Joshua scuffed his shoe against the floor. “Only a couple of hours longer than you. That’s why I was at the store that day with Jenny Carps. I’d just learned about it and I wanted to tellyou myself. Then… it just seemed like a better idea not to bring it up.”
“But it would take more than a day to gather all of this,” Kira murmured.
“I’ve been working on it for a while. It’s not a wedding present. Not really.” Joshua hated how he sounded, almost petulant, as though he didn’t want her to be pleased. Why couldn’t he share how he really felt about this? “I was gathering it all to help with your magic. Yours and Gwen’s,” he added. He didn’t want her to know how much she had been at the forefront of his thoughts with every purchase. No doubt it would frighten her off again… or give her the wrong idea about what their relationship was actually going to be.
He was giving himself the wrong idea.Nothing can happen. Unless I get a vasectomy.Maybe he would. Maybe then they could have a physical relationship. Only if Kira wanted one, of course.
“How do you know so much about my magic?” Kira moved a little closer.
Her scent wafted into his nostrils, and a shiver ran down his spine. “I—” He cut himself off. He couldn’t reveal he knew she could use spells now. She’d only done it when she and Gwen were alone. “I told you, I asked Gwen about what ingredients you’d need, and I looked through some books.”
“Thank you. This is very nice. And roomier than I expected.” She tested the sink, smiling when water ran out from the faucet. It had been a simple matter of extending the plumbing, since it was right next to the bathroom anyway.
“Your bedroom is just across the hall,” Joshua said. “It’s basic right now, of course. You can move as many of your thingsin as you’d like. You still have my credit card. You can use it to get whatever you need.”
Kira opened her mouth, then seemed to think better about whatever she was planning to say. She headed across the hallway and entered her bedroom. It held a full-sized loft bed, under which was the only closet space in the room. It was a tiny room, yes, but Joshua thought she would appreciate being as far away from him as possible. A tiny desk was placed beneath the window, and a bookshelf lined the wall opposite the bed. That was it.
“I can move my office if you need more space,” Joshua said, his gaze tracing along the vine-like patterns in the carpet.
“This will be fine. Thank you.”
Joshua looked up. He tried to force a smile, but his mouth didn’t quite work. Kira stared back at him. Neither of them spoke until Joshua turned and walked down the hallway without a word. Once he was alone, he shut the door and leaned against it. Considering their history, that had gone well. At least, it did after they came to the house.
He wasn’t going to count the rest of the day.
***
The next morning, he was in the kitchen, already dressed for the day, when Kira stumbled into the kitchen. Her hair was even messier than normal, her eyes half-shut. The pajamas she wore were thin, consisting of a tank top and shorts that only reached mid-thigh. Her top had ridden up, revealing an inch of skin around her midriff. A little pink bow sat in the middle of the V-neck, nestled between her breasts. The outline of her sports bra showed under the thin fabric, but that didn’t stop her figure from affecting him.
“Morning,” Kira mumbled, her voice husky with sleep as she went to the coffee machine.
Joshua grabbed his keys, turning away so Kira wouldn’t see just how his body responded to her. His skin was flushed, and his pants felt too tight. Goddess, she was so appealing it nearly drove him wild. Her shorts cupped her ass perfectly.
“I’m late for training with the special ops,” he grunted.
Kira looked over her shoulder. “You train them?”
“I help. I have a military background, after all.”
“Oh. Right, I remember hearing about it. When will you be back?” As she stretched her arms over her head, it pulled her shorts up, just enough to show the crease of her ass on one side.
Joshua quickly turned and headed for the door. “I’ll let you know,” he called over his shoulder. He didn’t look back. It just wasn’t safe.
Chapter 7 - Kira
Kira smoothed down the front of her shirt, grimacing as she did so. Now that Joshua had pulled up to his parents’ house, she was second-guessing everything. She had put her hair up in a jeweled claw and put on a pale pink shirt and a floor-length jean skirt. Now, as she pulled down the sunshade to check her makeup in the mirror, she looked washed out. Maybe she should have put on more makeup. For dinner, she always wore full glam. Maybe she should have done that for this dinner, too, instead of keeping a more modest palette.
“Are you ready?” Joshua asked, not looking at her. Of course he wasn’t looking at her. Her hair was frizzy, with too many broken ends for it to lie smoothly. Goddess, she needed to redo her entire hygiene routine—
Stop, she told herself. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, allowing herself to face the real issue.
Out of everyone in the pack, the people who still treated her poorly fell into two categories. One, they were the people who peaked in high school and were trying to relive their glory days via bullying. Two, they were the older people in the pack, the ones more entrenched in the old, strict hierarchy that they lived their lives in.
She wished Joshua would offer her some words of comfort, but he got out of the car in silence. Kira pushed the sunshade back into place, then yelped as Joshua opened her door. He offered her his hand. She ignored the gesture, heat flooding her face as she climbed from the car. Joshua’s hand dropped back to his side, and he let out a little snort.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to embarrass you,” she told him under her breath.
They headed up the walk. Joshua didn’t ring the doorbell; he just walked right in. It felt weird and awkward, but she stepped in after him. Soon after, two people came down the hallway. Susan Woods was short and round, with a bright, smiling face. Mark Woods was two inches taller than his son, also round, with eyes that crinkled at the corners and sparkled merrily.
