Betrayal & Redemption

Chapter 11

I am going from naming chapters to just giving them numbers. I HATE coming up with cute episode titles and I suck at it. 

Let me know what you guys think, please. I really don't know what I'm doing and have never written a book before!

Caroline POV

I climbed the stairs to the apartment and swung the door open. I'm not totally sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't a bright, open floor plan and the world's tiniest apartment. It had to be all of 400 square feet with no kitchen or any semblance of individual "rooms". Jackson was right- the shower was just to the left of the unmade bed, that was little more than a mattress on the floor. There was a couch, a bed, a coffee table covered in papers and a couple controllers. Clothes were strewn about haphazardly, a map was pinned to the wall next to the window behind the couch, and a small entertainment center sat under a massive television, various gaming consoles, controllers, games, and movies filling its shelves. The bathroom was little more than a toilet, a stall shower, and a sink with a mirror over it. Rae stirred in my mind, drawing me out of my observations. 

What's wrong? I ask her. 

Not wrong- but weird. Do you smell that? she says. 

I inhale deeply through my nose. An intoxicating musk scent mixed with the rich earth and chocolate fills my nose. I can't help it, I follow my nose and it takes me straight to the bed. 

It must be the detergent he uses or something, I tell her. 

I want to say that's wrong but...I can't put my paw on what it is. Have you ever smelled anything like that before you in your life? she sounds a little frustrated. 

Can't say I've ever wanted to dive nose-first into a guy's bed before. I tell her with a smirk. I can feel her mental eye roll but she says nothing, obviously I am adding to her frustration. 

I get closer to the bed so I am leaning over it, inhaling through my nose. The scent does strange things to my body. I feel calm and excited and I have butterflies in my belly. I must be losing it. I turn and pull the clear shower curtain back and start the shower with what I hope is hot water. As I undress myself, my thoughts drift to Jackson, and how his shirtless body brought on a similar reaction to the smell of his bed. It has to be him. I brush out the knots in my hair little by little, letting the shower heat up. When I'm done, I step into the shower and make sure to pull the curtain around me. Stepping under the water with my eyes closed, images begin to flash in my head. Images of Jackson. My face flushes with embarrassment and I quickly open my eyes again. I will NOT think of this man's body in the shower. I squirt some shampoo out of a blue bottle into my hands and massage my scalp. I close my eyes and Jackson's face fills the void this time. That's a little more acceptable, right? The planes of his face, his full lips, his messy long hair...how I want to run my fingers through it. And pull his face to mine. He almost kissed me in the woods- and I looked like a dumpster fire. I reached out of the shower to grab a wash cloth off the towel rack and lather it up with soap, rubbing it across my ivory skin. My body is bruised, cut, scraped, and covered in dirt. I wince as I rub the cloth over my side, a large bruise blooming there. As I'm rinsing out my hair, the water turns cold as ice. I squeal and shut the water off. I grab two towels, one for my hair and slip the other around my chest. I get out and walk to the mirror, looking at myself closely. 

"It's gonna be a long night," I tell the woman in the mirror staring back at me. 

Jackson POV

I sit back, staring at the clouds, alternating between humming and taking drags of a cigarette. I can't get past the fact that Cass- I mean Caroline- doesn't realize I'm her mate. How could she not know. 

Why do you care? It makes it easier- no rejection needed, Arlo says, angry. 

What are your wolfy balls all in a knot for?  I chide him. He growls and I grin. 

If we don't reject her, asshole, she would go through a long life of dragged out pain. Every time you touched another woman, she would feel it. You want to do that to her? He asks me, pacing back and forth in my mind. 

I sigh. Of course not.. The thought of her hurting hurts me, too. And the thought of even touching another woman, running my finger through any head of hair that isn't hers...it pisses me off. 

Good, Arlo says before retreating back into my mind. 

Great. Now that its all settled, I roll my eyes. Mutt. 

Jackass, he chuckles. I grin again. 

I was watching the clouds and thinking about a certain red headed vixen when the door above me opens and I'm struck by how beautiful she looks. Her hair is still damp and she's wearing a short pajama set with a tank and matching shorts. She smiles down at me and for a moment, my heart stops. It's like she is the sun and I am just here to worship and orbit her, bending to her will. A slow smile spreads across my face and I climb up the stairs. Once inside, I head towards the end table that I shove all my take out menus in. 

"Whatta ya in the mood for, sweetheart? Chinese? American? Italian?" I ask. 

"Whatever you feel like having," she tells me, biting her lip. 

Fuck. I look away from her and pick Chinese, bringing the menu over to where she perched on my couch without looking at her. I pick up the TV remote and the Xbox remote and turn both of them on. She grabs a piece of paper and writes down her dinner order, I pick up the menu and take a look already knowing I'll be getting wonton soup, fried rice, drunken noodles, and sweet and sour pork. I pull out my phone and place our order, then pick up the TV remote and turn on Netflix. 

"Anything in particular you wanna watch?" I ask, eyes trained on the screen. 

"I'm not much for TV- truth be told, we didn't actually have one when I was growing up," she tells me, yawning. 

She draws up her long legs beneath her and lays her head on the couch. I flip through the options on the screen. 

"Ya like scary movies?" I ask, not looking at her. 

"No-Not really," she said. 

I could see her head droop slightly. I looked over at her and was reaching my hand out to her when the doorbell rang. I jumped up, shaking my head and grabbed the door. I tipped the driver and headed back inside with our bags of food. I set the bags down and cleared off the coffee table before laying out the spread. We had a little bit of everything, it all looked amazing. 

"Do you always eat this much?" Caroline asks me. 

"Always. I am a growing boy with a big appetite," I tell her, still trying to not look at her. 

"You look pretty full grown to me," she mutters under her breath. 

"What was that?" I ask, opening up the soup. 

"I said you look pretty damn full grown to me," she says, loudly emphasizing each syllable. 

I can feel her eyes on me and sigh. It's gonna be a helluva night. I dig into my food and so does Caroline, who moans appreciatively. My head snaps up and I look in her direction, making her stop mid-chew. 

"What? Is there something on my face?" she asks around her mouthful of food. 

"Uh no.." I tell her, dipping my finger into the sweet and sour sauce, then wiping it on her nose. "Oh, I lied. Turns out you do."

"You're going to regret that," she tells me, picking up a packet of soy sauce. 

"Caroline, no. Don't you-" before I can say anything else, she rips the tiniest corner off and squirts the soy sauce all over my shirt, "-dare. You won't be able to handle the repercussions of this." 

She grins at me and her eyes light up. I can't help it, it stops me in my tracks and I just stare at her. She jumps up and runs away from me, and I get up quickly and follow, chasing after her but not giving it much effort. I catch her and pick her up, dropping her on the bed. 

"You better say you're sorry," I tell her. 

"I'm sorry- that you stink like soy sauce," she goes into a fit of laughter and I tickle her, making her laugh more. 

I could listen to that sound all damn day, I tell Arlo. 

He's pacing in my mind, agitated. I ignore him, tickling Caroline more until she finally begs me to stop. She lays beneath me and stares up at me as I hover over her. Her breathing is labored from laughing but slowly the smile disappears from her face and she looks into my eyes. I can't help it, I lower myself down slowly, giving her plenty of time to shove me off- she doesn't. Instead she lifts herself up and meets me halfway, brushing her lips against mine. It's like a fire has been lit inside my chest, radiating out to my chest, arms, and legs. She pulls away too soon, and wrinkles her nose. 

"You stink," she tells me, laughing.