Little Red (13 page)

Stories say that if I can hold my first born child with clean hands the curse will
be broken.”

“Then that’s what you’ll do,” she says.

I can hear the smile and the confidence in her voice.

It seems funny that she’s saying that to the man who has six murderers for brothers

I let out a small laugh.

“You know, to be the guy who did what he did to you - ”

She stops me.

“You can say it.

You got me pregnant.”

“Well, to be the man who got you pregnant, you’re being pretty sweet and understanding
yourself,” I tell her

I hear her gasp a moment and her voice crackles.

“That’s the easy part.

I mean, the minute I left you, you were all I could think about.

It was like this force was pulling me to you.” She pauses.

“I missed you.”

I fight the urge to turn and look at her.

“You know the entire time you were gone, all I could think about was you; strange,
since we’d only known one another a day.” I look at my feet.

“Eli swears that when you find your mate, it’s just like a smack in the face.

When he met Maggie, he married her a few months later.”

“Really?” I hear the smile in her voice

“Yeah,” I say.

“He changed.

He was like Aaron, if you can believe it.

Then he met Maggie, and it was all over.”

She laughs, “Women do have that effect sometimes.”

“The night I ran into you.” I laugh.

“I was in full moon rage.”

“Is that what you call it?” she asks.

“The affect the full moon has on you?”

I nod.

“Yeah, we like to keep it simple.

That night, despite feeling that rage and having to fight it, you…” I trail off.

“It was like something hit me hard.

I wanted you, every piece of you, and I had to fight myself to be normal.

Then you told me about Josh,” I say.

“Then it became about protecting you, keeping you safe.

I’ve never felt any of this before.” I hear the water in the tub slosh around slightly

“What exactly are you trying to say?”

“That you might be stuck with me for the long haul.”

I hear a relaxed sigh escape from her lips.

“Can two people really meet and decide after one night that they need to be together?”

“Of course they can.”

“I don’t believe in fairytales, though.”

“When you’re talking to one of the big bad wolves, I think it’s okay to believe in
fairytales.”

I hear her giggle softly in such a way that I have to fight my own urges a little
harder

“I’m not so sure you’re bad, though, Ethan,” she says.

“I know the moon does what it does, but I just feel like you’re not as bad as you
think.”

I smile.

Feels nice to hear someone tell me I’m not a complete ass.

“Hey,” I say softly, staring at the bowl of fresh fruit.

“Are you still hungry?”

“The fruit?”

“Yeah,” I say.

“I mean, they paid for it.” I laugh.

“We might as well eat it.” I lean towards the small table and yank the large glass
bowl down to me.

Strawberries, blueberries, grapes, a special fruit dip, even a few assorted chocolate
covered berries are mixed among each other.

“They look really good,” I tell her, refraining from popping a grape into my own mouth

“Sounds like you’re still hungry.” She laughs, as I hear the tub swish.

“Just give me a second.”

“Do you have a favorite?” I ask.

“I won’t eat any of those.”

She laughs.

“I’m not telling.

I’ll share.”

“It’s grapes, isn’t it?” I ask.

Forgetting that I’m not supposed to look, I look up at her.

By now she’s completely wrapped in a towel and rubbing a second one through her damp
hair.

“Sorry,” I say and let my eyes jolt toward the ceiling.

“I wasn’t thinking.”

She swallows, and I can see her cheeks are beginning to grow pink.

“It’s okay.” She laughs slightly.

“I mean, this thing could be a dress on me, anyway.”

I stand up slowly and begin to fight what I’m about to do.

I beg myself to sit down, look away, anything, but instead I trail up to her.

She doesn’t flinch, doesn’t shudder; strangely, her eyes stay locked onto mine.

I take the extra towel from her and draw her body to mine.

I hear her left out a small gasp, and I can tell her heart rate has quickened.

I bring a hand to her face, letting it trail from her cheek to her neck, all the way
to the back of her head.

I pull her in for a kiss.

A proper one.

That feeling I felt before returns as something inside me nearly loses control.

My legs begin to feel weak as I realize that she’s kissing me back.

It’s as soon as my tongue flickers over hers that I really feel I may lose it.

I pull away for a moment and close my eyes.

“This is how it’s supposed to be,” I mumble to her

I work to keep myself under control, to keep a slower pace, and not rush.

I catch a sudden wave of Red’s feelings…the want and need is there, and it makes it
more difficult to control myself.

I try to relax, but when Red pushes her body into mine, I fully lose any control that
I had.

Her arms fly around my neck, and I do nothing to stop her.

Her lips find mine as her hands reach for my belt buckle.

She wastes no time in unbuckling and unzipping my jeans.

I reach for the last towel and yank it from her body as she pulls my tee shirt off
and throws it across the room.

I wrap my arms around her, lifting her in one swift movement.

Her legs immediately cinch around my waist and I steady myself quickly and push her
against the nearest wall.

She moans loudly and I feel her nails dig into my back briefly

I begin biting tenderly down her neck in a way that leaves only tiny little marks
but enough to make her groan with pleasure.

I use my strength to lift her upwards as I move my mouth down her body.

She tugs at my hair as I clamp my teeth down on one of her nipples.

She releases another moan, and her breathing becomes choppy as I work my way down
her core, kissing, biting, licking, and unable to control myself.

I finally find myself in a squat position.

I quickly adjust Red’s legs over my shoulders, and I feel her shake.

