Damon
Chapter 14
When I walked in and saw Karis curled up on my bed, hugging my pillow, I thought my heart was going to explode right out of my chest. The top of her dress had ridden up to just under her breasts, exposing tightly defined abs. Her hemline was up so high I could see the curve of her ass, and she seemed entirely unaware and entirely unaffected by me.
When Jenna left us alone I didn’t know what to do or say. I knew what I wanted to do, but the last thing she had told me was that the kid had dumped her, and she was confused. Was she in here because she was upset about Tyler?
“I can leave if it will make you more comfortable. You’re projecting nerves like crazy over there,” she said, breaking the silence that hung between us.
“You’re fine. You just said you weren’t ready to talk, and I figured you must be upset about, well, you know. I just don’t know what to do or what to say to you right now,” I told her honestly.
“I’m sorry I just walked off like that. It’s been a very strange night. I was planning to tell Tyler anyway. I’m not upset he dumped me. Honestly I’m more relieved than anything. My wolf hates him, making it hard to be around him for long, and she’s been getting more and more vocal about it since you showed up.”
I tried to hide my smirk, and the fact that it made me very happy to hear.
I grabbed the chair Jenna had abandoned and turned it around to straddle it, resting my arms across the back. She squirmed as I stared at her. She scooted backwards so her back rested against the wall behind her, crossing her feet at the ankles. I didn’t think she was going anywhere anytime soon.
“Did you tell him about us?” I asked. I had to know. I hadn’t mentioned it to a soul out of respect for her and it was killing me. I needed to talk to someone. I needed Chase. He was the only one I knew that had been through this.
“Yeah, though I didn’t really have to. He guessed it. Jenna, too. I hope that doesn’t bother you,” she said, and I liked that she always considered my feelings. No one had ever cared about what they said or did in terms of how it may impact me.
“I’m glad.”
“She’ll likely tell Chase. I didn’t think to tell her not to, but they’re mates, so it’s usually a given that if one knows the other does too. Have you told him yet?” I shook my head. “I didn’t think so,” she said, and something about how she said it made me feel like she thought I didn’t want others to know.
“I haven’t told anyone because I was waiting to see where we stood. You’ve been totally upfront with me regarding Tyler, and I appreciate that, but it’s hard,” I confessed. “Harder than I expected it to be.”
“How do you mean?” she asked, sitting forward and really taking in my words.
“I’m not good at opening up to people, amore.” Taking a deep breath, I vowed to myself to at least try. “The highlights of my week have become Tuesday and Thursday when I get to actually spend time with you and talk to you. It’s pathetic, I know, but it gets worse. I wake up early every day and wait outside your dorm just so I can catch a glimpse of you. I know your schedule better than my own. I can tell when you’re running late,” I said, but she cut me off.
“And when I haven’t had my coffee and breakfast?”
I nodded. “I’ve tried not to pressure you or get in your way. It’s just this bond, it pulls me to you and I can’t stay away. When I try my chest gets tight and I feel like I’m going to have an anxiety attack thinking of all the ways you could be in trouble and knowing I’m not there to protect you.” She snickered. “I didn’t say it was rational thinking.”
“So basically, you’re confessing to stalking me. You’re my own personal creeper?”
“Well, when you put it that way. . .”
Karis laughed. “Thank you for confiding in me with that.”
“I have to ask, amore. Can I see you every day? Even if only for a few minutes, without sneaking around stealing glances just to curb this insane obsession.”
She bit her lip and nodded. “I, um. . .” She covered her face with my pillow. “I need to touch you,” she blurted out.
I wasn’t sure I heard that right. “Come again?”
“You said you need to see me every day, well I need to touch you every day. I know it sounds insane, but it’s like this indescribable calm that washes over me and helps keep me grounded. Your scent does a pretty good job too. I could just steal this pillow if you’d rather,” she said, hugging it close to her chest.
I rose and walked to sit on the bed next to her. I could tell it made her nervous, but I gently reached out and took her hand and placed it over my chest.
“You don’t ever have to ask permission to touch me, amore mio. It brings me comfort, too.”
Her hand flexed, then wrapped around my shirt. I saw her body shake and then relax. It was the most powerful thing I’d ever experienced. I had thought she was unaffected by me, that I was alone in this madness, but seeing the affect my touch had on her changed everything.
“I know you’ve been through a lot tonight, and I don’t want to push you. Would you like to rejoin the party and try to lighten things up?”
“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea,” she conceded.
I tried not to be too disappointed. I’d much rather keep her in my bed all night long, but I could tell she was too overwhelmed to even consider that leap. Baby steps.
She grasped my pillow and for a moment I really did think she was going to take it. Finally, she let it go and went to rise. She stretched, and I had to look away. I wanted her too badly, and the way her dress rode up was not helping things in that department.
We headed back to the dance area that was now thumping with even more people. I noticed the way Karis walked close enough that our arms brushed, how she grabbed my arm when she laughed. I had thought they were insignificant movements before, as I thought back realizing she’d always done that. She was appeasing her need to touch me in the most subtle ways, but now knowing she was doing it brought me great pleasure.
“Where’d all these people come from?” I asked Brett as we walked in.
“Theta crashed us. It was starting to drag anyway. Where’d you take off to?” Then he glanced at Karis and shot me back a look that said I had a lot of explaining to do later.
“I’m going to grab a drink. Want anything?” she asked me, and I figured she probably saw the look Brett shot me too.
“Coke, thanks,” I said. I watched her walk away, enjoying the view, then turned to Brett in a low voice said, “It’s not what you think, man.”
“Oh good, cause what I think is that you just went off and hooked up with Tyler’s girl.”
I growled. “She’s not Tyler’s anything,” I said through gritted teeth.
“Shit, calm down, man. What has gotten into you?”
“Not here. I’ll tell you later, but it’s not what you think,” I said, walking away and meeting Karis halfway.
“Want to dance?” I asked.
“Sure,” she said, taking a long swallow of her soda and handing it to me.
I set them down on a table in the corner and grabbed her hand to lead her to the dance floor. Threading my fingers with hers felt like the most natural thing in the world. The second we got in place the song ended and a slow song came on next. I didn’t hesitate to wrap my hands around her waist and pull her close to me.
I loved the feel of her soft skin under my palms. She ran her hands up my arms and hooked them around my neck, causing a shiver to run down my spine. Then she leaned in and sniffed me. I growled in her ear and enjoyed the way it made her squirm against me.
As we twirled and swayed to the music, I got lost in the feel of my mate in my arms at last. When I opened my eyes as the song started to close I noticed several of my brothers staring with either shocked or disappointed looks. Tyler just stood there grinning and gave me two thumbs up.
“I think we’re causing a scene, so unless you want me to make a formal announcement right here, maybe we should call it a night,” I whispered.
She looked up at me with wide eyes, not daring to look anywhere else. Her cheeks were flushed, and it took everything in my power not to lean down and kiss her right there. The song ended. I took her hand and led her from the dance floor and kept walking, right out of the house, ignoring the looks as we passed.