Caeden"s fingers lightly played with my hair and then skimmed the line of my jaw sending chills up my spine. His scent of pine and cinnamon surrounded me to the point that I wasn"t sure I could think straight. Here we were in a room full of people and it felt like it was only us. Caeden did that to me. He always looked at me like I was the only girl in the world and I would always find everyone around me disappearing. There was only him and only me.
His thumb caressed my cheek and I found my lip trembling and my knees shaking. It was a good thing I was already sitting. As the room and the people around me faded to the back of my mind I leaned my head on Caeden"s shoulder. He wrapped his arms around me and held me close. I felt his lips kiss the top of my head.
"You look so beautiful tonight, gorgeous, stunning, and a bunch of other adjectives. I can"t believe you"re really mine," he whispered in my ear, tickling the hair there.
"I don"t think I"m that beautiful but when you say it I"m tempted to believe you," I said.
"You should. I never lie," he smiled.
"Sometimes I can"t believe that I get to keep you. That we"re mates. You"re so perfect and I"m just... not," I said.
He kissed my cheek. "Don"t worry I"m far from perfect. Ask my mom. I can never remember to put the toilet seat down," he grinned.
I couldn"t help but laugh. "You always know what to say don"t you?"
"What can I say? I just have a way with words," he joked.
"You sure do," I said and smiled.
People started to leave and say their goodbyes. I was amazed at how the older wolves addressed Caeden. You"d think it would be weird with Caeden being the age of their children but they treated him like I a.s.sumed they would treat any other Alpha, with respect and for some admiration. Chris and Logan hugged me and then Caeden before leaving with their parents. Charlotte had said goodbye a while ago, toting an angry Jacob behind her, because he didn"t want to go home and go to bed. Bentley tackled Caeden from behind and gave him a brotherly hug before heading out. Finally all that was left was me, Gram, Caeden, Bryce, and Amy.
"I guess we better go," I said standing and calling Archie to me. He had been curled up next to Murphy, hidden in the folds of his long fur.
Caeden"s hands snaked around my waist and he pulled me against him. "Please, don"t go," he begged.
I laughed. "I have to go home sometime," I said.
"Move in here," he said. "Lucinda can come too," he added and turned to wink at Gram.
"That"s okay," she said. "I"m an old woman. I don"t want to be roommates with two smelly teenage boys."
"Hey!" said Bryce, "I don"t smell."
We all laughed as he picked up Bella and stormed out of the room and up the stairs.
Caeden chuckled and kissed my cheek. "Fine, I"ll let you leave."
"Let?" I questioned.
He grinned and leaned down to my ear. "If I was desperate I could make you stay here. Maybe you could be my prisoner," he said with a waggle of his eye brows. His grip tightened on my arm but it didn"t hurt. "I could shackle you with my hands alone. You wouldn"t be able to get away," he grinned against my ear. "But," he said pulling away, "I"m a nice guy so I"ll let you leave."
I pushed his shoulder lightly. "You"re not that nice," I joked.
"I"m sweeter than peaches and cream," he grinned, the dimple in his cheek showing.
I saw that Amy and Gram had disappeared. "I"ve got to go," I said motioning to the door. I gave him a quick kiss but then he held me there, deepening it, my mouth opening under his. "Caeden," I pleaded. But he continued to kiss me like I was all he needed to survive. My body relaxed into his strong arms and my hands tangled in his hair.
He pulled away with a grin. "Bye," he said.
"Bye," I whispered breathlessly. He chuckled and got my coat. He helped me into it and then held the door for me. He leaned down to kiss me again and this time I was the one that took it to the next level. My hand rubbed his cheek and then I pulled away before his kisses convinced me to never leave.
eleven.
It was the third week of December with Christmas break fast approaching. The atmosphere in the school was lifted. We were all just about to get a much needed break. With only two more days to go the teachers had been lenient with homework but harsh with tests. Their claim, if they waited till after break we"d forget everything, I found I couldn"t argue with this logic. So with that I had my study hall desk covered in math notes while Caeden distractedly played with my hair.
"Stop it," I giggled when he tickled my face with the ends of my hair. "I have to study."
"Please," he said, "you know that stuff inside and out. You"ll do fine."
"Mrs. Harding hates me," I said. "I have to do well on this."
"Sophie, you have a 4.0. I don"t think that"s about to change."
"Caeden," I sighed. "To have a 4.0 you have to work for it. That"s what I"m doing," I said indicating the explosion of equations. I could see Travis" dark eyes glued to me from across the room. His glare was menacing, predatory, but relaxed, the snake preparing to strike.
His fingers played with the skin at the back of my neck.
"Caeden," I scolded.
"Make me a deal. Go out with me tonight and I"ll leave you to your studies. Deal?" he asked.
"Caeden, I need to study tonight too," I whined.
His fingers played with chin and then trailed down my arm to my hand. He leaned in and inhaled the skin at my neck.
"Ugh! Fine you win! I"ll go out tonight," I said throwing my hands in the air.
He grinned like he had just won the lottery. "Swee-eee-eeet." He said making the word into three syllables. I shook my head at him and turned back to my notes.
No more than thirty seconds later the bell rang. "You"re the devil," I muttered.
"That"s right, never make a deal with me," he said and bent to kiss my cheek as he stood and grabbed his backpack.
