Chapter Seven #3
Nory didn’t know why, but she believed him. She trusted him. His anger on her behalf made her feel validated in her discomfort with Jackson. His kindness while she’d been panicking and on the verge of passing out had tethered her to him and fostered her belief in him as a man.
He wasn’t going to let anyone hurt her.
His word was good enough for her.
She locked up the house, and he carried her duffel bag easily, like it weighed a couple of pounds instead of being stuffed tight enough to strain the zipper with anything she might need.
He held her hand as he led her down the stairway, and as they reached the bottom floor, he told her, “Jackson isn’t here. I checked already.”
She didn’t know why, but that made her feel better. She didn’t want his eyes on her back as she made her way to Liam’s truck. Layla bore down on them from the direction of the office, and the shrill tone of her voice startled Nory.
“I told you already, you are banned from this property,” Layla yelled.
“I’m leaving,” Liam told her calmly.
“I told you I would call the police—”
“For what?” Nory asked, jerking to a stop.
“He physically harmed and threatened one of the human tenants here.”
“Oh my God, please tell me you aren’t talking about Jackson, whom I have reported multiple times for stalking me,” Nory barked out.
She had no idea where her boldness came from.
She just didn’t like the way Layla was talking to Liam.
“But stick up for the stalker though, right? Poor Jackson got threatened by someone, and did you ask why? Did you ask for Liam’s side of it?
Did you ask what he did to get a reaction like that from someone? ”
“He choked him!” Layla said, and there was such stark judgement etched into her facial expression.
“You kicked out the person who could keep me safe from Jackson’s bullshit.
” She shook her head. “Want to know what he did to me today? Or nah? He’s human so he gets a free pass, huh?
” She felt so disgusted. “I’m breaking my lease.
I’ll figure out the money, and I’ll sign the paperwork after work tomorrow. ”
“Look, I didn’t make these rules,” Layla called after them.
“The werewolf shit aside, you are human, and I am human,” Nory yelled. “You are a woman, and I am a woman. We’re on the same damn team, and you are defending that,” she said, jamming her finger at Jackson’s apartment. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Please have the paperwork ready.”
“Okay, just…calm down before you write any reviews or anything, okay?” she called as Liam opened the passenger door for Nory.
“Lady, she just told you something happened to her, and you’re worried about a bad review right now?” Liam asked. He shut the door beside Nory, but she could still hear him clear as day when he said, “Fuck, you humans are backwards.”
He said it with everything he had, and yeah, he was right. None of this was okay.
Grossed out was the feeling of the evening. Nory sank back against the seat and watched the town go by, lost in thought. Bits of that mortifying text conversation flittered this way and that through her mind.
“You wanted to know me,” he said after ten minutes of driving.
She rolled her head to him. “You’re interesting to me. You came in and shook up my boring life. I like the feeling.”
He stared at the road ahead of them, eyes thoughtful. “The way you talked in that text—”
“Oh gosh, I’m already embarrassed enough.”
“No, no, you shouldn’t be. You’re adorable when you text. I was entertained by everything you said. I wish it had been me you were talking to. You were asking questions though, like you wanted to know me.”
“Yeah,” she said. Her cheeks were on fire right now, so she looked back out the window to hide it from him.
“I work at a sawmill.”
Surprised, she glanced at him, then at her hands she’d clasped in her lap. “Which one?”
“Redland Woods.”
“F-for how long?” she asked, not wanting to waste a single moment if he was offering his backstory.
“Seven years next month. They give us these little gift baskets each year and order a cake for anniversaries. The gift baskets get bigger and more expensive each year. Sounds lame but I look forward to it each year. I don’t get a lot of presents, so that feels like a big deal.”
He glanced over at her and then back to the road. “That smile is my favorite one you have, at least out of the ones I’ve seen so far.”
She unbuckled and crawled halfway into the back seat.
“What are you doing?” he asked, his hand resting on her back like he didn’t want her to fall over.
“Just drive nice and steady. I’m almost done.”
She unhooked this silly little teddy bear keychain off her duffle bag and pulled it into the front seat.
She buckled again and held the tiny bear in front of her.
It was worn, and one of the ears was missing.
“I got this guy when I went on a road trip with my friend Alese to the Grand Canyon. He’s my little travel buddy. I named him Gary.”
“Nice to meet you, Gary,” Liam said.
She offered it to him.
