Page 56 of Confusing Hearts

“Hi, I’m Jenna. Are you Chad?” Jenna asked sweetly.

Shit!I hadn’t even thought to introduce them. Feeling like an ass, I made the introductions. “Sorry. Jenna, this is Chad, my new little brother and roommate for the rest of the semester. He just transferred here from somewhere out east. Chad, this is Jenna.” I bit my tongue to stop myself from addingmy mateto the end of that.

“Hi Chad, it’s nice to meet you. I just transferred too, at the beginning of the semester. Welcome to the ARC. I hope you find it as awesome as I have.”

“Thanks,” Chad said. “It’s definitely taking some getting used to, but I’ll adapt. My family just relocated out here and my dad wanted me to stay close to the family. I wasn’t supposed to start until next fall semester, but they made an exception for me. I’m a freshman. I rushed Delta Omega Gamma in the fall and they were able to transfer my membership here. It’s certainly been different. D.O.G. isn’t really comprised of actual dogs back East.”

Anita snorted and Jenna laughed. “Really? I thought Matt was the only non-wolf shifter crazy enough to rush D.O.G. So, what spirit animal are you?”

Chad looked around nervously. I saw him eyeballing the chips and already guessed he had a bit of an obsession with them. I handed him one of the unopened bags and he quickly snatched it from my hand with a thanks.

“I’m, uh, well, I’m a squirrel,” he finally confessed.

“A squirrel? Really?” Jenna asked.

“Aww, that’s the cutest thing I’ve ever heard,” Anita gushed, causing my new little brother to blush furiously.

“Squirrels are a lot tougher than people think,” he said, huffing out his chest in a show of manliness. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing.

In the brief time since I walked back into my room earlier that day, I had learned plenty about my new roommate. First, he loved chips and he squirreled food away, which I suppose was only natural given he was a damn squirrel. Second, that kid could talk. I didn’t think I’d ever been around a person who talked as much as Chad. But, I also found him to be a truly good guy. He might not be the coolest dude on campus, and he was quirky as all heck, but there was something nice and easygoing about the kid, too.

I may not have been thrilled with the interruption to an evening alone with my mate, but I hadn’t exactly planned on having her all to myself anyway, so I tried not to let it disappoint me.

“Chad, have a seat. Join us. There’s extra subs and a salad,” I told him, grinning at Anita.

“You really wasted money on a salad?” she said.

I laughed. “That’s all you ever eat,” I argued.

“Fine, but no more. I’ll eat the stupid salad. Chad can have the other sub.” She pouted.

“It’s okay. If you don’t mind, I’d prefer the salad. I don’t eat a lot of meat,” he assured her.

“Oh, well, okay then,” Anita said, passing Chad the bag with the salad.

”So, what spirit animals are you all?” Chad asked.

Jenna answered for all of us. “Matt’s a jaguar. Anita and I are panthers, and Chase is a wolf."

I liked the way she said wolf, more assertive than the others. I noticed a touch of pride in her voice. The thought of her being proud of my wolf sent an extra jolt of thrill through my body. I was very thankful we were seated at the table in that moment. It was pathetic how even something so minor registered as acceptance and excited me. It was even more embarrassing how much I craved any signs of approval from Jenna. I could just see my damn wolf in my head wagging his tail happily.

I couldn’t let my emotions get away from me. Being so close to Jenna in front of others was dangerous, especially one of her sorority sisters. I switched subjects and got down to business. For the next hour we concentrated on calculus as I pushed aside every bodily urge that came from being so close to my mate and not touching her. Every now and then she would brush her leg against mine or squeeze my leg under the table. Just the knowledge that she felt that need to reach out warmed me all over and got me through an exhausting hour of study.

In some ways, being bonded now helped calm my wolf; in others, it made things so much worse. I didn’t feel the aggression towards others that I had felt during our mating. I didn’t want to rip Matt’s head off when he accidentally bumped into her, and I had faced those demons previously. No, now I just wanted her on a deep level, all the time.

As if the desires weren’t bad enough to keep tamed without embarrassing myself, my brain chose the most inopportune moments to flash up pictures of Jenna naked beneath me in my mind. I blamed it on my wolf, on my animal instincts that only wanted our mate in that way, but it probably wasn’t fair to blame it entirely on him. I felt like a horny teenager who just couldn’t get enough of her.

It had been more than an hour since I last tasted her sweet lips and I was going to lose it if our friends didn’t wrap up and leave soon. I couldn’t let myself think about the long cold night I was about to face alone.

I don’t know if Matt got some sort of brotherly hint or it was just time, but a few minutes later he rose and stretched and admitted he was done for the night. Of course, the others followed his lead as he and Anita left with Chad in tow.

The second that door closed behind them and I was certain they had left, I scooped Jenna up in my arms and kissed her. It was like breathing fresh air. She eagerly kissed me back as my hands roamed to the hem of her shirt. I needed to feel her soft, warm skin beneath my hands.

The opening door didn’t register in my brain until I heard a gasp and a throat clear behind me.

“Um, sorry, Anita forgot her purse,” Matt said, grabbing it from the chair and trying to pull her from the room as quickly as possible. I opened my eyes just in time to see the truly apologetic look in his eyes.

“But . . . What . . .” Anita was trying to talk, but was obviously shocked by what they’d walked in on, as Matt was busy shooing her out, away from the room.

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