“Mornin’, love.”
Another squeak escaped my lips as I turned to find an equally naked Wyatt in bed next to me. My eyes widened in fear as they darted around his bare chest and lower. I closed my eyes quickly before I could see too much and turned to the door as another knock rattled the hinges.
“Callie! I’m comin’ in!”
“NO!” I tried to yell, but just barely croaked. I cleared my throat and tried again. “No. Don’t come in here.”
“Why the heck not? I gotta talk to you.”
“I’m. Um. Naked?” It came out as more of a question than a statement, but hopefully she wouldn’t notice.
I heard Evey scoff from the hallway. “Callie, I’ve probably seen your tits more often than I’ve seen my own. That ain’t gonna stop me.”
The doorknob turned and my heart leapt to my throat, but the door stayed closed.
“Why is your door locked?” Evey yelled.
I breathed a small sigh of relief, but my heart was still pounding as I desperately tried to get my foggy brain to work.
“Callie! What’s goin’ on? Let me in.”
“NO! I can’t.”
“Why?” she called again, elongating the word and almost whining.
I looked around the room, searching for an excuse as the doorknob turned again. Finally, I blurted out the first thing I could think of. “I’m. Um. I’m masturbating!”
My whole body instantly erupted in embarrassed flames as Evey went quiet and Wyatt started snickering next to me. I elbowed him in the chest but kept my face hidden, knowing its color could rival a tomato at that moment.
“For real?” Evey asked, her voice sounding strange.
“Uh. Yeah. I am. So, go away.”
She was quiet for a while before saying, “All right, girl! Get it!”
I buried my hot face in my hands and hoped like hell a tornado would blow through Asheville and suck me up with it. That would be the only way out of this situation.
“I’ll leave you to it. Just don’t sprain anything. And make sure to use some kinda lube! Don’t wanna get a rug burn!”
“Evey!” I yelled, exasperation coloring my tone. “Just go away!”
“All right, all right. Jeez. Usually rubbin’ one out makes people happier, not snippier,” she mumbled as her footsteps faded down the hall.
I held my breath as I listened closely until I couldn’t hear her anymore. When I was sure she was gone, I flopped back onto my pillow, bringing the sheet up with me to cover my face that I knew had to still be red.
Wyatt laughed softly and tugged on the sheet. “That was an interesting excuse.”
I narrowed my eyes at him but couldn’t quite meet his gaze. “I wouldn’t have had to lie if you weren’t still in here!” I whisper-yelled.
He pouted, sticking his bottom lip out and looking so adorable I just wanted to kiss him. “You want me to go?”
“Yes.” Then I thought about it some more. “Well, no. But you probably should anyway. I don’t want anyone to see you.” His eyes shuttered for a moment before he averted his gaze. I didn’t like the look on his face, so I cupped his chin and turned him back to me. “Hey. What’s going on?”
He met my eyes, his quizzical and guarded. “Why are you hiding me?” he asked softly. “Are you embarrassed to be seen with me?”
My eyes widened as I shook my head fast. “NO. No. It’s nothing like that.” I took a deep breath and blew it out slowly before continuing. “It’s my family that’s the problem. I don’t like them in my business, and if they saw you leaving my room like this, I’d never hear the end of it.”
His eyes were still cautious as he asked, “But shouldn’t they know about me anyway?”
I tried to hide my wince, but with him less than a foot away, there was no way he missed it. “Yes. Of course. Just not now. I need a little time.”
His eyes bounced between mine slowly. “Okay. How much time?”
I shrugged. “Just until things settle down. We have the solstice party coming up in a couple weeks and we’re still not sure who in this pack is killing women in the woods. There’s just so much that everyone needs to focus on, I don’t want to add to that. Can we wait a few weeks? Let it just be us for now?”
He watched me quietly for another few minutes before blowing out a deep breath and nodding. “Okay, love. If that’s what you want.”
I smiled and kissed him, intending for it to be quick and sweet, but his lips lingered on mine and I couldn’t resist.
Honestly, the biggest reason I didn’t want to tell my family was not due to their nosy and opinionated behavior. That I was used to. No, my problem was I still wasn’t sure Wyatt wouldn’t change his mind about us. He’d flip-flopped so many times in the past that I still had whiplash. He’d promised this time would be different, but until I knew that for sure, I didn’t need to involve my family. It was best that we kept things between us for a while. Then we’d tell everyone. Probably.
Chapter 30
Callie
Fated mates.
Even just those two words strung together made me want to brush my teeth and spit them back out.
Fated mates.
I hadn’t really thought about them since I’d lost my parents to that affliction. My mom had been killed in a car accident when I was sixteen and my dad followed soon after.
Some people thought it was a blessing. That they never had to live without the other. But I knew what it really was. A curse. It took two parents away
