Adopt a Vampire
: Chapter 7

I went to work on Monday morning with firm plans to do some shopping afterward. All of my slacks were now tight, my jeans were snug enough to act like a corset, and I was literally down to two pairs loose enough I could still do the button up. I’d gained fifteen pounds over the weekend, an insane amount, but I supposed being on the brink of starving and then eating a solid twelve meals in a row would do that to you. Marissa was pleased as punched, and Barrett was openly relieved. I was ecstatic. It was so, so nice to wake up, have a lovely and filling breakfast, and know I wouldn’t be starving the entire day while trying to focus on work. I even had plans to meet someone for lunch.

Of course the change in me was noticeable. My mirror plainly told me that. I didn’t have a sunken look to my face anymore, like a skeleton with skin pulled tight over the bones. I had a bit of a healthy glow to me, too, less grey skin and more naturally pale. I knew the minute I walked into my office, the women I worked with would notice the difference. Sure enough, I barely went two feet inside when Ashlee, our receptionist, looked up with a general hello that stuttered to a stop on her lips.

Ashlee’s bright pink lips let out a low whistle as she looked me up and down, taking off her square-shaped glasses in order to give me a better study. “Jesse. Wow, you look so much better than you did on Thursday. Emily, come see!”

From the other end of the hallway, our other attorney (and my boss) came bustling out on her platformed heels, jean skirt swaying as she walked quickly toward us, putting a pen behind her ear. Her slate grey eyes gave me a once-over, and she did the same sort of double take as Ashlee had. “Wow, Jesse! You look like you actually have weight on you now.”

Fortunately, I’d already come up with a plausible response to this. “Met with a nutritionist Thursday after work, and she figured out why I reacted so poorly to all foods. Turns out I’m allergic to the chemicals most foods are processed in. She got me started on a new diet, and as you can see, it’s working. I gained fifteen pounds over the weekend.”

Both of these women were friends as well as coworkers—as much as I could have human friends—so it didn’t surprise me when Emily drew me in for a firm hug, which I returned because hugs. Hugs were always good. “Honey, I’m so glad. We were worried, it looked like you were literally wasting away. It worried me when you called out Friday. What chemicals exactly?”

“Preservatives,” I answered, drawing back as I went with the story Marissa had helped me concoct. This apparently actually was a real thing, so if they googled it, they’d replace evidence to corroborate my story. “Hence why eating for me was so hit and miss. It entirely depended on the food’s freshness.”

“I’m glad you figured it out. This nutritionist must be very good.”

“Expert in her field, in my opinion,” I answered truthfully. “I’ll be meeting her for lunch everyday to check in, at least for the next several weeks. We want to make sure I don’t regress.”

“Of course,” Ashlee agreed promptly, as if this was just common sense. “Keep us updated. Although you’ll have to go shopping soon, if you’re going to gain weight so quickly.”

“Hopefully it tapers off as I catch back up to my normal weight, whatever that’s supposed to be. Otherwise, I’ll be Baby Beluga.” I grinned, happy they were so obviously pleased for me. I’d once thought it would be easy to pick up and move if I had to, but I would miss these two women who often went out of their way to make my day brighter. “Oh, before I forget, I met a contractor on Friday too. A friend of my nutritionist. He just moved his company down here, and I have a stack of cards to give out to anyone who needs work done. I saw some of his work, and he’s good.”

“Sure, hand them here,” Ashlee said, reaching out a hand.

We all went to our own offices after that, settling into the workday, with me stepping out at lunch to snack on Marissa. I really had to come up with a good term for that. It was so awkward, even in my own head. I wondered what vampires normally called it?

I had a lot to do, so the day went quickly, and Marissa came around to pick me up precisely at quitting time. I climbed into her sporty red Charger and requested, “You mind if we go to the mall? I need to buy a few clothes to tide me over for the next week.”

She gave me a quick nod even as she reversed out of the space. “Of course. I’m not surprised you’re having trouble with your clothes now. I’m not sure what weight you’ll hit, but I think you’ll steadily gain weight over the next month, so I wouldn’t buy much today. You’ll change sizes again by the end of the week at the rate you’re going.”

