Red (25 page)

I considered this. “So basically my
ancestors didn’t have that tempering influence because they chose
mates who were human and their wolves ran amok?”

“
That’s my
theory.”

“
And if you hadn’t been
there to talk me down, I might have actually killed Amber?” My
stomach twisted at the thought of how much I’d enjoyed having my
hand around her neck, hearing the choking gasps in place of
insults.

“
I don’t know. You might
never have been that aggressive if I hadn’t kickstarted things to
begin with.”

That really wasn’t making me feel any
better.

“
You didn’t kill her,
Elodie. Don’t start punishing yourself for what you might have
done. You didn’t do it.”

“
And how do you know I
won’t do it again? To her or someone else, when you’re not around.
You can’t be with me twenty-four hours a day.”

“
Until you’re through
transition I can. And until then, I’ll be working with you on more
control. You’ve already got an iron will. I think that’s part of
how you got this far on your own.”

“
And after
transition?”

“
It won’t be so
hard.”

“
I mean where will you
be?”

“
Right here. You’re my
mate, Elodie. I’m not going anywhere.”

It was a good thing, I reflected, to belong
to someone who believed in me that absolutely. Because I wasn’t at
all sure I believed in myself.

Chapter 11

Sawyer

“
I
can’t believe
you’re making us set up camp first,” I groused, eying the moonlit
lake behind us while I slid tent poles through the sleeves of our
tent. “We’ve been hiking for
hours.
”

“
Yes, we have,” she said,
patiently stirring the pot of whatever she’d decided to cook for
dinner while I was on tent-duty. “And when we’re done with our
swim, we aren’t going to want to do anything but fall into the tent
and sleep. This way we
can
do that.”

I kept my mouth shut since I was pretty damn
sure I’d want to do more than sleep. So not gonna push that. I
shoved the next pole through, arched it, and inserted the pin to
hold it. “Sometimes you are a disturbingly practical woman.” It was
disturbing because it was like my dad. He was always the practical
one.

“
It’s a curse,” she
replied.

I shoved the final pole through and attached
the anchor pins. Suddenly, we had a tent. One final circle around
to drive in stakes and we were set. While she dished up dinner, I
unrolled the sleeping bags, laying them out as I had last night, so
we’d be cushioned by mine and covered by hers. The packs were next.
I arranged them to the sides, out of the way as best as they could
be in a tent that was really only meant for one.

“
It’ll be pretty tight,”
she observed as I emerged.

I stood up and took the plate she offered.
“I don’t mind.”

She gave a tired smile. “I don’t suppose I
do either.”

We inhaled the beef stew.

“
Swim now,” I
insisted.

“
Nope. Dishes first. Dirty
dishes mean ants.”

She stood and headed for the edge of the
lake.

“
Fine,” I called. “Then
we’re doing more reflex training. Think fast.” I winged my aluminum
plate toward her like a frisbee.

Elodie dodged and the plate whizzed by her,
landing with a clang and rolling almost into the lake. She turned
and glared at me. “Did you just fling your dirty, gravy-coated
plate at my head?”

“
Whatcha gonna do about
it?” I asked, grinning.

Her plate came flying toward me, slamming
into my hand somewhere on the level of my throat.

“
Ha! See? Your accuracy
improves when you’re pissed. You let your wolf out to play
then.”

“
So your super masterful
training plan includes getting gravy in my hair to piss me off so
I’ll try to behead you with a plate?”

“
Can’t say as I gave it
that much serious thought, but, yeah, something like that. It
worked, didn’t it?”

She just shook her head. “Wash your dish,
McGrath.”

Once the dishes were scrubbed and stowed, I
said, “Now, is camp set up to your satisfaction?”

“
I suppose so.”

“
Then we can swim?” I
asked, kicking off my boots.

She bent and unlaced her boots. “Now we can
swim,” she agreed, stepping out of them.

“
Excellent.”

