Inevitably Yours

I went to the kitchen first and started rummaging through the fridge and pantry to see what we had. My mom had gone to the store the previous night after work, so there was plenty. I decided on a lasagna because I still had a couple of jars of sauce in the back of the fridge.

I got to work cooking up some sausage and beef to layer in while the noodles boiled. Thirty minutes later, I had the assembled dish going into the over and the bread waiting to be toasted.

I raced upstairs to get myself ready while dinner cooked. My hair was a crazy mess tied up in a bun, so I tackled that first. After spending fifteen minutes trying to tame it, I changed tactics. I twisted it into a low bun and left some strands loose around my face.

Then I went to my closet to find something to wear. I began to panic a little. Was this a date? How nicely do you dress for dinner with a friend that you keep kissing when no one is around? Would he think of this as a date?

I was momentarily paralyzed at my own stupidity. I just called him out of nowhere and invited him over. Now I stood there, not even knowing what to expect when he arrived.

“You could wear a sack, and Michael will like it,” Saph tried to calm me.

“Not the point and not helping!” I snipped.

“Fine, navy skirt. Light grey sweater,” she said. I could feel her eye roll.

I grabbed my navy pleated skirt and light sweater from the rack. She was exactly right; this was perfect. Fall was starting to roll in, and the cool air would pull through the open windows in a few hours, making the sweater welcome. I had navy flats to match, too.

I got dressed quickly and ran downstairs to check the lasagna. It took longer than I intended to get ready, I realized. I hurriedly got the bread into the toaster oven with some garlic butter covering it.

I got plates and set the table right before the doorbell rang. My chest squeezed with nervousness.

“He’s here!” Sapphire cheered.

I quickly pulled the bread out of the toaster and then rushed to the front door. When I opened it, I was lost for words.

Michael stood on my porch holding a single yellow rose. He wore a nice navy polo and tan cargo shorts. He was smiling handsomely but in his confident, cocky way. His eyes dragged down me, warming me up everywhere.

“Hi,” I squeaked.

“Hi,” he said. I stood there staring at him stupidly for a minute. “Can I come in?” he laughed, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh, yea! Please,” I said, stepping out of the way. He stepped inside and pushed the door closed behind him. We stood intimately close.

“Thank you for inviting me,” he said as he brought his arm around my waist. “This is for you.” He held the rose up with the other hand. It had a cute blue ribbon tied around it.

“Thank you,” I said, taking the flower. No one but my dad had ever given me flowers before. “It’s pretty.”

“Not as pretty as you,’’ he said softly. I swallowed, feeling warmer with him so close. The oven sounded from the kitchen.

“That’s our dinner,” I said. He nodded, his arm still lingering on my waist. I cleared my throat and stepped away, desperately needing him to stop looking at me like I was the meal.

I turned and headed to the kitchen; Michael followed me a moment later. I laid the flower on the counter so I could pull out the pasta.

“It smells incredible in here,” he said, standing at the end of the counter.

“It’s homemade lasagna and garlic bread. My dad and I make pasta sauce once a month, and there was still some left,” I told him. I pulled back the covering on the dish, and Michael’s eyes lit up. He really liked food.

“How do you just know how to make stuff like this?” he asked as I cut the lasagna and got it ready to serve.

“I’ve been cooking with my mom or grandmas since I was a pup,” I explained. “She-wolves cook for their mates and pups. It’s our job. Well, at least that’s how I was raised.”

Michael nodded. “My mom does most of the cooking,” he said.

“You don’t have staff to cook and clean at the packhouse? I thought the Luna helps the Alpha run the pack,” I asked as I brought the dish to the table. Michael grabbed the bread and followed.

“Not always,” he said. “My brother and I help with the chores. Just not the cooking.”

“It isn’t hard to learn,” I told him as we both sat. I grabbed his plate and started filling it. He smiled when I handed his helping back.

“Maybe I’ll just keep you around then I don’t have to,” he laughed. I loaded my plate with food as he took a bite.

“Mmmm,” he m****d. “Quinn, this is incredible,” he said after swallowing his mouthful.

“Thanks,” I smiled. He ate enthusiastically, only talking a little. He even had a whole second plate.

“You liked that,” I observed as I finished my food.

