“He understands,” Sawyer growled.
Before I knew it, Sawyer and I had crawled down a ladder and into a rowboat with Eugene at the helm.
“Get us the hell out of here,” Sawyer snarled.
Eugene looked at me, perplexed, but nodded.
When we were about fifty yards away, the yacht started up again and sailed away as the sun set on the horizon.
Sawyer held my hand so tightly it almost hurt, but I didn’t think he realized it. It was like he was afraid of letting me go, and it touched my heart that seeing another man mistreat me wound him up so badly.
“Sawyer?” I called to him, and he looked over at me, eyes still orange. “I’m okay.” I placed a hand on his chest and his eyes flickered blue. “I’m okay,” I repeated again.
His breath shuddered, and then he leaned forward, touching his forehead to mine. His eyes slowly faded from orange to blue. “Demi, I will never let anyone hurt you. Ever.”
My throat went dry. I believed him.
Could you fall in love with someone who you hadn’t even kissed? Because I was falling for Sawyer Hudson,hard.
But was he falling for me? Or did I have too much baggage already?
By the time our limo stopped in front of my dorm, Sawyer was fully human again, but had stayed quiet throughout the entire drive. I was so used to the silence that I startled when he spoke. “Have you had any trouble keeping your wolf down?”
Okay, so were we finally going to go there … talk about my little freako split shifter problem?
I chuckled. “I was forced to keep my wolf down for twenty years. What’s another little while?”
He frowned. “Full moon is tomorrow night. The entire school goes for a pack run.”
Oh … so that’s why he was bringing it up.
Great.
I shrugged. “I’ll say I’m sick.”
He chewed his lip. “You’ve never been on a pack run during full moon. The collective magic that we use to shift is so strong … you won’t be able to fight it.”
“Oh … well…”
“I have an idea.” He rubbed circles in the center of my palm. “You shift inside your dorm, early, and I’ll come get you and walk your wolf over to the run site while your … other form stays in your dorm.”
A grin broke out onto my face. “So I could run with you? With everyone?”
He nodded, looking hopeful. “Assuming there aren’t any issues…”
I frowned. “Issues?”
He shrugged. “How far away can you be from your wolf? Does it hurt if you get too far? Things like that.”
My eyes widened. “Oh … and if there are issues?”
He placed a possessive hand on my thigh. “Then I’ll bring you right back to your dorm and say youaresick.”
I nodded. It was worth a try, especially since I couldn’t fake sickness and hide every month for the rest of the school year.
The door opened then and I saw a flash of Eugene before he was gone. Sawyer stepped out, pulling me up, but he didn’t back away as I stood right up against his body. “I’m sorry tonight was a bust. I wanted you to have a really special date with me.”
His warm body, pressed against mine, made me ache with need.
