Chapter Six
April drifted awake to the smell of bacon in a pan, with potatoes searing in another. She inhaled deeply and furrowed her eyebrows, caught somewhere between sleep and wakefulness. It was a peaceful limbo, and she didn’t want to drag herself into the real world just yet. For a moment, April almost believed she was at Jesse’s, getting ready to bring James his order.
James.
His name sent tingles through her body. She sucked in another deep breath as she pushed herself up onto her hands and clenched her fingers against the silk sheets under her body. Little alarm bells went off in her head. These were not her sheets, and the bed was certainly not the bed she knew.
April rolled over onto her back, glancing around the room she found herself in. If the ceiling to floor window didn’t remind her of where she was, the old style Western art did. April smiled at one painting in particular; it was a painting of a wolf with auburn fur and yellow eyes.
She grinned as she pushed herself up and slid from the edge of the bed to her feet. April stretched her whole body. Thinking of the day before made happy butterflies kick up an excited dance in her belly. The entire day with James had been perfect. Walking in the orchard, eating the fruit they picked, and coming to rest over the orchard at the end of the day.
Shivers ran over April’s body as she remembered the way his lips and tongue had done wicked, intimate things to her. She smiled as she reached for a bathrobe draped over a hook on the back of the bathroom door, sliding it over her shoulders and tying it closed loosely.
April traced her fingers over the bathrobe. It was fluffy and soft, and she tried to recall what James’s fur had felt like the night before. Was it softer, or coarser than the robe? April blushed. Would it be weird to ask James to turn into a wolf for her just so that she could pet him again?
April barked out a laugh at that. She stifled it into giggles, thinking of how ridiculous it sounded. After all, James wasn’t her pet. He was a grown man that turned into a wolf.
April left James’s bedroom, but stood still in the hallway. To the left was the front room and kitchen, she could remember that much. The rest of the house was a mystery to her. She peered down the hallway to the right, examining it in careful detail.
Somewhere farther in the house, most likely the kitchen, April could hear James whistling a merry tune. He was making breakfast. April’s stomach growled at her, but her curiosity was starting to win over any rational thoughts. She was nosy and wanted to explore.
As quietly as she could, April tiptoed to the nearest door from James’s room. She grabbed the doorknob with one hand, and pressed the other against the off-white wood. April gently pushed on the door.
The door all but screamed as April pushed the rickety wood open. The hinges protested loudly against her movements. The whistling downstairs continued, but April knew better. The man could hear a whispered conversation over the sound of food being made and pans banged around. There was no way he hadn’t heard this door squealing open.
Still curious, April poked her head inside the room. There was no light, aside from dim sunlight trickling in from behind thick, pink curtains. The room was half the size of James’s, but larger than April’s room in her home. Rather than the wolf decorations all over the house, this room was covered in dolls and paintings of horses. A large, cartoon-style stuffed horse was stretched out on the bed. A bed that was perfectly made. The room smelled a little dusty, but looked pristine.
April wanted to know more, but she drew away from the room and shut the door behind herself. She remembered what James had confirmed for her the night before; his family had been killed by the local men. If this had been the room of his sister, April didn’t want to stick her nose where it didn’t belong.
Rather than snoop anymore and risk crossing the line, April padded to the stairwell and down to the front room. The smell of breakfast was even more enticing downstairs than it had been upstairs.
April, following her nose, entered the kitchen and let the smells wash over her. She had only seen the kitchen for a brief moment the day before, so she took the time now to take it in. Dark granite counters covered every cooking space, accented perfectly by varying shades of wood for the cupboards. It all reminded her of something out of an ancient Western movie. A place like this was certainly fitting of Aconitum.
James stood with his back to April, having changed from whistling to humming, but April knew that James was aware of her presence. If the creaking of the stairs didn’t give her away, then the padding of her feet on the floor must have.
He was shirtless as he cooked. April bit her lip at the sight, finding herself unable to tear her eyes away from James’s body. A simple shift in stance moved the muscles all along his back and broad shoulders. He reached for the carton of eggs to his left, and April noted the way his biceps and forearms nearly strained against his skin as he moved. His shoulders tapered perfectly into his trim waist. He wore nothing but a pair of boxers that, again, hung low on his hips, giving April a perfect view of the dimples at the small of his back.
