Wolves at the Door (3 page)

“I can’t spend the night here anymore,” he said, taking a step back. “It was safe before because we weren’t together. Less chance of anything happening. But now…”

Before he could get away, I snaked my arms up around his neck. “Stay,” I whispered.

“I want to.” With the softest touch, he disentangled himself from me and stepped out of my embrace. “But how much willpower do you think I have?”

I dropped my arms in impatience. He’d asked me to be his girlfriend only a few hours ago and he was already pulling away. Memories of every time he’d turned me down these past few weeks clouded my vision, and rejection weighed heavy in my gut. “We can’t even kiss anymore?”

“Not here. All alone, it’s too easy to push boundaries and we can’t risk it.” Zack stepped closer and rested his hands on my hips, but held me at arm’s length. “I’ll be here in the morning and we can drive to school together.”

I’d gotten used to him being with me every night and I hated the idea of being without him through the long stretch until morning. But was that really Zack’s problem? Or was he having second thoughts about me? My stomach knotted.

He brushed his lips against mine. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Okay.” I followed him out the front door and gave him a half wave from the top of the steps. What choice did I have, but to let him go? I certainly wasn’t going to beg. Yet.

Watching Zack get smaller as he got farther away triggered a dull ache in my chest. I held my breath until I couldn’t see him anymore, then went inside and hit the stairs to my room. The sooner I got ready for bed and fell asleep, the sooner I could wake up and see him again.

Once showered, I threw on some flannel shorts and a tank and crawled under my covers, but was still too wired to relax. Stupid mocha. Should’ve asked for decaf. Sleeping without Zack nearby wasn’t helping either.

I fantasized about ripping his clothes off and getting myself some werewolf love. But what if it wasn’t a myth and we became so weak that we couldn’t defend ourselves when Renzo or Charles came for Zack? As if our youth didn’t already put us at a physical disadvantage against the older and stronger werewolves.

After tossing and turning for what seemed an eternity, I flung my covers off and switched on the bedside lamp.

Okay, so Zack and I couldn’t spend the night alone. I couldn’t sleep without him either. What were my options? Staring at the ceiling, I recalled our last conversation when he’d said it might be easier with people around. Zack lived with his mom and Trevor’s family, so we wouldn’t be alone. That was his objection, right?

I jumped out of bed, dashed down the stairs and snatched my keys on my way out of the back door. I leaped high over our fence, landing in the neighbor’s backyard. It only took seconds before I’d traveled the few houses and arrived at Zack’s bedroom window. It was open, of course. He tended to be warm at night.

After poking my head through the curtains, I saw him lying in bed. He faced away so I couldn’t tell if he was sleeping. If he made any startled noises and woke everyone up, I’d have to bail.

What if his mom or aunt spotted me before I had a chance to get away? I flushed at the idea of getting busted creeping into his room. Especially by his uncle Mac. No freakin’ way.

As quietly as I could, I squeezed past the window sill.