Everything in me wants to have her, every single piece of her right this minute.

I need her.

Not to just satisfy the raw animal craving that has built up inside me, but because
I need every piece of the one thing that I ever wanted and needed so badly.

I slow my kisses past her belly button and move to her inner thighs.

I look up at her and her eyes catch my gaze.

She’s breathing heavily, her legs begin to tremble more as I steady her against the
wall.

I drop to my knees to maintain my own balance.

When my mouth finally latches to her, letting my tongue do the work for me, she releases
a noise filled with such intense pleasure that there’s no going back.

I need her even more now

* * * * * *

I rest over her comfortably, letting my nose rub slightly against hers.

She exhales my name in such a way that I never want to move.

I rest my forehead on hers and listen to her breathing become steady.

I press closer to her just to feel her heart beat become regular as I feel her hand
up and in my hair

I smile.

“I think I owe you some fruit.”

She laughs.

“Well, I’m not moving.”

“I can get it,” I tell her

She gives me a soft look.

“Actually, I was hoping you wouldn’t move, either.”

I smile.

“The fruit will just stay then.”

She sighs as I make my way to her side.

She closes her eyes and settles in next to me as I yank a few blankets over us.

Her head finds a nice spot on my shoulder as I now hear a loud banging, followed by
hysterical laughter through the wall.

I roll my eyes and begin to get up.

Red holds me back.

“Just ignore them.” She laughs

I laugh and give her a nod as I settle back down.

Before I can really speak, I look over to see Red is sound asleep.

Her face is finally relaxed and her beautiful glow is as peaceful as it has ever been.

I feel a tingling sensation inside as I slump in next to her and quickly fall asleep
myself

Morning comes earlier than I want it to as I stretch in bed and rub my eyes.

I jolt up to look around and suddenly remember everything that’s happened.

Josh.

James.

Ethan.

My mouth drops.

I’m pregnant

I feel my cheeks blaze for a moment with embarrassment.

I threw myself at Ethan last night.

I run a hand down my face and release a long sigh.

I’ve never done that before, but for some reason I couldn’t control myself.

I wanted him more than I have ever wanted anything.

I swallow hard…having sex with him again only reminds me of the undeniable fact that
I am pregnant with a complete stranger’s baby

I fight off a little pang of nausea mixed with pure fear.

I look next to me; Ethan is gone, but it’s apparent he’s been right in the spot next
to me.

Not only is it still warm, but there’s a little note with a single chocolate covered
strawberry waiting for me.

In messy handwriting the note has a small heart saying, “Red, eat this.

I’ll be right back.

Ethan.”

I smile and pick up the strawberry, bringing it to my lips.

I hear a loud crash from the room behind me and have to remind myself that his brothers
are in that room.

I take another slow bite and sigh.

I have to be insane.

It’s the only logical explanation.

Things like this don’t happen every day.

Let alone to me.

I finish the last of the strawberry in one large bite, chewing happily.

Guess I was hungrier than I expected.

I crawl out of the large bed and grab a handful of grapes on my way to the shower.

I hurriedly eat the small handful and turn the hot water on as I slip inside.

For some reason, now I feel the need to look at least half way normal.

I wash my hair and scrub my body with the soaps and shampoos left in the bathroom
by the hotel staff.

Though the shower is relaxing, the growling from the pit of my stomach forces me to
end my shower quicker than I would had liked

I jump out and dry off quickly before sneaking into the room to grab a bag from the
Gap and one from Victoria’s Secret.

I look down in the bags and realize we’ve missed some of the most simple of toiletries,
but the hotel is efficient and I’m pleased to find a toothbrush, tooth paste, and
deodorant all placed in a basket on the counter.

I begin dressing in simple jeans and a red long sleeve fitted tee shirt.

I blow dry my long hair, pin it straight, and sneak back into the Victoria’s bag where
I’ve managed to pick up three of my favorite and simple beauty items: mascara, eyeliner,
and lip-gloss.

It’s a simple luxury, one that I had missed and greatly appreciate getting now.

I am applying them carefully when I hear Ethan’s voice coming from the main room.

I finish rubbing on the lip-gloss and greet him

He jumps back for a moment and smiles.

“Wow.”

I notice that he’s carrying a tray of food, and I walk over to help him.

He gives his head a shake as he places it on the bed

“You look beautiful.”

I feel my cheeks heating up.

“I just wanted to feel like me again,” I say

“You really look so incredible.” He smiles and points to the tray.

“I thought you might be hungry.

I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I got you coffee, juice, hot chocolate, water, and
pop.” He laughs.

“I grabbed fruit, waffles, toast.

If you want something else we can get it.”

I smile and happily reach for the cup of hot chocolate.

I sigh deeply and have a long sip

“Good?”

I nod.

“And I’m starved,” I admit, reaching for a piece of toast

“We can always get more,” he tells me

“We should get James some food, too,” I tell him, having a huge bite of toast.

“Hospital food is beyond the worst.”

He gives me a sad look.

I can tell he wants to know how I know that, but he’s afraid to ask.

I may not have wolf-like senses, but I can read body language

He gives me a slight nod as he helps himself to a piece of toast.

I hear another loud bang from his brothers’ room, this one making me jump

“I’m sorry,” he shakes his head.

“They’re being idiots.”

I laugh as I grab some fruit that he brought and begin to nibble on some banana slices