Desperately Seeking Shapeshifter (22 page)

He grunted, his hand sliding around my waist and pulling me closer.

I’d take that as a yes. “Great. Give me five minutes and I’ll go round up Gracie.”

That brought a fresh scowl to his face. “Gracie can get her own ride.”

The movie theater was crowded, and I remembered my sister’s suggestion that we see something popular, the better to be seen out in public. The scents in the air were thick—teenagers, perfume, popcorn, and I thought I even caught a whiff of shifter. Gracie wandered inside to flirt at the refreshment counter in the hopes of free food while we got the tickets. Ramsey held my hand as we waited in line, and people moved carefully around him, as if they were afraid of incurring his wrath. I had to admit, I found it kind of funny. This was his
good
mood expression.

As I reached the ticket window, I looked up at
the list of movies. Over half the theaters were a very popular teen movie that I knew Ramsey would hate. I purchased the tickets anyhow, giving him an innocent smile when he frowned. “I’ve been waiting all year to see this one,” I told him.

He gave me a suffering look but said nothing, holding his hand out so I could take it again. I slipped mine in his and we headed inside.

I smelled wolf as soon as we entered. Wolf, and buttered popcorn, and nacho cheese. The roar of voices was nearly overwhelming in the small area, along with the thick scent of human upon human. I looked around, my hand tightening in Ramsey’s. “Do you smell that?”

“I smell teenagers.”

Gracie sauntered over, a tub of popcorn cradled in each arm. “Ready when y’all are.”

Well, that was surprisingly thoughtful of Gracie to get us popcorn. I reached out for a bucket.

She drew back, shaking her head. “Get your own. I had to flirt hard for this.”

“You’re going to eat two buckets of popcorn?”

“No,” she said, juggling them on her hip. “One is for eating. The other is for throwing at everyone else in the theater.”

“Gracie,” I scolded. “If you get thrown out, we’re not driving you back until the movie’s over.”

Ramsey leaned down to my ear. “Wishful thinking,” he said. At my laugh, he slid his hand from mine and added, “I’ll get us something to eat.”

“Just a drink for me,” I told him and gave Gracie
her ticket while we waited for Ramsey to endure the snack bar line.

She giggled with laughter at the title of the movie. “Is this what I think it is? The one with the teen werewolf in love with the vampire?”

“That’s the one.”

“Oh maaaaaan,” Gracie drawled. “This is gonna be fun.”

I shrugged.

She gave me a speculative look. “So, things heating up between you two?”

That was direct of her. “None of your business.”

“Of course it’s my business,” she said, glancing down and wiggling one flip-flop against the floor. “You’re in my pack. What you do is my business.”

I’m not in your pack.
I bit back the words and replied only, “None of your business.”

She leaned closer, grinning that half-wild smile. “He a good kisser?”

“None of your business,” I repeated again.

Gracie shrugged her thin shoulders. “Just curious. He just looks like a nervous sort, is all. Like he’d flip out the moment you touched his dick.”

She had no idea how close to the truth that was. She was watching me like a hawk, so I said, “Ramsey doesn’t like wolves. Something about the popping sound their necks make when they break, he told me.”

Gracie stared at me. And then gave a nervous laugh. “Quit shittin’ me.”

I simply studied my nails.

She snorted and stomped away. “Whatever. I’m gonna go get a seat.”

I smirked with satisfaction as she left. It felt good to finally get a leg up on Gracie. As Ramsey returned to my side, I smiled up at him and took the soda he offered. “Come on. Let’s go get our seats.”

Once in the movie theater, we sat at the back. Gracie had a seat off to one side. I heard the slap of her flip-flops hit the floor, and a moment later, her bare feet were planted on the back of the chair in front of her. Ramsey moved the armrest between us out of the way and tugged me close, and I was only too happy to snuggle against his side. This was nice. Romantic, even if Gracie’s presence was unavoidable. I leaned my head against his arm, and we watched the previews as people filed into the movie theater. We didn’t chat, but I didn’t mind. That was one of the things I liked about Ramsey. I didn’t have to talk and talk to get my point across.

After a while, the lights went down and the movie began. A shirtless teenage boy came on-screen, and the girls in the theater gasped in delight.

Ramsey snorted.

Peeking over at my date, I stifled the giggle rising from my throat. He was watching the screen, a half-incredulous-half-disgusted look on his face as the teenage boy changed into a werewolf and began to race through the woods.

“Everything okay?” I asked, leaning in.

He gave me an odd look and leaned down to
whisper back to me. “Why did you wish to see this movie?”

Ramsey’s warm breath tickled my ear, and I did laugh then, earning a few hateful looks from the rest of the audience, since the scene unfolding was a dramatic one between the werewolf and his vampire girlfriend. “I thought I could pick up some shifting pointers,” I whispered back to Ramsey.

He leaned down to me and whispered, “He shifted in two seconds. That’s not normal.”

No, it wasn’t. But I feigned ignorance. “No?”

He nodded. “His pants also disappeared with him. Also bullshit.”

I grinned as Ramsey turned back to the screen. The story continued, the wolf hero being chased by evil vampires despite his girlfriend’s pleading. When the wolf jumped off a cliff and disappeared into the raging river below, Ramsey gave me a quiet thumbs-up, as if he approved of the untimely death of the hero.

I laughed again, sliding my hand down his thigh.

His attention was instantly riveted on my hand.

