“The fact that you literally ran from me for an entire year, for starters.” His voice was light, and though he was teasing me, I didn’t hear any contempt behind the words.
“Guess you’ve got a point there.” I sighed. “Can I borrow a t-shirt and some shorts or something? I don’t like sleeping naked; I get really sweaty. It’s gross, so prepare yourself.”
“Good, then I won’t have to feel bad about sweating all over you, too.”
I bit my lip to hide a smile as he stood, crossed the room, and tugged a shirt out of his closet. He pulled a drawer open afterward, and walked back over with a pair of boxer-briefs and the shirt.
“You’re giving me your underwear?” I asked, lifting an eyebrow. “Is that normal?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “But I doubt my basketball shorts or sweats would stay up on those cute little hips. And they’re clean; I haven’t worn them in over a year.”
“Should I apologize about that? The whole year you lost?” I asked, stepping back into my room with the clothes. I wasn’t uncomfortable letting him see my naked body, but what we’d done in the kitchen for hours and hours, and then in the bathtub, was a lot different than watching each other get dressed. There was something more intimate about the changing, and I wasn’t sure if I was ready for that.
He followed me across the hall, standing outside the door when I shut him out of my room. “No. I told you, I expected a long hunt.”
“Still.” I tugged the shirt over my head, then stepped into the shorts. They were soft, and the way they fit was actually pretty comfortable. My ass was a lot fuller than Zed’s, so they were snug in a good way. “It was a whole year of your life.”
“A year of my life, in exchange for a permanent companion,” Zed countered. “Seems like a small price to pay.”
I opened the door as I tugged my hair out from beneath the shirt. “Doesn’t sound like a small price to me.”
He followed me to the bathroom and leaned in that doorway too, his eyes tracking my movements as I tugged a brush through my hair. “You haven’t spent your whole life waiting to meet your soulmate.”
He had a point there.
I’d spent my whole life avoiding relationships and commitments, actually. Excluding the brief semester that I thought maybe I’d found someone who wasn’t such an ass.
I’d been stupid, then.
Stupid, and hopeful.
I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to decide whether to braid it or leave it down. Zed reached out and plucked a wet strand off my back, rolling it around his fingers.
“You’ve got damn sexy hair, you know,” he remarked.
“It’s probably my best attribute,” I agreed, lifting a strand of the burgundy shit myself and fiddling with it.
“It’s definitely not your best attribute, but it is sexy.”
I made a face. “Agree to disagree.”
“I won’t agree to that in any way,” he countered, tugging lightly on the strand. “Let’s eat.”
“Bossing me around already?” I drawled.
“Sarcasm is your favorite form of self-defense, isn’t it?” he drawled back.
He was figuring me out way too fast.
So I scowled at him.
“Don’t worry, it’s mine too.” He lifted the strand of hair he had wrapped around his fingers and ran it over his lips as we walked back to his bed.
“I have a hard time believing you’d need to defend yourself with anything other than that,” I shot back, gesturing to his abs as I dropped onto the bed behind one of the plates.
“My body?” He lifted an eyebrow. “It comes with being a werewolf, June. You met my pack, and saw everyone at the wedding.”
I hated him for being right about it. I’d definitely noticed all the buff hotties of all ages around when I was there; there was no way around that.