Page 45 of The Howl
“No touching,” I managed.
He immediately released me.
“Okay. But I wasn’t touching you when you decided to leave.”
I took a slow and steady breath, weighing his words and my options. Fenris had made a valid point. The more I ran or fought Adira’s plans, the harder she seemed to push.
Instead of leaving, I moved to a chair on the far side of the room and took a seat. He changed his relaxed position to one of intent study as he waited for me to speak.
“Your dad’s wrong,” I said after a moment. “You don’t smell the same as the rest of your kind. You always smell like lust. You have since the first time I saw you four years ago. It’s only gotten stronger. It’s hard to be around you. The scent is…overwhelming.”
“You’re going to need to be a little more specific in what you mean by overwhelming. Are you saying I need to start wearing car fresheners?”
I snorted.
“No. I’m saying you’re your own brand of car freshener. Times seven.”
“So I smell good in small doses, but too much gives you a headache?”
There was no way I was going to tell him exactly what his scent did to me. It was too embarrassing.
“Something like that.”
“Okay. Now that I know, I’ll try to keep it in check,” he said.
I doubted it was anything he could control but didn’t say anything.
“Since we’ve covered what’s missing from my life,” he said, “and why you’re running away all the time, let’s talk about what’s missing from your life.”
“Nothing I want is missing.”
“Then what’s holding you back from realizing your full potential?”
“Who’s to say I haven’t already realized it?”
He chuckled, the sound doing funny things to my insides.
“If you’d attained your full potential, you wouldn’t be sitting in Self-Discovery for the third year in a row.”
“Ouch. That’s hurtful.”
“No, it’s not.” He tapped the side of his nose. “I’d know if it hurt.”
“What’s keeping me here is Adira’s idea of what I should be versus who I want to be.”
“Who do you want to be?”
“Me. Just me. Why can’t that be enough?”
“It’s enough for me,” he said.
His complete acceptance made me want to hug him. Obviously, I couldn’t. But I wanted to, and that was enough to get my hunger going again. I looked up at the ceiling.
“Can we talk about something else?” I asked.
“Sure. Let’s talk about why you’re upset.”
I heaved a sigh.