Deliberately, I flexed my fingers against his muscles and turned my attention back to the screen. The muscled wolf boyfriend was rising from the river, the scene no doubt added to show off the young actor’s incredibly buff body. His tanned skin gleamed as he pulled himself to shore. The women in the audience sighed with appreciation as he flexed and began to change back to a werewolf. As I glanced over to Ramsey, he rolled his eyes. I
laughed at that, enjoying myself far more than I had expected to.

The scene cut back to the vampire, and, startled, I realized I smelled wolf. My brain had been so focused on the wolf on the screen that I hadn’t noticed the heavy scent of it until now. I stiffened in my chair.

Ramsey’s arm looped over my shoulders, and he pulled me in tighter. “Shh.”

“Do you—”

“I smell it.” His voice was quiet and low, barely audible through the noise of the theater. “Near Gracie.”

I scanned the theater, looking for Gracie’s curly head. One of her brothers sat in the seat next to her, his hand in her popcorn. He glanced back at me, grinned, then turned back to the movie.

My body went cold with fear.

Ramsey’s hand rubbed my arm. “I’m here.”

“Why are they following me?” I whispered to him. “They sent Gracie. What more do they need?”

“They’re reminding you that you’re theirs,” Ramsey said quietly.

Reminding me who I belonged to, just in case I forgot. Irritation flashed through me. Is that what this was? The constant tailing was to remind me that I could never escape the wolf pack? That they’d persistently be on the fringes, waiting for me?

I hated that. And I hated them. Well, if they wanted to remind me? I’d remind
them
that I’d chosen someone else. “If they’re going to watch,” I said, “let’s give them something to watch.”

I tugged on Ramsey’s shirt. When he leaned in closer to me, I pressed my lips to his and kissed him. His arms went around my waist and he pulled me into his lap. I heard the muffled giggles of people sitting near us, but I didn’t care. I twined my fingers behind Ramsey’s head, his long, shaggy hair brushing against my arm. My lips locked to his, and I didn’t have to fake my gasp of delight when his tongue licked into my mouth.

His kiss was intense and possessive. When I tried to pull away to check on the wolf, his fingers gently tugged my face back toward his, and his mouth caught mine once more. Not a hard claiming—a tender, soft kiss that melted my insides and made my pulse race with desire. He settled me in his lap, his hands stroking down my back, and I realized this was part comfort, part desire. Even as he showed to the others that I belonged to him, he pulled me close to protect me.

And I went, all too willingly.

Ramsey’s mouth pulled from mine an eternity later. “He’s gone,” he whispered, his lips brushing against mine, sending shivers down my spine.

“Mmm,” I said softly, dazed by his kiss.

He brushed his lips against mine again, then nuzzled my neck. “Smell the air. Tell me if you scent anything.”

I inhaled, but all I smelled was Ramsey’s intoxicating scent. “Nothing.” Nothing but him.

His enormous hand skimmed down my back, and Ramsey pressed a kiss to my neck. “Do you want to get off my lap now?”

I didn’t want to go anywhere. When I hesitated, his low chuckle sent longing through my body.

“You’ll miss the rest of the movie if you stay in my arms.”

“Oh, darn,” I said lightly, skimming a finger down his front and snuggling close.

“Think of all those shifting tips you could be missing out on,” he murmured, and his hand slid to my ass, cupping it and tucking me closer to his body. “Besides, you picked the movie.”

“There’s a movie?” I teased, even as I moved in for another kiss. When his mouth moved to mine again, I forgot about the wolves, the movie, and everything but the feel of Ramsey’s body against mine.

When we left the movie, Gracie was alone again. She bounded up to us as if nothing had happened. “Shitty movie, huh? Man, I was totally rooting for the wolves and not the vampires.”

I shrugged. I’d stopped paying attention to the movie a long time ago. Ramsey kept a casual arm looped over my shoulders, the gesture possessive. He scanned the parking lot as we walked out to the truck, and I knew he was checking to make sure we weren’t going to run into any surprises. With his arm around my shoulders and his big form standing tall next to me, I wasn’t worried about the wolves. Let them follow me around. I’d show them that Ramsey and I were the real deal.

Except you’re not,
a small voice whispered in my head.
What about Nikolina?

The drive home was quiet. At least I was quiet. Gracie went on and on about the movie, clearly enthusiastic about it despite declaring it to be “crap.” Lost in my own thoughts, I let her chatter. When we got home, Ramsey looked at me gravely, touched my cheek. “When we get inside, go upstairs and head to bed. I’ll lock the house up.”

Suddenly bed seemed like a great idea. I yawned. “Shouldn’t I shift?”

“It can wait until morning.” He leaned down and kissed my forehead, then nodded as he opened the front door. “Go on.”

I was relieved to hear that—I was so tired I didn’t think I could hold animal form for longer than a minute before shifting back and curling into a tired ball. I made it to the bedroom, slipped out of my jeans and shoes, and fell into the bed. I sniffed, noticing a clean, fresh scent—he’d bought new blankets. I snuggled in them, enjoying the feel of the fabric against my skin, and fell asleep in moments.

I woke up a short time later to hands sliding over my hips and a warm mouth brushing over my belly. For a moment terror locked my body as I remembered Roy, but another scent was thick in my nostrils, driving the memories away immediately. “Ramsey?” I gasped.

His dark eyes flared above mine, a feral gleam in them as he bent low to kiss my stomach again. “Sorry I woke you,” he said gruffly, not sounding sorry in the slightest. “Just wanted to touch you a little.”

“Oh,” I breathed, my hips arching when his fingers
teased the sensitive curve of one knee. I thought back to my earlier worries about Nikolina, and hesitated. “Maybe we shouldn’t . . .”

He paused. Sat up. Stared down at me. “Am I forcing you? Are you wanting out of this?”