“Yeah, I figured as much.” Belatedly, I realized I never had gotten a clear idea of boundaries. “Uh, the mall is safe for us to go into, right?”

“There’s a few neutral zones in the city,” she assured me, eyes on the road. “The mall is one of them. Any church is neutral. Hospitals, not that anyone but the witches can go in there without getting some raised eyebrows. Government buildings.”

“So the places that everyone needs access to,” I summarized, mostly to myself. That did make sense. It would cause constant tension, otherwise, as people needed certain things to function in society, and being cut off from it would be asking for fights to break out. “Got it.”

“Jesse.” Marissa chewed on her bottom lip, taking the red lipstick off in the process, studying me from the corner of her eye. “While I have you like this, I need to ask you something.”

This was going to be a whopper of a question, I could tell. “All right.”

“I heard about what you did, how you intervened between Matias and Oron. Why did you do it?”

“I didn’t want a fight to break out,” I answered slowly, not sure what I was being accused of. Was I being accused? “And Oron shoved Matias, so it looked like it was about to get physical.”

She chewed a little harder on her lip but didn’t respond.

“Marissa, Barrett was perfectly okay with how I handled the situation.”

“No, I know,” she answered quickly, focusing on the road as the light turned green. “That’s not it. Well, that’s partially it. I’m a little worried about you getting in over your head, honestly, as your strength isn’t restored yet. They could have seriously hurt you. But aside from that, it’s…odd…to all of us that they acknowledged you and backed down.”

I regarded her profile steadily, trying to hear what she didn’t say. “I have this feeling I’ve disturbed the pecking order.”

She snorted a laugh, shooting me a quick smile. “That’s it exactly. When Barrett invited you to stay, we thought of you more like a guest, but you’re actively engaging with the pack in ways we didn’t expect. Apparently, most of the pack are choosing to defer to you. Even they can’t explain to me why, as you’re not doing any posturing or trying to assert authority. But they all acknowledge you’re in the upper ranks, although they’re not sure why. Instinctively, they just react to you that way.”

I had the feeling I was either stepping on toes or she was afraid I would. “For that matter, I’m not sure where I stand with all of you. I’m not a pack leader, not a lieutenant like you are, and I’m not sure if I’ll ever have the right to be.”

“Typically, this sort of thing sorts itself out whenever a new wolf joins us. And of course, any child born into the pack naturally replaces their own place as they grow up with us. You’re an exception to the norm. I fully expect it to work itself out, things always do, but I wanted to get your take on it.”

The mall came into sight, and she changed lanes to make the turn. I knew we didn’t have more than a few minutes of privacy to finish this conversation, and I wanted to reassure her, as she was trying to be tactful. “Really, I’m only interested in protecting the pack and supporting Barrett’s stance on things. I’ll only interfere if I feel like it’s necessary.”

“Like last night?”

“Like last night,” I confirmed.

The mall at this time of the evening didn’t have a lot of visitors, so she found a parking space relatively close to the entrance. However, she didn’t immediately climb out, although she unbuckled her seat belt to face me more directly. “All right. I think that’s a good stance to take, but I have one more thing to talk to you about. There’s a few people who think you’re seducing Barrett.”

My brain temporarily went offline as it tried to process this and failed. “Come again?”

“Yes, I found it amusing as well,” Marissa replied, a wicked grin curving her mouth up. “To my eyes, it’s exactly the opposite.”

Reboot failed. (R)etry (A)bort?

Marissa cackled. “You should see the look on your face.”

Yeah, I bet it was a good one. I felt like someone had taken a two-by-four and smacked me in the back of the head. Barrett was trying to seduce me? How?! Or…maybe…a lot of little behaviors were suddenly adding up in my head, things I’d chalked up to habits amongst weres. “W-Wait just minute. So that maneuver he does, where he kind of swoops in on you and puts an arm around you and snugs you in—”

“Doesn’t do it to anyone else,” she confirmed, still laughing.

“And that other thing, where he catches the back of your head and leans in to whisper against your ear—”

“I have literally never seen him do it before you.”

I kind of already knew the answer, but my mouth was on a roll and asked anyway. “And him always standing or leaning into my personal space?”