"What about work?" I asked but I knew that since it was Tuesday we were both off. I was just in desperate need of an excuse.
He grinned. "You know we have today off," he waggled his finger at me like I was a pesky two year old. I piled my notes together and stuffed them in my backpack. I brushed my hair out of my face.
"I know," I grumbled and slung my backpack across my shoulder.
"Dress warmly. We"ll be outside some," he said.
"Are you trying to get me sick?" I asked as we started down the hallway.
"No," he said. "Have you ever been sick before? I"m talking common stuff, cold, flu?" he asked.
I thought his question strange but I thought about it for a moment. "No," I said.
"All part of being a shifter," he said. "We can still get serious illnesses unfortunately. Like cancer."
"My grandpa had cancer," I said. "I never met him. He didn"t know about me. Only Gram did."
"I"m sorry," he said.
"It doesn"t matter," I said. "It just makes me think that my parent"s sacrificed a lot to be together."
"They did," he stated, "and I"d do the same for you in a heartbeat."
"And I"d do anything for you," I replied ducking into my cla.s.sroom.
Neither one of us had said those three monumental words but we were getting closer day by day. It frightened me and exhilarated me all at the same time. With a smile on my face I took my seat.
I stood in front of my closet contemplating what to wear. I wanted to look nice, but not too dressy. Which shouldn"t have been too hard but my winter wardrobe, well my whole wardrobe really, was limited.
I pulled out a pair of dark wash jeans and a pair of boots. Now for a top... Hmm... Maybe... Nope, not that... Not that one either...
"Aha," I said pulling out an ivory long sleeved billowed blouse. I slipped it on. Perfect. And my black winter coat would go perfect.
I had curled my hair once again and put on only a minimal amount of makeup. Only mascara and a little blush and lip gloss. I fluffed my hair and picked up black fedora.
I twirled in the mirror not quite satisfied. I spied my dark purple scarf strung across the old chair; I had yet to do any remodeling to my room, not even paint. Maybe one day. Archie surprised me by jumping onto the chair and grabbing the scarf in his mouth. He wagged his tail, jumped down, and brought it to me.
I petted the dog"s head as I took the scarf from him. "Thanks Archie but I could have done without the dog s...o...b..r. The dog licked my hand and wagged his tail at me. "Bye Arch," I said walking out of my room.
I was surprised to find Caeden already in the living room. I hadn"t heard the door open. He looked dapper in his dark jeans, navy sweater, and black pea coat. He smiled when he saw me. His teeth flashing a startling white against his tan skin.
"Wow," he said and I blushed.
"I can look nice when I want too," I said trying to hide my face.
"I can see that," he said.
"Jerk," I said but went and kissed him. He laughed against my lips.
"Go, you two," said Gram, "you"re making me positively ill," she smiled.
"Bye Gram," I said.
"Lucinda," Caeden tipped his head and then we were out the door. He had driven his dark red Jeep and left it running so it was nice and toasty warm. The temperature had been steadily dropping every day; it had to be getting closer to twenty degrees then thirty.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"Downtown," he said, "to the historic district."
"Sounds fun," I said and meant it. I loved old buildings and towns. Just history in general. What can I say? I"m a cla.s.sified nerd.
"I"d say I"m sorry for taking you away from your studies but I"m not," he grinned as we got on the highway.
"If I fail it"s your fault," I joked.
"I can handle that," he said. "As long as you have fun tonight."
"I always have fun with you," I said.
He laughed. "I"m just so exceptionally awesome."
He exited the highway and navigated the dark streets of the town. He drove into the heart of the city and parked in a parking garage.
He stopped the car and kept muttering the section we were in to himself. I couldn"t help but laugh at him. "Don"t laugh at me," he said. "I routinely get lost in these garages and I don"t think you want to be stranded out here in the cold do you?"
"No," I said and then shook my head. "Did you ever think to use the panic b.u.t.ton?"
He blushed. "No, that never occurred to me."
"Well, now you know."
He chuckled. "We make a good match," he whispered.
I was quiet for a moment before I said, "We do. I guess this freaky wolf thing picked us for a reason."
He leaned his head against the headrest, the soft glow of the parking garage lights illuminating his face, he took a deep breath and said, "I would"ve picked you without the wolf thing."
I looked at Caeden, at his glowing blue eyes, and the earnest expression on his face, "I feel the same," I whispered. Despite Caeden being my mate I still found it hard to completely relinquish my heart to him. But I was getting close.
We stayed in the car for a few more minutes, not saying a thing, letting our words hang quietly in the air, making them all the more powerful.
Finally Caeden turned to me and smiled his dimple showing. "Enough of this serious talk let"s go have some fun."
He got out of the car and went around to the trunk. I hopped out just as I saw him sling something across his shoulder.
"You play guitar?" I asked.
"Yep," he said.
"Why am I just now learning this?" I asked.
He grinned and took my hand leading me out of the garage in the direction he wanted to go.
"I have to keep a few surprises up my sleeve," he shrugged, "You know... just in case you get sick of me or something," he smiled.
"You know that"s not going to happen," I rolled my eyes.
"Still," he said, "I have to keep you on your toes."
I laughed. "I"ll be on them," I said. "So, what else don"t I know about you?"
"Hmm, besides my all around awesomeness? I"m a ninja."