Riley was holding her breath. She reveled in
the way he held her face in the palm of his hand. He was rubbing
his thumb back and forth across her cheek and she found herself
leaning into it. She saw him look at her lips then back at her
eyes. She was frozen. She could tell he was going to kiss her and
this would be her first kiss on her first date, with the sexiest
man in history. The electricity in the air between them was thick
and she didn't want to move for fear she'd scare him off.
He ran his hand down her jaw line from ear to
chin, tipping it up as he leaned in and brushed his lips gently
against hers. As her eyes slid closed, she felt the electrical
spark all the way through her body, from the top of her head to her
toes and fingers. The spark was warm and comforting, almost as if a
glowing light entered her. Then she swore she could sense his
feelings for her, a life altering emotion that didn't even have a
name. The feelings ran through her body like the electrical current
- encompassing all of her. She wrapped her arms around his back,
holding on with all her strength, hoping he wouldn't let her go. He
held the side of her face in his right palm and his left arm
circled her waist, and then he deepened the kiss. She could feel
the softness of his lips open and the warmth of his tongue mingle
with hers. Her hands ran up his back, feeling the taut muscle
beneath the heavy wool jacket. She was in heaven and didn't want it
to end.
His heart was soaring, he could feel the
love, security, and contentment Riley possessed. Her emotions were
flooding through his system like a livewire. His soul had found
it's other half and he'd never been so happy in his life. Every
obstacle he'd gone through in his life was worth it, just to be in
this moment. His wolf's protective instincts kicked in and made him
aware they were in public before he embarrassed both of them by
being carried away. He pulled back and rested his forehead on hers,
panting slightly as the current continued to zing through his body.
His wolf was whimpering with euphoria. He slowly backed away and
opened his eyes to look at her. She looked a bit shell-shocked and
her eyes were glossy with unshed tears. "What's wrong? I'm sorry if
you weren't ready for a kiss, I couldn't seem to stop myself." He
looked down somewhat ashamed.
Surely, her heart was going to explode. Her
arms and legs were buzzing as if they were numb and she felt like
her head was full of cotton. That was the single best experience
she'd ever had in her life. She could tell her eyes were glossy,
and then she felt a tear escape the outside corner of her eye and
slide down her cheek. Before she could wipe it away, his head
snapped up. He looked back and forth between her eyes, then put his
thumb to her tear and wiped it away with a frown. She could feel
his confusion and pain.
He smelled the salt in her tears; he couldn't
believe he had made her cry. This connection was supposed to be the
best feeling ever, why was she crying? Maybe humans couldn't handle
it. Maybe she didn't feel what he felt, but no, he could feel she
was happy. He was so confused.
She finally found her voice, "Don't be sorry.
It was incredible. I'm not sure what happened, it was as if I could
feel your inner self. I don't even know what I'm saying, that
sounds crazy." She shook her head, "Please know you don't need to
be sorry." She put her arms around him and hugged him to her. He
felt so good. She felt completely safe in his arms.
It worked! Surely, the council will allow
me to tell her after they hear we established an emotional
bond.
He picked her up, set her across his lap, and buried his
head into her neck and they took comfort in each other's arms. It
was the most contented and safe feeling he'd ever had. His wolf was
growling at him to claim her, but he couldn't do anything until she
knew more about him and their Kismet connection.
He looked down at his watch and was shocked
and disappointed to find it was 11 PM already. They had an hour
drive home and they both needed to be up early tomorrow. He didn't
want his Kismet completely dead on her feet. He railed against
letting her go, but knew it was for the best. "Sweetheart, its
11:00, and I need to get you home. I wish time could freeze here,
this is perfection." He smiled down at her upturned face.
She loosened the death grip she had on him
and slid off his lap and stood, still stunned about the turn of
events. The air was suddenly freezing without his arms around her
and she shivered into her coat. He stood and wrapped his arm around
her, leading her to the truck. Helping her up, he had her slide to
the center of the bench seat and buckled her in. He either held her
hand or put his arm around her the entire way home. They were
silent; both too involved feeling the emotions of the other wash
over them.