“Now that he does do with others. It’s kinda a wolf thing, as we don’t know what personal space is, but you’ll notice he’s usually in your personal space and not anyone else’s. Also, I have literally never seen him so protective of another person, ever. Do you know he called me just to see if you ate?” she tacked on, rolling her eyes in despair.

My mouth fished for words, a response of some kind, but brain was still offline and couldn’t supply them. Ria had teased me about being exactly her brother’s type, but the man acted like a mother cat with a new kitten half the time, so he hadn’t been giving me the right signals for me to pick up on. Or maybe he had, but it was in wolf-ese. Cultural gap, much? This thrilled me, honestly, because I’d never dated a man as good as Barrett, but at the same time, it made me nervous as hell. I wasn’t blind. If I dated Barrett, it would be just like dating a single dad with two hundred kids. Actually, that was a good point. “Marissa. Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t Barrett need, like, another alpha? A female alpha, I mean?”

My question got her laughing all over again. “Is that what you thought?”

“I literally know nothing about werewolves aside from what I learned over the weekend. Help a brother out, here,” I growled at her. “Hollywood obviously can’t be trusted. Can he or can he not have a male partner?”

“He totally can,” she answered, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes. So glad I amused her. “You’re right on the alpha part, at least. His partner is his stand-in if he’s absent from the pack for whatever reason, so he can’t have a doormat for a spouse.”

Okay, so I was half right. I wasn’t entirely sure how I felt about this information.

“So you are interested. Right?”

Craaaap. I might have given too much away with my line of inquiry. I carefully looked elsewhere, fingers knotting together, a nervous tic that surely gave me away. “I’m pretty sure you’d have to be blind and six feet under to not see the man’s appeal. Hold on, that’s why you were asking what my intentions were earlier.”

“You’re quick,” she said in approval, finally opening her car door. Inquisition over now that she had her answers, eh?

I quickly got out as well, leaving my briefcase in the car, and she locked the doors behind us. In two quick steps, I caught up with her, demanding in a low voice, “But seriously, can he even pick me? I’m a vampire. That’s got to be against the rules.”

“You’re unprecedented,” Marissa pointed out, all unruffled and logical now that she had her answers. “A vampire literally has never chosen to live with werewolves before now, much less shown interest in dating one of us. No rules to break. And personally, I’m relieved to see Barrett showing interest in somebody. I’d begun to think there was something up, that’s how long his dry spell has been.”

I kept pace with her, thinking this over. It had to be ludicrously difficult to date someone in his position, though. If he dated someone inside the pack, it could be seen as favoritism and cause conflict. Outside of it, pack politics likely would come into it at some point. And it would take guts to date someone like him, knowing the responsibility that came with it. Frankly, this was the part I was unnerved about. Did I have that kind of leadership ability in me?

“It really made him happy to see you in action with Matias and Oron,” Marissa added idly, as if reading my mind. “It showed you had the ability to calm down two irate wolves and solve their problem without it turning physical. Not many have that skill.”

So to Barrett, I’d already shown I had the skills to be an alpha? Yikes. I felt…let’s go with happy. Sure. I felt happy…but also scared, nervous, flustered, and a few other dozen emotions.

We hit the mall entrance and stepped inside the cool air conditioning. It felt blissful compared to the beating heat outside despite being early fall. The map to the mall stood in front of us, planters with greenery on either side, and a food court stretched out along the very wide hallway. I got the general impression of the place, but my attention zeroed in on the lanky man sitting on the bench about twenty feet away. He was on the phone as we walked in, but he looked up sharply as we passed through the doors. I got one good whiff of him and froze for a split second before instinct put me between him and Marissa, physically blocking his path to her.

Witch.

I could feel my muscles quiver, urging me to run, instincts clamoring. For a moment, I could only smell the heady scent of magic, and it brought up all sorts of bad memories. It damn near made me nauseous under the onslaught of smells, to the point I regretted my lunch and wanted to hurl.

More than anything, I wanted to run, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t leave Marissa alone with him. Who knew what he’d do to her? I couldn’t have that on my conscience.

I wanted to run, though. Oh so badly.

