“Oh.” My heart sank. I’d never had any grand assumptions about sex, but I hadn’t expected the aftermath of something that felt so wonderful to be so awkward. I gestured to the door behind me. “I guess I should go.”
“Sure,” he said, that shadow of sadness still in his eyes. “That’s fine.”
“Do you go on runs a lot?” I asked, trying to keep the conversation going and get his spirits back up. Had I done something to cause this sudden shift in emotion? Was it not as good for him as he’d said?
Levi shrugged and looked sheepish—at least as sheepish as a massive alpha could look, which wasn’t much in reality. “I tend to stay in my wolf form a lot. It’s…comfortable.”
That was how he’d managed to stay so young even after all these years. As badly as I wanted to shift and get to know my inner wolf, the thought of being in that form for decades sounded a bit like torture. It was part of him, yes, but sleeping was also a part of every person’s life—a pleasurable and relaxing part—but if you remained in bed for years, your body would atrophy. Too much of a good thing tended to always end up going badly. I didn’t want to argue about it, though, because my mind was still reeling from what he’d done to me—from what we’d done toeach other.
“I’ll let you get to it,” I said, taking a step toward the door.
Levi grabbed my hand. The look on his face was hard to read. There was kindness there but regret as well, hope along with lingering lust, and that sadness too.
“Ireallyenjoyed this, June. I hope you know that. It, uh, well, it wasn’t exactly how I anticipated the night going, but I hope you liked it.”
That’s putting it mildly.
“I did,” I said, suddenly embarrassed. “I think…” I smiled self-consciously. “I think I learned a lot.”
“Good,” he said, looking pleased. “I’m glad.”
“Have a good run,” I said. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“I’ll be here.”
He walked me out, and I headed to the dining cabin. I was starving. I forced myself not to turn and look back at him, but I couldfeelhis eyes on me. As I walked, I replayed everything: thewords, the touching, the way his mouth pressed into mine, what it felt like when he thrust into?—
“June? Come on, you’re late.”
Flinching, I glanced up, my mind ripped away from the mental image of what Levi had done to me. Linnea stood on the porch of the dining cabin, the largest building in Hidden Grove.
“Uh, sorry,” I said. “I was a little caught up with, er, Levi.”
“How did it go? Make any progress?” she asked as we stepped inside.
“Oh, you could say that,” I said.
“It must have been a pretty tough lesson,” Linnea said, giving me a curious look. “I can smell him all over you.”
I swallowed hard. “Oh, uh, yeah. Lots of close quarters work,” I mumbled.
“Uh huh,” Linnea said, but I couldn’t tell if she believed it had been completely innocent. Thankfully, she didn’t pry any further.
Inside, the dull hum of conversation greeted us. Most of the pack was here. Seeing everyone in one place always shocked me. Hidden Grove wasn’t big, but a surprising number of people lived here. Levi had been saving rejected mates for a long time, giving them a place to live. I wondered if I could have done the same thing in his position. It was a lot of work and took a massive force of will to create all this out of nothing.
Linnea led me to a table in the corner, where the food was laid out. Tonight’s fare was chili, cornbread, and pickled vegetables.
“Spill,” Linnea said as she ladled chili into a bowl for me.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
She gave me a knowing look and ushered me to the closest table to sit. “Youknow what I mean. I saw it out there.” She pointed at the door. “You had that look on your face.”
“What look?” I shrank into my chair, feeling like I was being interrogated.
Linnea leaned forward and lowered her voice. “Thefreshly fuckedlook.”
I bit my lip as a mischievous twinkle entered her eyes. I was prey stuck under the gaze of a predator—at least that’s how my guilty conscience made it seem.
