Careful; I might Bite. [A Werewolf Romance]

Careful; I might Bite. - Chapter Twenty One -

Author's Note: Bit of romancy/lovey dovey kissing here, Ladies and Germs. Read on. If you dare.

Ruby Clark P.O.V

            He wasn't forceful; he wasn't urgent.

            He seemed more wary than anything else.

            As his soft lips caressed my own, I felt his fingers travel my sides, upwards to my shoulders - leaving a trail of passionate warmth behind them.

             The one occasion I could remember him being this gentle, this hesitant ... was after Rob Carter had stabbed me in my wolf form. Clear memories of Darren's careful hands, moving to touch me even though I must have seemed like such a monster. That's what I had believed.

            But something had now changed. Being so intimate with him, I no longer felt so different. Most of my life, all I wanted was to be like everybody else. As we slowly kissed, that was exactly how I felt.

            Against my mouth, Darren whispered a single, husky word.

            "Ruby."

           Suddenly, my arms reached up to wrap around his neck. The need to be as close to him as possible was very hard to dismiss.

            Knowing that I would probably blush like a tomato when thinking over this, I nipped his lower lip between my teeth. He responded as I had secretly hoped; opening his mouth willingly and letting our tongues explore.

             To me, it felt like eons later that we each pulled away. Immediately, my body ached to have him back.

             "That ..." His chest rose, up and down, as if trying to catch his breath. A smile played on my face - I was the one who had made him like that.

             " ... was amazing." He finished.

            I didn't answer. I honestly thought that I couldn't. Simply waiting for my own heartbeat to still, my eyes stayed focused on the forest floor. My cheeks were burning.

             What has this boy done to me?

             Barely a second had passed and his fingers reached under my chin, propping it up so that I had no choice but to look at him. Damn.

             His head cocked to one side curiously, taking in my flustered appearance.

             "Why are you embarrassed?"

             Because." I answered. Well, seems like my stubborn nature wasn't affected at all.. He arched his eyebrow, in a very familiar gesture that translated as something along the lines of 'Don't be stupid. Tell me.'

             I sighed, almost frustrated, but when my gaze met his, my insides melted.

             "I'm embarrassed 'cause I'm not exactly experienced in this kinda thing ..." The reply grumbled from my lips. Nervously, I reached up to curl a strand of my hair around my finger.

             Smirking ever-so-slightly, he took the piece of my hair between his thumb and forefinger, tucking it sweetly behind my ear.

            "You shouldn't be. Like I said: it was amazing."

             My instinctive response was to be doubtful, but the tender smile and the way his eyes smoldered behind his dark fringe, directly at me, persuaded me otherwise.

             Without another thought, I closed the space, slipping my arms around his waist so that I could hug him. My eyelids shut and my face snuggling into his chest, I sighed again. Blissfully, this time.

             To my girlish delight, Darren kissed the top of my head, "Time to head back, I think. I've kept you here long enough."

            Would he ever understand that I could never have enough time with him?

             "Okay." I agreed, reluctantly pulling away from him. Before I could fully, he held onto my wrist, bringing his hand down to envelop my own. Smiling openly to myself, I let Darren lead me away from the beautiful surroundings. I glanced backwards for a last, fleeting glimpse of the sparkling water and its equally breathtaking bank of precious pebbles.

              Yes. I would indeed be coming back here again.

              We were taking a new route - however, I trusted Darren to ensure we didn't get lost. I kinda depended on him to get me out of here at the minute. I felt too on a high to even consider finding the way myself. That would mean I'd have to come straight back down. We walked in silence, but it was far from awkward. It was like ... we didn't need words to fill the gap. We were comfortable with just having each other.

             I suppressed the urge to run around and jump for a joy, no matter how tempting. Sure, I still had a rather unhealthy list of emotional problems. But, now that I had Darren, I knew that everything would be more bearable.

             The peaceful atmosphere of the forest changed as soon as we rounded a bushy corner of the path we followed.

            Although distant, my ears picked up laughter. Boisterous, rowdy laughter. I stopped in my tracks, nearly making Darren fall off balance. He stared at me, worry all over his face.

             "What is it?"

            I pressed a finger to my lips, signaling for him to be quiet. He did as I said, but I could tell even in the darkness that he was still keeping his eye on me. Stealthily tiptoeing further, being careful not to step on anything that might give us away, my eyes narrowed. Through the tree trunks and their mass of leaves, something red and orange flickered ominously.

           Someone had lit a fire.