“If the humans want a war, then they’ll get one,” he promised sternly.
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” I said softly and leaned into him.
“You have nothing to fear.” He stroked my jaw. “Nothing will ever happen to you as long as I’m around.” I smiled and placed my hand on his chest. His warmth filled me, and I relished in the electricity that moved between my fingers and his chest.
He pulled me inside, and we took a few plates of food from the chef. Rush insisted that we eat in his room, away from the peering eyes of his pack.
We settled onto his large bed and ate our meal. I tried to eat quickly and silently, starving from the food I missed at lunchtime. Rush ate slower than me, watching me scarf down the entire plate in minutes.
I licked the remaining butter from my thumb and looked up, finally aware that Rush had stopped eating and had been staring at me. I pulled my thumb from my mouth and wiped it on my pants. My eyes were wide, embarrassed that he had seen me eat so animalistically.
His eyes softened, and he pushed his plate of half-eaten food over to me. I chuckled and pushed it back towards him. His face fell from a soft smile to a determined look, almost annoyed.
“You’re hungry. Eat,” he demanded.
“I’m fine,” I insisted, wiping my mouth with a napkin.
“Sloane,” he warned. “Eat.”
“Rush,” I mocked, smiling pettily. “Shut up.”
He growled, and I didn’t know if it was angry or playful. He shoved my empty plate off the bed and onto the floor where the porcelain split into three mismatched pieces. I watched it fall, shocked, but was quickly pulled up so I was lying next to Rush.
He hovered on his side with his arm tucked under my neck.
“Open,” he said, holding a piece of potato on his fork. I tucked my lips inside my mouth and stared defiantly at him. He moved his hand from my neck to my waist, where he nudged his finger into my stomach. I laughed on instinct, and he shoved the bite of food into my mouth. I didn’t chew it, just held it in my mouth, and pouted.
“Chew,” he said, this time more playfully.
I chewed the food and sat up, resting back on my palms. “You’re a brute,” I declared with childish indignation.
“For trying to make sure my mate is full?” he said incredulously, voice rising.
“I am a grown woman. I know when I am full.” I shoved his shoulder. He smirked and pushed my shoulder back. Of course, when he touched my shoulder, I was pushed farther than he was. “Don’t start this.”
“What?” he wondered boyishly. I crossed my arms and scooted across the bed, away from him. “Come back, mate. Start what?”
“Do you ever stop joking around?”
He didn’t take my anger seriously and proceeded to roll himself off the bed, land on his two feet, and pick up the plate from the ground. “Go to bed, Sloane.” He grinned annoyingly.
“It’s only nine,” I responded.
“Go to bed anyway, it’s been a long day.”
I rolled my eyes and stood up, stretching my limbs before reaching for my bags. I had a few things that still needed to be sorted: my ink pens, my favorite journal, and a bottle of perfume my mother gave me. I shuffled through my bag and set the items on the floor.
“Sloane,” Rush’s condescending voice interrupted me.
I picked up my head and paused. “What?”
“Please, go to bed,” he said exasperatedly.
“What is your problem?”
“Will you just listen to me for five minutes?”
I shook my head and picked up my things. “You’re going to be very surprised if you think this is how our relationship is going to go,” I warned, giving him a nasty look.
“I’m not trying to control you.” He smiled, amused. Rush’s casual nature only confused and irritated me more. A massive pit of discomfort sunk into my stomach.
“Then, what are you doing?” I threw my bag on the ground, and it landed in a big clunk. He sighed, and his shoulders sank down.
“I’m trying to surprise you, damn-it, and you aren’t making it very easy!”
I froze. “Surprise?”
“Yes,” he breathed out, laughed, and rubbed his face with his hands.
“What kind of a surprise?” I wondered, looking through my eyelashes innocently.
His shoulders shook as he laughed. “I was going to wake you up before dawn, we were going to take our breakfast in a picnic, and I was going to show you this cliff near Lake Washika where the sun rises.”
I was instantly filled with guilt, and my heart sank into my stomach.
He saw my face turn into a frown and came to me, holding my arms in his large hands. “You couldn’t have known,” he said softly. “I was just trying to do something nice. I’m not so good at these things.”
I reached up and stroked his cheek. “That was so sweet. I’m sorry that I’m difficult sometimes; I’m just not used to this.”
“Used to what?”
“To someone doing something nice,” I said softly. “The only person who ever planned things for me was my sister, and you can see how that turned out. I just like to be in control of things.”
“You don’t have to do that.” He leaned back and sat on the edge of the bed, pulling me, so I stood in between his legs. “I’m never going to do something that would put you in danger. I’m looking out for you.”
“I know.” I lowered my chin.
“So, let’s go to bed, and in the morning, you can act all surprised at how romantic and adventurous I am.”
“Deal.”
The Hunters
In the morning, true to his