April gulped hard around the lump in her throat. She was positive her entire face was burning up, but she couldn’t bring herself to look away.
James turned after a few more moments, but April was too focused on his chiseled stomach to see the smug smirk on his features. By the time April looked up, he had schooled his expression into a soft smile, the kind that April reveled in.
“Good morning.” James greeted her softly.
She smiled at him. “Good morning, James.”
James had two plates set on the counter, and began doling out eggs, bacon, and potatoes onto each of them. She noticed the eggs were scrambled as she took her plate from Jesse. He led her to the dining room, and took a spot at the table that looked out over the orchard. April took the seat right next to James’s. Their legs brushed under the table, and it made heat crawl deliciously through April’s body.
James tucked into his breakfast, but kept his eyes on April nearly the entire time. It unnerved April, but she wondered if it was a wolf trait peeking through James’s human personality. His eyes glowing bright gold were certainly an indication of that.
“I thought you liked your eggs sunny-side up?” April teased. She crunched down on a piece of bacon, and somehow it was the most amazing thing she had ever eaten. “Good looking and a good cook?” April scoffed. “I don’t know how you’re real, James Sullivan.”
James laughed, and his eyes reverted to the beautiful amber that April was so familiar with. “Thank you, April,” he said. “I can do everythin’ else except for the eggs,” he admitted. “I always overcook the bottoms and the yolks cook through,” he explained. “If it weren’t for that, I’d never be at Jesse’s.”
April laughed, too. It was nice to know that James had faults, just like every other human being out there.
“You wouldn’t even visit to see me in the morning?” April asked. She feigned being hurt, going so far as to hold a hand over her heart. “What will dear li’l old me do if I don’t get to see you every day?” she asked, doing her best imitation of Lisa’s thick drawl.
James snickered. “Well. I was hoping I would get to see more of you outside of the diner,” he replied. He paused for a moment, and glanced up at April a moment later. “If that is what you want, of course,” he added.
April watched James, taking in the way his expression changed from one fleeting second to the next. She could have been wrong, but it looked to her as though he wasn’t being completely honest with himself. April set down her utensils next to her plate, and reached across the space between them to grab his hand. His fingers were tense under hers, but April smiled through it to reassure him.
“Of course, I want to see you more,” April agreed. “I want to know everything about you, James.”
James let out a heavy sigh of relief, and April chuckled. She tilted her head as she smiled at him. His hand slowly relaxed under hers, and he flipped his hand so that he could slide his fingers through hers. His hand was burning with the same warmth that radiated from every pore in his body. It made April feel safe in his presence. She had no doubt that his warmth allowed her to sleep through the night peacefully. After all, it had been the first night in a long one that she hadn’t dreamt of running through the forest on her own.
“I’m glad to hear that,” James said. “Where should I start?” he asked after a moment.
His expression, genuine and heartfelt, made April’s heart soar.
“Let’s finish breakfast,” she suggested. “Then you can tell me about whatever you want,” April said. “I really want to learn what you do out here. How you care for the trees, how you interact with the animals; I want to know all of it.”
James, refusing to release April’s hand from his own, nodded slowly. “I think I can do that,” he said.
April nodded back. Left with only one hand, she went back to eating breakfast. It was harder than it had been before, but she got through it without making a big mess on the table or on herself. The quiet between them was comfortable, broken only by the sound of the birds outside.
When April finished, James took both plates, and brought them to the kitchen. She followed him into the kitchen when she heard the sink running. She took the space next to James, and held out her hand for the plate James was scrubbing.
He looked her up and down with a pinch between his thick brown brows before realizing. James handed April the plate once he had finished washing it, and then turned around. He grabbed a towel from a drawer opposite the pair, and gave it to April, who began to dry the plate until it was spotless and sparkling.
“I heard you go into the room upstairs,” James said after a long time of amicable silence, cleaning all the dishes from breakfast.
April’s blood ran cold. She cracked a smile anyways. “I knew you would. I didn’t go inside it, I promise. I was just curious, is all. I’m sorry.”
James nodded. “I forgive you,” he said. He spent a little longer than necessary cleaning the pan he used to make the scrambled eggs. “That was my cousin’s room. Her name was Ana,” James explained. “She was older than me, and she liked different things than me. I remember her trying to braid my hair when I was little, but not much else.”
