Page 45 of Loup Garou

He kissed my forehead. “Please know all I want to do is be in you. Trust me on this. But I’m not letting it start and stop here, Lindsay. I want you with me. Agree to come with me. I need to hear you promise to be with me for longer than here and now.”

Pushing off him, I grabbed for my clothing. “We should get back. We smell funny and other people are going to be required to try to digest food near us.”

“That’s a no on coming with me, isn’t it?” he asked.

“I had a really nice time this last twenty-four hours. I don’t think I’ve felt this safe and laughed this much since before the accident. Thank you for that.” I slipped my shirt over my head and did my best to hide my emotions. The man behind me had somehow done the unthinkable, he’d breeched my defenses.

“Linds.”

“We should get going.”

Chapter Nine

I hitthe lock button on my keychain and stood tall. With the three-inch stiletto taupe heels I had on, I now hit six foot exactly. I smoothed my hands down the front of the floor-length dress I’d decided on. The shiny satin insets on the shaped bodice kept me from looking like a tan bean-pole. My matching handbag barely fit my cell phone, ID and extras in it, but it had the all-important lip gloss, so I couldn’t complain too much.

Two long black waves of hair hung down the sides of my head while the majority of the rest lay in a loose upswept style. I headed up towards the restaurant’s entrance and stopped the minute I sensed something in the area with me. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end and my heart beat fast.

“Not tonight. Please not tonight.”

My pleas sounded pathetic, even to me. I could still feel it. The evil watching me. Hunting me. A dark shadow moved past me, fast. The stench of evil rode it. Gasping, I turned to run. I slammed into something massive and solid. I brought my power up fast and readied myself to use it. Whatever I hit felt safe but I knewweweren’t.

“No,” I whispered, jerking backwards and almost falling. I didn’t care. Looking behind me, I tried to find the dark shadow. My chest rose and fell rapidly as I closed my eyes, not wanting to know what would attack me now. “I can’t do this anymore. I can’t.”

A warm hand cupped my face and I couldn’t hold back the tear that fell down my cheek. When the man before me ran his thumb over my cheek, wiping the tear from me, I calmed just a bit.

“Hey, it’s just me, Linds.”

Joy surged through me as the sound of Exavier’s voice ran over me. Opening my eyes, my mouth dropped and I couldn’t have formed a sentence if I tried. Tossing my arms around him, I hugged him tight. I wasn’t sure I’d see him again after the way I’d left things at the rec center. I’d told him again I wouldn’t be going with him and wished himwell. He’d been reluctant to leave but in the end, he did. My chest had ached the rest of evening.

His strong arms circled me and he caressed my bare back lightly, making me shiver with delight. “Well, it’s nice to see you too. I’m glad to see you missed me.”

Pulling back, I collected myself and laughed softly. “Wow, sorry about that. I guess you can add that to my crazy file. It expands by the second, you know. And I did miss you, more than I should have since I only just met you and we’ve only been apart about three hours.” I took a good look at him and arched a brow. He wore a tan turtleneck with a black dinner jacket and black slacks. He looked amazing. If I didn’t know better, I’d have thought we’d coordinated our outfits. “Hmm, I didn’t realize front men for bands clean up so well.”

His blue eyes raked over me. Suddenly I felt very self-conscious. I pushed a loose curl behind my left ear and shifted a bit. Exavier’s gaze moved back up me and stopped on the hand near my ear. His brows drew together as he tipped his head slightly. “You have your upper ear pierced. I didn’t notice it with your hair down.”

I nodded, unsure why he seemed shocked by that. Touching it lightly, I smiled. “Yeah. This heart used to be a charm on a necklace someone special gave me. When I grew too big to wear it anymore, I had a friend of mine convert it to an earring and had my cartilage pierced with it.”

“You look beautiful, Lindsay,” he said in a hushed tone.

The feeling of being watched moved over me again. Turning my head slowly, I glanced around for signs of trouble. The minute I noticed another dark shadow, I knew they’d found me and wouldn’t stop until I drove them away.

“It was nice running into you tonight, Exavier. You should probably go in ahead and meet with—”

Something growled.

“Meet with…umm…I think I forgot something in my car. Take care and enjoy your evening.” I turned and bravely took a step forward. There was no way I was going to let them hurt Exavier. No. They would follow me. I knew that much about the enemy.

Exavier slid his arm around my waist and leaned down to me. “I’ll walk you to your car and escort you in.”

“No!” Panicked, I stared at him with wide eyes. “I mean, no, thank you. Go ahead and meet your party. I’m fine.”

“If it’s all the same, I’d rather stay with you.”

It was plain to see that he wasn’t planning on leaving me alone. Giving in, I nodded and turned around fast. “Right then. Let’s get in there.”

“I thought you needed to get something from your car?”

Another growl sounded. I took hold of his hand and walked as fast as I could in my heels. “It’s not that important.”

---