The First Shifters

Mutual Attraction

“That’s what I’ve been saying,” Ryker growls in annoyance. We’ve separated from each other, seeing as we were probably going to make bad decisions given our proximity. The attraction was lustful, and I wanted to be focused on what he was telling me, not what he could be doing to me. I shake my head to keep the nasty thoughts away.

“And a file with my name and photo were next to it?”

“That’s what I saw,” he huffs. I’m sure he’s tired of me asking to confirm it again and again, but my head is sprinting at a million miles. I stop pacing in his tiny living space.

“I know there’s a possibility you’re just trying to goad me into doing some of the legwork for you,” I say, mainly to myself. He growls at me, but stays quiet. “But I’m curious.” Part of me was excited, the other was terrified. I’ve always wanted to get into the science department, but I’d never really had a reason to snoop. They were hiding something big, and I wanted to find out what it was. Even if it didn’t have anything to do with the ice age; I knew some of my family had been acting shifty. Having the possibility to confirm his words about a secret that was for me was what scared me. Was that why I’d been feeling like someone was watching me lately? Or was that just more paranoia?

“So, what are you going to do?” Ryker asks, and I jump at the sound of his voice. I was so lost in thought I didn’t realize I’d basically just been pacing around in his living room. I was probably starting to look crazy.

“I don’t know yet, but I want to know what’s been going on in that tower,” I mumble, devising a plan already. I would need a reason to suddenly be interested. Or I could just use my status as part of the family to be a snoop. Going full information heist seemed kind of extreme, and could potentially get me in a lot of trouble, especially with my father.

“Inara,” he calls me, and I snap my head up. Ryker is right in front of me, a whole foot taller, and he’s looking at me with those green eyes. I didn’t even realize he’d stood up from his couch. I can feel the heat from his hands over my shoulders, and stifle a content sigh. Why did that feel so good?

“Don’t get sucked into this,” he warns me. I snort loudly.

“You did this, I’m already invested.”

“No,” he shakes his head. “I mean, don’t let this ruin you.” I tilt my head, clearly confused by what he means. “Look at me,” he growls. “I had a good life set up, and it was gone in a blink. They’re serious about keeping that s**t a secret.” Part of me wanted to laugh, but he was so serious it sobered me up quickly. There was nothing that could happen to me, I was part of that family. They wouldn’t dare do anything to me. Right?

“I’ll be fine, Ryker, I promise.” I look up at him, as I can still feel his gaze on me. His hands move from my shoulders to cup the sides of my face, his thumb rubbing over the tops of my cheekbone.

“What are you doing to me?” he asks me in a whisper. His face is so close, I can just barely feel the tip of his nose touch mine. The warmth in his hands seeps into my skin and it feels wonderful.

“I could ask you the same,” I whisper back. Ryker and I literally fought last night. But I feel so safe here, with him holding my head in his hands. There’s no way I should feel like this, it just has to be all these hormones. I should be wary of him. He was out to get me because of my brothers, guilty by association as he called it. So why on earth did this feel right?

“The first time I ever laid eyes on you,” he whispers. It’s an unfinished sentence, and I giggle, feeling a little like putty.

“The first time you saw me, you weren’t very nice,” I remind him, but he shakes his head.

“The first time I ever saw you was at the science center, when your senior class took a trip there.” I nod my head; I remember that day. But I definitely don’t remember seeing him.

“I never saw you though,” I tell him. Ryker chuckles.

“You wouldn’t have. You were surrounded by the others; you wouldn’t have noticed a mutt like me.” I scrunch my nose at the word, mutt. It was just so degrading in my opinion. “When I realized who you were, and then seeing you again…” he trails off. “I couldn’t believe that I was interested in you.” Ryker scoffs, shaking his head. I’m feeling a little offended but I stay quiet, not wanting him to take his hands away from me. “I thought, ‘What luck I have.’ You were too perfect for me.”

“Were?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.

“Look where you’re at now,” he growls playfully. “In a bad boys dorm room,” he runs his hand through my hair and holds the back of my head. “Alone,” Ryker adds, the other hand gently laid over my neck with his thumb rubbing my jawline.

“You’re not a bad boy, Ryker,” I challenge him, biting my bottom lip. “You’re a good boy, aren’t you,” I tease. He releases a loud growl, on the verge of a snarl, and I can’t tell if he’s playing with me or if I’ve struck a nerve. Maybe it was both? Maybe I could find out. My body felt like it was on fire, and I wanted to know if he could quench this heat. I’m breathless and lightheaded. I want this man to consume me.

My phone rings, snapping me back to reality. I’m not sure if I want to cry or sigh with relief. His warmth is gone when he pulls away, and I wanted to protest. What on earth has this man done to me? I realize Fiona is still laying at the foot of the couch; why didn’t she stop us? She hasn’t made a peep since she warned him to calm down earlier. I needed to remember to ask her when I was done here.

