The Calling (11 page)

Her voice trembled and he gritted his teeth together to keep from baring his soul. Being in the same room with her, alone, with no one to see how he acted around her left him defenseless. It was easy to pretend when they were in the real world, surrounded by people, but not here. Not now. Not after everything that had happened tonight. He came too close to losing her. He still could and that little piece of knowledge terrified the hell out of him.

He crossed the room, stopping when he reached her. "It wasn't you," he said, softly. "I never wanted to hurt you. It damn near killed me every time I did." Her bottom lip trembled as she stared at him and the look on her face nearly did him in. Hurting her with words he didn't mean scorched him to the bone, seeing the effects of those words nearly ripped out his soul. He sighed when a tear fell down her cheek. He raised his hand and brushed it away with his thumb, staring down at her. "I'm sorry, Rayna. For everything."

One tear turned into two and before he could catch them, the dam broke. He grabbed her, pulling her to him and buried his face in her hair as she cried. She felt so good, smelled so good, he wrapped his arms around her tighter, nearly sighing in relief when he felt her arms circle his waist.

Her tears intensified, her breath hot against his bare chest. He rubbed his face into her hair, his fingers climbing into the thick strands before he kissed the top of her head. He lingered there, holding her tighter before she lifted her head and looked up at him. He wiped her tears away, his fingers sliding easily across her wet face and the reasons he had for pushing her away vanished.

One look at her sweet, ripe mouth and his body responded immediately. His chest felt tight, his pulse raced just a little bit faster and the moment he saw her tongue slip between her lips to moisten them, he was done for. He leaned down and kissed her.

Her arms tightened around him immediately, her mouth opening under his as her tongue pushed inside his mouth. Months of wanting her and the need he denied himself tore at his flesh and the wolf howled triumphantly inside his head. He devoured her mouth, sucking on her tongue until she moaned and went soft and pliant in his arms. Her hands gripped his arms before sliding over his ribs, slim fingers tickling his chest and stomach and he hardened in an instant. He leaned into her, his knee parting her thighs and the desire to strip her bare and take her right there against the wall screamed through his head. He broke the kiss before he lost all reason to think. He stared down at her, his lungs heaving for air as she stared up at him. "If I could take it all back, I would. It drove me crazy to see you and not have you. The only way I even dared speak to you was to insult you." He cupped her face in his hands, kissed her again, his lips tasting and teasing her own. "I never wanted to hurt you, Rayna."

"Then why did you?" she asked.

He shook his head before laying his forehead against hers and closing his eyes. "I didn't know any other way."

"Any other way to what?"

"Make you hate me." She didn't say anything but her arms tightened around his waist. "I knew I couldn't stay away from you so I hoped you'd solve the problem for me. If you hated me, you would avoid me."

"Why? Because you're different?"

"For the most part, yes," he said, leaning back to look at her. "I never wanted you to know, Rayna." He sighed and ran his fingers through her hair, brushing his lips across her face. Her warmth seeped into his bones and if he were able to purr, he was sure the wolf would be doing just that at the moment. He felt at peace for the first time in months. All because she was in his arms, her sweet breath on his face and her hands touching his bare flesh. How long she'd let him keep her there was a question he wasn't sure he wanted the answer to. After the way he'd treated her, she owed him nothing. "It's late," he said. "You should sleep. You'll need all the rest you can get."

She stared at him for long moments before finally nodding her head and let go of him. He reluctantly took a step back. "Take the bed. Last door on the left."

"Where will you be?"

"I'll take the couch." She gave him a look that he wanted to interpret as her wanting to disagree and as much as sharing a bed with her again caused the wolf to howl inside his head, he couldn't afford the distraction. "I need to be close to the door in case they try to come before daybreak."

She watched him for long minutes before nodding her head and starting across the room. She paused behind the sofa, looking back over her shoulder at him. "Good night."

"Good night, Rayna."

