In a flash, I lay on my back while he leaned over me, his arms caging me in.
“No.”
At least, I thought the growl had a hint of no in it. He tried clearing his throat and speaking again, but it was still more growl than human. Giving up on communication, he lowered his head, his intent clear.
“If you change into your fur, we’re done,” I said a moment before he claimed my lips.
His kiss was hot and thorough, sweeping me from the hotel room to a magical place in my mind where only the two of us existed. I had no concept of time, but when he pulled away, I was gasping for air, stunned by the intensity of emotions running through me.
He held still, watching me as he shook violently. I wanted to pull him back down despite his obvious struggle for control. It took several long moments before my breathing slowed from ragged gasps.
I could now comprehend how I’d be able to bite him. From that single kiss, I already had a slight urge to nip at his neck. A good make-out session and it’d be done. I needed to be careful when I kissed him. And there was no doubt; I would be kissing him again. Soon.
His pupils dilated further as he leaned in to nuzzle my neck. I shivered as he inhaled deeply. I wished we were staying in this hotel for fun instead of Blake. It’d be easy to let go then. When he inhaled again, lapping my neck, my insides started to liquefy, and I forced myself to push lightly against his chest.
“We need to stop.” It came out sounding breathless. When he didn’t stop, I took a deep, calming breath and tried again. “Emmitt, please stop.”
Grudgingly, he pulled away; and, instead of facing me, he rolled to sit on the edge of the bed, quickly averting his face. Wondering if he was angry, I reached for his arm, catching him before he left the bed. He stilled when I touched him, but he didn’t face me. Tremors continued to wrack his body.
“Are you mad?”
He shook his head in response but remained silent.
“This thing between you and me, it’s definitely right. I don’t doubt it. I just don’t want to get so involved that we forget why we’re here. Once I deal with my past, I can focus on our future.”
He turned to me, a wild light burning in his eyes. “As long as it takes, I’ll wait. I’m not going anywhere.”
His voice was guttural, devolved due to the partial change. A light fur covered his arms, and the tips of his ears were no longer rounded. Even with fur, he made my stomach churn in a good way.
I hugged him hard. I was lucky to have him. He didn’t show fear. He showed me how to be strong, how to have fun. He was exactly who I needed. As soon as I thought that, I slipped into my vision world. Not the white master room, but the single feature version.
I stood near the bar in a dimly lit, crowded club. Had I really been there, the press of bodies would have crushed me. Music dominated the air, thumping out a loud, aggressive beat. Colored lights shifted back and forth over the writhing mass on the dance floor, making it hard to see any one person for more than a second.
The flashing exit sign above the entrance caught my eye just in time to see a woman walk in. She was tall and trim with curly, bright red hair, pale skin, and a smattering of dark freckles. Her green eyes shimmered in the multi-colored light. She was stunning, and she was pissed.
She stalked into the club, roughly pushing her way through the bodies to get to the bar. As she passed the other patrons, they stopped moving and turned to stare at her. I initially thought she was going to get her ass kicked for pushing her way through the crowd. Instead of looking angry, the people she’d shoved out of the way looked serene. Their serenity seemed to make the woman even angrier.
“Another vision?” Emmitt asked pulling away from me and stopping the scene. He looked and sounded calmer.
“Yeah. There’s an angry redhead out there somewhere who I wouldn’t want to run into. I just wish I knew what I was supposed to do with this information.”
“We’ll figure it out.” His stomach grumbled loudly.
“Go shower,” I said, “and then let’s get something to eat.”
I smiled at his disgruntled expression and knew he’d rather stay in bed. But kissing Emmitt was intense, and I wasn’t ready for another round. I had been serious about losing focus. We couldn’t afford that.
He reluctantly agreed, and I enjoyed the solitude as I dressed and thought about my visions.
So far, the visions were all about women. The first one had a werewolf in it and a girl Elder Sam identified as Gabby. The second girl had to be related to werewolves as well since the man on the phone had been talking to someone named Gabby. I didn’t think it a coincidence. And, though this last vision didn’t have any sign of werewolves, without a doubt, the girl had powers. The people she’d passed seemed as if she’d put them in a trance.
Three visions of different women. In each vision, I’d felt a sense of recognition as if I should somehow know the woman. Charlene had a gift like me. And the third girl appeared gifted. Could the recognition be because we all shared that tie? If so, how many of us were out there?
Based on the vast majority of images in the white room, I wasn’t done having premonitions. I just wished I knew how to control them so I could get some better answers.
Emmitt strolled out of the bathroom damp and looking good in his jeans. My stomach summersaulted it’s version of a happy clap. His bare chest glistened in the vanity light. Muscles rippled as he walked. The need for food had me averting my eyes. I didn’t want him to catch me enjoying the view and start something again.
“Did you hear from Grey?” I asked as he pulled a shirt on.
“They got back late with the things you wanted. Everything’s in their room. They left early again to watch the house. We’ll hear from them later.”
We walked to the restaurant from the night before and had an enjoyable breakfast. We took our time, talking about ourselves and our plans for the future.
I pointed out both of us were jobless and asked if we wanted to stay that way.
“My father sent Jim and me to Montana to establish another branch of the pack,” he explained.
I watched in amusement as he forked in a large bite of syrup covered-pancakes and waited for him to continue.
“When the apartments are all finished, I’ll need to find something to do. But something from home.” He met my eyes. “I don’t want to go far.”
His answer warmed me. Then, he asked what I wanted to do.
“I want to work on my GED. Thanks to Blake, I missed out on graduating. After that, I’m not sure. I can’t think of getting a job and leaving my brothers, yet. And the thought of sending them off to school in the fall terrifies me.”
“We should consider inviting other families to come live with us. Nana Wini could homeschool.”
“Would Nana really want to do that?”
“I think so. We all want to keep those boys safe. Cubs are usually homeschooled because of their unpredictable shifting. Even though yours don’t shift, they should still be treated in the same careful manner. It would mean they’d need to be told, though. Unless you want them surprised the first time a friend pops into fur.”
“Just another thing for me to think about,” I said with a sigh.
“We’ll figure this out together.” He reached across the table and squeezed my hand.
When we finished, we walked back to our room. I felt a little restless with the waiting, and we still had more than twenty-four hours to go before the meeting. I wouldn’t have minded being trapped in a room with Emmitt after this morning’s kiss, if I intended to continue. As it was, I needed a distraction. I recalled Emmitt had thrown my swimsuit in my bag.
“Did you pack a suit, too?”