#Chapter 67: Close to Ryan
After dinner, I help Ryan clean up while Alex helps Rita outside to exercise her leg, which is rapidly healing,
I wash the dishes while Ryan puts them away, and he uses the opportunity to ask me questions. It makes me feel a little uncomfortable, but I am a guest in his house, and it is completely understandable, even under normal circumstances, that he would want to get to know more about me.
At first, he asks typical questions, like where I grew up and about my parents. I respond with minimal information, but enough to satisfy him.
He quickly realizes I have a stutter, but that doesn’t put him off.
“It makes you more intriguing,” he admits.
The statement shocks me, and I get a little shy. I think I may even be blushing as I reply, “No…I’m not…”
“You are,” he argues. “I can’t figure you out, but there is something special about you, Cynthia.”
“I get that. A lot.” I reply, definitely blushing now.
Ryan has gotten closer to me, physically, since we began cleaning up, and I’ve noticed that he keeps finding ways to brush against me with an arm or, a few times, his whole body.
And for some reason, my body is reacting to him. Not like it does with Alex, exactly, but there is some deep, chemical response that I can’t seem to ignore.
This intrigues me. Apparently male werewolves emit some hormone that says ‘Hey, girl…I’m here and ready for the taking.‘ Apparently it’s so prominent that even human females feel it. Then, when they reach legal age, it spikes.
I’m also curious about Ryan’s country–boy demeanor. I mean, he looks like a mountain man and dresses like one, even uses the appropriate slang on occasion, except he seems more refined, like it’s not natural to him.
I worry that he senses it…that it’s why he keeps getting closer.
I rinse a bowl and place it in the dish drainer for him to retrieve and dry. Such a normal task for an abnormal situation. “Can I asssk you something?”
“Of course,” he says.
“Are you married?” And please don’t take that question the wrong way…
He gets silent, pensive. “I was. She died…along with my boy”
I stop mid–scrub and look at him. “I’m sooo sssorry to hear that! What happened?”
His face darkens and I see his chest rise. He’s quiet for a moment before saying, “There was an accident. A few years ago.”
Then he goes quiet. I want to push–to ask him more questions–but the air around him has grown heavy and I’m afraid of making him angry.
After a while, the air lightens. Ryan scoots closer to me as he dries a large serving dish. “I’m sorry. It’s sull a sensitive subject for me… I don’t mean to be rude.”
“Can I. Asssk another?”
“Yes…don’t be afraid to ask me anything.”
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#Chapter 67: Close to Ryan
+25 BONUS
This time I keep my hands busy scrubbing and my eyes on my task. “Thisss is personal. Will you ever. Mate. Again?”
“I guess you don’t know how these things work, huh?”
I shake my head, still not looking at him. But I can feel his eyes on me, and the feeling between us gets stronger, more pronounced.
“I can choose whoever I would like to mate with now. But haven’t had interest.”
“Ohhh…”
Ryan reaches around my back to get the other dish towel, pressing his arm against me as he leans in. I think he is smelling me…
“We’re back,” I hear Alex call as he walks in the room, Rita’s arm around his shoulder, and sees us. His brow furrows and anger flashes across his face before disappearing.
Ryan doesn’t rush to release me, not even acknowledging anything is happening. I mean, is something happening? Because it sure feels like it.
I haven’t been alone with Alex since we first arrived. After the dinner dishes are put away and Rita is settled into a spare room, Alex disappears.
I go searching for him and find him on the back porch, where we argued earlier. This time doesn’t start out any different.
He is leaning over the railing, his back to me. He turns when he hears the door, registers it’s me, and turns away again.
He is alone, giving me an opportunity to clear the air. “About earlier.”
“You don’t have to explain,” he says sharply. “I guess it doesn’t matter, anyway.”
How dare he! “That’sss not fair! It all matters! You matter! To me!”
He turns around and leans back against the railing, his hands gripping it and causing the muscles in his arms to flex. Such beautiful muscles….
He must notice me noticing him, and a brief smile crosses his face. “You know what I mean.” He sighs, his chest slumping as he exhales. “Come here.”
I walk over to him and wrap my arms around him, melting into his hard chest and igniting our electric bond.
“I wish things were different.”
I bury my head in his chest, inhaling his unique scent. I could smell him forever! “Me, too.”
“This has been… hell, I don’t know. This is not what I expected when we met. But even then…”
“What?”
“It’s like something drew me to you. Then that asshole…treating you the way he did. You didn’t deser don’t deserve this.”
- at. You
He squeezes me, as if afraid I would disappear if he let go. “I know you didn’t choose this–to love something like me and end up somewhere like this.”
I look up at him, into his golden eyes. “I do love you.”
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#Chapter 67: Close to Ryan
I see desire there. “Me, too–but you’re human, Cynthia… can’t give you a future.”
+25 BONUS
I know that. I know that his future belongs to Rita and that he’s torn between us. I want to hear him say that he’ll love only me but that’s not fair to him. Some choices aren’t ours to make.
“But Ryan can’t either,” he adds.
I pull back, releasing my hold on Alex. Where did that come from? “Exsscuse me?”
“Don’t act like you didn’t notice. You’re too smart for that, he says. I don’t know whether to be offended or take this as a compliment.
He doesn’t look angry, but his face is determined. He’s not backing down. “I don’t know what…it was.”
“Because all of this is new to you. I know,” he says sympathetically. “But Ryan knows what his intentions are, and he knows what he’s doing. Don’t let him fool you.”
“Ugh! I don’t like him. Like that.”
Alex smiles. He knows I’m telling the truth because we’ve been honest with how we feel about each other. Though up to this point, we haven’t talked about the elephant in the room: Rita.
“I know we can’t be… together. That’sss okay. You and Rita…”
But I can’t finish because I know if I say it out loud then I’m likely to break down. I don’t want to embarrass myself.
Alex cringes. He backs away, studying my face. “What do you know about that?” His face lights up, as if he’s having a revelation. He starts backing away. “Wait…were you letting Ryan get close to you?”
I can’t believe he would even think that! “What??? You don’t mean…”
“That you were flirting? I don’t know, were you, Cynthia? To get back at me for something you don’t know anything about?”
“How dare you!” I run toward him, my sudden flare of anger fueling me, when Alex cries out and doubles over, grabbing his abdomen.
He crashes to the ground, his lips peeled back to show clenched teeth. “Ahhhh!!!”
I don’t know what’s happening! Frozen with fear, I stop.
He’s writhing on the ground. My mind switches gears and I continue toward him, only not to attack him, but to help.
