Chapter 24

Kyp

Blood pounded in my ears and roared through my veins as I gulped and forced my face into a mask of politeness as we grabbed the paint and headed back toward Anthony. We’d kissed. My first kiss. My first kiss was Rachel. I was pretty sure I was going to spontaneously combust from the pressure of happy emotions galloping through me. Wolf puffed up his chest and urged me to formally Claim her. As far as he was concerned, as part of our pack, she was mine for keeps. Possibly in ways other than just a part of my pack. I swallowed down a flurry of nerves as I glanced over at Rachel, talking calmly to Whitney about where some bush was supposed to sit on the set. Her cheeks were still flushed, and if I wasn’t mistaken, her hips had a little extra swing in them. I hoped both were my fault.

My first finger rubbed over my thumb, the only outward sign that my insides were all tied up in knots. I didn’t know what to do now. I wanted Rachel to be more than a friend, more than a pack mate. The familiar awkwardness of not knowing what to do or how to act rose and clawed at my belly. Wolf snorted. I shook my head. Animal instincts were a little different than proper social etiquette.

Things wrapped up in the next few minutes as I watched Rachel give a few last orders for the evening. Once she was done, she turned and looked up at me where I was standing off to the side and out of the way, leaning lightly against the wall. Her green eyes were like shiny orbs, large, innocent, and questioning. I felt the corner of my mouth tip up and a hot rush fell over me as her whole face lit up with her answering smile.

Once our coats were on and we were walking out the doors to the cold parking lot, I let my fingers drift near her hand, brushing against it ever so slightly. I saw her glance at me in her peripheral vision, and color rose in her cheeks again. With one more hard swallow, I grabbed her hand and held on, hardly daring to breathe until I felt her body relax beside mine as we covered the short distance to my truck.

We still said nothing as I opened the door for her, and she hopped up into the cab. She paused with her fingers on the handle and glanced at me. Her smile was big as the great outdoors, and I felt myself responding with a solid internal jerk toward the sunshine on her face. Closing her door, I rounded the truck and hopped in.

“So,” I finally said as my fingers crept over the middle seat to tentatively grasp her hand again. She immediately flipped her palm up, intertwining our fingers and my shoulders lost some of their stiff posture. I turned out of the parking lot toward the house.

“So,” she said back, her voice sounding breathless in a way that shot heat down my limbs.

Just then, a loud trilling sounded, and Rachel’s nose scrunched up.

“Sorry, that’s Meg’s ringtone. I should get that in case anything new has happened.” I nodded and sadly let go of her hand as she dug in her purse for her phone and swiped it on.

“Hey Meggie,” she chirped. She reached back over and took my hand again and my heart banged a few extra times against my ribs.