"Zed, stop! I'm trying to get ready!" Addison said, her scolding ending in a giggle as Zed's lips found that sensitive spot on her neck that he knew was one of her weaknesses.
"Have i ever told you how much I LOVE that dress?" He murmured, his lips still against her skin as his gaze met hers in the mirror.
"Yes, every time I wear it." She said as she shivered involuntarily with pleasure.
"If you keep doing that, we'll never make it to date night. " she added.
"I wouldn't be opposed to that." He replied as he grinned lecherously at her
Just then, their doorbell rang
"Once again saved by the bell " she said with a smirk as she tapped his cheek with her finger
"Aunt Eliza's here!" Zach said excitedly as he bounded downstairs
"Come on, it's time to go." She said as she went to get Angelina and was surprised to find her standing up in her crib, using the rails for support. At almost six months old, all of the baby books they had read had said that she wouldn't be able to do that for another six months, maybe more.
But she had quickly learned that HER kids were ANYTHING but average.
"Come on, my mini me, let's go see your Aunt. " Addison said as she scooped her up and headed downstairs.
"Hey, Eliza." Addison said as they hugged
Eliza suddenly let out a small "Oof!" As Zach hit her at the knees with a hug that almost knocked her off her feet.
"Hey! Be careful bud!" Zed said with a laugh.
"He's gonna be a force to be reckoned with on the football field for sure." Eliza said with a laugh as she gently took Angelina from Addison's arms.
"And how's my future little miss cheer boots?" She said as she took Angelina from Addison's arms.
"Aaaaa!" Angelina exclaimed, not quite yet able to say 'Aunt' as she placed her small hands on Eliza's cheeks.
"Thanks again for watching them." Addison said.
"Are you kidding? I love spending time with my niece and nephew." She said, ruffling Zachary's wild green hair as Zed slid lightly down the bannister and joined them
Eliza shook her head endearingly at him.
"I swear, Zed, sometimes I think you'll NEVER grow up." She said with a laugh.
"Hey! I'm grown up when it counts!" He quipped in reply.
"That's true, he is." Addison said with a laugh as she looked at her phone.
"We should go if we're going make our reservation." She said to Zed
"Go, we'll be fine, right little man?" Eliza said to Zach.
"Right!" He exclaimed in reply as he slapped her a high five.
"Now get out of here and enjoy your date night." Eliza said as she shooed them out the door.
"I might just be imagining it, but she seemed really ... Anxious for us to leave." Zed said with a laugh as they climbed into their SUV.
"Well ... That COULD possibly have something to do with a certain scruffy and VERY handsome werewolf who's supposed to be stopping by later." Addison replied with a coy grin as Zed started the engine and pulled out of their driveway.
"I'm so happy that they finally got their act together, it was so obivous that they were both crazy about each other." Zed said.
"It just takes some people longer than others." Addison replied
Zed grinned at her
"Not me, I knew you were the one the second I saw you, I was like ... 'one day I'm gonna marry that girl' ... And that's exactly what I did."
"You had me the moment I met you, you were so different from everyone else and as I got to know you, I realized that you were the person I had been missing in my life." She said.
He put his hand over hers.
"I'm definitely the luckiest zombie in the world." He replied as they pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant.
Zed slid out and opened her door for her
"Now, my gorgeous wife, what do you say we go and have an amazing evening?" He said as he offered her his arm
"Let's go do that, my handsome husband." She said, smiling as she slipped her arm through his.
"Beat you again, Aunt Eliza!" Zach's excited voice cut through Eliza's thoughts.
She offered a smile
"Yep ... You sure did, I guess you're just too good." She said.
In reality, she should've been able to play that video game with her eyes closed, but right now, her mind was elsewhere ... Otherwise preoccupied with a certain werewolf.
Who was excessively LATE. She thought angrily as she glanced at her watch.
Over an HOUR late, to be exact.
Just then, she heard a knock at the door.
She opened it to find Wyatt standing on the other side, wearing an apologetic and very adorable grin.
Her hands twitched with the desire to rush at him and throw her arms around him, but she managed to control herself, and crossed her arms over her chest in feigned annoyance instead.
"You're late." She said flatly.
His cheeks flushed as he scratched the back of his neck.
