Chapter 13
When we left the conference room, Abraham waved off Wyatt before he led me up the stairs. Once there, he pulled me into his arms and released a big breath.
“You did so well.” His voice was muffled with his face pressed against my neck.
I shrugged. “Honestly, I think I was too shocked to do anything. I really thought the person who attacked me was the one who poisoned Charlie.”
Abraham sighed, his breath sending my hair flying. “I admit, it was my thought too. To be honest, I can’t believe Peyton would do something like this.”
I laughed humorlessly. “I can.”
He pulled back to look at me. “What do you mean?”
I rolled my eyes and patted him on the cheek. “She’s in love with you. Or obsessed with you. I’m not sure which. I’m not that surprised she did something to try to get rid of me. I guess I should be thankful it wasn’t me she tried to poison.”
Abraham watched me closely, his blue eyes taking in every nook and cranny of my face. “You really think so?”
“I know so.”
He pulled me back into his arms. “How did I miss that?”
I laughed and pinched his side, finding nothing but muscle and skin, with not an ounce of fat on him. “You’re too irresistible for your own good. Who can blame the girl, honestly?”
Abraham's deep chuckle reverberated through his chest and into mine. “Irresistible, huh?”
I smiled into his chest. “Just about.”
“Is that what you think of me too?”
This man.
I pulled away, so I could look into his bright blue eyes. “You don’t know what I think of you already?”
Abraham released a big breath and looked away for a moment before meeting my eyes again. “I’ll be honest, El. Sometimes you’re hard to read.”
There were those walls again. Just when I thought I’d torn down the last of them, I turn around to find another.
“I’m sorry, Abraham.”
He kissed the tip of my nose. “What do you have to be sorry for?”
I shrugged and looked away. “I wish I could be more open. I wish I could just lay everything out for you. But I can’t. Not now. Not yet.”
He kissed the apple of first one cheek and then the other before pulling away, so he could look at me again. “El, believe me when I say I will take whatever you give me and be happy with it.”
There goes my heart again. The fickle organ couldn’t keep it together for more than five minutes with Abraham around.
I took a deep breath. “Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why are you willing to accept so little? You could have practically anyone you wanted. Why waste all this time on me?” The words burned like acid on their way out, but I couldn’t stop them.
Abraham led me over to a chair facing his desk before he crouched down in front of me and placed his hands on my knees.
“El. I told you before.” He wiggled a finger between us. “This is forever. I’m willing to accept whatever I can get because I’m crazy about you.” He chuckled, and my heart clenched painfully in my chest. “I’ll take what I can get because I know there’s more. I know there’s an endless ocean inside you, El, and I’m gonna dig as deep as it takes to get to every last drop. If that takes a month, or a year, or a decade, it doesn’t matter to me.” He shrugged.
His words robbed me of my own. I sat there, with my jaw practically in my lap while I tried to process everything he’d just said. Before I could get through it all, he moved closer to me and spoke again.
“There is something, though, that’s bothering me now that I’m hopin’ you can help me with.” He leaned closer until his nose was grazing mine, his warm breath on my parted lips.
“What’s that?” I croaked, normal speech completely beyond my abilities at this point.
He brushed his lips against mine before skimming them up one side of my jaw and back down the other side. “I just need to know if you find me irresistible. I swear, I won’t sleep tonight if I don’t get the answer to that question.”
My lips twitched with a smile. “You want to know if I find you irresistible?”
He nodded, his lips still ghosting across my face. “I need to know, baby. The anticipation’s killin’ me.”
I rolled my eyes but decided to play along. If my werewolf needed an ego boost, I had no problem giving it to him.
I scooted closer until I was pressed against him. He took a deep breath, and his chest rubbed against my hardened nipples. I placed both my hands on either of his wrists and slowly trailed my fingers up his arms until they were behind his neck. Ducking to one side of his face, I placed a soft kiss on the edge of his jaw, the same place that would tick every time he got angry.
“Mr. McCoy, you’re so irresistible, I find it hard to control myself around you.”
“Is that right?” I could hear the smile in his voice.
I nodded and pressed another kiss to the corner of his lips. “It’s all I can do to keep my hands to myself whenever we’re in the same room.”
He grunted, the sound deep and manly and like a shot of electricity straight between my legs. His hands moved down my sides until they were cupping my butt and dragging me closer to him. “Why would you keep your hands to yourself, baby? Don’t you know what’s mine is yours?”