“So much,” he smiled. “I hate to say it, but that might have been better than my grandma’s food.” He stopped himself, his eyes glazing over for a second. Just as quickly as it came, the look disappeared. “Thanks for cooking me dinner,” he said.

“Thank you for coming over,” I said.

“You have no idea. This is more than I could have asked for,” he said. I could see it in his expression; something was going on at home, and he couldn’t tell me about it.

“Do you want to stay longer?” I asked. “We could play games or something?”

His shoulders relaxed fractionally. “I would love to stay longer.” He stood up, grabbing both our plates. He leaned down and kissed my forehead softly before heading to the sink. Butterflies flooded my stomach as I stood and grabbed the food dishes to take to the counter. Michael rinsed the plates and left them in the sink.

He came to stand behind me as I covered the remaining food. His arms wrapped around my center, and he held me flush to him. His mouth came to my exposed shoulder, kissing softly

“Goddess, you look so beautiful,” he whispered. More and more, the way he spoke and treated me was beginning to feel like more than friends. I was too scared to ask him what we were, especially knowing he was so close to mating age. What were the chances that I was his mate? I knew it would just crush my heart when he found her, so I couldn’t make this more than it was.

“So, what would you like to play?” I asked quietly. “We have like everything.” My mom was a huge fan of family game nights.

I felt him smile into my skin. “How about Monopoly?” he suggested.

I g*****d. “I’m more of a Scrabble person,” I said. He laughed at that.

“I guess that shouldn’t surprise me,” he said. “How about Scrabble then Monopoly?”

“Deal,” I said. “One more thing,” I added

“What?” He asked.

“They are on the top shelf of the closet, so do you think you could help me get them down?”

He threw his head back and laughed loudly at that. I turned around, frowning. “I’m sorry, it’s not funny. Yes, I’ll help,” he said through his laughter. I crossed my arms, still giving him a disapproving look. He settled and poked my nose. “You look kinda like a little Hobbit,” he joked.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have cooked for you,” I grumbled.

He grabbed my h**s and pulled me back to him. “Don’t be like that,” he said softly. “I was just joking. I would love nothing more than to reach the high shelf for you.”

“Fine,” I huffed.

“Lead the way, gorgeous,” he smiled.

–

“You definitely cheat at this game,” I said, handing over the very last of my game money to Michael. He was absolutely dominating me at Monopoly.

“Not cheating, just business savvy,” he smiled. “I don’t want to hear it. We had to get a dictionary because you were using unknown words during Scrabble.”

I smiled victoriously, as only an hour ago, he was the one claiming I was cheating while he scanned the pages of my dictionary to make sure I was using actual words.

“I guess that is fair,” I said.

“You know, I would be happy to take payment another way if you aren’t ready to wave the white flag,” he said suggestively. He immediately laughed, and I knew he was joking.

“I concede, you win,” I sighed.Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

“To the victor goes the spoils,” he smiled at me. Without any preamble, he shot up from the floor. We sat in the living room at the coffee table; my phone was playing music in the background. Michael grabbed my hand and pulled me up with him. “Dance with me,” he requested.

I’d never been asked to dance before. A small smile crept up my face as I nodded at him. We stepped to the middle of the living room, where there was the most space, and he pulled me close. I wrapped my arms around his stomach as he wrapped his around me. He held me to his chest protectively as we began to sway back and forth to the music. That feeling of home settled inside me again; I could feel it every time he held me close like this.

We quietly moved together like that, not needing words to enjoy each other. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, letting his scent fill me.

“I had the best night, Quinn,” he whispered into the top of my head. “You don’t know how much I needed this. Thank you.”

“Thank you for coming,” I said, not pulling away from him. I tightened my grip on him, and he mirrored my action.

“I should probably go soon. It is getting late,” he said, sadness taking over his tone.

“I’ll just be here alone,” I whispered, shrugging. When I realized what I had said, I started to panic. That was basically an invitation to stay the night; it was so brazen.

“I wouldn’t object to staying longer with you,” he said. “But only if you want me to.”

I was quiet for a second. We had literally slept together already; we basically spent the night together on the night he convinced me to sneak out. We were all alone here and didn’t have to sneak around. The thought of him leaving made me a little sad after having such a fun night together, but what would inviting him to stay mean?