April’s heart hurt hearing his story. She hated that he had to explain his family using the past tense. It made the situation all too real for her liking. April glanced at James from the corner of her eye. James didn’t look any worse for wear, other than a small frown marring his plush lips.
“I wish I could have met her,” April murmured. She had no idea if it was the right thing to say to James or not. She’d never been in a situation like this before, so she had no inkling what to say to someone that had lost their entire family.
James’s frown stayed for a while longer. Eventually, after he finished cleaning the pan and handed it to April, his lips cracked back into a smile.
“She was a stubborn girl from what I remember,” James said. “She hated that her room was pink because it was too girly, but she didn’t want any of the adults to change it because she liked things to stay the way they were no matter how much time passed.”
April smiled, too. “She sounds like my kind of girl.”
“She would have liked you,” James agreed.
James handed the last dish, the large frying pan he had used for the bacon, to April and left her side to dry his hands with a nearby, fluffy towel. April lost herself in thought, thinking of the pink room with horses. Her smile was genuine, but bittersweet. James made it seem as though she had been a young girl when she was killed. April didn’t know how she was going to return to Jesse’s and see men like Bill and the other hunters after getting to know James.
“Earth to April,” James whispered.
April gasped and jumped nearly a foot. James’s whisper had been right in her ear. His warm breath ghosted over her cheek and across the sensitive skin of her neck. His hands were on her hips, fingers digging against her skin. April grinned and shivered in his hold as she set the pan on the counter.
James’s mouth moved from her ear to her neck, kissing across her skin. She was a few shades away from being sunburnt after the day before, but James’s lips didn’t aggravate her skin. If anything, his lips felt amazing against her skin as he sucked and nibbled little bruises along the junction between her shoulder and neck.
His fingers teased at the sash tied around April’s waist. He tugged at it, but never made to undo the tie completely. April squirmed where she stood, letting James have his way for the time being. She leaned her head to the right, allowing him more room to work over her shoulder and neck as he pleased.
“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you all night,” James whispered against her skin. “The way you taste, the way you moan. I need to hear you again.”
James’s hands began to roam. Each of his touches like electricity through April’s body. His hands trailed up and down her thighs, pulling the robe up a little higher with each pass. April melted back against James’s body as his hands pulled her closer.
“Want to hear you scream my name,” James whispered.
His voice was like the best molten chocolate, drizzling over April and seeping into her entire body. Her eyes fluttered closed as she leaned back against James and allowed him to take control. He pressed his nose against her neck, breathing in a way that had fire pooling deep between April’s legs. If it wasn’t for James’s hands keeping her up, she might have collapsed right there in his kitchen.
His hands snapped to April’s shoulders, and whipped her around to face him. Still in shock from the move, April could do nothing but comply as he pressed his mouth against hers. His lips were insistent as they moved against hers. His lips were soft and beautiful in a way that April had never imagined a man’s lips to be. His hands were everywhere all at once, April had no idea how he did it. One moment they were at her shoulders, the next holding her cheeks in his hands, and the next trailing tickling touches up her waist.
James prodded at April’s lips, and she was powerless to refuse him as he licked into her mouth. His tongue was fiery hot and dominant, mapping out every surface as if he wanted to memorize each tooth and ridge on the top of her mouth. April moaned into the kiss. She could feel James breathing hard through his nose, desperate to keep their mouths together.
He sucked April’s lower lip between his teeth, biting down just hard enough to send a jolt through April’s body before he drew away from her mouth. James’s pupils were blown wide when he reared back to look at April; drawn in and incapable of looking away.
“You’re gorgeous,” he said softly.
April was dazed from the kiss, and James’s deep voice did nothing to ease the spinning of her thoughts. She grabbed onto James’s biceps to keep herself up. April squeezed her fingers into the hard muscles, feeling the slight give of his arms as he shifted away from April.
April nearly got a complaint out, but was interrupted by a high-pitched yelp. Before she knew what was happening, James stooped low and came back up with one arm behind April’s shoulders and the other under her knees. April’s arms flew around James’s neck, looking to keep herself up, but James showed no sign of struggle as he carried April through the house. He took the stairs two steps at a time, and all the breath April had left her in a gush.
“I’m not heavy?” she asked nervously as James nudged open his bedroom door.
“Not at all,” James replied.