32

I stared at the ceiling and now and then at the man who was sleeping next to me in bed. Last night had been so relaxed. Jade and Trevor complemented each other perfectly and there was a lot to laugh about.

While the two didn't want to leave, she couldn't get rid of Grayson fast enough. Again and again he asked her to leave and in the end he even threatened Trevor that he wouldn't be allowed to come back if he didn't finally leave now.

It was an empty threat, I was sure of it. Even if he was serious, I would have something to say from now on.

When the two left, he gave me a room of my own. He was so upset after I kissed him that he slung me over his shoulder and put me in one of the bedrooms.

I lay awake on the bed for a while, listening to him tidy the kitchen and then he disappeared into his room. I'd listened to the water in the shower, the covers moving, and then got up angrily.

I walked into his room without a word, crawled under his covers and snuggled up to him. While he may have learned to keep his distance from me over the past few months, I just couldn't. This tape drove me insane.

His arm was on my stomach and if I moved a few inches now he would pull me closer to him again, like it had been the last hour.

I turned to him and he pulled me to him. Only now did I see that his eyes were open. They looked at me sleepily through his tousled hair. Dark and dangerous. Like the animal in us that lurks in the thicket.

I brushed his curls away from his face. I traced the fine line of his eyebrows, back to his cheekbones. I felt his teeth grinding together and his lips pressed together.

They were full and pink, perfect for kissing. I traced her contours with two fingers and enjoyed the warmth and the velvety feeling under my fingertips.

"What's that about Tara?"

"I want my kiss," I brushed his lips slowly a second time. I could wake up like this every morning now.

"You have to earn it first," he said to my surprise, jumping out of bed and I saw what he was trying to hide. The bathroom door slammed and the shower started.

I threw myself back into the pillows for a moment. I don't care if two can play this game. I jumped up and walked into the room he had assigned me and looked at my suitcases that were neatly arranged there. I quickly got out my jeans and shirt and quickly ran into the shower with my wash bag.

When I came out again, I stopped short of the glass front and stared at the lake.

"As blue as your eyes," I heard him appear next to me. He wrapped his arms around me from behind and pulled me against his chest. "It felt good to see that first thing in the morning." All the lost time A feeling of guilt slowly crept through my body until it filled my eyes with tears.

"Don't do that, Pebble. I want to see you happy. There's no need to be miserable. I probably never would have found or looked for this place otherwise." Grayson ushered me into the kitchen and sat me down on one of the bar stools.

"Thanks to Jade we have food for several days. I can't imagine Trevor thinking twice when I asked him to get something," he winked at me. He was clearly trying to distract me.

"So what do we have then. Muesli?" I asked him. I could still remember the first breakfast we had. How they wrinkled their noses at the muesli.

"No. Even if there was something like that, you would never know." There was a small, menacing undertone in his voice. He told me exactly what would happen if I tried to stock his cupboards with cereal. Well, I would try again in a few days. Just to see his face.

"So what is there then?" Grayson looked in the fridge and pulled out vegetables, fruit, and eggs.

"You can have a fruit salad when you've eaten the omelet. You need strength."

"I'm strong," I murmured.

"In my head maybe," he murmured, annoyed by her, tossing the eggs into a bowl and slicing up the veggies at an impressive speed. Of course, he always had to take care of himself here.

If his brother wasn't even here, I wondered why everything was set up for guests.

"Why has Trevor never been here before?" I asked and he slowly placed the pan on the stove. He paused for a moment, turned to me and only looked at me for a brief moment before his eyes slid to the lake.

"I wanted you to see it first." Grayson turned back to the stove so quickly he couldn't see my smile.

"Then I take it we're not expecting that many guests while we're here?" I grinned at him and he froze.

"You don't seriously want to go back to uni?" his voice growled loudly through the house, making the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I hadn't even thought of that. I didn't want to stay any longer than this year.

"I actually asked for a different reason," I murmured.

"Now that we're on the subject. I won't allow it," he growled, turning to face me. His whole face was angry.

"This damn fox hunt and those damn lycans, it's all too dangerous, I won't allow it."

I just nodded silently, totally shocked by his scary tone of voice and not his words.

"How will you ever make it over the mountains, still with the temperatures. I haven't even seen you train in your wolf." Phew, he said something that I had to teach him too.

"I climbed there a lot last year."

"You were what?" Grayson looked at me in disbelief. Probably more because I even answered his question and now he thinks I'm seriously considering it.

"Ja, mit Jade Fenton."

"Jade, soso."

Jade and I had set up several camps last year. With equipment for two days and food. They weren't actually meant for the fox, more for unforeseeable events, avalanches, a failed rescue or something. In his wolf you could stay there for three days. Not that it would be pleasant.

The game wasn't designed to make it three days and there were heli's that could bring you back.

"I forbid it and it looks like I'm going to have a serious word with Jade or Trevor, it's the same thing in the end." Grayson's angry face slid into frustration as he shoveled two plates full of omelets.

"So you want to keep me? Here? Forever?" I grinned at him and his face suddenly lit up. "So if I say yes, I deserve a kiss?"