She squealed in surprise as I scooped her
up. “Sawyer what are you doing?” Then she saw me headed for the
bank. “Oh no. No, you’re not going to—”

With a running leap, I cannonballed both of
us into the lake. I caught a foot to the chest for my trouble. At
least I think it was a foot. Elodie wriggled free, surfacing with a
growl of outrage, even as I whooped.

“
Holy crap, that feels
good!” I shoved my dripping hair back from my eyes.

“
Sawyer I’m still
dressed
.” Elodie’s eyes flashed gold.

“
I had noticed that. Me
too. I figured we could help each other out with that.” I grinned
and snagged her around the waist.

She shoved back with both hands, popping
free of my wet hands. “Do you have any idea how long our clothes
will take to
dry
in all this humidity?” God she was cute
when she was irritated.

“
All the more reason to let
them get started now,” I said, tugging my wet t-shirt off and
hurling it toward the bank, where it landed with a wet plop.
“Besides, we both have changes of clothes in our packs. I watched
you pack them.”

I disappeared beneath the surface to take
care of my shorts. They landed in a heap a couple feet from the
shirt. That shot had to be worth two points. “There. That’s
better.”

Elodie was a few feet away when I turned
back around, eyes round.

“
What?” I tread a quick
circle, searching the bank for threats, but saw nothing.

She’d stroked another few feet back by the
time I made it around.

“
What’s wrong?”

“
You seem to be missing a
rather important piece of apparel,” she said.

“
What’s that?”

“
Swim trunks.”

“
Don’t have any. I was in a
hurry when I packed, remember? Besides, I’m a werewolf. Naked’s
just another state of being. Plus, swim trunks completely defeat
the purpose of skinny dipping.”

Even in the monochrome night lighting, I
could see the blood creep up her neck to her hairline. Huh.
Apparently lack of modesty was a socialized trait, not a biological
one. That was going to be an adjustment for her.

“
Never been skinny dipping,
huh?”

She lifted one brow in that prim, superior
way that made me want to nibble her lips. “What do you think?”

“
Well, you, my dear girl,
have been missing out. And there’s no better time to try it than
the present.” I lifted my arms to encompass the lake and its very
empty surroundings. “We’re in the middle of nowhere. Nobody around
to see.”

“
You’re around.”

“
Well, yes, but it’s night
and therefore dark, and I swear I won’t look.”

The eyebrow went up again.

I lifted three fingers. “Scout’s honor.”

“
If you were a Boy Scout,
then I’ll lose my shorts.”

I grinned. “Dropped out before Eagle Scout,
but Mom was troop leader for four years.”

“
You could totally be
making that up,” she said.

“
You want proof? Okay. Boy
Scout oath: On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God and
my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all
times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and
morally straight.” I repeated that last bit to myself as a reminder
that I was the one who had to keep things from getting out of
hand.

Elodie swore.

“
Lose ’em,
Rose.”

She bobbed for a minute or so, head dipping
below the water, but she eventually came up with her shorts. With a
narrow-eyed glare at me, she lobbed them to the bank.

I stroked lazy circles around her. “Now . .
. what else can we bet your shirt on?”

“
I am not a betting woman,”
she said. She huffed out a breath. “Turn around.”

I did as she ordered, listening to the
splashes as she wiggled out of the rest of her clothes. Even when I
heard the wet thwack of them hitting the bank, I stayed where I
was, studying the moonlight as it sparkled on the waterfall. All
joking aside, I knew this was a big thing for her, so she got to
set the pace from here.

“
Okay.”

When I turned Elodie was treading water just
enough that her chin touched the surface, her hair fanning out
behind her. Nervous. I didn’t need to catch her scent to know that.
She needed distraction, something to make her forget she was
naked.

“
How good a swimmer are
you?” I asked.

“
Pretty good.”

“
Great. Then I challenge
you to a race. First one to the waterfall wins.”

