stop,” he says clearly catching my mood. “I’m ruining this aren’t I?” he says and I don’t answer. “I’m sorry I just have been working so hard on this and my words just spill out of my mouth with no thought. I really want to prove to you that this could really work with us and that my feelings for you are pure.” I don’t know what to say back to that so I just nod and we keep walking. Also I know with just that statement I have just lost my deal with the pack master.
He take s my hand and I can feel that his hand is damp, making me smile. We walk towards where we ran last night and he quickly goes around me covering my eyes. “I want it to be a surprise,” he breathes softly next to my ear and I’m a little excited. Our first steps are awkward until we walk as one. He presses me flat against him before taking his hand away and I can’t believe my eyes. Stepping out of his hold I take it all in. The trees that circle us are lite up with tiny white lights that remind me of happy times as a child. In the center is a picnic set out on a white blanket. Candles of different heights are set up by the meal. The whole thing has this warm and touching vibe to it.
Turning back to him, he smiles at my reaction. “You did all this?” I ask walking back over to him pleasantly surprised.
“Just for you,” he says hugging me to him and I feel comfortable with him like I did last night. He’s being himself and not the mask of a man he flashes around all the time. “Let’s eat,” he says taking my hand and leading me to the center of the snow white blanket. I let my fingers graze the soft fabric and let this rare moment get the better of me. “I know you don’t care for the food made here so I made a home cooked meal. Chicken, potatoes, the whole nine yards,” he smiles and it’s contagious.
The meal is so good I almost inhale it and I can tell Riley is happy with this. “I didn’t know you could cook ,” I say wiping my hands clean of the meal and laying back. My hands go down to my very full stomach and Riley’s hand covers mine.
“A man is known to have secrets.” He grins and I wonder if he even made this, but right now I really don’t care.
We lay there letting the meal settle for a while, talking about things we never talked about before. It makes me feel my age when we laugh a few times so hard that I cry. Sitting up on my elbows I watch as Riley walks over to the base of one of the trees and soft music begins to play. C’est La Mort by The Civil Wars plays.
“They are my favorite ,” I say as he pulls me closer. Letting the words of the song stir emotion within me as I lay my head on his shoulder. My eyes are wide open looking at the fresh stubble along his jaw. His smell is a mixture of him and his wolf drawing me to be near my own kind. I can feel his hand moving up and down my lower back as his face softly nuzzles part of my face.
When the song ends I can feel him pull away from me only a little and the tension between us is too much. His eyes express too much emotion. “Let’s run!” I say quickly pushing away from him and start running, taking off my clothes before I shift. I don’t wait for him, I just take off running as fast as I can to see if he will follow or catch me. Sounds of snapping leafs and twigs give him away but I don’t think he cares because he is catching up to me quickly. Pushing myself as hard as I can go I take longer strides, but it doesn’t matter as he soon tackles me to the ground. His wolf is only a little larger than my own, as his snout rubs against my face and neck and I know what he’s doing. He’s seeing if I trust him which I do in that sense. Getting up I return the same gesture as he allows me showing that he trusts me.
We hunt and play in the woods long after the sun goes down. Shifting I lay back down on the w hite blanket catching my breath as Riley shifts and lays next to me. Gently he picks up one of my hands kissing the top as his