Page 38 of Falling for the Werewolf
Chapter 12 – You Want A Happy Ending?
Dani looked like an angel. At least, that was the first thing that came to his mind when he saw her. That and the certain knowledge that he was never letting her out of his sight again.
At first, Bess didn’t want to let him in, but he had been smart enough to enlist his uncle’s help. Together, they convinced Bess that this had gone on long enough.
Dani sat on the old swing that hung from the branches of a huge maple tree, her legs tucked beneath her, her back to the house. The setting sun created a surreal coppery nimbus around her golden curls. Her attention was somewhere far, far away.
His heart beat wildly against in his chest as he approached on near-silent feet.
She tensed when she finally sensed him, but she said nothing.
“Dani.”
Tortured eyes turned his way. Gone was the healthy, rosy glow; replaced by paleness that emphasized the dark circles under her eyes and gave her a fragile quality.
Every protective, possessive instinct he had roared to life with astonishing intensity. He had rehearsed this moment in his mind a hundred times on the drive over. How he would pour his heart out to her, explain everything, and then let her make the first move. That had been what he had planned to do, but the need to touch her was just too great.
He reached out and stroked his fingertips lightly over her cheek. Her skin was even softer, smoother than he remembered.
Dani sighed and leaned into his palm, covering his hand with her own.
His carefully practiced words fled his mind, and it was his heart that spoke instead.
“Don’t leave me again,” he said softly, his voice little more than a strangled whisper. “I can’t bear it.”
A single tear spilled onto his palm. Ever so slowly, she leaned into him, burying her face against his chest as she gripped his shirt in tight, clenched fists.
He wrapped his arms around her and held her, kissing her hair as she began to cry in earnest. He didn’t know what to say, so he just held her, soaking in her warmth, her scent, the feel of her against him, hoping that some of his strength, his love, would find its way back into her.
“You shouldn’t have come,” she whispered thickly, holding on as if she was afraid to let go.
“There are a lot of things I shouldn’t have done,” Jace said softly. “But what is unforgivable is that I ever let you believe for one second that anything is more important to me than being with you.”
* * *
His words washed over her, nearly tearing away the last of her defenses. But she had to be strong; this wasn’t just about her anymore.
She summoned the last of her strength and pushed away from him. “You should go.”
“I’m not going anywhere, not unless you’re coming with me.”
Dani shook her head, unsure of where her strength was coming from. She had missed him. He felt so good, so solid, so warm. She wanted to be held in his arms until the rest of the world faded away. And then, just like that, his words came back to haunt her.
“Your life has enough complications.”
Jace flinched as if she had slapped him. “You could never be a complication,” he said quietly. “The only time things make sense is when I’m with you.” He ran his hands through his hair, taking a step left, then right, then back again. Pacing, but no more than a step in either direction, as if afraid to put any distance at all between them.
“I’m sorry, Jace,” she said, her voice weary. “I ... I can’t help you. I have to think about the—” She stopped suddenly, realizing that she had almost said “the baby.”
Jace froze, his eyes snapping to hers.
“—the best thing for me,” she finished hesitantly.
His stormy gray-green eyes bore into hers, and she shifted nervously beneath his gaze.
“I want to teach, and I can’t do that here anymore.”
“You can cyber-educate anywhere,” he said.