“
Wins what?”

“
Choice of breakfast. Loser
cooks. And I warn you, if I win, I want corn beef hash.”

Elodie made a face.

“
On your mark, get set,
g—”

She exploded into motion before I could get
out “Go!” For a moment I could only watch her. Because she’d lied.
She wasn’t pretty good. She was amazing. Instead of cutting through
the water with a powerful crawl, as I would, she flew in one of the
smoothest butterfly strokes I’d ever seen, like some kind of
freshwater mermaid. She was four lengths ahead of me before I threw
myself into the race.

I’d intended to let her win. Not by much,
but just enough to boost her confidence. As it turned out, even my
all out wasn’t enough to catch her. She flew through the curtain of
water and slapped a hand on the rock wall a full three strokes
ahead of me. As she turned toward me, her face glowed with triumph,
her eyes gold. Her wolf was coming easier now. That was good. I
wondered if she realized it.

“
I’m not sure that was
entirely fair,” I protested.

“
Hey, you got to ‘go’. Not
my fault you’re slow off the line.”

“
I’m not slow. You’re
freakishly fast. Are you sure you’re a werewolf and not some kind
of sea creature?”

“
Well, in the name of full
disclosure, I have to admit that you’re looking at the All-State
silver medalist in butterfly for the 6th grade.” She looked
smug.

“
Silver medalist? Swim
team? In
Texas?
Shit. I didn’t stand a chance. I’m amazed
your dad let you compete.”

“
I swam competitively for
five years . . . before.” The light of victory instantly faded and
so did her wolf.

Shit.

“
Before what?”

“
Before . . . this. Before
we found out what I was.”

“
Wait, what? You didn’t
grow up knowing?”

“
No. I got to be normal
until I was thirteen. That was the year I got the letter from my
mother.”

Letter?
Then I remembered what I’d
overheard of her fight with her dad. “Right, the attorney. Why the
delay of so many years?”

“
I guess she thought she
was doing me a favor letting me have a normal life for as long as
possible.”

I heard what she wasn’t saying. That knowing
what she was missing sucked a helluva lot worse.

Okay, time for this train to jump the
depressing track. “Well, clearly the time off hasn’t hurt your
technique. You kicked my ass. Though I’m not sure you did yourself
any favors.”

Her mouth quirked in a partial smile. “I got
out of eating corned beef hash. I may be a werewolf but I refuse to
eat dog food, and that’s exactly what corned beef hash smells and
looks like.”

“
To each their own, but in
the name of full disclosure on
my
side . . . I can’t
actually cook.”

Elodie feigned surprise. “What? With such
astounding staples in your pantry and the pizza delivery place on
speed dial?”

“
Either you’ve been spying
on me, or that’s a sexist remark.”

“
Sexist but true.
I’ll
cook breakfast. You get dish duty.”

“
Shake on it,” I said,
offering my hand. She took it, and I yanked her closer. “Sealed
with a kiss is better,” I told her. “I haven’t kissed you in almost
nine hours. I’m in withdrawal.”

“
Point
conceded.”

Her mouth was smiling when I took it. I
meant to keep things easy and playful. The whole point of this swim
was to lighten the mood, make her forget her worries for a while.
But the kiss spun out, riding on the vestiges of adrenaline
remaining from the race, heating, deepening. Her body fit flush
against mine, our legs tangling with a delicious friction as we
each kicked to stay above water.

Her arms twined around my neck, hands
sliding into my hair. I gripped her hips, hitching her higher,
glorying in the slide of skin against skin. She shifted beneath my
hands, lifting her legs to wrap them around my waist. Her low purr
of approval stripped away my sanity and left me desperate for more.
Somewhere amid the tiny gasps and growls of pleasure, a trickle of
something else snaked out and wrapped around the fist of need. I
tried to shove it away, to lose myself in the taste of her and the
feel of her body against mine. But it took root and yanked me
back.