Unclaimed

Chapter Fourteen

I exited the bathroom freshly showered to remove Syd's scent, and wearing one of Grady's way-too-big T-shirts. I sighed as I peered into the room Grandma Lisa had prepared for me in the Alpha House. I walked right past it, and to the Alpha's room.

I stopped and leaned on the doorway. He had to have heard me, but he continued to stand with his back to me. He was looking out the window without a shirt on.

"Can we talk?" I whispered, breaking the silence between us.

He turned slowly. "Is this the kind of talk I need to put on a shirt for?"

My eyes followed his chest muscles, over his abs, down to the v-lines that disappeared under the waistband of his shorts. "You never need to wear a shirt." I forced myself to meet his eyes again, and he was smiling. "Uh, I just wanted to... Fuck! You make everything difficult."

"What did I do now?"

I took a step closer, before stopping myself. I couldn't ignore it anymore. He made my heart race and made heat crop up between my legs. Every time I distanced myself from him, the drive to bring him closer became stronger. "Come here and kiss me," I whined.

He crossed the room in a couple large strides, gripping my cheeks and pulling me into a kiss. "Ah, you smell so much better," he mumbled, before I pulled him back to my lips with my arms behind his neck. His hands pressed into my back to pull my body against his. "Charli," he whispered, "you need to rest."

"Now you're pushing me away," I grumbled.

"I just watched you die-"

"And I was brought back with magic! I'm perfectly fine."

He pulled free of me, and gripped my arm, trying to lead me down the hallway. "Come on. I'll tuck you in."

"No."

He released a breathy laugh. "No?"

I gulped, reaching into myself for courage. "No, I'm not sleeping in there. When you threatened to leave me alone, I couldn't take it. I know I keep pushing you away, and I'm sorry for that. I woke up thinking how scared I was that you were gone. I remember telling myself I never want you to be so angry because of me again. I want... to try. I can't promise you anything because I'm not sure of myself. I just can't keep running from you. I want to try-"

His lips were hot and needy against mine. His arms wound around me, holding me tightly against him. I pushed us closer to his bed, but he pushed me back.

"What? What's wrong?" I whispered.

"I'm not taking you to bed like this. I'll share my bed with you, but I'm not having sex with you until you're sure."

I felt my face show confusion, then anger, and finally disappointment. "I just said I want to be with you," I complained.

"No, you said you want to try, and that's okay. But until you feel like you're sure, I'm not doing it. Come on. Let's go to bed."

My heart was still racing and my lips were still craving for kisses when he separated his body from me completely. I had so many questions about his proclamation, but I decided I would take some time to gather my thoughts before I launched a formal protest. My biggest question was 'why'. If it didn't work out, what difference did it make if we had sex or not?

I still hadn't moved as he started pulling back the covers on the bed. "Are you a virgin?" I asked, thinking maybe that was the reason he wanted to wait.

His riotous laughter made me frown. "No, Charli. I'm not." His smile suddenly turned thoughtful as he looked at me. "Are you?"

"No. It's just been a really long time," I said under my breath. "That's why I was hoping..." I rolled my eyes and stepped closer to the bed. I pulled the covers back and slipped under them. Blankets covered me up to my shoulders, and the bed tilted to the other side as Grady climbed in as well.