getting any sleep tonight?”
“I hope so. I'm exhausted.” He gave me one last squeeze before letting go, making his way to the door. “Goodnight, Ruby.”
I caught his hand before he got all the way into the hall.
“Stay with me,” I blurted out before realizing what I was saying. I was unsure if I was asking or telling.
He looked at me with equal confusion, hesitating in my doorway. I took a deep breath, giving myself a much needed moment to stop and think about what I was doing. Think first, act second.
“Stay with me,” I repeated with a little more softness. “This whole night has been weird, and it feels so unresolved to me.”
“Well, that's one way to resolve it,” he said as the corner of his mouth curled up slightly. I frowned my disapproval. “I didn't actually mean it, Ruby.”
I tugged his hand gently, and he slowly followed me slowly back into the room, closing the door behind him. I let go so I could rummage through the mess on my floor for some shorts and a t-shirt. Once I scored some black soccer shorts, I tried to pull them up while keeping the sheet in place. It seemed silly since Cooper had just seen me in all my glory, but I felt the need to keep some level of decorum. Things were not like that between us and I was determined to try to keep some boundaries between us. Perhaps dragging him back into my bedroom for a sleepover wasn't the best way to send that message.
As I wriggled into the lightweight fabric, I made my way over to the nightstand to turn off the lamp. In the cover of darkness, I dropped the sheet and grabbed a shirt. With my back to the bed, I quickly pulled it down over my head.
I slid into bed and looked over at Cooper, saying nothing. I couldn't explain why I wanted him to stay with me, so I didn't try. It was uncharted territory for us in a way, which was impressive since we'd covered a lot of ground in the short time we'd known each other. The bottom line was that I loved Cooper, and, selfish though it may have been, I needed the comfort he gave me when I was feeling off. I smiled and snuggled into his side.
“She's in heat, isn't she?” he asked bluntly, and very much out of nowhere.
“Excuse me?” I asked, pushing up onto my elbow to stare at him in the darkness.
“Scarlet. She's in heat, right?”
“Oh, yeah. I guess you could call it that. I never really thought of it that way, but that seems to be the short of it.”
“I thought so,” he said, eyes fixed on the ceiling.
“What do you mean you 'thought so'?”
“Your eyes turned that weird purple color in the hallway. I figured Scarlet had to have had something to do with that," he explained, turning his attention back to me. "Then you jumped my bones."
"And that's all it took to figure out what was going on?"
"Well, when you factor in that the full moon is near, then yes, it was enough. All females powerful enough to breed go into heat at this time, which would explain why the two of us were sweating like maniacs tonight. You don't need to have someone out to check the heating system; it's not the problem. You can blame your hormones.”
“My hormones?" I asked incredulously. "Are you saying I'm going to turn into a whore whenever there's a full moon?”
" Whore seems to be a tad harsh, but you will want to mate."
“But this doesn't make any sense, Cooper. Full moons have passed since my Change and I haven't had this problem. Not once.”
“I know, Rubes, but things have changed. You've said before that Scarlet has more control than she used to. Maybe whatever shifted enough to let you two integrate has triggered this."
I bit my lip to stifle my kneejerk response, which was to argue the veracity of his observation. Instead, I tried to really work through what he was saying. It was true that things had been entirely different after Sophie healed us. I didn’t wear my ring anymore, mainly because I didn't need too. We were no longer extremes of one another—we were finding common
“I hope so. I'm exhausted.” He gave me one last squeeze before letting go, making his way to the door. “Goodnight, Ruby.”
I caught his hand before he got all the way into the hall.
“Stay with me,” I blurted out before realizing what I was saying. I was unsure if I was asking or telling.
He looked at me with equal confusion, hesitating in my doorway. I took a deep breath, giving myself a much needed moment to stop and think about what I was doing. Think first, act second.
“Stay with me,” I repeated with a little more softness. “This whole night has been weird, and it feels so unresolved to me.”
“Well, that's one way to resolve it,” he said as the corner of his mouth curled up slightly. I frowned my disapproval. “I didn't actually mean it, Ruby.”
I tugged his hand gently, and he slowly followed me slowly back into the room, closing the door behind him. I let go so I could rummage through the mess on my floor for some shorts and a t-shirt. Once I scored some black soccer shorts, I tried to pull them up while keeping the sheet in place. It seemed silly since Cooper had just seen me in all my glory, but I felt the need to keep some level of decorum. Things were not like that between us and I was determined to try to keep some boundaries between us. Perhaps dragging him back into my bedroom for a sleepover wasn't the best way to send that message.
As I wriggled into the lightweight fabric, I made my way over to the nightstand to turn off the lamp. In the cover of darkness, I dropped the sheet and grabbed a shirt. With my back to the bed, I quickly pulled it down over my head.
I slid into bed and looked over at Cooper, saying nothing. I couldn't explain why I wanted him to stay with me, so I didn't try. It was uncharted territory for us in a way, which was impressive since we'd covered a lot of ground in the short time we'd known each other. The bottom line was that I loved Cooper, and, selfish though it may have been, I needed the comfort he gave me when I was feeling off. I smiled and snuggled into his side.
“She's in heat, isn't she?” he asked bluntly, and very much out of nowhere.
“Excuse me?” I asked, pushing up onto my elbow to stare at him in the darkness.
“Scarlet. She's in heat, right?”
“Oh, yeah. I guess you could call it that. I never really thought of it that way, but that seems to be the short of it.”
“I thought so,” he said, eyes fixed on the ceiling.
“What do you mean you 'thought so'?”
“Your eyes turned that weird purple color in the hallway. I figured Scarlet had to have had something to do with that," he explained, turning his attention back to me. "Then you jumped my bones."
"And that's all it took to figure out what was going on?"
"Well, when you factor in that the full moon is near, then yes, it was enough. All females powerful enough to breed go into heat at this time, which would explain why the two of us were sweating like maniacs tonight. You don't need to have someone out to check the heating system; it's not the problem. You can blame your hormones.”
“My hormones?" I asked incredulously. "Are you saying I'm going to turn into a whore whenever there's a full moon?”
" Whore seems to be a tad harsh, but you will want to mate."
“But this doesn't make any sense, Cooper. Full moons have passed since my Change and I haven't had this problem. Not once.”
“I know, Rubes, but things have changed. You've said before that Scarlet has more control than she used to. Maybe whatever shifted enough to let you two integrate has triggered this."
I bit my lip to stifle my kneejerk response, which was to argue the veracity of his observation. Instead, I tried to really work through what he was saying. It was true that things had been entirely different after Sophie healed us. I didn’t wear my ring anymore, mainly because I didn't need too. We were no longer extremes of one another—we were finding common
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