We left Amaya and Seth heading in to dinner after a prickly first encounter. Will she give in to his boyish charms or will she let her past dictate her future?
Dinner was a quiet affair. The others had managed to get out of dinner with pack and wedding business. Charlie and Sue didn't need to talk to fill the silence.
After dinner Charlie headed to the living room and whatever game was on. Sue got up to do dishes and Anne took the stack of plates from her. "The cook should never clean. Go spend time with your family." Sue was surprised but handed them over without argument.
Seth took the rest of the dishes to the sink and put away the leftovers and then joined Anne at the china basin. Sue raised an eyebrow at her son but didn't say anything. It was probably the first time he had ever willingly or without argument done dishes.
Anne had her sleeves pushed up past her elbows and suds clung to her cuffs, soaking them. Seth grabbed a towel and started drying dishes. They didn't talk, just worked quietly together. Too soon they were finished and she practically ran from him. Her muscles were tense. Obviously the close proximity had been better for him than her.
Seth followed her to the living room where his parents had been sitting and watching television. She thanked Sue and Charlie for dinner. "Thanks for everything. It was delicious Sue. Anyway, it's getting late and I've got to get home." "You come over any time, Anne. I miss having a full house. Seth, walk her home."
No arguing with Sue Clearwater.
x
"That isn't necessary." "It's no problem." He held the door open and waited politely for her to go through ahead of him. Sighing, Amaya led the way to her newly-furnished rent-a-space.
She tried to ignore him while also trying to keep him in sight. Amaya put her back to the front door in relief and turned to face him. "Goodnight."
His fingers twitched like he meant to reach out and touch her. Amaya couldn't help flinching away from him. She tried to cover it by reaching for her keys to unlock the door. They were sitting on the bar. Inside.
Fantastic.
x
Seth itched to touch her and see if she was as soft as she looked. He had barely controlled the urge and the way she jerked away from him told him she'd caught his intentions.
What had happened in her past to make her so suspicious of him? Something inside him broke a little as he realized she had probably been abused.
After all, how many times had he talked with battered women - unwilling to file a report and deal with the consequences of an angry spouse? How often had he seen that look of fear any time a hand was raised?
She was cursing under her breath. She had a very colorful vocabulary.
"What's wrong?" "My keys." "Did you leave them at Charlie's?" "On the bar." "So, one day in and you've already locked yourself out."
There was a ferocity in her gaze Seth couldn't help but admire. It was like she was daring him to mock her. No. She was daring something else. Her hands were balled into fists at her sides. Her muscles were tense and she was waiting for something. Unnerved, Seth turned to head back and get the spare.
"I'll go get the spare from Charlie. I'll be right back." He wondered what she'd been waiting for. She had looked like a wolf trying to defy an order from his alpha. She seemed to have expected pain.
x
Amaya wanted to kick herself. Locking herself out of the house! She would pay for this. Seth didn't seem like the hitting type, but you can rarely tell from looking. He hadn't seemed the type either.
But Seth just went to get the spare without a second thought.
Of course, now she was standing on the front porch with nothing but a pocket knife and some pepper spray. No escape. She could run but He'd overtake her with little effort. She could yell for Charlie, but why would they get tangled in her mess?
Defenseless. No way out. He was coming for her.
So, Amaya has a past that haunts her. Who doesn't? But will hers kill her?