Page 79 of Dead Girls Don’t Forget

The kiss was unhurried, deepening only when he slid an arm around my waist and lifted me into his lap like it was the most natural thing in the world. When it finally broke, he didn't let me go. He held me against his chest, his face lingering near my neck as he drew in a long, steady breath. A low rumble vibrated through him, pleased and unrestrained.

When he pulled back his eyes were dark.

“I missed you,” he said.

“You see me every day.”

His hold on me tightened slightly. “It isn’t the same.”

My hand had come up to the back of his neck, my fingers in his hair, and his rumble shifted when I scratched there.

“My wolf…” He hesitated, then exhaled. “He wants to be closer.”

I rested my forehead against his temple. “Your wolf is dramatic.”

“He’s not the only one.”

I had no answer for that. His hand traced slow circles over my hip while the silence settled around us again.

“I won’t be at school tomorrow,” he said. “Pack business. But tomorrow night — come run with me.”

I almost asked. Then I didn’t. Questions invited questions, and I had too many answers I couldn’t give.

“Shifted?” I asked.

He nodded against me. “I’ll come to you.”

My cat was purring so hard against the inside of my ribs that I could barely hear myself think. I smiled, small but real. “Okay.”

He made a satisfied sound against my collarbone.

We stayed like that longer than I would admit to. Eventually, I pulled back just enough to reach my notes and finished the methodology draft in his lap, his chin settled over my shoulder, one arm wrapped around my waist. He read along quietly. At one point he reached past me and tapped a number I had miscalculated.

I hadn’t known intelligence could be so attractive until him.

When we finally packed up, the house felt even quieter than before. Jackson pulled the door closed behind us, then paused on the step.

"Forgot my jacket. One second." He slipped back inside.

I stopped beside the passenger door and waited. The air felt unnaturally still. A prickle ran along my spine, sharp and instinctive, the sense of being watched. I didn’t turn my head. Instead I let my eyes move carefully, scanning the nearby houses and the tree line without giving anything away.

Nothing. Just the usual quiet street and the whisper of leaves overhead.

The feeling stayed anyway.

The front door opened and Jackson came out with his jacket in hand. He locked up behind him and walked straight to the car. He opened the passenger door for me and waited until I was settled before circling around to the driver’s side.

He glanced at me as he turned the key. “You good?”

“Fine.”

He kept looking at me a beat longer, like he wasn’t fully convinced.

“Just tired,” I said.

He didn’t push. He backed out of the drive, and we cleared the gates of the compound a few minutes later. Only once pack territory had disappeared behind us did the unease in my spine finally start to fade.

Jackson dropped me at my door, kissed me once, and told me he would see me tomorrow night. He stayed at the curb until I was inside and the door closed behind me.