Chapter 18

Lauren

Denny was staring at me, making my insides melt.

She’s more than that.

Damn right I was. It was nice to hear him say it, though. I really hadn’t liked being relegated to girlfriend status even though it was just a fleeting comment to help a human understand that we were something to each other. But that something was far more than what I deemed a girlfriend.

I was surprised that it even bothered me. It wasn’t like we were bonded mates. Everything was still new and I could walk away and return home with little damage at this point.

A sick feeling landed in the pit of my stomach.

Lies.

Denny was mine, and there was no way I was giving him up. He was my mate.

I still had no idea how to make it all work, but I had to believe it would.

I’d never wanted or needed anyone besides Kylie until now. Now, I needed Denny like I needed air to breathe, and it terrified me. My entire being was fighting against it in a last ditch effort of survival, but that only put my wolf and I at odds.

This realization hadn’t just hit me. Ever since my breakdown at the hotel, I’d been thinking about it, wanting to push away while feeling like I was helplessly being pulled in deeper.

And still, it was so easy to just give in and let myself fall.

“Taste this one. It’s my favorite,” Denny said, holding out a stuffed mushroom.

I should have just taken it from him like a normal person. But it was so close that I just leaned in and ate it from his fingers without even thinking about it.

His eyes lit with desire that I felt it vibrate through my body.

Mmm. I moaned as the flavors hit my tastebuds and I licked a crumble from my top lip.

Denny was transfixed, watching me like we suspended in some sort of magical bubble where only the two of us existed.

“Damn, I’m gonna have to get the fire extinguisher for the two of you. That was hot,” Marco said, breaking the magic I felt flowing freely between me and my mate.

My cheeks flushed, unable to believe what I’d just done. When I managed to look towards our waiter, I realized he was delivering our meals.

I stayed quiet and kept my head down, not wanting to give any more attention my way.

Denny glared at him.

It helped to know my mate was just as frustrated by the interruption.

As soon as Marco left, Denny relaxed.

Then he smiled.

And then he started to laugh.

I couldn’t help it. I joined in and laughed, too.

We both seemed to relax and enjoy innocent conversation and really great food. We didn’t discuss anything deep and definitely not anything regarding our future. It was nice to just be normal for a change.

I was a just a girl on a date with a boy I liked, maybe even loved.

That thought didn’t even freak me out in the least.

The more I got to know Denny, the harder it became not to fall in love with him.

He did everything right. He’d made the reservations and drove us here. He let me order my own meal without complaint. He steered clear of heavy conversations and kept things light and fun. When it came to dessert, he let me order for the both of us and didn’t complain when I helped myself to half of his, deciding I wanted both halfway through mine. He held the chair for me and wrapped a possessive arm around my waist as he guided me out of the restaurant. And when we got back to the car, he opened the car door for me before walking around to the driver’s seat.

Denny was a true gentleman, and I loved it.

He slid into the seat next to me and closed his door. The air felt like it was sizzling all around me as he looked me over.

“You look so beautiful tonight.”

“Thanks. You clean up pretty nice yourself.”

He leaned over and kissed me.

I smiled at the familiarity of his lips. I loved kissing him. There was no longer any hesitation. It was as easy as breathing.

“Mine,” I whispered against his lips in a voice that didn’t sound like my own.

Denny froze and pulled back to look at me with fascination in his eyes.

“Oops. I think that was my wolf.”

I wasn’t sure, but I knew I hadn’t purposefully let that slip.

He growled and kissed me again, understanding that I wasn’t giving him the green-light to claim me right there in his car in the middle of the restaurant parking lot.

Things heated up fast with in a desperate need filled with kisses, nibbles, and touching. God, I love it when he touched me.

By the time we came to our senses, all the windows in the car were fogged over.

How in the hell was I going to survive sleeping in his bed?

“Ready for a party?”

My nerves picked up again. “That’s tonight too. I almost forgot,” I confessed.

“Yeah. They’re probably already going strong by now.”

I bit my lip and nodded.

My first date hadn’t really made me nervous. I had been concerned about the choice of outfit the girls had dressed me in, but once I saw he was dressed up a bit too, I’d relaxed and enjoyed the experience. But now we were going to a college party. I was certain I was way overdressed for that.

“Aren’t we a little too dressed up for that?”

“Nah. There will be all sorts decked out for this. But we can go and change into something more comfortable when we get there if you prefer. It will mostly be incoming freshmen and Greeks that arrived back early. School doesn’t even start for a few more weeks. Kylie won’t move into her dorm for at least another week, though they do give priority to those who are from far away, so she should be able to get settled in soon. I’m assuming her stuff is in storage?”

“Storage? No. She has everything she needs. Plus, they said they would provide the furniture and stuff. Is that wrong?”

