Chapter Six
Henri stormed into the gym, stripped off his top and kicked off his shoes. They hit the wall with force fueled by restless energy. A part of him wanted to go for a run and hunt, but another part of him knew in his wolf form he would go in search of Tessa. No, he knew he needed to stay in his human form and protect his family. A wolf was driven by instinct. If they were being watched and Boyd was planning something, Henri needed to keep his head about him.
He stalked up to the punching bag and hit it. The bag scuttled across the floor, torn from its hook. Henri sighed and picked up a replacement one, attaching it to the hook. Being a shifter wasn’t just about strength, speed, and the power that went with it. It was about control. It was why he spent time in the gym with the bag with the aim not to destroy it. Working as a security guard when many of the people he had to eject were human, he had to make sure they only left with the occasional bruise rather than broken bones.
It didn’t help anyone if he or any of his kind lost their temper.
The bag swung from side to side, and he reached out, stopping it. He closed his eyes and let go of the breath he’d been holding. Some of the tension left his body. The worry he felt about Tessa. The need to claim her. To mark her as his. Some of it drifted away, but there was still a coil of restless energy inside of him.
He opened his eyes.
****
Tessa hadn’t moved from her place on the bed, her legs crossed, elbows on knees, head in hands. She didn’t know how she managed it, but she was sure she’d fallen asleep at some point. A knock on the door woke her with a start. Every bone groaned in protest as she scooted off the bed to answer it. For some reason, she knew it wasn’t Henri. She’d noticed something when they’d been standing outside, an energy that came from him and seemed to call to her, one she recognized.
Jo stood on the other side of the door, in her hand a bag that smelled like Chinese food. Tessa’s stomach growled, and for a second she thought she might be drooling. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was. She’d missed the breakfast Henri promised her so the last time she ate was the day before.
Jo laughed. “Is it stupid to ask if you want some of this?”
Tessa nodded and opened the door further. Jo walked passed her and put plates onto the bed as well as the bag. Tessa sat down next to her and listened as Jo talked about her day. There was something completely natural about the wolf shifter, and instead of being scared, Tessa found herself laughing as Jo described the local man who asked her out on a date every time he came in. She figured he was starting to make up illnesses just to see her.
“Why haven’t you said yes?”
Jo scooped up some noodles with a fork and shoveled them into her mouth. For someone who had such a slim figure she certainly could pack a lot of food away. She shrugged, and she chewed furiously to empty her mouth. “Dating humans isn’t a good idea for a shifter.”
“There are rules against it?” Henri had said it was dangerous.
Jo shook her head. “It’s more like common sense. I’m stronger than any human man. I’d always have to hide who I was. It wouldn’t be fair on either on us. He is rather cute though.” She sighed dramatically as she fanned herself with her hand. Tessa giggled. “What do you plan on doing about Henri?”
Tessa bit her bottom lip and stabbed a chicken ball with her chopstick. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Jo sighed. “There is one thing you should keep in mind, Tessa. Shifters know when someone is lying to them. People generally give off a different smell, which is easy for a shifter nose to pick up on. I know you like him, and he likes you, even if he won’t admit it right now.”
“He told me he did.” Tessa shrugged, suddenly not feeling as hungry as she had been before.
The woman opposite stared at her, her mouth half open and her eyes wide. “Seriously? Wow, he must really like you.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Because Henri is the type of guy who plays his cards close to his chest. Practically impossible to read. So, what did you say to him?”
“I told him I needed time.” It wasn’t strictly a lie, but she didn’t want to get into the details of what happened on the hill.
Jo put her fork down. “I guess you also know about what might happen to you in a week.”
“That I might die. Yeah, he brought that up as well.” She’d hoped it was some crappy line to get her into bed, but the way Jo said it made it seem like a real possibility. “A lot has happened to me in such a short amount of time. Hell, this time yesterday I was human. Now I don’t know what I am.”
“I understand what you’re saying, and believe me I know what you’re going through. There are only a few true born wolf shifters in this pack, and I’m not one of them. I got the virus after a man I’d been dating bit me when we were having sex.”
Tessa didn’t have a clue. She knew people caught the virus in a lot of different ways. There had even been a time a transfusion at a hospital could lead to someone becoming a shifter, but for someone a person trusted to change them without their consent? That was a new low.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“Of course you didn’t. How would you?” Jo set out to clean their food things off the bed before she sat down again. “What I’m trying to say is, do you want to leave this world with regrets?” She raised her hands when Tessa opened her mouth. “Don’t get me wrong, there’s a chance you won’t die, and with Henri by your side that chance is higher. Don’t worry about the things that might never happen. A man who wants you, who wants to spend time with you. Why are you fighting it?”
“Because what if it isn’t real?” Tessa’s eyes burned. “Do I really want someone to love me if I know there’s a chance I might die? How fair would it be on Henri?”
