Chapter 24
Fourteen days had passed since Quinn revealed his plan to save me.
Then he left that night with Callie. I had an appointment with Dr. Arthur the next morning.
Quinn stayed in the car this time. The appointment was super quick, and he also gave me the all clear to resume normal activities.
I didn’t tell him I’d been running and exercising for weeks already. Not wanting that lecture.
The last two weeks had been spent doing the same things.
Lucy was now walking all over and was starting to play.
We started her on soft food, per Quinn’s uncle.
He said we needed to start weaning her off the bottle.
He also wanted us to consider placing her with someone equipped for bobcats.
The thought of it nauseated me. He stated she was meant to be wild and not a house cat.
Quinn told me he supported whatever I wanted, but he did think we should consider what his uncle suggested.
Quinn and I had near kisses way too many times. I fought the urge to close that gap every time. I also fought the urge to climb on top of him during the night hours and do more than kiss him.
As Lina said, Quinn was broodier in the days leading up to the full moon. Every time I’d bring up going back home, he would dodge the question. The last time he told me it would be soon, he was waiting on some information, but he didn’t want to get my hopes up. He knew how badly I missed Aspen.
With Callie back here, we hadn’t heard how things were back home.
Every time I let myself think about it, my anxiety would climb, and he would push me outside to spar.
We had been sparring more. I thought he was holding back until the doctor cleared me, but even then, I knew he didn’t show me his true strength.
We had done more ground sparring. He taught me how to lock in a choke hold—the delicate timing between unconsciousness and death.
It was the afternoon, and we were sparring again. Both of us were bouncing on our toes.
“What are the rules if you're taken to the ground?”
“Don’t go to your back, roll to your side, use your legs as a barrier, knees up, and be dirty,” I said.
“Mmm… good,” he said.
Then he bent over a little, dropped his shoulder, and charged toward me.
We both went to the ground. I tried to roll to my side, but he grabbed me super quick, pinning my arm down.
I pulled my knee up, hitting him in the ass.
I thrashed trying to roll to my side, but he gripped both of my wrists.
I rotated my wrist, creating the weak spot in his hold, and pulled my arm out.
I swung it over me, trying to get onto my side.
“Aht aht aht,” he teased. He grabbed my arm and pinned it right back down.
I growled.
“Stop thinking about what is pinned. What is free?” he asked.
“Umm.. my head, my elbows, my knees—sort of,” I said.
“Use your elbows. Not on me, on the ground. Use it to create leverage to roll your hips while freeing your wrist. You have to be thinking about multiple steps at a time,” he said.
I kept trying. He shifted his weight, and I felt my hips lift slightly with it.
“Do you feel that? It's about the angle and movement,” he said.
“Easy for you to say when you outweigh me by eighty pounds,” I said.
“Exactly. So, stop fighting weight with weight. You'll lose every time. Fight weight with movement.”
I kept trying and getting closer to getting out and rolling over.
“Better. Do it again,” he said.
“You’re having too much fun right now,” I said.
“A tiny bit,” he admitted.
I stopped fighting him completely, resting for a moment.
It was exhausting fighting the hold. He adjusted his weight, leaning more on one side.
That was the moment I needed. I hooked my knee behind his leg, twisted my entire body, and rolled toward his weighted side.
The ground shifted beneath us. Then he was on his back, and I was on top of him, his wrists pinned under my hands.
He stared at me. I stared at him. Both of us were breathing hard. He could have stopped me. He knew it. I knew it… But I was gonna take this win.
“How’d you do that?” he whispered.
“You taught me. I’ve been listening. Plus, you’ve flipped me a couple of times, I felt how you did it, and then it came to me.”
He moved his wrist under my grip, trying to free himself.
He jerked. My balance faltered, and my shoulders gave in.
We were now inches from each other. Our lips so close, I could feel his breath on mine.
Get up. Don’t kiss him. Then my lips met his.
My hands let go of his, and his hand gripped the back of my neck, pulling me in closer.
My lips parted, and his tongue met mine.
My fingers curled into his shirt, without me deciding to.
It was slow and deep. I’d been kissed before, but never like this.
Everything in my body tingled. I forgot what we were supposed to be doing, only thinking about how his hands gripped my hair.
His tongue gliding over mine, his full lips pressed against my mouth.
He pulled back, both of us staring into each other’s eyes.
