Page 32 of Falling for the Werewolf
“I missed you, too,” she said, her voice remarkably calm. Inside, she was screaming in rage and fury and grief.
Jace reached around her, cupping her sex, his fingers moving skillfully.
Dani put her hand over his, stopping him.
“Let me finish,” he said, his voice a soft growl.
“I’m finished,” she said.
“Dani, I’m sorry.” He exhaled, leaning his head against hers. “I was trying to keep things from getting even more complicated.”
More complicated?Dani almost laughed. He had no idea.
“I understand.” And she did. Somewhere between that night on the mountain and now, reality had poked its ugly head in on their romantic, fairy tale bubble. Passion had been overridden by practicality and caution.
After all of her soul-searching and looking at things from every possible angle, she had decided to believe what her heart told her: that she was Jace’s chosen mate. She even had the faint bite marks on her skin. But, once again, a heavy, dark shadow of doubt loomed over her.
His arm tightened around her as she tried to move away. “Dani, what’s going on?”
“Nothing,” she lied, surprised at how easily it came to her. Maybe because she felt like everything inside her had died. She was empty. Hollow. “I need to use the bathroom.”
“Look at me.”
She resisted the pull of his fingers against her chin. She couldn’t look at him, not now. He would read everything in her eyes.
“I need to get cleaned up,” she said, twisting out of his grasp and padding quietly into the bathroom.
The moment the door closed behind her, she began to cry. Dani turned on the water to cover the sounds as she tried to choke back the tears. Nausea once again rose up in her stomach, sudden and strong. She went to her knees in front of the toilet just in time.
“Dani, open this door,” Jace demanded.
Dani ignored him, riding out the last of the waves of sickness. Then she pulled herself to her feet, washed her face, gargled with some mouthwash, and proceeded to clean the last remains of Jace’s release from her thighs and sex.
“Open the goddamn door!” Jace pounded again, pushing the door dangerously close to separating from the frame.
Dani took a deep breath and opened the door.
Jace’s face was a mixture of worry and frustration. “What the hell is going on, Dani?”
“I’m not feeling well.”
“I can see that,” he said, his voice gentler as he smoothed the hair away from her face. “What can I do?”
“Call Bess. Ask her to come pick me up.”
Jace was shaking his head before she even got the words out.
Another wave of nausea bubbled-up, and she dashed back to the commode. This time, Jace was right behind her, holding her hair, rubbing her back. It felt far too good.
Even now, she wanted to lean into his touch, let him comfort her and chase all the bad away.
But she couldn’t. She had to be strong.
“How long have you been sick?” he asked quietly.
Dani saw the unspoken question in his eyes. He was piecing it together, she could tell.
“Since about two hours after I ate those chili-cheese fries at the diner last night,” she lied. “I ... I haven’t been eating much, and my stomach wasn’t prepared for it. I’ll be fine once I get all the grease out of my system.”