“Uhhh, call you back, man,” the young witch said slowly, then hung up before spreading both hands to the side in a deliberately nonaggressive move.

Marissa put both hands gently on my shoulders, whispering to me, “I told you, this is a neutral zone.”

“I believe you. Problem is, he reeks of magic.” I could never forget the smell, not in a million years—like acid, molten heat, and the rising energy of a mother storm all combined in one. The odor clung to him like a second skin.

“Wow, you can smell it?” Witch scratched his three-day-old stubble, dark eyes sharp on me. He looked like the quintessential next-door neighbor, harmless and a little scruffy, handsome in his own way. I didn’t trust appearances. “You’ve got an extra sensitive sniffer.”

“No. Just had a bad experience once.”

“Ouch. One of us, eh? Well, not us, we’re not into the dark magic stuff. White witches, that’s us.” He stood and approached, but when I didn’t drop my guard, he paused. “Yeah, okay, let me explain why I’m here. A new store just opened up in the mall yesterday, some new age thing, only there’s some problematic inventory. They’ve got some incense candles in there with spells engraved into the wax. The humans just think it’s cool shit, probably, but the spells are working ’cause they’re activated by fire. They’re revealing spells, to make matters worse.”

“Revealing spells, as in…?” Marissa trailed off, studying the guy over my shoulder, although she had to prop herself onto her toes to manage it.

“As in, all of us are no longer behind the magic curtain, yeah. I mean, it’ll show my magic in a visible aura, but for weres? It’ll force a shift to your furry forms in a snap.” Witch grimaced. “I was reporting it when you walked in. It’s seriously not a good idea to be in here today, at least not if you’re going toward the east section of the mall. I swear to you, it’s not one of us who opened the store, and if we’d known about it before now, we would have stopped it from coming in.”

I strangely believed him. My flight or fight had died down enough my body had stopped trying to jerk me into motion. I should still remain cautious, but if he stood here candidly talking about the issue, in a mall, I felt like he might be trustworthy? The last time I’d met a witch, I’d been ambushed in a less than public place, so the experience alone was worlds different.

I think Marissa trusted him too, as she came around to stand next to me, giving me a pointed look. “I’m Marissa, from Walker Pack. This is Jesse, also from Walker.”

“Anthony, from Blue Moon Coven. Wow, a vampire and a werewolf in the same territory? Seriously? Did Oscar have a hernia when he found out?”

If he disliked Oscar, I was even more inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt. “Just about. He wanted me to join them. I didn’t like his methods.”

“Dude, you’re smart to avoid him. He’s a douchebag.” Tapping a finger to his mouth, Anthony offered, “In the spirit of goodwill, let me escort you guys through here. Just for today. I’ll deflect the revealing spell. Yeah? We don’t want trouble here, and we’d prefer to stay on the Walker Pack’s good side.”

I didn’t really care for the idea, but then again, I only knew about witches through my single awful experience. Marissa, who knew more than I did about witches, didn’t flinch and even looked like she was considering following him.

“Maybe tell me how you joined the pack while we shop?” Anthony added in with unabashed curiosity.

Blowing out a breath, I considered all the angles, but we were in a public mall. In daylight. I didn’t think he’d really try something here. Still, just in case…I pulled out my phone and called up Barrett. He answered in two rings. “Barrett. I’m at the mall with Marissa, and there’s a bit of a situation here.”

“Dangerous?” he asked, and I swear to you, I could just hear him going for his car keys.

“Potentially, but before you start driving over here like a bat out of hell, listen.” I filled him in, all the facts, and he did listen without asking a single question. “I’m inclined to do some shopping and scope out the situation. Anthony of Blue Moon Coven has offered to escort us as a goodwill gesture until his people can sort out the problem. What do you want us to do?”

He hesitated audibly for a good second. “Play this by ear. Try going farther in. If you think it’s too risky, thank the man for his offer and pull out. If you’re not home in an hour, I’m coming in after you, so be quick.”

“I’ll call once we’re free of the mall, or text you,” I promised. I didn’t want the man to either charge in here or grow an ulcer in worry.

“I’ll warn everyone to steer clear of the mall until it’s resolved. Get Anthony’s number if you can. We have no way of communicating with his coven right now, which is obviously not good.”

