JOSH LEFT DIMITRI and went straight to Alanna, knowing Dimitri would want them on the road as soon as possible in order to bring Lainie home to Bull Creek. Of course, Josh knew he still needed to convince Alanna to go with him, and if he was honest with himself, he had to admit, he wasn’t sure if she would or not. Sure, they had their legs wrapped around each other for the past three nights, but that didn’t mean she’d pack a bag and just hop in the car with him. Did it?
With a deep breath, he knocked on her cabin door, hope in his heart and a plea on his lips, not to mention a hard cock in his pants. God, why am I always so fucking hard whenever I’m near her? At first, the fact that he instantly became erect when he thought of her was stimulating, but after a while—and he hated even admitting this—the fact that his cock strained against his pants constantly became quite irritating. Maybe I can ride to Draven Falls naked.
Alanna opened the door a moment later, her brows pinched in confusion. “You knocked? You feeling okay?” She glanced down, saw his erection, and smirked. “Did you come here for some, um, relief?”
“What?” Then he noticed where her gaze landed and felt the blush warm his cheeks. “Oh, no.” He laughed, softly. “No, actually, I came to see if you were up for a road trip. Dimitri’s worried about his sister back in Draven Falls being able to get away from their father, and he doesn’t think it’s smart for him to leave Bull Creek after what Bane did Friday night. He’s asked me to go and make sure she makes it out.” He gave her a weak shrug. “I was kind of hoping you wouldn’t let me go alone.”
She arched an eyebrow at him. “A road trip. To Draven Falls. Just the two of us.” She crossed her arms over her chest as she stared at him. At first, he thought she would turn him down, but then she nodded slowly, a soft smile turning up her lips. “I’ve never been, actually. I know a Jerah Hale there, a member of the Paranormal Council. I called him asking for help when Neal permitted Bane to run all over the humans here. It’d be nice to meet him and say hello, thank him for sending you to me. I’ll even drive, so Dimitri isn’t left without a car while you’re gone.”
Josh grinned, his panther leaping within. Nine hours. He would be in the car with Alanna for over nine hours as they made their way to Draven Falls. Maybe then he would be able to get her to open up about what had happened in her past that kept her from wanting to finish the mating call they both felt.
Seven hours into the trip, however, Josh was nowhere near getting the answers he craved. On the other hand, he did know all the lyrics to every Eagles’ song out there because Alanna refused to give him control of the radio, even when he drove. That defied all road traveling rules. Whoever drove was supposed to pick the music. Everyone knew that. Everyone but Alanna, that is.
“So, if you’ve never been to Draven Falls, how do you know Jerah?” Josh asked after having his hand slapped for trying to turn the channels.
“What the hell are you doing?” she asked as she placed her hand back on the steering wheel. “Everyone knows the driver chooses the music.”
He stared at her, mouth open. “And why didn’t that rule apply when I drove?”
She shrugged. “Because it was trumped by the girlfriend rule, which states, the girlfriend can do as she pleases.”
“Is that what you are now?” he asked, shifting so he faced her a little. “My girlfriend? We haven’t exactly talked about it other than you telling me we’re not fulfilling what our animals want us to do.”
She shrugged. “Girlfriend works for now,” she said. “Especially since it allows me to keep control of the radio.”
Josh just rolled his eyes, deciding to give up the fight he knew he would inevitably lose, anyway. At least, she called herself my girlfriend. “How do you know Jerah?” he asked again.
“When I left Brighton Cove, the alpha of the bears there told me Jerah could help if I ever needed it,” she answered. “Until Neal started allowing Bane to pull his prejudiced shit, I never had a need to call.”
“The alpha of the bears?” Josh repeated. “Not the alpha of the wolves? Didn’t your alpha try to put you in contact with another wolf pack?”
“Nope, but then, I didn’t really ask him, either,” she said. “So, tell me more about Draven Falls.”
Josh just stared at her a moment, blinking. She still kept everything close to her chest, even though she knew they were destined mates. What would it take for her to trust him and move past her fears? “You know you can talk to me, right?” he asked. “Alanna, we’re destined mates; I’m not going anywhere. We need to be honest and open with each other.”
He could see her gripping the steering wheel tighter. “That didn’t exactly work out for Neal and Tina now, did it?” She shook her head. “I’ve seen people use the calling of destined mates to excuse some pretty shitty stuff. I’m not just jumping into something because my panther has an urge. Others may leap at that fairy tale googly gook, but not me.”
“Googly gook?” he repeated with a slight chuckle as he turned, putting his back to the passenger door. “You don’t believe in the destined mate stories, the instant, head-over-heels-in-love, can’t live without each other tales of passionate love that embraces people the minute their animals scent that special someone?”
She shot him a weird look. “Think you could’ve fit a few more descriptive words in there?”
“I can always try,” he smirked.
Alanna rolled her eyes before glancing back to the road. “It doesn’t matter whether I believe in all that…goobly gook…or not. I’m not being forced into something because of my wolf. I control me. The witches who cursed us wanted the animals in control, wanted us giving in to our base desires and carnal lusts, to romp around on the ground like wild animals.” She shook her head again. “I control me, not my wolf who seems suddenly in heat.”
He cocked his head to the side. “Something very bad happened to you in Brighton Cove, didn’t it?”
“Are you going to tell me about Draven Falls or not?” Alanna snapped.
Okay, so that struck a nerve. Josh just stared at her for a moment and then turned back around in his seat, facing forward. “To anyone not in the know, Draven Falls appears just like any other small town. The supernatural residents stick mainly in the shadows of the town, doing their best not to draw unwanted attention to themselves. The Paranormal Council runs them, keeping to the supernatural laws as the sheriff keeps to the human ones.”
She nodded as he listened. “And Lainie? What’s your connection with her besides her being Dimitri’s sister? This is a long trip just to help a friend’s sibling pack up and move.”
Josh kept his gaze out the front windshield, trying to think of the best way to answer Alanna’s question without winding up in the doghouse. Finally, he decided just the facts would be best. “We dated for a short period a little while ago, but her father didn’t exactly approve of me as a suitor—and that was his word for it, not mine, before you mock my word choice.” He shrugged. “Now, we pretty much just give each other a hard time. She’s spunky, which makes her a good deputy. She’s also stubborn, obnoxious, opinionated, and sarcastic. You’ll definitely like her.” He laughed at that last part.
Alanna didn’t laugh, however. “Spunky, huh? You don’t sound like you’re over her to me.”
He glanced over at her, reaching out and brushing a strand of her red hair from in front of her face. “Oh, trust me, I’m way over her. My focus is right here on you. Lainie’s a friend, and I’m fine with that.”
Alanna glanced over at him quickly, then turned her attention back to the road. “I’ve heard that before. It wasn’t true then.”
He nodded once, hearing what she didn’t finish saying. “But it is true now. Promise. Lainie is just as over me as I am of her. Just friends. She only loves to give me a hard time and make my life miserable.”
Alanna glanced at him one more time, her expression showing she still didn’t believe him. That was all right. He would just have to show her. Lainie was his past. Alanna was to be his future.