When I looked directly at him, he winked at me. Something about him just hit me as off. Giving up on the buckle, I started the truck and pulled out, hands shaking. It didn’t help my driving.
He stayed leaning against the car, watching. I watched his shrinking form in the mirrors. He never moved.
I kept an eye on the mirrors as I drove. The man had intentionally brought himself to my notice. Why? I hadn’t recognized him and nothing about him said werewolf. So, I didn’t think I needed to worry about that possibility. He’d just been creepy. Still, I looked back every few minutes.
The mirror stayed clear all the way home. I was relieved to pull into the driveway and find Emmitt waiting for us on the porch step.
However, with my concern over the movie man, I’d forgotten about the company that had sent me running in the first place. An extra vehicle was in the truck’s usual spot. I parked next to the garage and helped the boys out. They immediately ran for the house, saying they wanted to tell Jim about the huge TV, not understanding the difference between a television and the movie theatre.
When I closed the passenger door and turned, Emmitt stood behind me, waiting. His eyes studied every inch of my face.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, worried.
Behind him, Nana and two adults stepped onto the porch. I tried to keep the distain from my face when I glanced at them. I wasn’t ready to play nice, yet.
“Mary and Gregory were planning on staying the night,” he said with little emotion. “Can I sleep on your couch?”
If I said no, would they go back to Canada? Maybe. But Emmitt on the couch didn’t sound like such a bad idea after some creepy guy had winked at me. I nodded.
He held out his hand. I clasped it loosely, and he led me to the group on the porch.
The woman had neat brown hair a shade lighter than my own. She watched our progress with expressive brown eyes. The man, who stood beside her, towered over her diminutive frame. I couldn’t decide if the woman was unusually short or if werewolves’ heights were as diverse as humans. So far, they’d all been tall, but other than Nana, they’d all been men. The man’s hazel eyes flicked to Emmitt’s hand holding mine and then up to my face. I felt judged with that glance.
As we walked up the steps, Emmitt introduced them. “Michelle, this is Mary and her husband Gregory.”
Husband, not Mate? Were they human?
“Nice to meet you,” I said flatly, using the same tone I had hundreds of times before for the standard greeting at Blake’s dinners.
“I doubt it,” Mary said with a grin, “but I don’t blame you. We’re the long distance version of noisy neighbors. Our sons, Paul and Henry, are inside with Jim. Your brothers are adorable.”
The adorable duo ran out the door just then, making a beeline for the swing set and calling for Jim as they went.
“Energetic,” she added with a laugh.
With ice cream, slushies, and popcorn in their systems, they probably needed real food to counteract their obvious sugar jag.
“I better go and make them some lunch,” I said to excuse myself.
Emmitt didn’t relinquish my hand.
“I’ll come with,” he said.
Jim walked out the door. Two boys close to my age trailed behind him. They grinned at me, said hi, and followed Jim to the swing set, standing back to watch him interact with my brothers. I hadn’t expected the sons to be so young. None of Blake’s associates had been my age. Still not sure what I dealt with, human vs. werewolf, I hesitated to leave my brothers outside.
Emmitt seemed to read my concern.
“Jim, can you send them up in a few minutes to eat?”
Jim waved acknowledgement, and I let Emmitt lead me inside.
Our company stayed downstairs when Jim came up several minutes later. He took a huge bite from Aden’s proffered sandwich, and I shook my head, guessing at the reason for his personal escort.
I tried to talk the boys into games upstairs, but they wouldn’t hear of it and tore back downstairs as soon as they finished. Food gone, Jim followed them. Emmitt helped with the cleanup.
“My parents sent Gregory and Mary down,” he said as he wiped down the counter.
I paused putting away the lunchmeat, giving him my full attention.
“They can’t leave the Compound themselves and were curious about the girl who has captured their son’s attention.”
“Why couldn’t you tell me that before?” I asked in mild exasperation.
He didn’t answer right away, so I tossed the jar in the fridge and turned to him with my arms crossed.
“I didn’t want you to worry about meeting them.”
“When Nana said people were coming, bringing their sons, I thought it was going to be like Blake’s all over again.” I swallowed hard and looked away from him.
“No,” he growled. “How many times do I have to tell you?” He backed me against the counter.
“You. Are. Mine.”
His knuckles brushed my neck as he moved my hair aside, and he leaned forward, lips running along my jaw.
At first contact, my heart thundered painfully and heat burst in my chest, radiating outward. I reached up, fisting my hands in his short hair. It was just long enough to grip.
I wanted to pull him closer, to move beyond this limbo stage. Instead, I tugged him back by his hair. He didn’t move at first.
“Emmitt, stop. I can’t think like this.”
He pulled back. The pupils of his eyes swallowed the midnight blue of his irises. The tips of two sharp teeth poked out from under his upper lip, drawing my attention to his mouth. I’d stared at his chest plenty, but never really his lips. I blinked slowly. What would it feel like to have them pressed against mine? I wanted...
“Do it,” he whispered.
“What?” I breathed out the word, my gaze flying to his. Blood rushed to my face, and I nudged him back. He sighed and gave me room. Not much, but I could think again.
“Nothing.” He gently brushed his fingertips along my collarbone. “I’m going to check on the boys.”
I nodded and watched him leave, wondering how long Gregory and Mary would be staying and what kind of report they would take back to Emmitt’s parents.
I spent the rest of the afternoon hiding in my apartment, too chicken to find out the answer to either of those questions.
Emmitt came back hours later and convinced me to join everyone for a picnic dinner. Liam and Aden sat near Paul and Henry, a new sheen of hero worship in their eyes. We lingered at the table after they ran off to play.
Mary asked me how I liked living at the house. The innocent enough question felt like a graded essay. Did his parents disapprove of me living in the same house? Should I say it made me uncomfortable? No. They would sense the lie. I weighed my choices and finally settled on admitting the truth; I felt safe there. She smiled kindly and asked if I’d given any thought to the future. I looked at Emmitt helplessly.
“We should probably go up and get everything ready for tonight,” he said, standing and rescuing me. I followed his lead and started gathering plates to help clean up. “Paul and Henry can crash at Jim’s,” he continued. “You’re welcome to use my place.”
Mary nodded her thanks as I made my escape inside.
Emmitt and I worked together, quietly putting condiments away in Jim’s fridge, then headed upstairs.
Sensing my mood, Emmitt put in a movie and steered me to the couch with a stern order to relax. He came in once during the middle of the movie with a pillow and a light blanket, which he set on the couch in anticipation of his overnight stay.
* * * *
I woke in the middle of the night, heart hammering from my vivid dream. The man from town had tracked us, and I’d watched as he had scaled the outside of the house to reach the third floor. He’d had vicious, sharp teeth. Not just his canines, but all of them. As he’d walked around the porch, he had dragged his nails along the siding, making a terrible screeching noise.