Chapter 12
When I awoke, it was to the sound of a light tapping. Night still reigned and a soft light wove its way through the lace curtains on the windows. Will cracked the bedroom door and stuck his head in.
“Hey, Sleeping Beauty,” he said and I rolled onto my back and stretched like a cat. He softly closed the door and knelt down at the edge of the bed and put his arms around me. I curled up against him, my face next to his. His essential maleness assaulted me and I sneezed.
“Ow, ow!” My butt protested the violent explosion.
“Bless you.” He laughed.
I groaned, absolutely mortified. “Sorry.”
Will chuckled as he grabbed a pillow and wiped his face with it. “What’s a few germs among Germans?”
“I’m Scottish.”
“I’m English. Who wants to revisit old feuds?”
“You know what I mean.”
“Guess I didn’t think how being back in this house might affect you,” he apologized.
“No. It’s not your fault.” I paused, thinking. “It’s actually really good for me,” I said. “I need to face this. Face my past. Battle my demons.” I cleared my throat and inhaled his scent and it stuck in the core of my being.
“Yeah, well. Make sure that you at least leave me something to slay,” he teased.
I pulled my head back to get a better look at him, his eyes glittering in the dark. “You know, that’s probably one of the sweetest things any man has ever said to me.”
He began to make another smart remark when I kissed him. Some men just need to learn to shut up and not ruin the moment. That’s why God made women. To kiss them stupid, like I was doing right now.
When we came up for air, he said, “What was that for?”
“Just because,” I said and rolled off the bed and onto my feet. “So, what’s for breakfast? I’m starving.” Nervous breakdowns do that to a girl. They make her incredibly lightheaded and voraciously hungry.
After we ate we decided to go for a drive and watch the sun rise over Knightsbridge. I settled against Will and enjoyed seeing more of the town I grew up in and how it had changed.
“You know, I never get to do this anymore,” I told him.
“Yeah, I guess in the city you don’t need a car.”
“And people don’t usually get in a car unless they’re going somewhere.”
“Guess there aren’t many Sunday drivers in Fr-…San Fran.” He smiled.
I laughed. “Probably not.”
We drove through downtown Knightsbridge again and talked about how we used to cruise Main Street on the weekends. How the city council had threatened to prohibit cruising due to a few small skirmishes that had broken out one summer, until the kids had protested and a band of parents who remembered the glory days of their own youth formed a Main Street watch on weekends to prevent any future violence. What with that and the curfew it for minors at midnight, it appeared to be working.
We drove past our alma mater and I wondered what the kids that went there now were like. High school seemed like just yesterday, and yet, a lifetime ago.
I recalled how when we were younger, we would go swimming in the irrigation canals, even though we weren’t supposed to. Later on they ended up fencing them off in the city limits. We talked about simpler times, and a simpler world, and how, even though Knightsbridge had changed a lot, it was still simple.
We held hands. Eventually we parked, and when we kissed, it was without intent. Will was being the perfect gentleman and it felt good to be with him, without the pressure of sex.
Okay, for me anyway. I wasn’t thinking about how it might be for him, but like Amber says, sometimes I’m too focused on myself.
I didn’t want to think about sex. I don’t know how sex is for regular humans, but for a werewolf, it seemed to have extra pitfalls. Speaking of which, I looked out the windows and stared at the waxing moon, and my palms began to itch. MoonFall, the full moon, was in seven days and I’d have to find a way to disappear for the evening, so I could at least make the shift and be back by morning.
Contrary to popular belief werewolves, or lupines, retained most of their capacities for intelligence even in wolf form. When I’d had to go out at night in the City – pretty much anyone from the Bay Area meant San Francisco when they referred to “the City,” – I usually hit Golden Gate Park where I could run free and get rid of the excess energy that came after the shift. I wondered where I could do the same around here anymore, what with all the growth. Just out into the hills and the Canyon, I guessed, away from the stupid suburban developments.
Yeah, it would be nice to go back to the Canyon…assuming I could face up to something I’d put off for a long time.
MoonRise Page 12
