Bloodline and Kin (Gifted Werewolf Series: Book 2)

19: Simone

Reed seemed off when I saw him after my shower. I wasn't sure if it had something to do with Thrain, or if I had done something wrong. I thought we had an enjoyable time and he liked me, but now I had second thoughts. He only gave me a small smile before saying he was going upstairs to shower. There were no kisses he would always steal, no light in his eyes he usually had when he saw me, and no openness in his posture that told me something good was about to happen. He looked like he just heard unwelcome news...and I feared it was something about me that he didn't like.

I went to the kitchen and grabbed the pan of brownies I made last night and took it to the couch, turning on the tv and shoveling the chocolate down my throat. I wasn't listening to anything as I was distracted by my worries of what could be wrong. I felt like I was to blame for his distance. I didn't know what I did wrong and I wanted desperately to fix it.

Two hours later, he hadn't come down and my heart pounded. Reed never took two hours in the shower. I set the pan aside with only crumbs left and curled into a ball, waiting to see him come down the stairs and tell me something that'll make me smile.

But he didn't.

Another hour passed and I finally got up to see where he was. I immediately heard him in his office, talking on the phone. The door was shut, and he sounded pissed, or worse. This got me scared, so I opened the ceiling up and climbed into the small attic space, shutting the door behind me. Then I sat there crying.

It wasn't long before I saw the door open and he appeared with a confused look on his face. "Simone, what are you doing up here?"

I looked up at him and saw his eyes were soft and he didn't seem as distant. "Hiding," I whispered.

"From whom?"

"I thought you were mad at me," I say, and he tilted his head. "You didn't show up after the shower and weren't acting normal. I thought I did something wrong."

"Simone, it isn't you. There's nothing you've done to make me mad," he says and crawls towards me. "I just got shocking news about something and am trying to handle it."

I sit up slowly. "It's not me?"

He sits in front of me and shakes his head, cupping my face. "Not you at all."
Relaxing, I uncurl and embrace him. "Don't worry, Beautiful. It's nothing for you to worry about right now."

I nod and we go back down and into the living room. Reed sees the empty tray and frowns. I blush and hide my face. "Sorry. I ate them all out of nerves."

"And you didn't save any for me?" he asks with sarcasm. I smile and shrug. There's a moment of silence then without warning, Reed pulls me onto the couch and tickles me. I am momentarily stunned, but then start to scream and squirm. And he's back to being the man I've come to know.

Later that night, we're in bed together with him holding me as usual when he turns me to face him. I blink up into his green eyes as he leans down and kisses me softly on the lips. I don't tense as I have in the past, but I also don't respond. I'm trying to figure out what my body is feeling and all I know is that my head is spinning, and my stomach is doing backflips. I'm not sure if it's good or not.

When he pulls away, he stares at me. "Simone, do you like it here?"

I nod.

He hesitates and glances away for a moment before saying, "Are you okay with being in the same bed as me?"

"Should I not?"

"I was just asking."

I stare back at him and try to figure out what he's feeling. "Reed, what is it? I thought you knew this already."