Thrill of the Chase (Hunters & Heartbreakers 1)

XIV - Wells

^^Because we finally get some heat between Wells and Langdon ;)^^

Hunting In the Dark

Being Part Memoir, Part Practical Guide To Zombi Hunts

By Charles Dickens

14 May.

(We were done for.)

I was done for. I am done for. Kissing Wilkes had been both the most reckless and the most thrilling thing I'd ever done. If Naomi hadn't walked in I would have been at his buttons, wanting to feel his bare skin under my hands as soon as I could get his clothes off. And now I couldn't control my feelings. Was it wrong that I wanted to look at Wilkes shirtless in the moonlight? Or to want to kiss him while I cupped his backside? Or go for a skinny-dip in a pond deep in the woods?

Then I had to tear my thoughts away from that. I was sure his thoughts weren't occupied with me, not in the way mine were. He hadn't resisted the kiss, and to my surprise he'd actually responded. But that in no way confirmed he had any feelings for me.

"Wells, you're distracted," said Naomi, snapping her fingers in front of my face. "Again."

"Sorry." I shook my head. "What were we looking for again?"

"Mr Dickens' hunting book," she said. "I've been to almost every bookshop in the area...I'm certain this one will have it."

"Right." I turned my attention back to the bookshelf in front of me, but I couldn't make myself focus on any of the titles there. My thoughts kept drifting back to Wilkes. How my fingers had felt in his silky-soft hair, how his lips had fit so perfectly against mine, how heat had radiated off him when he'd pressed up against me.

"Wells."

"Sorry." I blinked and looked away.

"What's gotten into you?" Naomi turned to face me. "You haven't been yourself."

"It's..." I twisted my pocket-watch chain around my finger. "If I say it here..."

"Langdon, isn't it?" she said, lowering her voice. "You're thinking about Langdon."

"Yes, but..."

"I understand," she said gently, laying one hand on my arm. "I do. You haven't been allowed to love anyone the way you want, between me, Papa, running our hunting business practically on your own. And now that I've seen that your feelings are genuine, I won't try to stand in your way anymore."

I shook my head. "Naomi, you weren't in the way."

"I was. We both know it. I didn't mean to throw myself so thoughtlessly at him, I just hadn't known...when I walked in on you two..."

"You mean you hadn't confirmed," I said, when she stopped herself.

"No...I mean-yes, I hadn't. But...it's all so confusing, you know, and..."

"I shouldn't have done it," I blurted. "It was too impulsive and rushed him into feelings I was hoping he had. I pushed him too far."

Naomi's brow furrowed. "You're saying these things after your first kiss?"

"I know, I just..." I fisted one hand in my hair, whirling back to the shelf. I spotted the book right away — Hunting In the Dark, C. Dickens — staring me in the face. I pulled it off the shelf and thrust it into Naomi's hands. "Here. I just need some air."

Then I turned on my heel and left the shop, without another word or a look back.

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