* * * *

The smell of food and the clatter of dishes woke her. The sun was shining; bright rays peeked through the blinds on the window and Rayna squinted and rolled over, away from the light, and looked around the room.

It was tidy, much like the rest of the house, and she burrowed into the blankets, stealing what warmth was still there.

When she'd climbed underneath the blankets and closed her eyes the night before, her dreams hadn't been of monsters chasing her through darkened forests. They had been of Garrett. After months of his hurtful words and hateful glances, he'd kissed her. Kissed her like the world was ending and he couldn't get enough of her. Kissed her like he used to. Like she was the only thing that mattered to him. Like he wanted her... craved her. The feeling left her elated and confused.

Had he told her the truth when he said he'd broken things off with her not because of her, but because of what he was? That he'd tried to make her hate him because it was easier to stay away? How different things would have been if he'd just trusted her enough to be honest.
And what would you have done if he had? Screamed while running as fast as you could or just passed out?
She sighed. All of the above, probably, and he knew that. He'd done what he thought was best, regardless of how hurtful it had been.

She rolled over, staring up at the ceiling before lifting her arms and stretching. Sitting up, she pushed the blankets back and stood, slipped the robe she'd found the night before back on, and walked to the bedroom door.

Jacob was in the kitchen, singing something under his breath. He was placing a dish of something on the table and she smelled coffee and toast. Her stomach growled a moment later. She was starved.

Walking to the bathroom, she opened the door and came face to face with Garrett. "Oh! I'm sorry," she said.

He was standing in front of the mirror, wiping his face with a towel, a razor and a can of shaving cream on the sink in front of him. He looked over at her and smiled. "Good morning."

She took a step back and stopped when he spoke. "Good morning."

"I think our breakfast is almost ready. Jacob has been making enough noise to wake half the valley."

"I know. The clanking of dishes is what woke me."

He tossed the towel in his hand into the hamper by the tub and turned, walking toward her. He was dressed in jeans and a white t-shirt that hugged his chest. Although the sight of him practically naked was always nice, this was in no way a disappointment.

The man was still gorgeous, shape-shifting wolf or not.

She stared up at him when he stopped in front of her. He hadn't left but a breath of space between them and one deep inhale would be all it took to touch him. She was tempted, but wasn't sure of his intentions toward her. She wasn't going to presume anything. Just because he'd kissed her didn't mean he'd changed his mind and wanted her back. It could have been nothing more than the heat of the moment kind of thing. She wasn't about to make a fool out of herself by thinking it meant more.

His gaze roamed her face, stopping briefly on her lips before continuing down the line of her body. Her flesh tingled and the tightening she felt in her stomach whenever he looked at her returned with a vengeance. She swallowed to moisten her throat when he smiled at her.

"I could stand here all day looking at you," he said, "But our breakfast is getting cold."

"Yeah. Probably." The words came out sounding breathy even to her. She shifted on her feet and her back hit the doorframe. That's when she realized she was blocking the door. "Oh!" she said, feeling her cheeks heat up when his smile widened. "Sorry." She moved to the side, giving him room to pass. He continued to look at her for long moments before he leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her cheek. He leaned back and stared at her for long moments, raising his hand and brushing his thumb across her jaw before finally smiling and walking past her. The second he was out of sight, she let out the breath she'd been holding and grabbed the door, shutting it with a soft click.

* * * *

"Any clue what we should do?" Jacob asked.

"Yeah. Get Rayna as far from Wolf's Creek as possible." Garrett leaned back against the cabinet and crossed his arms over his chest. He stared down the hall, watching for her. When she didn't appear he turned his head back to Jacob. "Are the others going along with this plan Malcolm has? To infect Rayna and have her expose the wolves to the public?"

"As far as I can tell they are."

"And no one has a problem with it?" Jacob shrugged his shoulders and looked away. Garrett narrowed his eyes and tilted his head to one side. "Did you know about this, Jacob?"

"No!" he said, looking back up at him. "I swear, man. I mean, I knew Malcolm was trying to get a reporter here to tell our story but that was it. I didn't know he wanted to infect her. You know they don't tell me shit."

