Lure To The Woods

XXII

I looked up at the ceiling above the bed, sighing. It felt weird to look up and not see flaking paint, replaced by a flawlessly plastered roof. Xavier had offered me his bed, like a gentleman, and had gone to sleep in one of the guest rooms. He insisted on me taking his room because 'the bed was comfier' according to him. However, I think he just wanted his bed to smell of me, but that's only a theory. 

I kicked the thick duvet off of me, letting the cold air wrap around my bare legs. I had been trying to get to sleep for hours, but sleep was not something that my body wanted right now. If I was at home, I would simply go for a walk, but I wasn't. Instead, I was locked inside the gates of a werewolf pack. Strange.

I buried my face in a pillow, enjoying the way it smelt of Xavier. He was right about his bed, it was insanely comfortable. Plus, it was quite comforting to have his smell wrapped around me, even if I couldn't smell it as strongly as he could. I tried to close my eyes, but all I could hear was the sound of an owl hooting in the distance. I wanted to kill it.

I rolled off of the bed, dragging my feet over to my bag. I had dropped it in the corner, not bothering to unpack anything. I rummaged through, finding the small carton I was looking for. I crept out of my room, trying to make as little as noise as possible- I'd feel bad if I woke up Xavier. 

I found the balcony door, opening it just enough to slip outside before I closed it behind me. The cold air was a little too cold for my liking, but it was still refreshing. I definitely should have pulled on some joggers, though. 

I leant against the balcony railing, lighting a cigarette between my lips and inhaling deeply. 

The warm smoke filling my lungs was comforting, the stress leaving my body as I exhaled. I let my eyes flutter closed, savouring the menthol taste. It helped clear my head, which was much needed considering I was two hoots away from hunting down a damn owl. 

It's one thing living on the edge of the woods and a whole other things actually staying in the woods themselves. All of the sounds I usually found relaxing were suddenly loud and overwhelming to me.

I heard the balcony door slide open behind me and I groaned internally. I woke him up.

"Sorry for waking you." I cringed, sensing Xavier behind me without even having to look. 

"No, it's fine. I've adjusted to your sleep schedule anyway. Couldn't sleep?" Xavier joined me at the balcony ledge, hugging me from behind. 

I simply nodded as his arms wrapped around my waist. I felt my skin light on fire- making me hyper aware of every inch of his skin on mine. I relaxed into his touch, both of us just remaining silent while we looked out across the woods. 

It wasn't raining tonight, but I was kind of wishing it was; I loved the sound of the rain in the forest. Plus, it would give us something to fill this slightly uncomfortable silence with. Actually, I'm pretty sure I'm the only one finding this slightly awkward- Xavier seems content. I need to learn to relax. 

"Can I have one?" His husky voice graced my ears, sending an elongated shiver down my spine.

That surprised me slightly; I hadn't seen him smoke before. Regardless, I slipped a cigarette out of the carton and passed it to him. I preferred to roll them myself, but at the end of the day nicotine is nicotine. 

He pulled away from me, cupping his large hands around his mouth while I lit his cigarette for him. He inhaled deeply, letting the smoke flow out of his nose like it was the most natural thing to him; he was showing off, but I was still pretty impressed. 

"You clearly smoke more than you're letting on." I lazily rose an eyebrow, my eyes glued to the smoke curling out of his nose. 

The way he smoked did something to me. I had seen hundreds of people smoke, but nobody looked quite as good as Xavier did. It seemed to be second nature to him, the cigarette balancing on his lips as he sent me a smirk.