He had his radio tuned to a country station
and a Rascal Flatts song, "Bless the Broken Road" came on. He'd
heard it hundreds of times, but this time it had a completely new
meaning. He started singing the chorus while squeezing her hand,
conveying the meaning to her. He looked over as she tilted her head
up to smile at him. It was perfect for how he felt about her. They
continued to listen to music on their way back to Vancouver. He saw
her eyes drift close a few miles out of town and he eased her
against his shoulder. He stroked her hair as she slept. When he
parked, he laid her head on his lap and sat in the truck for ten
minutes, memorizing every curve of her face before waking her
up.
"Sweetheart, wake up my little Kismet."
Riley opened her eyes, feeling as if she had
been in a dream. She looked around the cab of the truck and
remembered where she was. She flew into a seated position and made
sure she didn't have drool on her chin and her hair wasn't sticking
up. Garrett was grinning at her.
"You fell asleep about 25 minutes ago."
"Really? I feel like I've been sleeping for 8
hours. Was this whole night a dream?"
"If it is, I don't want to wake up," He
jumped out of the cab and walked around to her side. Lifting her
down to the pavement, he put her hand in the crook of his arm and
led her to the house.
As she unlocked the door, she could hear
Wolf's toenails scrabbling against the hardwood floor as he did his
homecoming happy dance. "I feel like saying thank you for tonight
wouldn't be right, but I can't seem to find the appropriate words
to say."
"No words needed between us, my Kismet. I
hate the fact I'm flying out tomorrow morning, but I'll be back as
soon as I can. Please take care of yourself while I'm away. I may
text or call you if it's OK."
"Yes, it's more than OK. I hope you have a
good trip and I'll be excited to see you when you get back. When
will you be back?"
"I'm not sure, hopefully tomorrow night, but
it may be Wednesday. I'll let you know as soon as I know." He
stepped in and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight.
Whispering in her ear, "I don't want to let you go." He could feel
their hearts beating in unison.
"I don't want you to let me go either."
He groaned and bent down to give her one last
kiss. Nibbling on her lower lip and running his tongue along the
seam, she opened for him and he deepened the kiss. She tasted of
apples and spice, like her scent. Crushing her body to his, feeling
every curve as he tried to claim her as much as he could. Then he
ran his lips along her jaw line, to the hollow directly behind her
ear and placed a kiss there. He felt her shiver and grab onto him
even tighter. "You are amazing." He stepped back for fear he
wouldn't be able to control himself if he didn't. Her eyes looked a
bit dazed. He was sure his did as well. "I'll see you soon. Lock up
after me." He turned and headed out the door.
She was reeling. Her legs could barely hold
her body up as he let go of her and left the house. A hole formed
in the pit of her stomach as she watched him climb into his truck
and drive away. She closed her door and locked it as he instructed,
then she slid down the wall and sat on the floor in a heap of raw
nerves. She didn't want him to leave; she wanted him to stay right
there with her, to share her bed and wake up with their arms
wrapped around each other.
Leaving her was almost impossible for
Garrett. It felt wrong in a million different ways. He had a
horrible feeling something would happen while he was away. He was
extremely grateful for their emotional connection. From now on,
he'd be able to read her emotions when near her. As their bond grew
stronger, he'd be able to read them from further away. He could
only imagine what it would be like when their Kismet connection
cemented into place through the claiming; then they'd be able to
communicate telepathically. She was perfect. He was impatient to
introduce her to the pack. The only thing standing in the way, were
the ten elders.
Riley dreamt
of Garrett all night. It seemed like they were trying to reach each
other and couldn't. She couldn't seem to shake the hollow feeling
the dream left her with when she woke up. As she was getting ready,
her phone dinged a text message. She whooped when she saw it was
from Garrett.