"Yeah ... Sorry about that ... I had some stuff I had to take care of before I came here. You know ... Wolf stuff." He offered.
She narrowed her eyes at him.
"Is that right?" She replied, her tone suspicious
"Uh ... Yeah!" He said as he offered her a grin.
"So ... Can I ... Come in?" He asked, his expression hopeful
She considered him for a moment before wordlessly stepping back to let him in.
"Wyatt!" Zach said as he bounded up to him.
"Hey there, little man." Wyatt said with a grin as he easily scooped him up.
It never failed to impress Eliza how strong he was, which was saying something because zombie strength was nothing to sneeze at either.
"Eliza? You good?" His voice cut into her train of thought, he was eyeing her with a smirk on his face and she realized that she had been caught red handed openly staring at him.
She suddenly remembered that he had been almost two hours late... And that she was SUPPOSED to be mad at him.
"I'm fine." She replied coolly as she adjusted Angelina to her other hip
He cocked his head at her, his expression a mix between confusion and and something else she couldn't quite out her finger on.
Zach suddenly tugged on Wyatt's hand
"Come and check out the game Aunt Eliza got me! It's awesome!" He said as he pulled him over to the couch.
The time flew and before they knew it, it was time for the kids to go to bed.
"Awwww but I don't wanna!" Zach said, even as he stifled a yawn
"Yeah, yeah, I know you don't, but rules are rules." Eliza said as Wyatt hoisted him into his arms and Eliza gently lifted an already sleeping Angelina out of her play pen.
"But I wanna stay up with you guys! " He protested
"There will be plenty of time for that, trust me." She assured him as she and Wyatt took each kid to their respective rooms.
"They really are great kids." Wyatt said as they walked back downstairs
"Yeah, they really are." She agreed as they settled on the couch to watch TV.
Wyatt suddenly cleared his throat nervously as he turned to her.
"Um ... Eliza? Look ... I know I was super late, and I know you're really mad at me for it, but ... I had a really good reason." He said as he pulled a long wooden box out of his inside jacket pocket and opened it.
Eliza gasped at the sight of the beautiful gold necklace that was enlayed with moonstone shards.
"I've been working on this for the past two days, I thought it would be finished in time to meet you here, but it ... Took a little longer to finish than I thought." He said.
Her eyes darted back and forth from the stunning necklace to him, her mouth hanging open in shock.
"Do ... Do you like it?" He asked shyly as a blush crept up his cheeks.
"Oh my gosh, Wyatt!" She said, tears welling up in her eyes as she stood up from the couch and paced back and forth in front of it.
"So ... You don't like it?" He said, the hurt and the disappointment was evident in his voice, and plainly written across his handsome face.
"No! I love it! It's amazing! You're amazing! But I don't deserve it ... Or you... Because I'm a terrible person!" She said as she sank back down onto the couch and buried her face in her hands.
"What, by the moon are you talking about?! You're not making any sense!" He sputtered, utterly confused, where was all this coming from?!
"I am! Because when you were almost two hours late, I was so mad at you! I thought you ... I don't know... Blew me off to go hang with another girl or something!" She admitted
Anger suddenly rose within him
"What made you think I would do that?!" He fired back.
"Because! LOOK at you! You... You could have any girl you wanted! I... I ... Don't get why you ... You know ... Waste your time with someone like me." She said with a shrug as she played with the hem of her skirt.
Wyatt's mouth hung open in shock. He couldn't believe what he had just heard, he couldn't believe that this beautiful, smart, incredible person felt that way about herself, it was just ... Simply unfathomable to him.
He quickly traversed the distance between them in several long strides and came to stand in front of her.
"Why ... In the moon's name would I want another girl when I have a smart, beautiful, amazing girl like you?!"
He took hold of her hands.
"You might as well put a leash and collar on me, because I'm yours ... For as long as you'll have me." He said.
Tears welled up in her eyes and she suddenly leapt into his arms.
"I'm so sorry, Wyatt, I hope you can forgive me." She said, pulling back slightly so that she could look him in those beautiful, dark eyes of his.
He grinned at her as he cupped her face in his hands
"Are you kidding? I couldn't stay mad at you if I tried." He replied as he stepped away from her and retrieved the necklace from the couch and took it out of its box.
Eliza turned around and held up her hair as he slipped it around her neck and fastened the clasp.
