Page 109 of The Howl
“I’m fine. How are you?”
He leaned back in his chair and considered me.
“What’s going on? You weren’t this tense even before the hot springs.” He started to look troubled. “Did something happen that you didn’t want to happen? Something we should talk about?”
I swallowed hard against the fear squeezing my throat.
He knew.
Chapter Seventeen
“Look,I’m sorry about last night, but you looked miserable.” He leaned forward in his seat, almost angrily. “And I couldn’t just leave you alone like that. I had to stay and help you. I needed to.”
Of course. Last night. I wanted to smack my forehead. Instead, I took a calming breath and offered him a grateful smile.
“No, you were right. I did need the hot springs. And I’m sorry for what happened, but you were great. Not many people would have had the sense to turn me away like that.”
“Hot springs. Right.”
Confused by his annoyed tone, I watched him wearily lean back in his seat.
“Is something wrong? Girl trouble?” I asked, realizing he might have problems of his own that he was dealing with.
“You could say that. I don’t think this is the right time to talk about it, though.”
“Okay.” I looked around the room, trying to think of a suitable subject change. One came to mind, and I wrinkled my nose.
“Do I smell any different today?” I asked.
His expression lost a little of its dejected cast.
“Different how?”
“You know, is the brownie batter smell gone?”
A slow grin spread across his lips, and he crooked a finger at me.
“Come on. Let me have a smell.”
I got up and crossed to his desk. He turned in his seat and tugged me closer so I stood between his knees.
“I could smell the soap when you walked in,” he said. “But is it covering up your little friend’s present, or did it remove it?”
“Just get on with it already,” I said impatiently.
His hands settled on my hips, and my pulse hitched. When he leaned in, my insides went hot. It was a dumb idea to have him smell me. As dumb as asking the druids to get rid of my mom. When was I going to learn?
Yet, seeing his dark head so close to my chest made me hungry for so much more. I lifted my hand, itching to run my fingers through his hair.
The door opened, and LuAnn poked her head in. Her glance caught it all. Fenris’s nose planted between my boobs. My hand hovering inches from his hair. My black eyes.
“I wasn’t going to touch him,” I said quickly, pulling my hand back.
“It’s okay if you do, dear. I’ll leave you two to it.”
The door quickly closed.
Face flaming, I glanced at Fenris. His grin was so wide I was pretty sure I could see his molars.