“Nothing has to happen,” he whispered softly. “We can just lay together like that first time if you want. I would never force you to do anything, not even k**s me.”

“Don’t let him leave yet,” Sapphire whined.

“Stay,” I said. I looked up at him, making him let go slightly. “I would like it if you did.”

He smiled sweetly down at me then ran his nose along mine. “I can’t think of anything that would bring me greater joy than giving you what you want.”

I thought my heart would burst by the sweetness of his words. I couldn’t figure out how he became such this enigma of a playboy when he was this gentle and loving underneath. I hated that mask for him; he was perfect just like this.

“Do you want to come up to my room?” I asked.

He nodded. I thought his smile would turn suggestive, but it didn’t. I stepped away and grabbed his hand. He let me lead him up the stairs. With every step we climbed, I got more nervous.

MICHAEL

Quinn held my hand as I followed her up the stairs to her room. I couldn’t help but watch the slight sway of her little skirt against the back of her soft legs. I wanted to run my tongue right up their length to the very apex where I could taste her honey.

I was baffled she had asked me to stay. Spending the evening alone with her had helped calm the storm inside of me, and now I was going to hold her in my arms. I didn’t know how much time I had left with her, so I wanted to soak up every minute of it.

We stepped onto a landing at the top of the stairs. There were three doors. One had a keep-out sign on it, and I assumed it belonged to her brother. One had a picture of kittens in a bathtub hanging on it, so I figured that was a bathroom. Quinn turned to the last door. It was covered top to bottom in sheet music. Song after song, layered over each other, creating a collage of black and white.

She swung the door open and stepped aside so I could walk in. Her room was cute, which wasn’t surprising. It was tidy, but you could tell she didn’t clean to a standard like I was forced to. Books were shoved everywhere: on her shelf, atop her desk, under the edge of her bed, and next to her nightstand.

“It’s not as clean as your room,” she said behind me, sounding embarrassed.

I turned back to her. “It’s cool,” I smiled at her. She motioned to the bed as she stepped past me. She sat down, smoothing her skirt over her knees, and slipped her shoes off. I sat down and kicked mine off as well.

“I’m glad you could come tonight,” she said softly as she looked up at me. Her wide green eyes shined back at me, making me realize how dangerous this was.

“Me too,” I told her. I grabbed her around the waist and pulled her up onto my lap. I kissed her cheek, and she smiled. “Thank you for allowing me to keep you company.”

She leaned in and closed her eyes. I met her, letting our lips press together. A low growl reverberated from my throat; she was like heaven in a perfectly sized package. I held her tightly, not breaking our k**s, and scooted back on the bed to lay us down.

I nipped at her bottom l*p, and she opened up, letting my tongue into her mouth. She tasted like homemade pasta, and sweet lemonade, and a crisp fall evening, and Quinn. I wanted to taste this mouth for the rest of my life.

When we finally parted, she laid her head on my chest, and I found myself gently rubbing the back of it. I pulled the hair tie from her hair and let it fall messily over her shoulders before continuing. She relaxed into me, her weight on me a comfort like it was forcing the broken pieces of me back together.

We laid there together just like that for a long time. Eventually, Quinn fell asleep while I continued to rub her scalp slowly. What had been going through her head, I had no idea. I was too wrapped up in my own to think about it.

As time ticked by, one thing became achingly apparent. I couldn’t keep this up with her until I solved the problems at home. I had to find my real father; I had to know if he wanted me. I had to figure out how to get away from Lawrence, to get my mom and brother away from him. I couldn’t let everything continue like I didn’t know.

And most of all, I had to keep Quinn out of it. She was good and sweet; that didn’t need to be tainted by the mess that was my reality. If I did manage to get my mom, brother, and self away from Lawrence, there was a good possibility he would try to retaliate. He would come after the things he knew would have us crawling back.

The only thing that could make me bow to that monster was Quinn. If he threatened her or hurt her, I would never forgive myself, and I knew I would do absolutely anything to stop it, just like my mom had done what she had to spare my father.

I closed my eyes, angry as a single tear slid down my cheek. This was probably the last time I could see her until I could fix everything.