Run With Me

Chapter Twelve

The second Kirk's lips touched hers, Terri's hands went from pushing him away, to gripping his jacket. He tasted like chocolate and mint. Dark, complex, and completely refreshing. Or maybe it was her mind playing tricks on her because it had been years since she had been kissed. Terri could feel her wolf brush against her skin, aching to come out. The primal nature within her took over and she found herself leaning into the kiss, her tongue answering his with a confidence she didn't possess. Hands moved from clutching her arms to gripping her waist. The primitive growl and pressure on Terri's waist woke up her logical brain again and she placed her hands flat on his chest. And pushed. Hard.

Kirk let go of her and stepped back, giving her space. Both were breathing hard from the intensity of the kiss. Terri raised a hand to feel her lips, meeting Kirk's wide eyed stare. He opened his mouth to say something but her hand snapped up to stop him.

"Don't ever touch me again without my express permission," Terri spoke low, her voice shaking from the need to touch him again, "Ever." She spun on her heel and sprinted away from the pained expression he had given her at her words. Too many male wolves took what they wanted. She would not cave to that. No matter how much she enjoyed that kiss and how badly she wanted another one. He took from her what should have been hers to give. And she would never get it back.

There was a text message from him waiting for her when she got home. All of the excess energy she had been wanting to burn off was gone now.

I would like to apologize. In person. Please? Terri stared at her phone. She didn't want to deal with him right now.

No. Terri muted her phone and crawled into bed, dropping her leg on the floor and passing out. She wasn't going to school tomorrow for fear that he would be there again. Her wolf howled as she fought back the tears. She hadn't wanted the kiss to stop. But Kirk's constant presence overwhelmed her and just made her crave him. She wanted a choice, a say in her future. Not some alpha telling her what he wanted her future to be.

***

A knock on the door the next morning roused Michael and he opened it to find Kirk standing on the landing with a dozen white roses in his hand.

"Ah," Michael stepped back and gave Kirk room to step into the condo, "She slept through the day. Or, at least," Micheal shrugged as he moved into the kitchen, "I assumed she did. It's almost one in the afternoon and the early bird of the family has stayed in bed all day. Michael looked over to see the grimace on Kirk's face.

"She's not sick, is she?" Kirk asked, placing the bouquet gently on the counter.

"Nah," Michael shrugged again, "but she was pretty upset after her run yesterday." He looked critically at Kirk, "You wouldn't have anything to do with that would you?" His tone went from friendly to hard in only a second. Kirk looked towards what he assumed was Terri's bedroom.

"Yeah," He finally admitted, "I might have upset her a fair bit. I came over right after the morning lecture when I didn't see her." Michael just looked at the normally confident alpha and came to a realization: mates really did humble each other. Kirk had always had a sense of confidence that was currently gone. And Terri had never missed a class or a lecture. Ever. They were ripping each other apart.

"Look," Michael sighed after a few minutes of observing Kirk, "I'm probably going to catch hell from Terri by doing this, but I'm going to leave you alone in the apartment," He gave the alpha a small smile, "Don't do anything that would result in me beating me to a pulp. But whatever you are doing is affecting her degree. And if you do something that will stop her goals, she'll kill you. And then hide your body. On her own." Kirk only stared at him. "Listen, she's my sister. Darren is an idiot where she is concerned, but I'm not. Give her space. Don't mess with her work. She'll warm up eventually. And Kayla is probably feeding you everything else you need to woo my baby sister." Kirk grinned at him at this point. Michael had called it when he figured out that Kayla was probably helping Kirk.