“He knows the risks, Tessa. He wouldn’t have told you that he wanted you if he didn’t mean it.”
“He used the word mate.” Tears burned her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. “He said that we were mates.” That word was so huge. It wasn’t a simple “I like you” or even “I want to see where this goes”. Mate. It was a forever kind of word and what scared her most, the one thing she didn’t even want to voice? She felt it, too. The need to be with him. It took a lot out of her not to go to him.
Jo whistled. “Oh crap. You need to talk to him.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“He was in the gym when I got back. You might find him there. It’s the third door on the right as you pass the kitchen. You can’t miss it.”
Jo was right. There wasn't any point worrying about what might happen to her. She couldn’t do anything about it. It hurt to know she might not survive the change, but she might. Did she want to wait a week before she did anything about her feelings for Henri? “It’s a bad idea,” she offered feebly.
“You don’t believe that. Now, go talk to him. Tell him how you feel.” Jo offered her hand and Tessa let her pull her up. “You’ll regret it otherwise.”
****
Henri snatched up his t-shirt and used it to wipe his forehead. He’d lost track of time. The only thing that had matter was the bag and his fists. He flexed his fingers. A stab of pain shoot through him as he clenched his fist. Blood seeped from freshly made wounds caused by his nails, but they healed in front of his eyes. The door opened behind him. The scent that was uniquely hers flooded his senses, teasing him. Henri walked across the gym and threw the t-shirt into a laundry basket. His half nakedness didn’t bother him, but it bothered her. Desire, heady and undeniable, hit him. Tessa hadn’t moved from the door, and she hadn’t taken her eyes off him, eyes dark enough that it was near impossible to see the color which surrounded her pupils.
“What is it, Tessa?”
Instead of answering him, she hesitatingly closed the distance between them. Henri didn’t move, more than a little, worried it was some feverish dream brought on from need. Her cheeks were a lovely shade of pink, and her heart was beating so fast that he couldn’t miss it.
“Talk to me, sweetheart. Please.”
She stopped in front of him, the top of her head reaching his chin, and she glanced up. The strands of her dark hair tickled his nose. “I’m sorry about earlier. I shouldn’t have been horrible to you. You saved my life.”
He reached up and brushed a few loose strands away from her cheek. “What are you doing here?”
“I had to see you.” Her body was tense. He didn’t have to be a shifter to know she was nervous or to know the fact admitting it cost her a lot. “I don’t know what the future holds, but I do know I have to tell you how I feel.”
He dipped his head until his lips touched the curve of her ear. “And how do you feel about me?” The heat coming from her met his own.
“There’s something between us. I can feel it. A connection.” She practically whispered the last word, but he caught it none the less.
“Mate.”
“Yes.”
She drew the word out on a moan that sounded beautiful to his ears. A surrender. He gently touched her waist, so soft and supple underneath his hands. She leaned her head against his naked chest, and some of the tension in her body vanished. “I’ve always had feelings for you, even when you were just a voice over the radio. A person I’d only seen from a distance. I thought about you. Fantasized about you. It’s why I couldn’t believe you liked me. I mean, look at you and me. We’re hardly an ideal match.”
“And what exactly is wrong with you?” He frowned at her but didn’t bother to wait for a reply. “I’m honored the Goddess has blessed me with you. You might think being infected is a curse, something you didn’t want, but it means we can be together as true mates.”
“What do you mean?”
She hadn’t looked at him yet, but it didn’t bother Henri. The tentative touch of her cool hands against his skin and the way her scent teased and soothed him in equal measure.
“I won’t hurt you.” He guided her face upwards. There was a glimmer of uncertainty behind her green eyes, her lips full and soft. “You are perfect, Tessa. There isn’t anything about you I would change.” He brushed his lips against hers, drinking in her happy sigh. In one swift movement, he picked her up enjoying the way she wrapped her legs around his waist, no beat of hesitation as her body moved on instinct. Without breaking contact with her lips, he moved them away from the door where the glass meant people could peek in on them. With the utmost care, he seduced her lips, soft kisses, then little nibbles that left her mouth swollen and red. She wriggled against him, and he nearly went cross eyed as pleasure stabbed through him. He rubbed himself against her molten hot core, another torture that brought no relief.
She pushed against his chest, and Henri reluctantly broke the kiss. There was a slightly dazed look in her eyes. “Where’s your room?” she asked breathlessly.
“You’ve been sleeping in it.”
For a second she looked confused, and then she giggled. “Damn, I knew that.”
“I think I’ve scrambled your brain.”
“Well it was one hell of a kiss.” She smiled at him, a slight curve of her lips a mixture of sexy and innocence, a potent combination in one woman. Tessa was perfect for him.
He pressed her against the wall, her breasts against his chest. He wanted to strip her out of her clothes and devour every inch of her, but instead he kissed the side of her neck. The pulse of her heart against his lips. “If you’re impressed by that, then what happens next is going to blow your mind.”