The Howl Of Love

Chapter Seven

After a minute or so, he finally spoke again.

"Harper…" He trailed off, glancing over at me.

"What?" I demanded, glaring at him, annoyed.

"Look," he began, pausing as he parked in front of a large log cabin.

"Look what, Aiden?" I snapped, starting to get irritated.

"Are you sure you want to leave?" he asked, meeting my gaze again.

I narrowed my eyes. "What do you mean 'are you sure'?"

He shrugged, reaching around to grab my hand. "Come on," he said softly, giving my hand a gentle tug, trying to pull me out of the car.

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" I muttered, letting him drag me along. "Of course I want to go back!"

"I just think I told you, you're not ready, Harper. Look, I've spent enough time thinking about it, okay?" he added quickly when I glared at him. "You don't know what you're getting yourself mixed up in!"

"Oh, come on," I huffed, shoving him backwards onto the bench seat.

He grabbed my waist, forcing me to sit on his lap. His eyes were hard as he continued. "Listen, I need to know that you' re still with me, okay? No matter what happens tomorrow. I won't let myself be apart from you. Not again. Never again."

I blinked several times, watching as he wrapped one arm around me, pulling me closer until our foreheads touched.

I took a deep breath, feeling overwhelmed by his touch. Even though I knew what I was doing was crazy, I couldn't help wanting him. And I hated how badly I craved his touch.

I rested my head against his shoulder. "I love you, Aiden," I whispered.

His hold around me tightened momentarily. "I love you, too," he murmured before resting his head on top of mine.

***

I woke the following morning late and sore. My muscles ached, and my neck and shoulders felt stiff. My skin was sticky with sweat.

I groaned, throwing my legs over the edge of the bed. I glanced over at my alarm clock and frowned. Two forty-five. Damn, I slept for hours!

I slipped out of bed, running a hand through my damp hair as I walked into the bathroom. I stood under the hot water for a moment while I waited for the hot water pressure to drain. When it finally did, I stepped outside, toweling off my hair and face as I headed over to the closet.

I pulled out an old turtleneck sweater and a pair of blue jeans, changing into them.

Then, I went downstairs, grabbing a granola bar and a juice box from the refrigerator.

As I walked into the kitchen, I found Aiden already sitting at the table.

He watched me as I sat down across from him, raising his eyebrows questioningly.

"What happened last night?" he asked, leaning forward, resting his elbows on the table, propping his face in his hands.

I sighed, biting into the granola bar. "Nothing, really."

"Really," he scoffed, raising his eyebrows.

I shook my head, stuffing another bite of the bar into my mouth. "Nothing really, Aiden."

He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms across his chest. "Is everything alright?"

I swallowed my bite of granola bar. “Yeah. Everything's fine. What about you? Anything new happening?" I asked, glancing at him.

"Nope."

"Good."

We fell quiet, eating in complete silence.

Finally, I reached out, placing my hand on top of his clenched fist.

Aiden paused, glancing at my hand. Then, after a beat, he relaxed, intertwining our fingers, smiling gently.

I turned away, my cheeks growing warm. I cleared my throat, dropping his hand.

“What’s today’s schedule like?”

I heard Aiden sigh heavily, shifting forward, putting his elbows on the table, rubbing his palms together.

“There aren’t any plans this morning; the police called us all in early,” he said. “They’re going to try to get as much information as possible out of the people they’ve arrested.”

I frowned. “Isn’t that dangerous?” I wondered. “What if they’ll hurt other innocent people?”

Aiden lifted his shoulders. “It’s better than nothing,” he said. “Hopefully, they’ll give us more time to find out what’s going on and then decide what to do.”

I nodded, picking up my coffee cup and taking a sip.

Then, I set the cup down, staring at the coffee, trying to make sense of everything I had learned yesterday.

Yesterday…

All those thoughts came rushing back to me. All the things I still needed to figure out.

Suddenly, I realized something.

"Did you eat breakfast yet?" I asked.

Aiden looked at me strangely. "No. Should I have?"

I smirked slightly. "Don't worry, I have food."

"You cook?" he questioned.

I shook my head slowly. "Well…yes. But I mostly just heat stuff up."

He frowned slightly. "So...you cook your own food now?"

I grinned. "Yes," I stated simply. "That's what I meant when I said I made dinner yesterday. It wasn't much, but it tasted good."

Aiden nodded in understanding before chuckling lightly. “Okay, well I am starving. Let’s go see what there is to eat.”

With that, he stood up, stretching his arms above his head. He motioned for me to follow him.

We walked into the kitchen quietly, heading straight for the fridge. The smell immediately hit my nose, making my stomach growl.

‘’You hungry?” Aiden asked, looking at me.

I grinned. “Starving!”

I saw his lips twitch up into a small smile before turning to the fridge. He opened the door and reached in, pulling out a few items. Then, he handed them to me.

"What is this?" I asked curiously, peering inside. It looked like pancakes.

"Pancakes," he answered, walking back towards the stove. He started to flip a pancake on the pan.

“Why are we having pancakes?” I asked, following after him, holding the items carefully.

He turned, placing two plates on the countertop. “Because I don’t know how else to make it for breakfast. We used to just have pizza, but that tastes awful and makes you tired after you finish it.”

"You've got some odd taste in breakfast foods," I said, eyeing the plate in front of him suspiciously. "How many eggs did we use?"

He grinned sheepishly. “Six? I guess.”

"Six?" I gasped, looking up at him. “Are you telling me that you've never made any pancakes in your life?"

"Never, Harper."

I stared at him.

"Seriously?" I asked.

"Harper," Aiden began. "I'm sorry. If you'd rather eat something else, I totally understand. It'll still be good."

He put his hand up, cutting me off. "But it doesn't have to be if you don't want it. I can order something else."

"No, no. It's fine," I replied firmly. "I want it."

"Okay."

For another minute or so, we both worked in silence, preparing our meal. Once we had finished, we sat down at the table, and I could hardly contain my excitement.

"These look amazing!" I exclaimed excitedly, reaching forward to dig into my pancakes.

Aiden laughed as he watched me, shaking his head. "Do you always have to eat so fast?" he teased, taking a bite of his own pancakes.

"Only when I’m excited," I assured him with a grin, taking a large gulp of orange juice.

After a few minutes, Aiden spoke up again.

"So what are your plans for today?" he asked curiously.

I shrugged casually. “Not sure.”

"Well, you can stay here as long as you like, but I thought maybe we should head home," he suggested.

“Alright,” I agreed quickly, grinning.

Aiden smiled back, taking a drink of his coffee. “Would you like to take a shower first or are you planning to change before we leave?” he asked.

I shook my head. “I feel like I could probably use one right now.”

"I'll go get changed then."