A shiver raced down my spine when he pulled me close enough to feel the erection straining against his jeans. “You really mean that?” I whispered into his ear.
I watched his body twitch with a shiver of his own. “Every. Fucking. Word.”
His cussing was like an aphrodisiac to me. I shivered again and knew I’d need a new pair of panties after this.
Abraham pulled me closer and kissed my neck before sucking the flesh into his warm mouth. I gasped and titled my head back to allow him better access when there was a knock on the door, and it was thrown open.
“Abraham, what the fuck?”
I gasped again, but this time out of shock and threw myself against the back of the chair, putting as much room between me and Abraham as I could.
“Beatrice, usually when someone knocks, they wait for the person inside to tell the person outside that they can come in. Is this a new concept for you?”
“I’m not in the mood for pleasantries, Abraham. What happened with Peyton? Why is she packing up her things right now?”
He ignored her and leaned forward, kissing me gently on the lips. I had to restrain from following after his mouth when it left mine. “Are you finished packing?”
“I think so.”
“Why don’t you go make sure while I talk to Beatrice? I’ll come find you in thirty, okay?”
“Okay,” I said shyly.
“Okay,” he said, his voice soft and his eyes warm.
“Okay!” Beatrice yelled. “Can she leave so we can talk?”
Abraham’s head jerked toward her, and he opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off.
“Beatrice, I’m right here. If you have something to say, you can say it to me.”
I caught the small glint in Abraham’s eye as I rose to face my least favorite of the McCoy sisters.
Beatrice stood with a hip cocked to the side and her arms folded over her chest. Her face was pinched in anger, eyes bright and alert.
But, underneath all that anger and bravado, I could see a tiny morsel of embarrassment. Apparently, my words affected her even if she didn’t want to admit it.
She sighed loud and dramatically. “Elizabeth, would you mind leaving me and my brother alone, so we can discuss something?”
My eyebrows were probably close to touching my hairline I was so shocked. Believe it or not, this was the most civil thing she’d ever said to me. It wasn’t exactly friendly, but it also wasn’t dripping with animosity.
Like a smart woman, I took it and ran.
“Sure thing, Beatrice. See you soon, Abraham.”
“I’ll call Wyatt and tell him to meet you at your room,” Abraham said as I walked toward the door.
After that, they both mumbled goodbyes, and I left the office, closing the door behind me. I could immediately hear their raised voices inside but chose to tune them out.
This werewolf hearing thing was interesting, and I was excited that I was starting to get the hang of it. If I really wanted, I could hear all the way to the kitchen three floors down, but I could also block it out if I needed to. It was all new and strange to me, but I wasn’t hating it.
“Elizabeth, there you are!”
I turned to find Abraham’s cousin, Calvin, streaming toward me, his long legs eating up the distance between us in seconds. As soon as he was close enough, he opened his arms and pulled me into his chest.
I froze.
I’d really thought I’d gotten better at this open affection thing. I thought that my willingness to hug and be hugged by Abraham and his family meant that I was getting over my aversion to being physical with people.
But, apparently not.
Or maybe it was just this person.
It felt all wrong in his arms. He was too close. Too big. Too all over me for me to feel comfortable in his arms.
And why was he hugging me, anyway?
As soon as that thought left my head, Calvin pulled back to look in my face.
“I heard what happened to Charlie, and I’m so sorry.”
I cocked my head to the side, trying to understand where this was coming from. “Thanks?”
Ignoring my questioning look, he continued, “I can’t believe Peyton would do something like that.” He let go of me all together and spun around to pace the hallway in front of me. “And Abraham let her off so easy. If I had it my way…” his voice trailed off as he ground a fist into the palm of his other hand.
I was stunned speechless.
Since when did Calvin start caring so much about me and my cat? And hadn’t he been friends with Peyton for years? Why was he taking my side over hers in this situation?
None of it was making sense, but I quickly realized I shouldn’t be questioning it. My place in this pack was still new and, despite what Abraham says, tentative. I could use all the support I could get.
“It’s okay. Charlie’s gonna be fine. Thanks for your concern.”
He stopped pacing to face me, his dark hazel eyes burning with intensity. “She did it to get rid of you. I hope she wasn’t successful.”
I smiled. It felt good to know he wanted me around. That I’d made enough of an impact on him that he’d miss me if I was gone.
