Chapter 74

Chapter 74

After an expensive night at the hospital, I went home late with my hand in at cast and a bottle full of pain meds. Rest was nearly impossible as I couldn’t get comfortable, and work the next day was miserable. Beyond saying that I got it in my self–defense class, I refused to explain to any of my colleagues, even. Terri, how I broke my hand, no matter how much they pestered me–and pester me they did.

I was relieved to be home when the workday ended. The pain in my hand was unbearable, even with the painkillers. I just hoped that my werewolf genes would kick in soon and accelerate my healing process.

I had settled on the couch and started watching videos on my phone when I received a video chat request from Andrew. Mentally, I groaned. I couldn’t imagine how Lisa might have twisted things to her advantage.

“Hello?” I answered.

“Hello, Crystal,” Andrew replied. “How are you?”

I waved my broken hand in front of the camera.

“Could be better.”

When I removed my hand from the camera, I saw that Andrew’s expression had gone unreadable.

“I don’t suppose that Lisa did that, did she?”

I bit my bottom l*p and nodded.

“I was afraid of that.”

“Did Lisa tell you?”

“No. The werewolf community center called me and informed me of the situation. It’s not every day that they get to kick out the daughter of the Alpha King for fighting.”

“Yeah, well, she won, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

I flinched at the shadow that crossed his face.

Chapter 74

“No, that’s not what I’m worried about.” His face softened as he looked at my hand again. “Really, how does it feel?”

“It hurts incredibly badly, but I’m getting through it. The doctor said that with my werewolf genes, it should be healed in a couple days.”

“I’m incredibly sorry. I don’t know what got into her.”

I thought about what Lisa had called, a slut. I was pretty sure I knew why she had done it, but Andrew wouldn’t want to hear about it.

“I don’t know, either,” I lied. “It was pretty out of the blue.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be having a serious talk with her about her temper.”

It would take more than a talk to straighten Lisa out, but it was a start.

“If there’s anything else I could do to make up for what she did, just name it,” Andrew continued.

My mind drifted back to the other day and our rendezvous at the Victorian hall. A smile crossed my face as an idea entered my mind.

“Well, there is one thing that you could do,” I said. “Have dinner with me at my apartment. Tonight.”

A smile appeared on Andrew’s face.

“It’s a deal.”

I should have ordered delivery, but I wanted to impress Andrew with something homemade. I thought that spaghetti would be easy enough, but one–handed, even pouring the pasta into the boiling water was nearly impossible. I was still trying to open the jar of marinara sauce when I heard a knocking at my door half an hour early.

“Shit!” I cursed under

my breath.

I rushed to open the door.

“Hi, Andrew,” I said, panting a little. “You’re early.”

Andrew grinned.

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“I couldn’t wait to see you again, beautiful,” he said, presenting me with a bouquet of red roses in a vase. “Where would you like me to put these?”

I tucked my hair behind my ear with my uninjured hand.

“On the kitchen counter, please.”

As Andrew placed the vase on the counter, I returned to the challenge of opening my marinara jar. I attempted to hold it between my arm and my side as I twisted the lid, but the glass jar kept sl*pping, making removal of the lid nearly impossible. I growled in frustration.

An arm wrapped around my waist and steadied the jar.

“Is that better?” Andrew whispered in my ear. Chills ran down my spine.

I twisted the lid. It released its hold with a satisfying pop.

“Much better.”

“Anything else I can help you with?”

“I need someone to hold the handle of the pot while I stir the spaghetti.”

Andrew reached around me, encasing me in his arms. He grabbed the pot handle with one handle and my uninjured hand as I held the wooden spoon. Together, we slowly stirred the pasta.

His breath tickled my n*eck. His heat, combined with the steam from the boiling water, engulfed me. His abs–and other firm parts of his b*dy- pressed into my back, making it hard for me to concentrate on the task at hand.

I twisted my head to look back at Andrew’s face. His head tilted down to stare back at me. He leaned down and brushed his l*ps against mine.

My heart fluttered. My underwear moistened. I forgot to stir the pot.

After a couple minutes of tender k*ssing, I pulled away.

“Do you want to give it a taste?” I whispered.

“I thought I just did,” he said with a wink.

I rolled my eyes and lifted the spoon, a strand of spaghetti dangling from it, to

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Chapter 74

his l*ps.

Andrew captured the spaghetti between his l*ps and slurped it up.

“Mmm, al dente. My favorite.”

I turned off the stove and, with Andrew’s help, added the sauce to the pasta. We scooped ourselves a plateful, grabbed a couple sodas, and sat down at the dining table.

“This is perfect,” Andrew said.

I blushed.

“Thanks. And thank you for your help.”

“Like I said before, I love to help a damsel in distress.”

I stuck my tongue out playfully, causing Andrew to laugh.

“How was work today?” he asked as we ate.

“As well as can be expected, having to work one–handed.”

Andrew’s eye twitched, but his facial expression did not react otherwise.

“Again, I’m sorry about that,” he said.

“It’s not your fault. Lisa is an adult and can make her own decisions.”

He sighed and shook his head.

“I just thought that I had taught her better than that.”

“You can’t put it all on yourself. You don’t even know why she did it.”

He shrugged.

“I suppose that you’re right about that.”

I reached across the table and held his hand.

“Of course, I’m right.”

I ran my uninjured thumb over the back of his hand and smiled. He smiled back at me.

Chapter 74

“I can’t stop thinking about the other day,” he said, his voice low.

I giggled.

“Me either.”

“It was a lot of fun.”

I slowly licked marinara off my lower l*p.

“I would love to do it again some time.”

Andrew took my uninjured hand and k*ssed the back of it.

“As would I,” he said. “That sounds wonderful.”

We released our hold on each other’s hands long enough to continue eating. Silence fell over us, but I could tell that there was something on Andrew’s mind. He glanced at me periodically and would pause in his chewing as though he was about to say something, but he did not stop eating for several minutes.

Finally, he said, “It has made me think about something else, though.”

I arched a brow at him.

“What’s that?”

“I was wondering…are you seeing anyone else?”

My fork hovered over my plate.

“No, of course not.”

“Not even that guy that proposed to you? What was his name…”

My back stiffened.

“Noah.”

“Noah,” he practically growled the name. “That’s him.”

“No, I’m not seeing him right now.”

“Right now?”

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“Well, like I told you, I’ve been seeing him off and on, and right now, we’re off

“So, there’s a possibility that you’ll be on again?”

I tightened my grip on my fork.

“You’re the one who suggested that we not be in an official relationship right now, so I really don’t think that you have any right-”

Andrew slammed his fork on the table.

“I don’t have any right? After what we did the other day, I think I have every right to know whether you’re sleeping with other men!”

“Well, I’m not. Isn’t that enough for you?”

“Not if there’s a possibility that you’re going to start seeing that Noah guy again.”

“We are not in a relationship right now. If I want to see him, then I’ll start seeing him, and you have no right to complain.”

Andrew’s nostrils flared as he breathed deeply in and out. His jaw and n*eck. muscles clenched, His hands curled into fists.

Instead of responding, he stood up and stormed out toward the door.

“Andrew, wait,” I called after him.

He slammed the door without looking back at me.