Chapter 13: Clearing The Air

[Cole]
He couldn’t explain it but it felt very different now.

A month ago it would’ve been the worst moment in his life to have this werewoman wrapped around him: Dove was an explosion of softness and sweetness that brought out his deepest desires and numbed his senses, and he disliked the feeling of control slipping away.

Now, having her tiny frame molded perfectly against him, Cole felt assured knowing that she was safe. Her tears gave him relief. He gently patted her shaking back until her cries reduced to sobs, and then to sniffs.

When her hair returned to normal, Cole asked if she was ready to talk and almost laughed when her nose tickled his chest as she nodded. She stood back, avoiding his gaze, and he reached out to wipe the tears stains off her face like it was the most natural thing to do.

“Tell.” He whispered.

She sniffed, still avoiding his eyes. “It’s nothing really.”

This woman is incorrigible, Cole thought in exasperation. He closed his eyes and groaned, “Tell me now.”

Dove finally met his gaze, then she closed her eyes, drew in a deep breath, grabbed both hands into a fist and asked in a dreaded whisper, “You like Megan, don’t you?”

Cole blinked. “Megan?”

She sniffed. “Yes, Megan. Do you like her?”

“What has that got to do with the feast?” Cole raised a brow.

“I wasn’t talking about the feast.”

“Then what were you talking about?” Cole frowned.

“Megan! I was talking about Megan! I asked if you liked her.” Her eyes were misty again.

Cole stared at her face, finally registering the meaning of her words and all that had happened the past few days. Suddenly they all made clear sense to him. Werewomen, he silently groaned.

“I like Megan,” he began and smiled when Dove became wide-eyed and her lips started trembling. “But only as a sister.” He finished with a sigh.

Dove blinked once and then again.

He reached out for her but she backed away immediately, shaking her head. Dropping both hands on his side as if in surrender, he said in a sigh, “Megan’s only a sister to me, Dove.” He wanted to knock some sense into this woman.

“But Megan likes you.” She was going to cry again so she turned from him but Cole wouldn’t let her and grabbed her shoulders once more.

“No, Cole, leave me alone.” She tried to free herself and struggled hard but he was stronger, so she resorted to shooting glares at him.

Staring down at her angry face, Cole couldn’t help but smile. In a soft voice only she could hear, he said, “Megan likes Jude. She only sees me as a brother.”

“But she was holding your hand, hugging your arm and touching your face!” The sweet angry face quickly turned into a jealous one.

Amazed by her fierce protection of him, Cole was beaming proudly inside. He stopped listening to her going on about confronting Megan and swooped down to capture her lips.

At the slightest touch, he realized that he missed them terribly. He pressed on the petal cushions and sipped on them, savoring their softness, and was rewarded with her permission. His tongue swept in to take hers as his arm slid from her shoulder and circled her waist. He groaned: reality was definitely better than imagination.

Tightening his arm, he brought her closer and felt her racing heartbeat as her curves melt against his hard chest. His other hand went swiftly behind her head, as if from memory, and held it in place as his tongue dwelled deeper, releasing the familiar sigh from her throat.

He wanted more.

Tilting his head, he pushed her lips forward and continued grazing them, teasing their plumpness. Her arms around his hips started moving up his shoulders, trailing goosebumps along his back with the feathery touch of her fingers. He shivered with a groan and held her closer to deepen the kiss.

With a third bump, he fell forward onto something thick and springy. The crash tore his lips from her and his eyes opened to a breathtaking view - swollen red lips, glowing pink cheeks, hazy dark eyes and long tresses spread out like a fan, glowing in white silver. He swallowed hard. Then, he noticed her drawing in hard breaths and flashed a proud smile.

“I don’t like Megan touching you,” she whispered, gazing into his eyes.

He chuckled, dropped his face to the crook of her neck and inhaled deeply to steady his own breathing, taking in all of her wonderful scent. In a more steady voice, he replied, “Alright, I’ll talk to Jude about it.”

She finally laughed, the melodic tune and cheerful rhythm calming his ears, and he smiled in her neck.

“I’m serious, Cole.” Her voice was crisper.

He propped on his elbows and looked down at her. “I’m serious too. She’s getting on my nerves.” She giggled softly and he smiled warmly back.

“Wait,” Dove scrunched her nose. “Did you say ‘Megan likes Jude’?”

Cole’s smile fell flat. He sat up when she pushed him away and threw an annoying glance at her astonished look.

“Megan likes Jude?” Her pitch was an irritating one.

Cole looked away with a roll of eyes. Werewoman, he silently groaned and shook his head in disbelief as he slid off the bed and headed to the door.

He closed the door behind him, deafening her shrieks of surprise.

Once in silence, reality crept back into his consciousness. Cole looked down and noted the numbness in his fingers - they were already missing the feel of her. He grabbed them into a fist and watched the veins surfacing in his wrist.

“Fuck,” he muttered, looking up at the almost complete moon glowing gracefully back at him.