“Roger that. Sit tight, I’ll let you know,” I said, then ended the call. “He wants us to go in a little farther, see how bad it is. If it’s all right, I’ll shop quick. Anthony, we have no way of communicating with anyone in your coven. Do you mind if we have at least your number?”

He nodded instantly, nonchalant. “Sure. Me and our head witch, how about that?”

“All right. You can have mine and Barrett’s in return.” This situation made me uneasy, but everyone was being so logical about it all that I felt foolish for even thinking of arguing. Still, I was cautious as we exchanged numbers, and I had my guard up as we walked farther into the mall. The magic smell grew stronger, nearly burning my nostril hairs, and once we reached the four-way intersection in the middle of the mall, even Marissa made a face.

“All right, I smell it now,” she muttered, nose scrunched up like she’d put her face square into a poopy diaper. “Yikes, that’s a very distinctive and unpleasant stench.”

“To you guys, maybe. Smells good to a human nose.” Anthony shrugged. “Where we going, man?”

“Men’s department store. JCPenney’s works.” I just needed cheap clothes that looked decent for work and something I could lounge in. It didn’t have to be expensive.

Fortunately, the shop I needed was to the left, away from the problematic store. Marissa charmed a tape measure away from a sales associate, measured my waist, and we went directly to a sales rack. As we shopped, Marissa casually told Anthony the abridged version of how I came into the pack, and he asked more than a few questions. I still wasn’t really comfortable with him and let her do the talking while I picked stuff out and tried them on. I went a size bigger, figuring they would last a little longer. I’d need a belt to keep them up for the next few days, but it shouldn’t be a problem.

I bought five work shirts, three pairs of slacks, two pairs of jeans, and some underwear. On second thought, maybe some loose workout clothes to sleep in?

Marissa appeared at my side, studied the selection, and went for a pair of joggers and a matching jacket. “You’ll need something for the full moon this weekend.”

“Come again?” Was that supposed to make sense?

“Full moon,” she repeated, like this was obvious. Snapping her fingers, she realized aloud, “Crap, I don’t think we told you. On the night of a full moon, we go out in the desert and run together, just cut loose. Gives everyone a chance to work some of the energy off. It’s a pack thing.”

“Ah. Yeah, in that case, I definitely want something with a jacket. Gets cold at night. Maybe something warmer than this one, though.” I didn’t care if it matched the joggers. Okay, maybe I did care if it coordinated, but that wasn’t the same thing.

Anthony, trying to be helpful, picked up something neon green with leopard print. “What about this? It’s warmer.”

“Uh, no.”

“He’s gay,” Marissa explained to Anthony seriously. “He won’t wear it.”

“Marissa, it’s not because I’m gay. It’s because I have eyes.” Pointing a finger at the jacket, I informed them sarcastically, “And my eyes will flee from their sockets if I put that on.”

“How about this pretty teal jacket? It works well with your coloring.” She pulled out a fleece-lined windbreaker and dangled it in front of me.

“Yes, all right, fine.” I pulled it on, just to check the fit, and it was long enough in the arms and had some extra width to it, so I shrugged and added it to the pile. “Okay, I think we’re good for now. How long has it been?”

“Thirty minutes. You better call him.”

“He said an hour,” I reminded her.

Marissa just looked at me. “Jesse. Do us all a favor and call him. Remember what I said earlier?”

Yeaaah, okay, she might have a point there. I pulled my cell out and called even as we made our way toward the nearest register. He once again answered on the second ring, and I could hear the unease in his voice. “Jesse, I’m in the parking lot. Which store are you at?”

Catching my eye, Marissa mouthed, See?

Yes, so I did. “Listen to me, you mother hen,” I retorted, exasperated with him. “You said an hour. I said don’t come unless I’m not out by then. It has been half an hour.”

“But you said it reeks of magic in there.”

“Barrett. I swear on the next full moon, if you come in here, I will hijack your phone and change your autocorrect so that it says ‘nyoom’ whenever you try to type anything. I will make every messaging app you have useless. Do you understand me?”

For a moment, just a second, my words penetrated his worry and he actually snickered. “That is probably the most creative threat I’ve ever been handed.”

