Page 24 of Midnight Mate
“I was thinking we could just take a walk, actually. Stretch your legs with low impact movement.”
“A walk,” he repeated. “Through town?”
I shrugged. “Is that a problem? If you get tired, we can just turn around.”
He hesitated, and I could see the tension. “No problem. Let’s do it.”
On the sidewalk, I was careful to keep a healthy distance between us. Concentrating on not accidentally brushing his hand, I almost jumped when East spoke.
“I’m not going to bite.”
I looked up and found him eyeing me in amusement. His hair had fallen over his forehead, making him look every inch the teenaged boy I remembered. My heart lurched and I looked down again.
“I’m just gauging your mobility.”
“Uh-huh.”
Before I could dig myself further, East’s hand slipped into mine.
I stiffened. “What are you doing?”
“Now you don’t have to worry or wonder if you’ll accidentally brush against me.”
I opened my mouth, closed it again.
Tingles ran through my hand and up my arm in a reaction that made me feel seventeen all over again. But I didn’t pull away.
“East, you’re my patient. We shouldn’t—”
“What if I need you for support? My knee’s feeling very unsteady, Doc.”
His eyes glittered.
Oh, he was enjoying this.
Unfortunately, my heart couldn’t take much more. Not when I knew how this story ended.
“Do you remember when I first told you I was a wolf?” he asked.
I cut him a sharp look. “You mean when youshowedme you were a wolf.”
He laughed. “It’s not my fault the change happened right around the same time we started thinking about sex.”
“I thought I had it bad with PMS mood swings.”
“You remember that day?”
“Of course I do.” My cheeks heated as the memory replayed.
“One minute, we were making out like normal teenagers. The next, I was literally pawing you.”
I rolled my eyes at his terrible pun. “Not exactly where I expected it to go.”
It wasn’t lost on me that Travis had shifted near me, and I’d run in terror. Yet, when Easton had done the same, there had been zero fear. Easton Raines had always made me feel safe.
“You were so cool about the whole thing. I still can’t get over how easily you rolled with watching your boyfriend half-shift into a four-legged predator.”
I shook my head. “You were a mess. Wouldn’t come near me again for weeks.”
