Anna Begins [Paul Lahote]

Chapter Twenty

Anna

As it turned out, Felicity had not left yet. She'd needed to call into work and gather some things from her own apartment to take for the night. And of course she had no problem with me tagging along for the drive to Sam and Emily's house.

She spent the whole drive babbling about how excited Jacob was to tear into some bloodsuckers. His confidence made her feel better, but she also thought it was a little over the top.

I didn't say much myself, too busy trapping my anxious thoughts in a box in my head. I'd only let them out when I was alone. Maybe tonight before I went to sleep. But not in front of anyone who might worry right now—everyone's focus needed to stay on the actual problem at hand.

All of our pack members needed to make it home safe.

Once we made it to the house, Felicity got quiet as we gathered our stuff and went to the front door. Before we could knock, Jacob pushed the door open from the inside. "Come on in, ladies. I'll be back as soon as I'm done taking this call." His smile was tense as he held the door open for us, but I followed Felicity's lead and didn't question it. He stayed on the porch once we were in the house, letting the door shut behind us.

"I'll ask him about it when he comes back in," Felicity murmured to me as we dropped our things in the living room. Then we made our way to the kitchen—the place everyone always gathered when we were here. I guessed that was mostly because the wolves seemed to be bottomless pits and it was practically a full time job for Emily to keep them well fed.

Entering the kitchen, my gaze swept over the room like a heat-seeking missile for one person and one person only. He was leaning against the counter next to the fridge, but he straightened the moment his eyes met mine.

"Finally," Paul breathed, taking a step forward. He opened his arms. "Time for me to make good on that promise, Anna."

I didn't let myself over think it. I just did what my mind and body wanted and crossed the room as quickly as possible, throwing myself into his arms. I held tight around his neck, my legs wrapping around his waist.

If Paul wasn't expecting such an over-the-top hug, he didn't show it. He simply wound one arm around my back and the other under my ass, clutching me to his chest like something precious.

"I needed this," I whispered as quietly as I could, though I knew all the wolves would be able to hear anyway. It didn't matter; the point was clear that the words were for Paul.

He tightened his hold on me. "Me too. I missed you so much."

We stayed like that for a period of time that could have been minutes or hours or days. Our breathing slowed to match, our hearts beating as one.

I'd never been so content in my entire life.

But then someone cleared their throat.

"Leave us alone," Paul growled softly.

"We were trying to," Sam said, "but apparently Jacob has something important to bring to our attention."

Paul sighed, pressing a kiss to my hair as I shoved my face harder in his neck for another moment. "We can still hug, but we should probably pay attention," he said softly.

I nodded, pulling my face back. He was right. "We'll resume this later."

He smiled.

"Oh!" I smiled in return. "I saved this smile for you from earlier." As I said it, I realized that sounded really dumb. Who saved smiles? "I mean—"

Paul stopped whatever I was about to say with a peck on my lips. "I love it. I love your smiles. I love that this one was for me. Love it, Anna. Don't explain it away."