“Hello?” I answer, putting the little earpiece into one of my ears. It has a little string and charm on the end of it so it doesn’t get lost in the fur that protected the inside of my delicate wolf ears.

“Where are you?” Caliste questions. I’m not prepared to tell her.

“I went out for a little walk,” I lie, and Ryker raises an eyebrow at me, a devilish smirk playing across his lips. I glare at him to stay out of it and turn away from him so he can’t keep distracting me.

“Well, how about you walk your ass over to the Honeybee Café so we can get some coffee and talk about last night?” she asks, and I can hear the underlying tone in her voice.

“Please tell me I didn’t do something stupid last night,” I groan, putting a hand over my forehead. Ryker is trying to keep quiet, but he’s laughing at me.

“Who’s that?” Caliste questions.

“Nobody,” I growl, wishing he’d been quiet. He’s being difficult on purpose; I just know it.

“Well, tell your nobody your bestie needs you ASAP,” she laughs. “And don’t freak out, you didn’t do anything stupid.” I sigh in relief. “But we may need to address how much you ranted about Ryker last night.”

“You were ranting about me, huh?” He asks, no longer trying to hide his presence. I’m looking at him sheepishly, wondering how he could hear her on the earpiece, and I can hear Caliste gasp.

“Is that him?” She practically shrieks and I yelp, resisting the urge to yank the earpiece out. “That’s Ryker, isn’t it? You little minx you, I knew it!” She’s cackling maniacally, and I can just see her scheming face already. I groan and hide my face in my hands. This was not going how I wanted it to. If I was being honest with myself, I was wishing other things were happening instead, and that makes my cheeks turn redder.

“It’s not what you think,” I tell her, wishing these two weren’t out to torment me. Ryker steps into my personal bubble and is chuckling.

“It’s exactly what you think,” he speaks, talking to Caliste. Did he know it was Caliste from her voice? Regardless, he was making things more difficult for me. She can hardly contain herself and I’m mortified. I wasn’t the type to be caught in some guy’s place. I was the type that slipped out before anyone knew. I liked my privacy.

“This day just got so much better,” Caliste laughs. “I’d invite him for coffee too, but he’s still kind of on my s**t list for last night.” Ryker holds his hands up in defense.

“That’s fair,” he says, and leans against the wall. I pinch the bridge of my nose and sigh. Secretly, I’m loving this, but I need to sort out my feelings, and I don’t want to seem too comfortable with him already. Had Ryker and I not fought last night, I think Caliste and him would get along pretty well if he tagged along. On second thought, maybe it was a good thing he wasn’t coming with me. I didn’t need them teasing me relentlessly right now.

“I have a lot of tea to tell you, I’ll meet you there as soon as I can get there,” I tell Caliste, and we hang up the phone.

“Your friend seems cool,” Ryker speaks, and I can see the amusement gleaming in his green eyes.

“She’s convinced that there’s something between us,” I say with an eye roll, fixing and straightening my clothes. I’ve moved towards the door during my conversation with Caliste, so when I look up again, Ryker is standing directly in front of me. His intense gaze lights the fire again, and I’m trapped against the door. His tanned arms are on either side of me, and he leans in close.

“Is there something between us?” Ryker asks me lowly, the pitch of his voiced dropped. I’m left breathless to answer him, but part of me is screaming. Yes! Absolutely! Even if it was just physical, I wanted nothing more than to tangle myself up in him. What was I even thinking? I don’t think I was thinking at all, not when he’s this close to me. He chuckles when I can’t answer him.

“I’m going to take your silence as a yes,” he whispers, his lips close to my ear. I close my eyes, relying heavily on the door behind me to keep me on my feet. He’s teasing me, rubbing his nose into my neck. Is he smelling me? It wouldn’t have been uncommon; it was in our nature. But he had to know what this was doing to me, to my nerves. My resolve wasn’t going to hang on much longer. I wanted him to take me into his room and do unspeakable things. Why wasn’t Fiona saying anything?

“You need to get going, you have to meet a friend, remember?” Ryker chuckles, pulling away from me. The heat from his body is gone again, and this time a whimper escapes my lips.

“You have to stop doing that,” I whisper, making sure I was balanced. If there was a god or goddess looking down on me, I needed help. Ryker suddenly had the ability to render me speechless, and it wasn’t fair. He laughs at me, and I groan.

“I’ll stop when you ask me to,” he counters, and he’s got me. I know he knows it too, as I glare at him. Ryker is looking smug, like he’s won. Which I’m sure he did, seeing as I couldn’t form words when he got close. “Come back to me, when you figure out what you want to do,” he tells me, and I can’t tell if he’s talking about getting into the science center or what to do between us. But next thing I know, Fiona and I are outside of his dorm room. I feel like I’ve had an outer-body experience.

“Well, that was fun.”