"But the others knew?"

"Most of them, I guess. Come on, Garrett. You know how they are. They'd jump in front of a moving bus if Malcolm told them to do it. They think he's God."

Garrett's temper flared suddenly at the thought of Malcolm, and the others, luring Rayna here with the intentions of harming her. Harming
his
woman. "Well, their
God
, just caused them a shit load of problems." He pushed away from the cabinet and grabbed the plates, laying them out on the table and tried to get his temper under control. He felt the wolf slide under his skin and he forced it back, clenching his jaw with the effort.

"You know," Jacob said, "You never answered my question yesterday."

"And what question was that?"

"Is she yours?"

Garrett stilled, staring down at the table. Yes!, he thought, just barely managing to hold back a possessive growl. He glanced at Jacob out of the corner of his eye and said, "It's not possible for her to be mine, Jacob."

"Why?"

He laughed. "Why?" he asked, turning to face him. "If you haven't noticed, she's human."

"So?"

"So how exactly am I supposed to claim her as mine?"

Jacob stared at him before shaking his head. "It can be done, Garrett."

"Yeah, if I want to risk the chance of infecting her and I don't. I wouldn't force this on anyone, accidental or not." He'd spent the night stalking the house with those very thoughts running through his head. He busied himself looking out windows and making sure the doors were all locked. He'd paced the hall, stopped at Rayna's bedroom door and stood there, listening to her breathe. The need to mark her, to make her his, was painful. His teeth ached, his skin tightened and his cock throbbed with the need to do it, especially with so many other wolves near by. If there were a way to stake his claim without infecting her, she'd already be his. But there wasn't.

Checking the table again, Garrett tried to distract his thoughts by making sure everything was there. At the sound of Jacob's laughter, he turned his head. "What?" he snapped.

"Nothing."

"Then why are you laughing?"

Jacob's smile was blinding. "Just never thought I'd see the day when you'd go all moon-eyed over a woman."

"Moon-eyed?" Garrett said, growling at him. "What are you, twelve?"

"Does she know?"

Garrett glanced back down at the table. "No."

"It might be a good time to let her know how you feel about her."

"Why's that?"

"She was all the pack talked about yesterday. They'd been sneaking up to the house all day trying to get a peek at her. If you're too afraid to claim her, I know for a fact there are others who aren't whether she's infected or not."

That piece of information woke his beast. He felt it stir, stretch inside his skin and snap teeth sharp enough to break bones. He turned, crossed the distance separating them in three long strides and stopped in front of him, narrowing his eyes. "Who?"

Jacob leaned back and grinned. "Caleb, for one. He had quite a bit to say about her, actually."

He growled before he could stop himself. Jacob looked over his shoulder then, into the living room, and Garrett did the same. Rayna was walking to the kitchen, a strained smile on her face. Had she heard them?
God, I hope not.

When she saw them looking at her, she stopped. "What?"

Jacob was the first to speak. "Nothing. Hungry?"

"Famished," she said, crossing to the table and stopping.

"Good. Hope you like omelets."

"I'm so hungry I'd be tempted to eat road kill at the moment."

"Mmmm... sounds tasty," Jacob said, grinning. "You should have told me sooner. I could have whipped that up for you in a flash."

She laughed, her nose crinkling as she did. "I think I'll have the omelet, thank you," she said, taking her seat. "You boys can stick to the raw meat. No offense."

"None taken."

Garrett took the seat across from her and tried not to stare. She seemed happier this morning than she had the night before. Of course, she'd probably been in shock most of the night. She'd nearly passed out when Bryce had shifted, not to mention Malcolm's revelation, her mad dash through the woods to escape the pack and the fright he'd given her when he finally met up with them again. For someone who hadn't known twenty-four hours ago that the world of the supernatural existed, he thought she'd handled it pretty well. Then again, this was Rayna. She was the strongest willed woman he knew. It was part of the reason he'd been drawn to her.