Just after midnight.
He slipped back into the house via the front door, his Lycan vision quickly adjusting to the darkness. The living area was empty and there were no trace scents in the air either, but then he heard a rustling sound. It was coming from the hallway where the bedrooms were located.
Olivia.
Without another thought, he rushed toward the bedrooms, his adrenaline surging further when he saw the shadow just outside the bedroom Olivia had picked. He growled as he rushed forward and reached out, grabbing at the figure.
“Eli! It’s me!”
He froze, then quickly released Olivia. “What-what—” He sucked in a deep breath. “What are you doing out here?”
“I was just, uh ...” She looked around. “I was … looking for you.”
His heart picked up its pace again, though this time for an entirely different reason. “Me? Why? Are you okay? Is the baby?—”
“No, I’m good. We’re good.” She smoothed her hair away from her face. “Oh my God, I didn’t even think to brush my hair. I must look terrible. No wonder you looked scared.”
He swallowed. Even with her hair mussed and dressed only in a matching pajama set that covered her entire body, she was still gorgeous, like an angel from heaven. It made him think of that night, of how she rode him hard?—
Not wanting to continue those thoughts, he cleared his throat. “So … you were looking for me?”
“Yeah, um. I couldn’t sleep. I never do when I’m somewhere new. And then I thought you might be cold.” She held something up—his leather jacket. “I forgot to give it back after the restaurant.”
“Oh. Uh, thanks.” Gingerly, he took it from her, avoiding her touch.Goddammit, Sloane was right.This wasn’t going to work if they kept acting like awkward teenagers. They would have to start getting more comfortable with each other. But how was he going to bring this up?
Maybe it was best to just say it.
“So—”
“We need—” he said at the same time. “Go ahead.”
“N-no, no, you go ahead.”
“No, you first.”
“I just … we haven’t had the time …” Olivia paused, then squared her shoulders. “I guess I also wanted to tell you, about tomorrow … we should do what Jacob and Sloane said, of course.”
“I agree.” Their mission depended on it.
“So … do whatever you need to do.” She bit at her lip. “And I’ll play along. I’ll consent, if you want to like, touch me and stuff. Around the other Boston Lycans.”
Now his heart completely stopped and his throat turned so dry he couldn’t speak. He must have waited too long to react because her expression dropped.
“Or not. We don’t have to do anything,” she said flatly. “Anyway, th-that’s it. I’ll?—”
“No, that’s not—” He raked his fingers through his hair. There were so many things he wanted to tell her. But he just couldn’t find the right words. “Fine. We’ll do what we need to.”
“Okay. Goodnight.” With one last nod at him, she pivoted and hurried back into her room.
He let out a long, deep breath. He really should have insisted she stayed back. For one thing, they didn’t really quite agree on what “getting to know each other” meant, as they had been interrupted yesterday during their talk. At the very least, being apart might have given them the chance to figure out what they each wanted.
Or she changed her mind about him.
Without thinking, he brought the jacket to his nose, inhaling her deliciously sweet, cinnamon scent which had permeated the lining. The very thought of never being able to touch her again, to keep his distance while she had their baby … well it sent his thoughts into such a dark direction that he feared he wouldn’t be able to pull himself out.
The next day, they set off for Boston in the morning, taking their time as they stopped for both breakfast and lunch before arriving at a quiet suburb just outside the main Boston city center. Sloane suggested they go see Martha first, and then have her call Matty and Patrick over since they didn’t live too far away. They pulled off at a gas station and Sloane called her aunt’s friend from there as Jacob filled up the car.
“Well?” Jacob asked as Sloane climbed into the passenger seat after her phone conversation. “What did she say?”