We’d reached the counter, and I put all the clothes down and smiled at the cashier before replying. “I’m paying now, and I’ll be out in five minutes. Hold your horses, worrywart.”

“All right, I’m out here on standby. I found Marissa’s car, so I’m parked next to it.”

“Okay. See you in a bit.” As the lady rang me up, I asked Marissa in an undertone, “He will get better, right? It’s just my current state making him like this?”

“When you’re back to full health, he’ll ease off. It’s that and us in conflict with Oscar’s people that’s put him on high alert,” she guaranteed. It would have been vastly more reassuring if she hadn’t added, “I think.”

Sighing, I paid, because what was I supposed to say to that?

Anthony wisely didn’t say anything, but he gave us more than a few looks, as if we’d said interesting things he wasn’t quite sure what to make of. He’d been perfectly pleasant so far, helpful, and the longer I was around him, the more I felt like he could potentially be an okay guy. By the time we made it out of the store, once again heading through the mall and to the parking lot, I thought perhaps I’d done him a disservice. I didn’t trust him fully, but I unbent enough to explain, “I was in bad shape when the Walker Pack found me. Marissa told you how they fed me? I’m only now getting my full strength and weight back thanks to them, hence my need for new clothes.”

“I wondered,” he answered, his tone and expression careful, clearly not wanting to antagonize me. “No offense, but you don’t look healthy to me. And if your alpha is keeping such a careful eye on you, it means there’s a problem.”

“Yeah.” I didn’t know what else to say and left it at that.

“Oscar’s man attacked him on sight, despite him not doing anything to warrant it, which is also why we’re protective of him,” Marissa pitched in from my other side. She hefted one of the bags higher to ride over her shoulder as she spoke. “Oscar has now supposedly gotten it through their heads to not hurt him, but you never know.”

“Dude, sounds like you’ve had a rough time recently. And I hate to ask, but gotta know because you didn’t like the sight of me. Have our people given you a rough time too?”

Honesty forced me to admit, “No. I haven’t met anyone from your coven aside from you. A bad history with witches in general makes me wary. Sorry if I offended you, Anthony. I’m cautious because of what happened in the past.”

“Fair enough, man. I don’t blame you.” He stopped at the four-way, hesitating. “Should I meet your alpha? Problem is, I’ve got people coming to help me with the store situation, and I expect them any second.”

“Go handle them,” Marissa encouraged. “We can make a more formal meet and greet later, since we have each other’s numbers.”

Anthony looked relieved, which made me wonder if the store situation worried him more than he’d let on. “Sure. Let’s do that. Nice meeting both of you.” With a wave, he took himself off.

“Well, this has been a very educational shopping trip,” Marissa noted wryly as we beelined our way for the front door. “I can’t wait to get away from this stench. I’m glad you’re a fast shopper.”

“Normally I’m not, but all things considered, I sped things up.” I inhaled a deep breath as we hit the doors, letting the cleansing air sweep through my nose with relief. So much better. I caught sight of Barrett leaning against the bed of his truck, but as we came out, he immediately straightened and speed walked to meet us part way.

He looked like he’d just gotten off a job, his jeans dusty, his black T-shirt hugging his trim body in all the right ways. Walking toward me like this, backlit by the setting sun, he really did look like a model for some kind of construction magazine. Did construction people have magazines?

I digressed.

I looked at this man with the new realization he’d been flirting the past few days and felt my heart go pitter-patter. He was gorgeous, even covered in dust, and I was apparently pretty far gone because all I could think about as he walked to me was how much I would love to get my hands on him. I felt more aware of him on a physical level, too. I could feel the tingly start up, that hyperactive sensitivity people experience when they’re next to someone they liked. Shit, what was I supposed to do about this?

“All right?” he asked, eyes sweeping over both of us as he stepped in close, his hand taking the shopping bag from me and switching it to the other side, giving him room to come in even closer.

“We’re good,” Marissa assured him, giving me a significant look.

