Just when the silence had become unbearable, Wyatt spoke. “Well, I hope none of those samples were contaminated.”
I looked up to see his jeans and t-shirt splattered with water samples. With a glance at myself, I realized I was in similar shape. A small giggle escaped my lips as the absurdity of the situation really hit me.
When I looked back at Wyatt, our eyes met and that crazy thing happened again where the world went quiet, leaving only us. Despite my best efforts, I was still as affected by him as always. Problem was, I didn’t know what to do with that.
Just as the intensity between us reached atomic levels, Wyatt shook his head.
“Fuck it,” he grunted before wrapping a hand around the back of my neck and dragging my lips to his.
Where once there was silence and stillness, now there was a cacophony of sounds and a mayhem of colors. My blood sang in my veins as Wyatt’s soft, warm mouth explored mine. When his other hand wrapped around my waist, coming to rest on the small of my back, I lifted my arms to circle his neck.
He groaned softly and deepened the kiss between us. His tongue tasted the seam of my lips and nibbled their edges before I met him in the middle. He moaned again and my heart rate picked up to what had to be unsafe levels.
My fingernails dug into the back of his neck as I held on. His arms tightened around my waist, bringing my body so close to his there wasn’t any space left between us.
I’d never felt more alive. Or invigorated. Or whole in my entire life. This one single kiss with Wyatt Carter shook me so entirely I knew I’d never be the same.
That unexplainable, undefinable thing that connected us surged like a crescendo, reaching into every nook and cranny of my body, filling in the empty spaces with him. It felt like we’d merged into one being as our hearts beat in time with each other, each pounding out its excitement like a metronome on speed.
Minutes, hours, possibly days were lost in that kiss, until finally, Wyatt pried himself away from me. He stood there, one hand threaded through my curly hair and the other squeezing my waist. I tried desperately to catch my breath, but soon realized it was a lost cause. Wyatt Carter had stolen it with his soul-searing kiss.
“I gotta go.”
I blinked my hazy eyes just as Wyatt pulled away from me and spun around to leave. I stood there stupidly as he grabbed the last pile of sample racks from the trunk and placed them next to me.
“I’m sorry,” he said, his eyes studying the pavement beneath our feet.
With a nod of his head, he turned around one last time and hopped in the truck. It roared to life, and seconds later, he was peeling out of the parking lot, leaving me, my racing heart, my shaking fingers, and a huge mess behind.
I didn’t know what just happened.
I didn’t know why Wyatt ran away from me again.
I didn’t know what I was going to do now.
All I knew was, I needed a new plan.
Chapter 15
Callie
“Don’t you start with me too.” I growled menacingly at the machine in front of me. Fortunately for me, it didn’t answer back, but that didn’t stop me from taking my anger out on it.
I’d done my best to shove thoughts of Wyatt aside and utilize my time at the lab, but that kiss kept infiltrating my brain. It also didn’t help that my lips were still tingling, and I couldn’t get my hands to stop shaking.
I looked up at the clock on the wall and realized my allotted time was up. I gave the machine I was working with a dirty look before turning around to collect my things. With my bag packed and the first set of sample racks in my arms, I walked out the back door and scoured the parking lot for Wes’ dark Suburban.
But it was empty.
“Son of a biscuit,” I spat before setting down the racks and returning to the lab for the last batch. “So help him if he’s not in that lot when I get back,” I grumbled.
I whipped the lab room door open so hard it slammed against the wall and ricocheted back at me. Just barely catching it before it met my face, I growled again and stormed inside to get the last of my things.
When I made it back to the lot, a large SUV was waiting near the back door. Instead of cooling my ire, it only incensed me further. I stomped over to the passenger door and whipped it open.
“Listen–”
The words dried up on my tongue as I realized the person behind the wheel wasn’t Wyatt, but his brother, Wes. My mouth snapped closed as my face heated with embarrassment.
“Callie? Everything okay?”
I glanced at Wes, barely able to meet his eyes after almost screaming at him for something his brother did.
“Oh. Uh. Yeah. I’m fine. I was just expecting Wyatt.”
He narrowed his eyes slightly. “He had something come up, so he asked me to come get you. Is that okay?”
I shrugged, hoping I didn’t look as off balance as I felt. I’d just spent a whole hour fuming, plotting what I’d say to Wyatt when I got out of here and faced him again. Instead of having the opportunity to voice the speech I’d prepared in my head, now I was left to stew until I saw him again. And who knew when that would be?
It was then I remembered tomorrow night was the full moon. That meant he’d have to join the pack and I’d have the perfect opportunity to confront him. I’d make sure he knew he couldn’t just kiss and run like that. It was completely unacceptable. And I was sick of only seeing the backside of him as he ran away from me.
Tomorrow night, we’d hash this all out, and I’d be able to tell him exactly what I thought of him. I just hoped twenty-four hours was enough time to figure out what that was.
Wyatt
“Can I get you some more tea, Mom?”
Nora Carter gave me a funny look before taking a sip from her mug. “You’ve filled my cup three times already. I think if I have any more it’ll be coming out my ears.”
I ran my hands down my thighs, but it was no use. They’d been shaky and sweaty for hours and I didn’t see that changing any time soon. “Okay, is there anything else you need while I’m up?”
She shook her head and patted the cushion next to her. “No. What I need is for you to sit down. You’re making me nervous.”
I glanced toward the front window before nodding and taking a seat next to her. With another rub of my palms on my jeans, I folded my fingers together and tried to act like I wasn’t ready to crawl out of my skin.
“What’s going on, Wy? You’ve been acting jumpy since you got home.”
I shrugged and worked on looking less like a lunatic. “Nothing, Ma. Just wondering when Wes is getting back.”
She glanced at the front windows too. “Where did he go anyway?”
“He had to run an errand for the alpha,” I sort of lied.
Technically, he was running errand for me that I was supposed to run for the alpha. And to be even more technical, he was helping me run from my issues. But neither of them needed to know that.
The crunch of gravel met my ears, and moments later, a pair of headlights swung past the windows.
“Looks like he’s home now.”
My stomach cramped as a million questions flooded my mouth just waiting for the opportunity to dump them on Wes. But I couldn’t do that. It had been hard enough to convince him to pick Callie up from the lab without telling him the real reason for the favor. There was no way I could question him without having a few flung at me and I wasn’t ready to answer his questions. Or anyone’s, for that matter.