Nightwolf

“You don’t have to go,” I tell Wolf. Then I look at my mom. “And I don’t have to go. Let’s just forget it.”

“No,” my mother says slowly, eying Wolf, then me. “No, I think it would be good for you to go. For both of you.” She doesn’t sound that sure, and I don’t blame her.

“Really?” I ask her, trying not to sound suspicious.

She presses her lips together, like she’s reconsidering it. Then she says. “Yes, actually. Really. You both need to go.”

I manage a smile at Wolf. “You know I can drive just fine. I know it’s his precious car, but I’ll take it easy.”

“It’s not that,” he says, crossing his arms. “Though I don’t believe you for a second when you say you’ll take it easy,” he adds with a wry grin.

“Then what is it?”

“Oh, Wolf, just say you’re going,” my mother says with a wave of her hand. “And Amethyst, you drink this coffee and wake up a little so you can get packing. I’ll feel a lot better if you’re not going up there half asleep.” She shoves the espresso into my hand and then goes out of the kitchen.

I wait, watching her go until she’s disappeared down the hall, then turn to Wolf. “I’m fine. Really. I think he’s right in that I probably need to get away, but please don’t think you need to go to watch over me or keep an eye on me. I’ll be fine.”

“I’m sure you will be fine,” Wolf says, holding me in a level gaze. “But someone does need to watch over you and keep an eye on you.”

“It was just a bad dream,” I say with a shrug, taking a sip of the hot espresso. My mother made it extra strong today. “Is this a possessive vampire thing?”

“Maybe it is,” he says, raising his strong chin. “Do you have a problem with that?”

A chill slowly runs down my spine. The good kind.

I manage to shake my head. “No.”

“You did the other night,” he says.

Ah, so we’re talking about it now.

“That was different.”

He cocks a brow as if to say, oh yeah?

“I don’t mind you looking out for me, I just don’t want you to feel obliged to.”

“I’m never obliged to do anything.”

“Okay, well I also don’t want you to worry about me.”

“It was quite the nightmare, Amethyst,” he says, his voice dropping a register. Something in his eyes tells me that he knows more than he’s letting on, like he knows about the dream I had afterward, what I heard, what I saw. “I’m going to worry.”

“Just a dream, Wolf,” I tell him. “But it would be nice to get away. Sometimes I think this house is contributing things I’m not even aware of.” I look around the kitchen warily. This is the brightest spot in the house, with big windows facing the street and the tiny garden out front, and it’s a mix of vintage décor and modern appliances. But even now, in this familiar, usually comforting spot, it feels different than normal. Like there’s something in the house that wasn’t here before.

An omen.

“What was that?” Wolf asks, his brows knitting together as he takes a step toward me.

I stare at him. “What was what?”

“Your thought,” he says slowly. “I…I didn’t hear it, but I felt it. It was dark. And it was true.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I tell him. If I start telling him all my thoughts, he’s going to think I’m losing it and then I definitely won’t be going anywhere.

I need to change the subject. “So when do you want to go?”

He observes me for a moment, his golden gaze skipping over my eyes, my nose, my lips. Oh, they burn when they look at my lips.

Another shiver comes on, this time hot and strong between my legs.

I gulp. This is going to be a huge mistake isn’t it? Going up there with him alone. This is going to be the opposite of moving on. This is going to be diving right in, headfirst.

Ah, fuck it.

“Whenever you do,” Wolf says, and from the way his gaze still heats my skin, I know he’s saying fuck it too. “We can both pack and be ready in ten minutes. Well, maybe an hour for you.”

“I can be fast when I want to be,” I tell him with a cheeky grin. I slam back the rest of my coffee. “See you down here in ten.”

Okay, so it took longer than ten minutes for me to get ready. I had to take a shower, put on makeup, pack, and ignore the butterflies in my heart, especially when Lenore heard the news and came barging in the room, grilling me about everything.

So, it was about an hour later, after all that, I got into the passenger seat of the Mustang and Wolf slammed his foot on the gas pedal, roaring away from the house and the city, heading up across the Golden Gate Bridge.