"It's beautiful, Wyatt, I love it." She said as she studied it in the large living room mirror. The moonstones glittered in the light of the living room in a hauntingly beautiful way.
"It's perfect." She said as she put her hand over it.
"Just like you." She heard him say from behind her.
She turned around to see him staring at her such a look of unabashed, heated passion that it caused the breath to catch in her chest.
He embraced her and his lips met hers in a kiss that mirrored the expression on his face.
He let out a growl as his eyes began to glow, Eliza felt a roar trying to wiggle it's way up her throat as her own inner monster began to stir. She forced it back down.
"We can't... there's kids upstairs... And Zed and Addy might be home any minute ..." She said, her words coming out short and breathy as his lips found their way to the valley between her neck and collarbone.
He chuffed in reply, sounding like an excited tiger, his breath causing goosebumps to erupt on her skin.
Her own desire finally got the better of her, a low growl escaped from deep within her throat as her mouth found his ear.
That one action was Wyatt's undoing, he wrenched himself away from her and let out a wild, feral growl as he scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the couch.
Despite being almost completely feral at this point, he was surprisingly gentle, he carefully laid her down on the couch, she grabbed hold of the front of his jacket, pulling him with her.
She pulled back to admire him as he crouched above her, his arms supporting his weight, eyes glowing, fangs beared, chuffing with excitement.
"So amazing ...!" She whispered as she traced her fingers along his cheek.
He growled again as he moved in to kiss her.
The sound of someone loudly clearing their throat broke them apart, Wyatt leapt off the couch like a frightened cat.
They turned to see Zed and Addison standing in their doorway, wearing the same amused expression.
"Uh ..." Eliza stuttered, mortified as she sat up on the couch and glanced at Wyatt, who was blushing enough for the both of them.
"We didn't mean to ... I swear! We just got a little ..." Wyatt began
"Carried away? Yeah, we understand ... TRUST us." Zed finished for him
"You're lucky that you were babysitting two kids who could literally sleep through a nuclear war!" He added with a laugh
"So you're... Not mad?" Eliza said hesitantly
Addison gave her a strange look
"Mad? No! I happen to think it's great! " She exclaimed enthusiastically As Zed nodded in agreement
"We're just sorry that we interrupted!" He added with a laugh as Eliza and Wyatt both stood
"Well ... I guess we'll... See you later..." She said as they both hurried out
"Oh brains! Zed's never gonna let me live this down!" Eliza said as she covered her face with her hands as she laughed embarassingly
"Better them than Willa, she would've pummeled me for sure!" Wyatt said with a laugh.
"Or my parents, my mom would've killed me all over again!" Eliza said with a laugh.
"So ... I guess I'll call you?" Wyatt said, inwardly cringing at how awkward he sounded, he wondered if he would ever get good at this?
"Yeah ... That sounds Great." Eliza said as she slowly stepped closed to him.
He felt his heart leap inside his chest, now THAT was one thing he hoped would NEVER go away.
"Thanks again for the necklace, I really do love it." She said as her lips met his in a lingering goodnight kiss. He watched her as she climbed into her jeep and drive away.
Yep, he was definitely going to have to run full tilt back to the den and maybe even take a cold bath in the river before he would even be able to sleep tonight for SURE. He found himself thinking as he took off towards the treeline.
"I never thought I would feel guilty about walking into my own house!" Zed exclaimed with a laugh as they got ready for bed
"I know! I feel so bad!" Addison replied.
Zed snapped his fingers together as he turned around to face her.
"Hey, don't we have that big holiday family trip coming up soon?"
She grinned at him
"Yeah, we're going to visit Isabella and the moonstones, we've never had a PROPER visit there and I think one's well overdue."
"I don't know about you, but I would feel better if I knew that someone we TRUSTED was watching the house for us." He said as he winked at her.
"Yeah, I would to, someone who's practically family." Addison replied.
"Someone like Eliza. She can watch the place for us." Zed said
"I agree." Addison said. It would be the perfect chance for her and Wyatt to have some time alone together. Both Zed and Addison remember how it felt not to have that ... And it sucked ... BIG TIME.
"Look at us, being matchmakers." Addison said with a laugh as they climbed into bed
"Hey we're not half bad at it, either." He replied.