I admit, I hadn’t had much interaction with Calvin before. This weekend was pretty much the most I’d seen of him since I met him. But here he was, seeking me out to see if I was all right. My chest swelled with my determination to stay with this pack and get to know them all better.
“No, she didn’t scare me away.”
What I didn’t tell him was that nothing could keep me from Abraham.
Except, of course, the job I had four hours away in Raleigh.
I pulled my cell from my back pocket and checked the time. If I had any hope of getting a good night’s rest, I needed to be on the road soon.
I looked back at Calvin to find him watching me intently. His dark eyes were still intense and being the recipient of that look made my skin itch.
I jerked a thumb over my shoulder at my room. “I should really finish packing. I need to leave soon. Thanks for coming to check on me. I really appreciate it.”
Calvin smiled, his broken tooth making it a little lopsided. “Of course. You’re pack now.”
My grin stretched across my face as I turned and walked into my bedroom.
I was pack now. That meant I had a built-in family of over thirty werewolves who were supposed to support and care about me. Sure, some of them weren’t my biggest fan, but the majority of them had welcomed me with open arms. Calvin coming to check on me proved that.
A little while later, I was zipping up my suitcase and rolling it toward the door when there was a knock and Abraham walked in. Just like every other time I saw him, my heart thumped an extra beat. The smile on his face widened, and I knew he’d heard it.
When his eyes landed on the luggage in my hand, the grin abruptly fell from his face. “All packed?” he asked, his voice full of false cheer.
“Yeah, I’m about ready to leave.”
Abraham crossed the distance between us and pulled me into his arms. The suitcase fell from my hands to land on the carpet with a muffled thud. He dragged me to his chest and buried his nose in the crook of my neck.
“Do you have to leave?”
My stomach clenched at his words. At the pitiful sound of his voice. And for a split second, I was ready to give it all up for him. My apartment. My career. My life in Raleigh. Everything. Just so I never had to hear that sadness in his voice again.
But I couldn’t do that. I wasn’t that person. I didn’t shirk my responsibilities, and I didn’t quit.
I straightened my shoulders and nodded against the side of his head. “I do.”
He sighed heavily, his shoulders rising and falling, breath blowing across my skin. “What am I gonna do without you?”
If I thought I wanted to give it all up before, it was nothing compared to how I felt now. My nose burned with the sudden onset of tears, and I fought to hold them back. If I broke now, there’d be no way he’d let me leave.
I took a deep breath and straightened my spine. I needed to be strong. Needed to be firm. I could not allow myself to be swept up in this hurricane of a man. What would be left of me if I did?
I needed to remember what was important to me. What I’d worked half my life for. I couldn’t just flush it all down the toilet because Abraham asked me to.
Suddenly, a flash of annoyance zipped through me, and I stiffened in his arms.
Didn’t he understand what my career meant to me? Didn’t he know I couldn’t just give up everything I’d worked so hard for?
“El?” he asked, pulling away so he could look at my face.
I took a step away and his arms fell to his sides like he wasn’t strong enough to hold them up any longer.
“You know how important my career is to me. Why are you doing this?”
He jerked back like I’d struck him. “Why am I asking you to stay? Because I want to be with you. Because I want you where you’re happy and safe and that’s with me and your pack.”
I shook my head. “I can’t keep doing this with you. You know I have a job and a life back in Raleigh. I can’t just drop it all for you.”
As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I regretted them.
His bright blue eyes dimmed just the tiniest bit, and I don’t think I’d ever felt lower in my entire life. He nodded once and ran a hand over his mouth as he looked away from me and over my shoulder.
“I’m sorry, El. I just want you with me. I don’t expect you to give up everything. I just want you to be happy.”
My heart clenched in my chest, and I swayed toward him. All I wanted to do was hold him. All I wanted to do was tell him I’d do anything to be with him. All I wanted to do was collapse in his arms and let him convince me everything would work out.
Instead, I held my ground. “I’m happy with the way things are,” I lied.
He nodded and bent to pick up my luggage. I watched his slow movements and cursed myself using every bad word I knew and some I’m pretty sure I made up. I’d hurt him, but it had felt inevitable.
Like I couldn’t be the successful attorney I’d worked so hard to be and lose myself to Abraham. I could do one or the other, but not both at the same time. With that heavy knowledge, I followed after Abraham as he carried my suitcase out of the room and helped me leave him once again.