Nikolay hated it. Always said the kitchen was a woman’s domain. He was afraid my mom would make me weak. Like cooking would make me less of a man or something.” He shakes his head, rolling his eyes. “I guess that’s why I kept doing it, even after she died. Anything to get under the old man’s skin,” he says with a hard smile.
"I’m sorry about your mom. Must've been rough."
He shrugs and shovels a fork full of egg into his mouth. “After a few years, Nikolay hired a chef and banned me from the kitchen. To this day, his face turns purple if I even look at a cooking utensil.” Gray laughs.
“You have your own personal chef? How fancy,” I tease him.
“Only the best for the Alpha’s son.” He grins, but his smile has an edge to it.
"Did you really need to cook all this though? How much can a werewolf eat?" I eye our plates questioningly.
"This?" he asks, motioning to the heaping plates in front of us. “Just an appetizer. When it's gone, I'll take you out for pancakes. I hear IHop's pumpkin pancakes are all the rage."
I snort into my plate, enjoying the banter. The great thing about Gray is the simplicity. I don't have to weigh every word, afraid of stepping on mine fields or offending him in some way. Not every conversation revolves around life and death matters or super-secret coven meetings. He doesn't pressure me into doing what he thinks is best for me.
Even though I know Gray wants me to go back with him to Ashwood, he's not trying to force me. He's just letting me be, letting me make my own decisions in my own time. If Caiden was the one sitting across from me, I have no doubt he would have already listed ten or twelve indisputably dire reasons for me to leave, and wouldn't let up until I agree with his reasoning.
As soon as I think it, I feel bad. I know Caiden’s only concerned about me. He wants to keep me safe, and if that means he's sometimes bossy and domineering, well, I can't really blame him. I know how stubborn I can be.
"You want some more?" Gray asks, breaking into my thoughts.
Looking down, I realize I've devoured the entire plate, and I'm still hungry. Strange, considering my breakfast
usually consists of a granola bar or an apple. But for some reason, I am starving this morning. "Yeah, sure. Is there enough left?"
"Always," he says piling more eggs onto my plate. "You got any bacon I can fry up?"
Mmmm, bacon... My mouth waters at the thought. "In the fridge, to the left." I eat this plate more slowly, watching Gray as he moves deftly around the kitchen. The delicious scent of bacon fills the air and my stomach growls.
"Hungry this morning, aren't you luna?" he says as he deposits five perfectly cooked slices onto my plate.
"I don't usually eat this much, I swear." I bite into the bacon and moan, the delicious salty flavor exploding on my tongue.
"Don't apologize to me; I like a girl with a healthy appetite." He winks, then delves into his own food once again.
By the time we both eat our fill, there's nothing but empty pans and dishes left over. Leaning back on the bar stool, I lay one hand over my stuffed belly.
I can't believe I ate that much, I think, slightly horrified. I'm sure I'll regret it tomorrow when I step on the scale, but for now I enjoy the warm, full feeling.
Beside me, Gray sighs contentedly. "So, how 'bout those pancakes?"
I bust out laughing. "I'll take a rain-check. I don't think I can eat another bite."
"I'll hold you to that." Our eyes meet, both of us smiling like idiots. The moment stretches out between us, neither one of us willing to break it. Something I didn't expect to feel warms my chest, catching me off guard.
"I guess you'll be off soon to hunt down Caiden."
And like a bucket of cold water, the moment is gone. Looking away, I clear the plates off the table, dumping them into the dishwasher. Gray moves to wash the pans, but I stop him, taking them out of his hands.
"I got these; you cooked, I'll clean." I begin scrubbing them, keeping my back to him, suddenly anxious for him to leave. After everything Caiden said last night, I need to find him. We need to talk.
Gray watches me for a moment, then seems to take the hint. "Alright then, I guess I'll get out of your hair." He pauses, as if giving me a chance to protest, to invite him to stay. When I don't, he sighs. "Guess we'll do pancakes another day. Good luck with your hunt."