intruded abruptly, sending an unpleasant jolt through Shilo.
Dante's hands dropped from her shoulders.
Shilo cleared her throat as he stepped away, feeling embarrassment heat her cheeks. She fumbled for the door of the medicine cabinet, flipping it open as she lifted her gaze and catching a brief glimpse of Dante's profile. He was looking at Charlie, but she could tell nothing about his expression. “Found it,” she responded, feeling her embarrassment deepen at the huskiness in her voice.
Her hands were shaking, she discovered, fumbling with the cap. “Child proof lid,” she muttered.
"Need help?"
She didn't glance at Dante. “I've got it. Thanks!"
Her shoulders sagged with both relief and disappointment as Dante dropped a hand to Charlie's shoulder and, pushing the boy before him, the two disappeared from her view. Shaking a couple of aspirin into her palm, she popped them into her mouth and then filled her palm with water several times until she'd managed to wash the damned things down. It felt like one was still lodged in her throat, though, as she left the bathroom at last and headed back downstairs.
Not that she wanted to. She would've far rather slunk into her borrowed room to hide. Discomfort and embarrassment had been heaped upon more discomfort and embarrassment. It was pride that sent her back downstairs to endure, the hope that, somehow, she could carry it off and no one would ever know how upset she was about the entire disastrous affair.
She knew her limitations. She wouldn't have been embarrassed if she hadn't fallen into Julie's little fantasy about making herself appear desirable by showing off cooking skills she didn't actually have.
Stupid!
The man was nearly ten years younger than her. What had she been thinking?
He wasn't even a man! He was lycan and the baddest of the bad, according to Julie. Everything else aside—and there was a mountain of reasons not to even attempt to attract his notice— wanting him to find her appealing was as bad as deciding to bathe in gasoline.
All that time spent in isolation had turned her brain to mush, she thought with self derision. As cut off from the rest of the world as she'd been physically, she wasn't completely cut off. Aside from all the ‘wonders’ she'd experienced first hand when she'd finally found her spine and used her gift to help her escape the clutches of the mad scientists, she'd gathered plenty of second hand knowledge from the media. Handsome, successful young men—or lycan—like Dante could have their pick of women—which meant they didn't actually pick. They sampled the cream of the crop, because they could.
It was in their nature anyway—men's—just like it was with lycan. And those who could just went around propagating the species—the same way they had since caveman times. The lord knew women had done everything in their power to leash the beast, but with limited success. Contrary to what Julie apparently thought, she hadn't been surprised, at all, to discover that, in the lycan community, the men didn't make any real pretense of settling with one woman. In the first place, there weren't enough to go around, also according to Julie, and in the second ... well, it was just not in their nature.
If she'd been lycan, she might at least have been able to get in line for a sample—and god wouldn't she love to get even a sample!—but Dante had been pretty clear that that wasn't considered ‘acceptable’ in general and that he, in particular, was against it on principle—that principle being that he thought human females ‘insipid’ and undersexed.
She might have agreed with that assessment of herself before she'd run across Dante, but she sure as hell hadn't been feeling undersexed since she'd met him. She'd felt mildly interested in a sexual encounter when she'd come to town, mostly because she'd accepted that that was as close as she was likely to get to feeling ‘loved'. Putting out was worth it, to her anyway, when
Dante's hands dropped from her shoulders.
Shilo cleared her throat as he stepped away, feeling embarrassment heat her cheeks. She fumbled for the door of the medicine cabinet, flipping it open as she lifted her gaze and catching a brief glimpse of Dante's profile. He was looking at Charlie, but she could tell nothing about his expression. “Found it,” she responded, feeling her embarrassment deepen at the huskiness in her voice.
Her hands were shaking, she discovered, fumbling with the cap. “Child proof lid,” she muttered.
"Need help?"
She didn't glance at Dante. “I've got it. Thanks!"
Her shoulders sagged with both relief and disappointment as Dante dropped a hand to Charlie's shoulder and, pushing the boy before him, the two disappeared from her view. Shaking a couple of aspirin into her palm, she popped them into her mouth and then filled her palm with water several times until she'd managed to wash the damned things down. It felt like one was still lodged in her throat, though, as she left the bathroom at last and headed back downstairs.
Not that she wanted to. She would've far rather slunk into her borrowed room to hide. Discomfort and embarrassment had been heaped upon more discomfort and embarrassment. It was pride that sent her back downstairs to endure, the hope that, somehow, she could carry it off and no one would ever know how upset she was about the entire disastrous affair.
She knew her limitations. She wouldn't have been embarrassed if she hadn't fallen into Julie's little fantasy about making herself appear desirable by showing off cooking skills she didn't actually have.
Stupid!
The man was nearly ten years younger than her. What had she been thinking?
He wasn't even a man! He was lycan and the baddest of the bad, according to Julie. Everything else aside—and there was a mountain of reasons not to even attempt to attract his notice— wanting him to find her appealing was as bad as deciding to bathe in gasoline.
All that time spent in isolation had turned her brain to mush, she thought with self derision. As cut off from the rest of the world as she'd been physically, she wasn't completely cut off. Aside from all the ‘wonders’ she'd experienced first hand when she'd finally found her spine and used her gift to help her escape the clutches of the mad scientists, she'd gathered plenty of second hand knowledge from the media. Handsome, successful young men—or lycan—like Dante could have their pick of women—which meant they didn't actually pick. They sampled the cream of the crop, because they could.
It was in their nature anyway—men's—just like it was with lycan. And those who could just went around propagating the species—the same way they had since caveman times. The lord knew women had done everything in their power to leash the beast, but with limited success. Contrary to what Julie apparently thought, she hadn't been surprised, at all, to discover that, in the lycan community, the men didn't make any real pretense of settling with one woman. In the first place, there weren't enough to go around, also according to Julie, and in the second ... well, it was just not in their nature.
If she'd been lycan, she might at least have been able to get in line for a sample—and god wouldn't she love to get even a sample!—but Dante had been pretty clear that that wasn't considered ‘acceptable’ in general and that he, in particular, was against it on principle—that principle being that he thought human females ‘insipid’ and undersexed.
She might have agreed with that assessment of herself before she'd run across Dante, but she sure as hell hadn't been feeling undersexed since she'd met him. She'd felt mildly interested in a sexual encounter when she'd come to town, mostly because she'd accepted that that was as close as she was likely to get to feeling ‘loved'. Putting out was worth it, to her anyway, when
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