Liam frowned at her, then gave his attention to the road again. Frowned at her, then back to the road. “What’s that for?” he asked.
“It’s a present. He’s always brought me luck. Now he can ride around with you and bring you luck. Liam and Gary, adventure pals.”
He stopped behind a car at a red light, and turned to her, took the little bear from her.
“And that’s my favorite smile so far,” she murmured, unable to look away from the expression on his face.
“I’ll take good care of him,” he promised, setting him in the cupholder. “Thank you.”
“Mmm hmm,” she said, nodding her head. “My pleasure.”
And then that man stunned her into stillness when he leaned over and slid his hand around the back of her neck and pressed his lips to hers.
He just stayed there, hand gently on the nape of her neck, lips formed just perfectly onto hers.
He eased back and opened his eyes, and she, Nory Hunter, realized she hadn’t even closed her eyes. Like a weirdo.
“I’m going to give you more presents,” she uttered.
She witnessed a smile on his lips right before he kissed her again, and this time, she was ready.
Her heart was pounding, and her ears were ringing, and the lyrics to Hallelujah were playing in her mind, and her entire body was shaking, and this was her favorite moment ever. That man knew how to kiss, good gah.
Honk!
“Aaah!” she yelped, startled by the impatient driver behind them. The light had turned green.
“You good?” Liam asked around a chuckle.
She just sat there grinning like a lunatic. “I want to do that more.”
He laughed and reached over the console, slid his huge hand around hers and just held it like this was the most natural thing in the world.
Like they were a normal couple growing crushes on each other.
Like everything that had happened over the day was unimportant, and sitting here with his strong warm hand around hers, she felt it. That other stuff didn’t matter.
She didn’t have to be embarrassed, or scared, or down on herself. Liam was still here, and he liked her. He really liked her. She could tell.
“What else do you want to know?” he rumbled.
“Oh! Uhh, what kind of cake do you like best.”
“White cake, chocolate frosting.”
“Noted. What kind of cereal?”
“Oh, it’s rapid-fire questions then?”
“Yep.”
“Fine but you have to answer the questions too.”
“Red velvet cake, extra cream cheese frosting. I don’t like cereal though. I like those breakfast sandwiches we had the other day. That’s my new favorite breakfast.”
“Noted,” he said, using her word. “No cereal for me. Sugar is awful for my animal. It’ll make me sick in excess,” he said as he pulled into the Dairy Queen drive through.
“I love sugar,” she admitted as she squinted to try and see what seasonal flavors they had for the Blizzards this month.
“Favorite Blizzard?” he asked. “Butterfinger all day, but sometimes they have this drumstick one that is so freaking good. Favorite animal?”
“Rabbit. They’re delicious.”
“Aww, poor bunnies! I regret that question. My favorite is a cow.”
“Also delicious.”
He ordered her sweet treat, and she continued. “Favorite type of worm?”
“Earth…worm?” he answered.
“Boring, but okay. Mine is an inch worm.”
“Is an inch worm a worm or a caterpillar?” he asked.
“It says worm in the name. Favorite color…of bra,” she asked, feeling high on endorphins right now.
“What color are you wearing?” he asked.
She looked into the neck of her shirt. “I’m wearing old faithful. Dark blue.”
“Then dark blue is my favorite,” he said easily.
“What are your friends names and birthdays?” she asked.
Liam got hung up on that question though.
He waited until they had gotten her order and paid at the drive through window before he admitted, “I don’t know if I have friends.
I have people. I have my Pack. And I wouldn’t know their birthdays if you paid me to recite them.
Hell, probably most of my Pack don’t know their birthdays.
That’s something humans celebrate, not us. ”
“Huh. Then when do you eat cake?”
“Almost never.”
“Because it’s bad for you.”
“Yep.”
“Then how do you know your favorite is white cake, chocolate icing?”
“Because that’s what my job orders every year on the anniversary of me working there. I don’t eat it. It’s just a sentimental thing, I guess.”
“Is it all werewolves at your job?”
“It’s half and half.”
“And the humans know what you are?”
“We don’t talk about it on the jobsite. It’s like this unspoken rule. It’s my favorite rule actually.”
“Nice. Do you like your job?” she asked.
“I love it. I don’t think I’ve ever talked about it like this, but yeah. When I think about it, I love it. I don’t dread going to work. It’s physical and keeps my muscles active, and the wolf feels steadier after a shift. What about you?”