Moonlight Madness Book 1 (Watty Awards 2012)

Chapters 21-25

Chapter 21

    I was still hearing Luca’s little message echoing in my head even after I felt him pull away.  Now I was second guessing myself.  Maybe, it would be best if I just went back  home.  But- if I went  home, then once again, I was letting him win.  Letting Luca rule my life just like he has done over the last eight months.

    And that notion just ate at me like battery acid.  It was high  time that I stood up for myself.  Besides, my one saving grace was the fact that Luca and I didn’t have any classes together.  The only real opportunity he would have at seeing me would be at lunch and Jaxon had assured me that he wouldn‘t let him get near me.

    “Kitten?”

    Turning around, I saw Jaxon standing there with the most peculiar look on his face.  “Is something wrong?” He asked, his forehead tightly knitted.

    Shaking my head back and forth, I told him, “No,” and painted a false smile on my face.  “I'm fine.  Are you ready?”

    He held up his paper schedule to me and grinned.  Damn, I loved that sexy grin of his.  There was just something about the way that he curled up his lips that made my legs turn into jello and a familiar burn started to pool and churn in my belly.  “Yup,” he said, “All set.  Looks like we have drama first period today.” 

    I nodded my head in acknowledgement.  Drama was my favorite class and the biggest reason I was so adamant about coming back to school today.  I kept my eyes centered on Jaxon as he walked in my direction, draping his arm over my shoulder.  And I have to admit, that one touch made me feel protected.  So protected in fact, that I almost forgot about Luca’s warning.  Almost, but I wasn’t stupid enough to let my guard down.

    He held the door open and led me out into the hallway.  The halls were empty and as we walked down the narrow space, the sound of my heels clopped against the tiles.  Neither one of us spoke.  I was content with Jaxon at my side and he seemed to be just as content too. It seemed perfectly normal to be walking with Jaxon, like this was how it was supposed to be.

    He stopped in front of the auditorium and as I got ready to open the door, he turned me around so that I was facing him.  He placed his hands on my shoulders and bent down so that we were eye to eye.  “Are you sure that you’re ready for this?”  There was nothing but concern in his eyes and that struck me on a deeper level because I knew he cared.  He didn’t want to be here today, but he came because I wanted to and at the moment, I truly understood the meaning of mates. He would do whatever it took to make me happy and in turn, I knew that I would do the same.

    Was I sure that being here was the right thing for me?  Not really.  But if I based everything off of the not sure’s and the maybe’s then I would never do anything in life.  Sometimes, you just had to leap and take a chance.  I had been doing that a lot lately, especially with Jaxon.  I couldn’t go back now and still be happy with myself.  I had to move forward.  “I’m ready,” I assured  him. 

    For a long minute, he just stared into my eyes.  Slowly, he leaned in closer so that our lips were just a hairs breadth apart. “I still would have preferred to tie you to my bed,” he teased and with that being said, I laughed out loud.

    He grinned and pressed a quick kiss to my lips.  “Come on kitten, let‘s get this party started.”  He opened the door to the auditorium and once again, led me in.  This time, he walked behind me, keeping one hand at the small of my back. 

    Both classes were in here again today, the drama and the shop class.  When the door slammed closed behind us, all eyes turned in our direction.  Some were curious, other’s smiled when they noticed how close Jaxon was to me.  I didn’t know who all knew about our situation so I kept my chin up and eyes facing forward.