His eyes were wild. I could feel his heart beating underneath my chest. His hand still gripped my hair.
I could feel his ragged breathing hitting my lips.
I wanted to be kissed like that again. No.
We shouldn’t be doing this. I jumped to my feet, and he jumped to his.
“Zalayuh,” he whispered.
“We shouldn’t do this,” I said.
“Says who?” he said.
“It’s not someone, it’s about how complicated our lives are,” I said.
“Our lives will probably always be complicated,” he said.
“I know… I want you… God… I want you…”
He stepped closer to me, turning me toward him. He reached up, holding my chin with his thumb and finger, lifting it.
“Complicate my life more… please,” he said.
I stared up at him, our eyes locking again.
Goosebumps formed all over my body, tingling shot from my mouth to my thighs.
His hand slid from my chin to the back of my neck.
He pulled me in, leaning his head toward me, our lips were inches apart.
I looked into his eyes, and the gold flecks were shifting.
My lips crashed against his thick lips, parting, letting our tongues caress each other. Slow, passionate, and demanding all at once. My arms reached his face, holding onto him. Each time we broke free, it was just long enough to take a breath.
The crunch of gravel under tires caught my attention. I pulled away and stared at him. He stared at me like he could spend hours kissing me and never tire of it; like he wanted to take me to the bedroom.
“Someone is coming,” I whispered.
“Callie,” he groaned.
I walked inside and headed for the bathroom. I turned the cold water on, letting it run, letting it turn as cold as it could. I stared at myself. What were you doing, Zalayuh? I splashed the ice-cold water on my face, gasping for breath, then did it again. Drown the feelings out—literally.
I checked on Lucy. She was in the little area we’d made for her to play and sleep in.
Then I headed outside. Callie was standing next to Quinn, both of them in conversation.
The sun was starting to set, which meant he would need to leave sooner rather than later.
Lina was planning to bring me jambalaya for dinner tonight, which I was quite excited about.
She was also going to be teaching me how to play dice.
Callie walked toward me while I stood on the porch. Quinn was folding up the sparring mat. I flashed her a smile. Callie and I had gotten close in the last month. She often came over to hang out with us. She was two years younger than Quinn at twenty-one.
“Hey Zay, long time no see,” she said.
“Hiya, Callie, and it's been two days,” I said, before laughing.
“Yeah… and you smell… wow. I thought I smelt it on him, but a human can’t mask anything,” she said.
“We didn’t do anything,” I muttered.
“That’s what he said too… but those bright red cheeks and that sexual smell are undeniable,” she whispered.
“We kissed… okay… that’s it,” I whispered.
“Ya… but both of you wanted more,” she said.
“I can’t speak for him… and I’m not answering that.”
“Ya don’t have to. I can smell both of you, and I can smell you on him, and him on you,” she said.
“Ya know, I don’t think you’re my favorite anymore,” I teased her.
“Bullshit… by the way, I’m rooting for you two,” she barely whispered.
My eyes widened at her.
“What?” she asked.
“We… him and I… we can’t… there’s so much baggage and so many other obligations we have. He’s also five years older,” I said.
“And? Have the obligations together, carry each other’s baggage. Who cares about age? You’re both consenting adults, and you have a child,” she said.
“Had a child,” I muttered.
“You’re still a mom, that doesn’t change that,” she said.
“Yeah… I guess,” I said.
Quinn put the rolled mat into the tiny shed next to the house. It was the only thing that fit in there.
“We gotta go,” Quinn said.
“Why don’t you guys just shift here? It’s not like I haven’t seen it before,” I asked.
“I mean, sure, we could,” he said, then pulled his shirt off.
I tilted my head. “Why are you taking your clothes off?”
“Because we get naked before we shift. Clothes are too expensive to ruin every time. We also bring a backpack to store them and some extra stuff just in case,” he said.
“In that case, maybe the woods are best,” I said.
“Nothing you didn’t see a couple of weeks ago,” he said.
“Well… I’m going to go to the woods, because she hasn’t seen my body and I’d like to keep it that way,” Callie said. She walked over to Quinn’s truck and pulled her backpack out, slinging it over her shoulder. She headed toward the woods.
Quinn stepped up right next to me and leaned in toward my ear. “But I can stay and shift right here, if you want,” he whispered.
Butterflies flew around my stomach. Cheeks flared with heat.
“No… no… go to the damn woods,” I muttered.