How to Tame a Cat (ManxMan)

Chapter Eighteen: Begging You

At first, I am not sure what he is talking about, but the second I realize his meaning, I jump away from him, putting my back against the wall when I comprehend our current situation. Me, on the bed. Alone with the lion. "Anything but that," I snap and feel instant relief when he nods.

"I know. I would never ask to take you because of a deal. I am not cold-hearted, amore mio. When we do it, you will be the one asking," he says, an arrogant grin on his face. My eyes widen and I throw my pillow at him. He catches it with no trouble, tossing it back onto my bed before standing up. "I will take my leave now. I only came to make sure you were safe and now that I know you are, I can return to my work."

While I am tempted to ask what work he has in the area, I am not sure I want to know the answer, thus remaining silent as he leaves my cabin.

- - - - - - -

"Hey, Erika, I am sorry for calling when I know you aren't home, but I am between classes, so I can't hold a conversation. Tell Dylan he needs to stop calling at inconvenient times. I am perfectly fine," I speak into the phone after listening to her annoyingly long voicemail about calling back. "I'll call you once I get home."

With that, I hang up and turn my phone off in case Dylan gets the voicemail instead of Erika and decides to call me back. I left it on the pack house phone, after all, so anyone could hear the message. It is surprising that no one answered it, but I think there is some meeting for the local wolf packs – Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, and Kansas – and it is being hosted at Dylan's place this year, so that might explain why no one has time right now. Though, they should still answer the phone.

Slipping my phone into my backpack, I lean back in my uncomfortable chair and close my eyes, content to relax while I wait for class to start. Sitting in the back of the room offers some perks since no one will bother-

"Cade, where were you last week?"

If it was anyone else, I would probably be annoyed, but if Cameron knows he is being annoying, he will only try harder. Instead, I plaster a fake smile on my face. "Don't you have class?" I ask, opting to ignore his question for now.

Cameron sits down in the chair in front of me, straddling it to face me properly. "Thirteen minutes," he says, gesturing at the clock on the wall beside us. In a lower voice, he asks, "Is it something we can't talk about here?"

I slowly shake my head, though I really do not want to get into this right now. Once Riley arrives, I need to talk to him about what I missed in class last week so I do not fail on the next homework assignment or upcoming test. This class has a lot of those, and failing is not an option unless I want to take this class again next semester.

"Lion problems," I mutter, keeping my voice low. It is unlikely anyone would think I am talking about a real lion, but that does not mean I want anyone overhearing what I am saying and possibly coming to a weird conclusion. Besides, hearing is no problem for a vampire.

"He's not causing trouble, is he?" Cameron asks cautiously, two different emotions of concern and wariness showing on his face.

"We made a deal, I sort of broke the deal, he is in a one-sided romantic frenzy, and I don't know what to do," I whisper softly, knowing that his high-powered hearing would be able to catch every word no matter how quietly I speak.

Cameron's entire body jerks as if he is resisting the urge to do something. Instead, he runs a hand through his hair roughly and bites his lip. His fangs extend down over his bitten lip, proving just how strong his emotions currently are. With my hand, I make an air quotation gesture modified to look like fangs. Almost immediately, a calm look settles on his face and the fangs retract...or rather, they disappear as much as they usually do, which is only enough to pass off as human with his mouth closed.