“No, she’ll have all that. Many people just have a lot of stuff and comfort items, TVs, refrigerators, just everything.”

“We don’t really need much.”

I’d seen the dorm she was staying in. It was bigger than our entire place back home. I knew Kylie would be just fine.

“We’ll make sure she has everything she needs.”

I nodded. I had no doubt he would. Kylie was going to be okay and Denny would see to that and jump in to help if I needed him to.

The thought of returning to New York without the both of them made me sick to my stomach.

Sensing my worry, he reached out and linked our fingers together.

“We’re going to figure it all out. But we agreed that tonight we would just have fun, remember?”

I smiled. “I remember.”

“To the party then.”

True to his word, he drove us back to the house. As we walked up to it from the parking lot, I could feel the thumping of the bass from the music playing.

“Wow. Kylie is going to love this.”

“The music?”

“Well, yeah. She can’t hear it, but she can certainly feel that bass. When she listens to music, it’s always cranked up loud like this. Believe it or not, Kylie loves to dance.”

“That’s wild. I mean, we discussed it in class, but to actually see it will be a whole other thing.”

“I’m sure she’s there already. She and Autumn were super excited for tonight. They may have taken over your bedroom to get ready while we were on our date.”

“Our bedroom,” he corrected.

I swallowed hard and nodded. “Our bedroom.”

It felt like so much expectation packed in that statement. I wasn’t certain I was ready for that and we definitely needed to discuss some major long-term stuff before settling into whatever this is. But for tonight, I was just going to be young and carefree. Live in the moment, and all that stuff.

“Can we sneak in and change? I don’t want to stand out for being overdressed.”

“You won’t. I promise. Some of the sorority girls always overdress for these things, no matter what we say.”

“You told me jeans and tee-shirts.”

“There will be those, too. It really is a come however you want kind of thing.”

He wasn’t kidding, either. There were girls dressed up way more than I was and others in shorts and a nice shirt. Clearly, there wasn’t really a dress code for a party like this.

The second we walked in, red cups filled with beer were thrust into our hands.

“Welcome to the party,” Remy said.

“How was the date?” Monte yelled over the noise.

“Good,” I replied, but nodded in case he couldn’t hear me.

The music was deafening.

“The bar and dance floor are downstairs. Others choose to stay out of the chaos and chill up here,” he explained.

I looked around at all the bodies crammed into the room seemingly moving as one.

“There are even more people downstairs?”

I couldn’t even imagine it.

Denny laughed and shrugged.

“The doghouse always pulls in a crowd.”

He held tight to my hand as he expertly wove us through the sea of people. When we reached the hall, it thinned drastically.

“Mostly everyone respects our space. No one is supposed to come back here unless invited.”

“So, am I invited?” I teased him.

“Residents don’t have to be invited. This is your home now, at least for the week, right?”

I could tell he was hinting for more.

“Right.”

I could sense his disappointment with my response, but now was not the time for that conversation.

Once inside his room with the door closed, the noise was virtually non-existent.

“The wall thingy?” I asked.

“Dampener, yeah. It helps block out the noise from the outside, but not entirely. Mostly it keeps everything that goes on in here quiet. No one can hear us.”

“That sounds kind of ominous. Should I be scared?” I teased.

I wasn’t scared of Denny. Not even a little. I was scared of myself and facing the feelings he managed to bring to the surface.

“You never need to be afraid of me,” he said seriously.

“I know that. I was teasing.”

He relaxed a little.

“Do they give everyone beer here?” I asked, setting the still full cup down on his desk.

“No. Those under twenty-one will have an X on their hand so we know not to give them alcohol. It’s not a perfect system, and it still happens all the time. I drank more under twenty-one than I have as a legal adult, if I’m being honest.”

“Kylie?”

He shrugged. “If she wants it, she’ll get it. I can put someone on her to watch and make sure things don’t get out of hand, but it’s college, Lauren. If Kylie wants to drink, she’ll find a way.”

I sighed. “I know, and it wouldn’t be the first time. I just worry about her. That’s all.”

“I love that you worry so much.”

I rolled my eyes. “No, you don’t. It makes me sound like a little old mama bear.”

“I’m okay with that. You’ll be a great mom someday to our pups.”

“Wh-what? What did you say?” I stammered.

He laughed. “Someday.”

There was promise lining his voice.

Someday.

He wanted me to bear his pups someday? That was crazy. I couldn’t be someone’s mother.

But yeah, I could. I’d been doing it my entire life. I’d just never allowed myself to think about life after Kylie. She had been my world for most of my life.

“Someday,” I whispered, trying it out for myself.

A mom. Someday I’d be a mom. A part of me always knew that, but it had never felt real until that moment.