Chapter 9 Junie
Junie
This was a bad idea.
I should have called one of his seconds, but I didn’t want him to think I couldn’t do it. Also, why has no one told me how terrifying an Alpha is? When their attention is only on you, the rest of the world disappears.
The only thing I could focus on was Silas when he told everyone to leave.
It’s still that way as I apply the salve to his cheek.
“Does the person who did this look worse, at least?” I joke, breaking the silence.
His eyes flit to me, and I have to force myself not to think about our faces being mere inches away as my finger massages the salve into his cheek.
“If by worse you mean dead, then…”
My finger stills, and I break our stare, dropping my eyes to the edge of the tub. He said that like it’s an everyday occurrence, like a morning walk or feeding his goddamn dog.
The next thing I know, his hand wraps around my wrist, and he pulls it away from his face. He intertwines his fingers with mine and rests our clasped hands in his lap.
“Junie. I—” He pauses as my gaze meets his once more. His eyes close briefly as he inhales deeply, as if he’s thinking of what to say next. I wait, not wanting to say something that will prevent him from opening up to me.
I blame both being snowed in and the way I want to melt into a puddle any time his attention is solely on me for wanting anything to do with Silas in the first place. I hate that I want to know what he thinks about me. Am I really this starved for attention?
Without warning, he drops my hand and says, “I think it might be better for you to stay with someone else.”
“Stay with someone else? Did I hear that right?”
He nods, and I bark out a laugh.
“Go fuck yourself, Silas. Go stay with someone else after you’ve been adamant about how I’m not safe?”
“I just—”
“No. I don’t want to hear it. You know what? This is actually good.” I stand and take enough steps toward the bathroom door that I’m no longer suffocating from his presence.
“Good?” Whatever is in that salve works surprisingly fast, and he doesn’t grimace when he stands and stalks toward me.
“Yeah, good.” My voice is now raised, but I don’t care. “Here I was starting to think you might have some redeemable fucking qualities. That you might not be such an asshole after all.”
“Oh.” He chuckles and pauses next to the sink. “I’m definitely an asshole, Junie.”
“What are we doing? Are you only letting me help because it’s convenient?”
His eyes darken as he pushes off the counter. For every step he takes toward me, I take one backward until my back hits the wall in the hallway and I can’t go any further.
In a split second, his hands slam into the hard surface above me, caging me. I could try to escape, to weave out of his arms, but I’d be fooling myself for even trying when all I can seem to want right now is to know what his lips feel like on mine.
Every time his stare bounces between my eyes and my mouth, I hope he’s having the same inner turmoil. If he is, I would know this sudden attraction isn’t one-sided. At least then it wouldn’t be as wild to want to fuck him senseless merely twenty-four hours after meeting him.
His heavy breathing matches mine, our chests rising and falling in unison. Where do I look? His eyes? His naked chest? It’s eye-level. He’s nearly a foot taller than I am.
Silas decides for me, gripping my chin between two of his fingers and tilting it up. The back of my head slowly slides down the wall as I let him manipulate me.
“Look at me.”
“What?” My patience is waning, and the exhaustion from the emotional roller coaster we’ve been on is kicking in.
“I don’t know what it is about you. Your scent is driving me insane, and no matter what I tell my wolf, he’s possessive.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel special?” I flutter my eyelashes for good measure.
It gets under his skin because the next moment, his hand slowly slides down my chin to my neck, where he lightly wraps his fingers around the base.
“I’m warning you about what happens when an Alpha wolf wants something, or someone, he can’t have.”
“I’m not looking for a relationship, Silas. And you clearly have it out for me, even though you’ve only known me for twenty-four—”
“Fuck, you talk too much.”
Silas kisses me. He kisses me with so much angst and force that my hands have to fly to his back to keep my knees from buckling. My nails dig into his bare back, and he groans into my mouth. This is better than any kiss I’ve had before.
Silas kisses me as he claims me, like he’s been waiting all day to do this.
“I thought you couldn’t stand me,” I say between weighted breaths.
His hand moves from my neck to cup my cheek.
He rests his forehead on mine, breathing deeply as our hearts race to see which can beat faster. “I tried to ignore you, but I don’t think I’ll be able to much longer.”
Silas’ words hit me like a bag full of bricks. My mouth opens to respond, because that statement should have warranted one, but I have no idea what to say.
How do I tell him I haven’t been able to stop thinking about him?
How do I tell him that, although he’s stubborn and a werewolf, I’m curious to know more?
I don’t get a chance to say anything, though, because he slips away from me, walks out the front door, and closes it without another word.