Clear Lake

Chapter Twenty-Five

I take a deep breath and grab the door knob. Okay, I just need to act casually. If I'm calm, he'll be calm. Probably. Right? I feel my wolf's skepticism, and try to tamp down my dread.

I open the door, and turn my back to the room, as I close and lock it. I smell and sense him in the room.

My hood is still up, so I keep my face to the floor and say in my breeziest voice, "Hey! I'm just going to go grab a shower." I gesture with my thumb, toward the bedroom, like a total goofball.

I sense his movement and he's immediately next to me. He gently pulls my hood back, and I don't even have time to meet to his eyes and mumble out an explanation, before he turns and walks away.

My eyes go wide, as he paces and runs his hands through his hair. I can see his form shaking and I think I can hear his teeth grinding.

I'm not sure if downplaying my injuries would make things better or worse, so I stay frozen and just watch him. He's so large and could probably destroy this whole pack house in anger, in short order.

It's honestly surprising that all he's doing is pacing. It's clear that he's pretty angry, but he's so controlled. It's impressive. I watch him continue to walk back and forth and can't help but admire the way his body moves. Goddess, am I getting horny at a time like this?

Who could blame you? My wolf sighs.

I try to think how I could make this better. We were so good earlier. Now, I don't know even know how to approach him. I think about how much he reached out to touch me, when we were talking this morning. Maybe that's what he needs? My wolf is always in favor of touching him, so I decide I'll try, and hope he doesn't hurl me across the room.

He would never! My wolf sounds scandalized.

As soon as I take a step forward, Titus stops pacing. He's facing away from me, so I walk up behind him. I put my hand on his back, and he's still as a statue. He does take a deep breath. Hmm. I was hoping he would just melt at my touch, like they do in all the romance novels Iris read to me.

I run my hand up to his shoulder, then down his arm to grab his hand. He holds onto mine with the lightest of pressure, like he could break my fingers if he held any tighter.

He thinks I'm fragile. Ha. Well, that was always my goal with keeping my training private. And to be honest, I probably am a little fragile at the moment, but I would be back to normal in a few hours.

I pull him over to the couch, and he lets me push him down. He finally looks up to my face again, and into my eyes, as I stand over him. His are flashing between hazel and amber.

I think about how I would react, if Kristy or Iris walked in and their face looked like mine.

Can I blame him for being upset? No. He doesn't understand that I've been doing this for years. I should tell him. But would he come to the same conclusion as Reggie? Realizing I could have easily taken out a single rogue? Ugh, this is so complicated.

I'm tired of the distance between us, so I sit down into his lap and curl up, his arms immediately coming up to cradle me. I tuck my head into his neck, right by my mark.

I feel him finally relax. One of his hands lightly strokes my back and the other holds my thighs close to him. I let out a content sigh, breathing in his intoxicating scent. This feels so right.

I think it doesn't help the situation for him to look at my face, where my most noticeable injuries are, so I keep my head where it is.

"I should have told you about me sparring," I tell him. "I'm sorry." And I do feel sorry for not giving him proper warning.