Good Morning Sweetheart,
I waited until I thought you'd
be awake. I'm boarding now,
miss you already. Chat later.
-Garrett
Good Morning,
Have a wonderful trip, I
hope to hear about it when
you return.
- Riley
The text relieved some of the bad feelings,
which were hanging over her after her dreams. She turned on some
music and continued to get ready for her day. It was going to be a
crazy, busy day. She had shelter duty and she needed to clean her
office for Ryan's arrival. She took Wolf into the doggy daycare on
the way to work, and watched him joyfully bound into the pen with
the large dogs. He was already playing with a huge rubber ball by
the time she handed off the leash and walked out the door.
At
least he'll have a low-stress day.
She arrived at the clinic a few minutes
early, which was convenient for Sam, as she was already waiting for
Riley in her office. She was slouched down in a chair with her arms
and ankles crossed and her legs stretched out in front of her.
"So, you wanna fill me in now? The suspense
is killing me. This was your
first
date!" Sam screeched as
she sat upright.
"I need coffee. Hold that thought." Riley
held up her finger as she dashed to the coffeepot.
Upon returning, she dove in, "I'm still not
sure where to begin. He basically told me he lied to me about
having a dog because he couldn't think of another way to see me
again, and when I accepted his apology he asked me out." Riley
stopped, unsure how to continue.
"And... Come on, I need more than that. How
did the date go?"
How did she tell her friend who has been on
hundreds of dates, that she already felt married to the first man
who asked her out? It was ridiculous, right? Nevertheless, she knew
they were meant to be together and had a feeling they always would.
Garrett was right; they were soul mates. Her thoughts surprised
her. "I don't think it could have gone better. He took me to
Lapellah and then we went up to Mt Hood and ice-skated on an
outdoor rink. He treated me really well," she blushed.
"So do you think you'll see him again?" Sam
felt Riley was keeping something from her. The look on her face was
telling and she could swear that Riley had already fallen hard for
him. She wasn't sure how she felt about that. She wasn't sure if
she felt jealousy or fear of Riley getting her heart broken.
"Yes, I'm fairly sure we'll see each other
again. In fact, he wants to do something on my birthday."
"Great, I'll get a chance to really get to
know him better then. Us girls plan on taking you out to dinner and
he can join. So, what does he do, where does he live?"
"He lives up north of Woodland and he's a
foreman for a construction company. They're building the new
Safeway over on 8th St. He also opens doors for me, helps me on
with coats, and lets me order first: a true gentleman. And after a
rocky start, he passed the Wolf test," she laughed.
"Hmmmm, so did you get a goodnight kiss?"
Blushing a bright red, she said, "I don't
kiss and tell."
"Oh my gosh! You did! Was it amazing? It was
your first kiss; you have to kiss and tell."
"Yes, I think it was amazing, probably better
than average." She blushed, thinking back on the emotions that she
felt after the kiss. It all seemed surreal to her now. She couldn't
have possibly felt his emotions for her, but the emotions she felt
weren't coming from her. She couldn't put her thoughts into a
coherent sentence, but she knew something was different ever since
that kiss.
"I can't believe your first date went that
well. That's great news. Since you're finally out there, you need
to start playing the field a bit, and find out what other fish are
in the pond. I'm sure I can find a guy or two you'd be interested
in." She sat up, getting excited to finally have a girlfriend to
date with.
Uh oh. Riley knew that look. Sam was on a
mission. She had to stop this train now. She already knew she
wouldn't be interested in anyone else. "Did you just use two
different idioms for the same thing? Field and pond? No, I'm not
ready to date anyone else right now, so get the idea out of your
head. I'm a novice - I can only handle one guy at a time," she
smiled.
"Well, at least he's hot. If you're going to
stick with one, he's a good looking one to stick with," Sam
winked.
"There is that, but there is something more
about him. I can't really put it into words, but we really had a
special connection. I don't know how else to say it." She felt
naive and silly in Sam's presence, but she needed to tell
someone.