Page 9 of What Haunts the Heart
4
Eden
Iwas in a funk and the ice cream wasn't soothing my heartbreak like it should've, damn it. Which called for the next best thing—pizza.
Dressed in nothing but a tight pair of yoga pants that screamed "sloppy soccer mom,” I dialed the number I knew by heart and ordered one large double-pepperoni pizza with extra cheese.
"Oh, and could you make that a stuffed crust? Pretty please?" I cooed, playing it up a little. The pizza boy was already tongue-tied and fumbling over his words. Maybe I could sweet-talk him into some free toppings? Though, knowing my luck, he was probably still in high school or something. No thank you.
"I’ll b-be right over. I mean, the pizza! It'll be there in, uh... Twenty minutes?" He didn't sound too sure, but I didn't mind.
"Thank you so much," I said. "Have a wonderful evening!"
"Uh, y-you as well?"
Click. Call ended.
I flopped down on the couch with a sigh. I knew, in my heart of hearts, that pizza wouldn't do much more than make me fat, and I really should've been watching my figure if I wanted to keep winning the attention of Alphas…
But maybe that was the thing. Maybe Oakley had ruined me so completely that subconsciously, I didn't want any other Alphas sniffing around. I wanted Oakley. I growled under my breath, but it came out as more of a low groan. I was boned. So boned.
"And not the good kind of boned, either," I muttered, then laughed.
God, I was a mess. First, I'd devoured an entire half-gallon of chocolate ice cream for lunch, and now I was gonna stuff my face with greasy pizza and binge-watch something stupid on Netflix, all the while lamenting the fact that Oakley was probably in Vale Valley, right this very minute. I needed to stay far away from him and that silver tongue of his. I knew all too well what that man was capable of.
Ugh. I needed a distraction before I started crying again. I grabbed my phone and started searching for Halloween costumes. I still hadn’t decided on what I was going as, but it needed to be the perfect combination of gory and promiscuous. Maybe a vampire? A vampire in bloody fishnet stockings? My thumb swiped over the screen as I browsed, but even though my eyes were seeing the pictures, my heart wasn't.
With a grunt, I tossed the phone at the other end of the couch. It bounced once then fell still.
"Fuck!" I shouted at the ceiling, as if that might solve all my problems. Right.
Then, as if God himself had decided to answer me, someone knocked on the door. I sat up, confused. Had the pizza guy severely underestimated the time it'd take, or had twenty minutes seriously passed already?
Chewing on my bottom lip, I shook off the frustrations of today. I straightened my shoulders and took a deep breath, then grabbed the doorknob and pulled.
Reality was a swift kick in the testicles.
It wasn't the pizza guy.
It was Oakley. A very naked Oakley—and he was sporting a semi. My gaze shot to his dick and my mouth flooded with anticipation, the memory of his flavor tingling on my tongue. It took me a moment to realize I was gaping at the wolf—because obviously he'd just shifted back, duh.Don't look so fucking hopeful, moron. You're supposed to be ignoring his existence, not drooling over his dumb abs and his dumb dick and his dumb face...
Oakley let out a hoarse laugh. "Are you going to invite me in?"
I eyed him one last time, then presented him with the truth: "I don't know. I haven't decided."
He rubbed at the back of his neck, then ran a hand through his sweaty hair. "Sorry. Shit, I know I should've texted, but I was in the area and I just…really wanted to see you." He glanced past me, into the house. The look in his beautiful golden eyes told me that he thought perhaps I wasn't alone. Pain speared through my chest, as swift as an arrow. "I'm sorry. You probably have company. I'll go—”
I panicked.
"No, wait!" I lurched forwards and grabbed his arm, only to trip over the welcome mat. "Shit!"
I collided with his chest—his strong, hard chest—at the same time he threw his arms around me to try and keep us from both tumbling down the front steps. The heat of his body soaked into mine, so hot that I feared I'd burn away, and before I could tell my stupid heart to let go, my arms were sliding around his waist.
I pressed close and buried my face into the crook of his neck, trying desperately not to lose it in his arms like a fucking sap. I heard him swallow, felt his grip on me tighten momentarily, then he let me go.
"Can I come in?" His husky voice sent a shiver down my spine.
I grabbed his wrist and dragged him through the threshold of my small apartment. We managed to make it two steps inside before he had me pinned bodily against the door. I gasped and yanked at his hair and he rewarded me with a soul-stealing kiss. We both groaned with relief and definitely some pent-up desire.