Zack was out of bed by the time I stepped onto the floor, his eyes darkening. Oops. Maybe this had been a bad idea.

~~~

Chapter Two

Zack moved in a blur and the next instant, his arms closed around me and his face was buried in my hair. “I couldn’t sleep without you.”

The tension eased out of me. “Same here.”

Zack kissed my forehead, then hugged me tighter. “What are we gonna do now?”

“Nothing except go to
sleep
.” I gently pushed him away, tiptoed to his bed and slid under the covers.

“Uh… we’ve never actually slept next to each other before.” He hesitated at the foot of the bed.

I noticed then that he wore only boxers — at least I had on a tank, even if it was a little skimpy. The pale moonlight filtered through the curtain and shone on his smooth chest and rippled abs.

I gulped and resolved again not to let things get out of hand, especially not with his mom sleeping on the other side of the thin wall. But, oh, how good he looked. I wanted to run my fingers up his spine and watch him shiver. I wanted to feel his weight on me and—

No,
nothing
would happen tonight. Well, maybe some cuddling.

Slowly, he shuffled to the other side of the bed where he’d been lying before. But he didn’t make a move to climb in beside me.

“It’s either this or I have to go home and we both sleep crappy. How well will we be able to defend ourselves if we’re exhausted?” At that, I turned away and waited for him to join me. “Come on. Spoon me.”

He chuckled softly and slipped under the covers.

“We’ll be good tonight. We have to be,” I said.

“Easy for you to say.”

Not really.

I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to ignore the feel of his warm skin and length of his thighs against the back of mine. The tip of his thumb pressed into my waist as his big, warm hand covered my hip and scooted me closer. Butterflies danced in my stomach and warm tingles spread over my chest.

I could resist temptation. I had to. Otherwise we’d have to sleep apart. I rearranged his arm so it lay at my ribs. Unfortunately, that was distracting in an entirely different way.

Zack brushed my hair off my shoulders and kissed the back of my neck. “I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep this way either,” he whispered, sending goose bumps dancing along my skin. “But I’ll
be much happier while I’m wide-awake.”

“Keep that up and I won’t be responsible for my actions.”

He groaned, snuggled up to my back, and stayed very still. After a while, his breathing settled to a steady rhythm. I knew rest wouldn’t come as easy for me, but so long as I had Zack, I’d put up with a little sleep deprivation.

† † †

“Autumn, wake up.” Zack shook me gently. “You need to slip out before it’s light outside.”

“Ten more minutes.” My lids grated over my dry, tired eyes. The room was beginning to brighten.

“Shhhh! They’ll hear you.”

I was lying on my side facing him, our lips just inches away. His breath smelled sweet. Had he brushed already?

“Who are they?” I asked, speaking a little louder than was wise.

He kissed me, probably to shut me up. I cringed, afraid I’d offend him since I hadn’t freshened up yet.

“Don’t worry.” Zack chuckled quietly. “Our bodies heal quickly, remember? We don’t have the bacteria and all that stuff. You only need to brush if you eat spinach.”

Seriously? Best news ever! I grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled him to me, my lips locking onto his. He slid over me as I turned onto my back. Zack’s stomach pressed into me as our bare legs tangled under the sheets. Mmm. It was way too nice and I didn’t want it to end.

But it had to. This time, I was the one to stop, pushing my palms against his chest as I got in one last lick on his bottom lip.

He rolled off me and ran his fingers through his hair. “You’re even hotter when you’re sleepy.”

“Yeah, same to you.” It was getting light outside and too risky to leave his room in my human form. Reluctantly, I rose from the bed, morphed into a squirrel and slipped through the open window.

† † †

Zack appeared at my door later that morning just before I had to leave for school, grinning and holding out a sprig of flowers. He wore a faded green shirt that read
Vampires are all talk. Werewolves are all action.
Lord, he was beautiful. And totally sweet. Warmth spread over my chest as I inhaled. Jasmine.

“Thank you.” Opening the door, I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and snagged the fragrant blooms.

As Zack passed me, his gaze drifted lower to my short skirt and bare legs. His mouth curved up. The look in his eyes made me want to drag him upstairs and skip school.

Shaking it off, I went in search of
a vase and arranged the flowers.

We drove to school
and my eyes instinctively scanned the perimeter as I exited the Mustang. Beyond the gate, cars lined the curb. Farther down the block, I could just see the front of a dark sports car. Midnight-blue.

Chills raced through me.

When I glanced back at Zack, his stony expression told me he’d seen it too.

Probably not Renzo’s car. Even if it is, he’d have to get through Charles.
Zack held my hand and walked me toward my homeroom class.

When we passed Gina — the skank who’d hooked up with my now ex — she glared at me. Her lips moved and even though she was yards away, I heard what she said. “Liar!”

The burning hatred in her eyes intensified as I neared her. Sure, I’d told her yesterday that Zack and I weren’t together, but it was the truth at the time. Whatever. She wasn’t worth stressing over.

At lunch, w
e sat with Maya and Trevor and every time I glanced at Gina, she was ignoring her tablemates and sending me a death glare. I sighed, mentally acknowledging the inevitable confrontation. I met her gaze, then jerked my head toward the exit and rose.

“Where are you going?” Zack asked.

“To deal with Gina.” I quickly explained why.

He grinned. “Aw, you don’t have to get into a catfight over me, babe.”

I lightly slapped the top of his head, just enough to ruffle his hair, then left. Gina followed right behind me as I led the way to the bathroom where we’d have privacy.

Once inside, she scowled, fists planted on her hips.

I checked under the stalls to make sure we were alone, then raised my hand, hoping to prevent a tirade. “I didn’t lie. It really was over between Zack and me yesterday, but we made up.”

Gina sneered. “I’m supposed to buy that?”

I sighed. “It’s the truth.”

She dug out her eyeliner and began touching up her eyes in the mirror. “It’s comforting to know that you, the Virgin Princess, haven’t done the things with Zack that I have.”

A knot formed in my stomach. “As if I’d believe anything you said. Besides, you guys barely knew each other.”

“Not at first,” she chirped, her words heavy with implication. While I digested that, she dropped her eyeliner into her purse
and her mouth curled up. “What can I say? Daniel couldn’t say no to me either.”

Zack wasn’t anything like Daniel and he’d easily resist Gina now. I was sure of it. But we weren’t together two weeks ago. . .  In fact, we hadn’t even liked each other. Had he fooled around with her?

My stomach lurched, but I feigned boredom and folded my arms over my chest to mask the doubt creeping up on me. “It’s not working, Gina.”

Moving to stand directly in front of me, she got right up in my face. “Ask him.”

Was this the rare moment Gina actually told the truth? If she was lying, she wouldn’t be pushing me to talk to Zack about it, would she?

And just like that, my world turned a shade of gray.

I refused to let her see how much her words affected me. I pushed past her, trying to act more composed than I felt. “This is a waste of my time.”

Storming through the corridor on my way back to the cafeteria, I couldn’t get Gina’s words out of my head. Should I ask Zack about it? Wait, if he had slept with Gina, did I really want to know? Did I really want images of them making out — and who knew what else — knocking around in my head?

Too late. They were already there.

I returned to our table and Zack reached for my hand, but it did little to ease my tension.

“What did she want?” Maya asked.

No way was I going to validate Gina’s words by saying it out loud. “The usual. To irritate me.”

“She’s just jealous.” Maya brushed it off with a wave.

She sounded so sure, and I wished I felt that confident. Still, for the duration of lunch and through the rest of the school day, I obsessed on how many things Gina might have done with Zack that I’d
never
be able to do with him.