Forbidden Imprint [Book 5] ✔️

11 • Pain In The Ass

REBECCA'S POV

I opened the front door of my dad's house to head outside when I ran smack into someone. His arms quickly wrapped around me to keep me from falling. I knew instantly from his familiar scent that it was Embry.

Embry had a very earthy smell to him that was uniquely his. A mix of rainwater and forest. It was comforting and for a brief second I let my head rest against his chest as I let his nearness consume me. With my imagination working in overdrive, I even thought I felt him lightly kiss my hair which caused my heart to leap.

And then I remembered the last time I saw him, drunk off his ass, banging some tramp against a brick building. I pulled back and his arms dropped to his sides. It was ridiculous how much I felt the loss of his warmth.

"My dad isn't here," I told him. I couldn't think of any reason he would be here other than to see my father.

"I know," he replied before saying hesitantly, "I was actually here to see you."

"Why?" I asked coldly.

I couldn't help but be reserved. Okay, fine. I was being a complete bitch to him, but I was already going through enough crap in my life without dealing with Embry and my misguided infatuation for him. It was an attraction I felt no matter how much I didn't want to. Damn the man!

"Do I need a reason to see you?" Embry asked in a surprised tone.

No, he didn't. It would probably be odd if we didn't hang out together while I was in town. We were practically family. The problem was that I didn't want anything to do with Embry. He just confused me and I needed to keep a clear head right now. I had some major decisions to make, and I didn't need his nearness distracting me.

"I was about to walk down to First Beach," I told him, trying to indicate by my tone that he wasn't welcome. If he picked up on it, he decided to ignore it.

"Great, I'll come with you."

I felt my mouth tighten as we began our walk to the beach in silence. He kept looking at me as though he wanted to say something. A few times he even opened his mouth to speak, but then he'd look down at the ground with a frown.

"How's your hand?" Embry finally asked.

"Fine, there's hardly a scratch," I replied, trying my hardest to keep my eyes off him.

He reached down and picked up the hand I had cut the other day when I broke a glass at Rachel's.

"No Scooby-Doo band-aid?" He joked, running a thumb across the raised skin.

"No...I heal really fast. I didn't need it anymore," I answered, pulling my hand out of his. Embry didn't say anymore as we finally reached the beach. I could feel my hand tingling where he had touched it.

We walked in silence for a minute before he said, "So how are things in Hawaii?"

Wrong thing to say.

"I don't want to talk about it," I snapped.

"Sure," he replied instantly, throwing me looks of concern.

We continued to walk silently by each other, which suited me just fine. And oddly, instead of being uncomfortable, I felt the tension leave my shoulders as I breathed in the fresh salty air of the ocean and Embry's calming scent. After we walked for an hour, I told him I was going to head back to my dad's.

"Same time tomorrow then?" Embry asked.

"Sure...why not," I replied, my heart beating erratically.