Green - a werewolf story

7. Negotiations

Green eyes raised his eyebrows.

"Impressive control. But that's not what I meant. Scratching me doesn't prove anything."

"It would make me feel very good though," she purred and took a step closer.

He chuckled.

"I'm sure it would. No, I think the reason you're trying so hard to push me away is because you know you're falling for me and you're scared."

Vanessa stopped smiling.

"I'm not scared!"

"It's perfectly natural," he said with a shrug. "I can be intimidating, it comes with being this fiercly attractive. Your raw, savage feelings for me obviously scare you."

"The only raw, savage feelings I have towards you is the urge to rip your head off!" Vanessa hissed and felt her incisors grow with her anger.

"Great, then this shouldn't be a problem," he said and leaned back lazily against the car.

"What shouldn't be a problem?" Vanessa asked, her voice laced with suspicion.

"Making a deal with me. I mean, I could just knock you out cold and take you home with me. That's sort of the tradition, isn't it? No one would even raise an eyebrow if I did."

"You could try," Vanessa growled and prepared to pounce.

Her first instinct might be to roll over and let him carry her off, in fact she could practically hear her inner wolf begging her to do just that. Preferrably after they'd jumped him, pulled him to the ground and gotten rid of all those pesky clothes. She took a deep breath and pushed that side of herself down. She had learned to control the wolf-side of her a long time ago. If anything those thoughts made her even angrier.

Green eyes must have noticed because he held up his hands in surrender.

"Wow, calm down. I'm just saying I could, not that I would. I'm not entirely archaic, you know," he said with a lopsided grin that looked incredibly wolfish.

"Could've fooled me," Vanessa muttered.

He ignored her and shifted his focus to his nails in a semblence of complete nonchalanse, but Vanessa wasn't buying it. His shoulders were tense and she could hear his heart beating fast.

"So here's what we'll do. You take me with you to wherever you're going and we stay together for a year. If I haven't convinced you to accept me before the year is up I'll give you my full name and you can reject me. Otherwise, we go home to my pack together and live happily ever after," he said, staring at her intently.

Vanessa was speechless for a second. Her first impulse was to say no, absolutely not, but as she thought it over his proposition had certain advantages. It wasn't as if she was doing a good job running from him anyway.

Plus, you'll get to have him to yourself for a year, a little voice inside her said. That was so not the reason she was considering this though, she told herself.

"Okay, but not a year. I don't want to drag you along a full year. You get two weeks."

He looked angry first, but then he laughed.

"Oh, you don't think you can hold out for more than two weeks? I really thought you had more will power than that."

"That's not ..."

"Ten months," he countered.

"One month."

"Eight months," he said and folded his arms over his chest.