A little too appealing.
She stood, and he followed her to the door and outside.
He walked her home thinking about their conversation at the Learning Center. He was amazed that she wanted him, Lorent the reformed rogue, to be her first. He wanted to tell her she’d be his first, and last, as well. The thought of another man touching her made him angry, made him want to throttle something or someone. If he and Melony ever made love—no, when he and Melony made love—there would never be another for him.
He’d never want another woman. Melony was the only one for him, and he prayed that one day he could redeem himself for his past and be good enough for her.
89
Lycan Christmas
S. K. Yule
Chapter Twelve
Thanksgiving came with the first snowstorm of the season, and it was a doozy. Melony sat at the table at Brent and Rindy’s place with her plate and watched as some of the others filled their plates with food and went back for seconds. She’d never seen such a feast. A massive turkey that resembled a pterodactyl, along with a glazed ham, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes topped with toasted marshmallows, huge biscuits, and various bowls of veggies and fruit, amongst several other dishes, were lined along the island in the kitchen. On a long table sitting next to the island were cupcakes, pies, cookies, and a variety of other sinfully sweet things she couldn’t wait to taste.
Everyone was laughing and chatting. Even Lorent seemed to be making more of an effort than usual to converse with the others. She hadn’t seen him since he’d walked her home from their last lesson—or last non-lesson was more appropriate—but she hadn’t stopped thinking about him once.
Every second that went by, she grew more convinced that Lorent was the man for her, that he was the one she could love for the rest of her life.
That same night, after she’d seen Lorent, Knox had brought her all of the things on her list, and she’d kept herself busy by sorting out the hair supplies from her personal items and setting up her cabin. She’d let him know about the order she’d placed on the Internet, and he assured her that someone would pick it up as soon as it came in. Karen, Rose, Rindy, Janine, and Sherry were all excited about having someone at Sanctuary who could do their hair, and promised that they’d all get their men in for cuts as well, even if they had to threaten bodily harm. She was happy to know she’d have something to do over the winter and beyond, felt better knowing that she would be able to contribute something useful to the encampment.
She smiled as Rose sat next to her with a huge plate of food. Melony didn’t know how she stayed slim and trim, as she’d never seen such a fit woman eat as much as Rose did. Rose hadn’t let Knox change her yet, so it wasn’t due to her lycan metabolism. That was one thing mates could 90
Lycan Christmas
S. K. Yule
definitely look forward to: never having to watch what one ate again, because of an ultraspeedy metabolism.
She couldn’t imagine being able to eat whatever she wanted whenever she wanted and not have to worry about gaining a pound.
“It must be a bit overwhelming for you to have so many changes in your life in such a short time, and now Thanksgiving with all of us. Are you doing okay?” Rose forked some turkey into her mouth and chewed while she waited for Melony to answer.
“Yes. It has been a little daunting at times, but as I’m sure you’ve noticed, I tend to look on the bright side of things and focus on the pros rather than the cons. Yes, my life has been uprooted, and I’ve learned about things I never thought could exist, but on the other hand, I have a family now and love my new home. How can I be unhappy with that?”
Rose smiled. “I’m glad you are happy. It takes most people more time to adjust. I’m relieved to know you are adapting so well.”
Melony felt like wiggling as Rose continued to watch her. She had a feeling Rose was contemplating asking her something, probably something that would make her uncomfortable. She tried to act as if she didn’t notice her aunt’s indecision, and continued to eat.
“I was curious about something.” Rose set her fork down on the plate and leaned closer.
Oh boy. Here it comes. Melony tried to figure out what Rose could possibly wonder about that seemed to make her hesitant to ask, but the only thing that came to mind was her mother’s accident. If that was it, she certainly didn’t want to think about it on Thanksgiving.
“What is it, Aunt Rose?” Better to get it over with.
“I could be wrong, and please forgive me if I am, but I get the feeling that there is some tension between you and Lorent.”
Melony glanced over at Lorent where he stood by some of the other men, startled to find him watching her. She smiled, and he gave her a slight nod before turning his attention back to the group. She looked down at her plate when she remembered Rose was watching her. What was it she’d asked? Oh yeah, tension between her and Lorent. How was she supposed to 91
Lycan Christmas
S. K. Yule
answer that? “Tension” wasn’t exactly the word she’d use. “Smoldering,”
“achy need to touch,” “hellfire hormones urging to slake every fantasy” were better descriptions of what she felt was between her and Lorent, but she wasn’t going to tell Rose that.
“Um, I’m not really sure what you mean. We get along fine.”
“Oh, yes. I didn’t mean that I thought you didn’t, but when I walked in on you two at the Learning Center,
