Sprouting fangs and claws in front of the kids definitely wouldn’t be good.
When they finally stopped in front of a classroom on the other side of the building and Rachel shoved open the door with a snarl, Knox made sure he was the first one in the room, a hand on Rachel’s arm to hopefully keep her from doing anything she’d regret—like ripping Aaron into small, messy chunks of wannabe bad boy.
They found Addy and Aaron at the front of a science classroom, the girl pressed back against the whiteboard, eyes wide in fear as her boyfriend leaned into her personal space. Knox didn’t miss the fact that Addy’s pink lipstick was smudged.
He felt his gums and fingernails tingle as his inner wolf began salivating at the thought of tearing this punk apart. Then Rachel shoved his arm aside and charged forward, and he realized he probably wouldn’t get the chance.
Knox quickly got in front of Rachel, stopping her before she could get more than two steps. “I’ll take care of lover boy. You get Addy out of here.”
Rachel stared at him as if she wanted to argue, but then the red glow in her eyes disappeared. She looked at him in confusion for a fraction of a second before moving over to put her arm around Addy to lead her out of the room, glaring at Aaron as she went. Ben threw a pissed-off look at Aaron, then followed Rachel and his friend out of the room. Aaron made to follow, but Knox stopped him with a glower.
His fangs were doing their best to push their way out, a sure sign he was close to losing control. He forced himself to calm down, envisioning those peaceful forest scenes Rachel had described that night in her apartment.
It didn’t help that Aaron’s heart began thumping like a drum. Knox paused. Damn, he could actually hear the kid’s heartbeat. This was the first time something like that had happened to him.
“I…um…should get back to the dance,” Aaron stuttered.
“Not until we have a little talk,” Knox said.
The kid swallowed hard. “About what?”
Knox put his hand on the back of the kid’s neck and guided him toward the door. “Consent and what that word means.”
“Okay,” Aaron said nervously.
He steered the kid into the hallway and started back toward the gym. “Then we’ll talk about you finding a girlfriend your own age. And after that, we’ll discuss the way you’re going to treat women from this day forward for the rest of your life.”
* * *
Knox was almost at the gym when he heard Rachel and Addy talking just ahead of him. It sounded like they were having a serious conversation, so he stopped where he was in the darkened hallway around the corner to give them a chance to finish. He paced away a bit, but it didn’t matter. He could still hear them clear as a bell. He guessed his werewolf ears had finally decided to make a full-time appearance.
He and Aaron had talked for a good fifteen minutes, and Knox liked to think he’d gotten through to the kid—at least it seemed like the teen had been seriously considering what they’d talked about as they walked out to the parking lot. The kid had even given him a look that seemed appreciative as he’d started his small bike to head home.
“Did you really want those nachos, or was that an excuse to get rid of Ben?” he heard Addy ask.
Rachel laughed. “You got me. It was a ploy. I know you said you didn’t mind him being there as we talked about what happened with Aaron, but there’s something I wanted to say to you without Ben around to overhear.”
Addy sighed. “I already know what you’re going to say. Now that I’m never going to get within twenty feet of Aaron or anyone like him, you think I should give Ben a chance, right? That he’s always been there for me. Risking his life at the mall. Coming to look for me tonight? You think he could be someone I’d get along with better?”
Another musical laugh filled the air. “I was all set to give you this wonderful advice about giving him a shot, but it sounds like you already have all the answers.”
There was silence for a moment, then Addy spoke again. “If I had all the answers, I never would have been dumb enough to think that Aaron was the kind of guy I wanted to be with. But I’m ready to give Ben a chance if you do one thing for me.”
“What’s that?” Rachel asked, amusement filling her voice.
“If I’m going to give Ben a chance, you need to make a move on Knox. I saw the two of you out there on the dance floor, so don’t tell me there’s nothing between you guys because it’s obvious there is. You see it, right?”
Knox was stunned at how badly he wanted to hear Rachel’s answer. So badly in fact that he moved closer to hear the conversation. But then, just when it seemed like she was going to reply, he heard footsteps, then Ben announcing he’d gotten two trays of nachos with extra cheese. There was no chance of getting an answer to Addy’s question now.
He waited another few moments, then turned the corner, asking if they’d saved any chips for him.
Chapter 9
Rachel was still smiling when she walked into her apartment after dropping Addy off at home. Locking the door behind her, she headed straight for the bedroom, where she slipped out of her dress and kicked her heels into the corner of her closet. The little .380 double action pistol that had been tucked into the thigh holster nestled against her leg came off next, then finally her panties. She almost laughed as she tossed her underwear into the hamper. The evening hadn’t been anything like she’d expected it to be.
In a word, it had beenah-mazing.
While she was thrilled with how the night had ended for Addy and Ben—with the girl promising to talk to her friend soon about how she felt about him—it was spending time with Knox that had her almost…well,giddywas about the only word she could come up with to describe it. Normally her name andgiddywould never exist in the same zip code, but what the hell? It fit now.