Yes, Marissa, I was not oblivious to the fact he’d stepped on my shadow and had a hand on the small of my back. Now that I knew how to read his cues better, his body language told me everything I needed to know. I just wasn’t sure why he hesitated in making a move. Granted, I hadn’t flirted back at any point, so maybe he was unaware of my feelings on the matter? Dang it, think about this later.

“We have phone numbers, and Anthony swears they’ll tackle the store today, although he didn’t know how long it will take. So the mall will be off-limits for now.”

“You don’t want to be in there anyway, the stench is horrendous.” Making a face, Marissa handed me the other shopping bag. “Here, see you at home.”

“Sure.” I loved how she assumed Barrett wouldn’t let me ride home with her. Despite my briefcase still being in her car.

We loaded the bags in the back of the King Cab, and I had to hop up a little to get in. Barrett’s black F-250 was clearly a work vehicle, as the outside had the classic smudges and dings of a work truck, but he tried to keep it clean on the inside. A little dirt, but nothing bad. I had more crap in my car than he did. I buckled in automatically as he started the engine.

“You were good with the witch? He wasn’t sketchy at all?” Barrett asked as he backed up.

“No, he’s quite an easygoing guy. I eventually felt bad for being so on guard with him. I don’t think he’s like the witches I met back then. I have no idea if the rest of his coven is like him, though. I know they’re a very secretive bunch, as Ria’s been trying to track them down for months and she’s not had much luck. She said something about them not having much of an online presence.”

“Yeah, that’s what she told me as well.” His eyes darted to me for another look, this one more thoughtful, and I could see the tension unwind in him slowly now that he had me safely away from any danger.

It made me want to try something, push a little and see how it changed matters. Marissa had opened so many possibilities to me, but I didn’t want to sit back and wait to see how right she was. Werewolves did a lot with scent, which gave me an idea. I leaned in next to his shoulder and inhaled deeply. “Ah, much better. You smell like sunshine and warm rocks.”

“Shit,” he rasped, abruptly pulling over into a random parking lot. He threw the truck into Park as he jerked his seat belt off.

Umm. I hadn’t quite expected this reaction. Had I just tapped into werewolf instincts somehow? I had no chance to act—he was on me in the next second, one hand catching my head and keeping me still as his mouth fastened on mine, teeth tugging on my bottom lip. Lust slammed through me so fast I went dizzy with it.

He pulled back just as quickly as he’d engaged, his damned worried expression back. “Jesse. Jesse, you know you can tell me no, right?”

“Why the fuck would I tell you no?” I growled, not sure whether to hit him or pull him back in.

“Just checking.” Barrett wasted not another second and dove back in, a touch rushed, but sweeter this time.

I slid my arms around him, leaning in, kissing him back and loving every second of this. My body tingled, active and alive in a way I’d not felt in years, and I loved the way he kissed me—like he couldn’t stand to do anything else. My hand swept up and into his hair, playing in the thickness of it, even as my tongue tangled with his, a hot glide that made me wish I was in my new pants. I needed the room. Or maybe no pants. I was a fan of no pants.

He pulled back gradually, lingering in a soft kiss, then stopped to look at me as we caught our breath. I didn’t let go of him. I had no intention of doing so until I had it straight just what the hell we were doing.

Barrett took all questions out of my hands by asking seriously, “I’d like to date you. Can we?”

“After a kiss that hot? We better be fucking dating,” I informed him, exasperated, and he lit up like a Christmas tree. “And for the record, werewolf social cues confuse me. I literally had no idea you were flirting until today, when Marissa straightened me out.”

“Ah.” He blinked, considered that, and shrugged. “I owe her, then. I couldn’t get a read on you, so I wasn’t sure if you were interested.”

“I’m not dead, Barrett.” I was back to being exasperated, but with a smile firmly in place. “So yes, I’m interested.”

“You’re really inflating an already dangerously inflated ego,” he told me, grinning. For once, there was no obvious worry, no other thing he was thinking about, just pure happiness as he looked back at me. It was there in his eyes, a light all of its own, and I was proud as punch for putting it there.

I hadn’t made out in a car since my teenage years, but an important fact reared its head. “Your house is still full of people, isn’t it?”

“Probably, yeah.”

“Then get back here,” I ordered, snapping my seat belt off. “I’m not done with you yet.”