Hawtness - Hawtness - Volume 3 - Chapter 2

“Daniel?”  

“Yes?” Daniel asked,
his voice not the least bit out of breath.  

“Why are we running there?
Can’t we drive a car or something?” I asked cautiously.  

Daniel’s running faltered for a
bit. “I didn’t think about something like that. It would be easier for
both of us. I do not have a car, but I do own a bike.”  

Daniel owned a motorcycle? I
suppose that did fit the bad boy persona that he had going on at school. I did
learn that his reputation was a little exaggerated though. Sure, he had the
tattoos and the earring, and sure he missed a lot of school days. He also had a
habit of growling at people who approached him when he ate during lunch.
However, at heart, he cared about his schooling and his friends. It was a misunderstanding,
Daniel was sweet, loyal, and caring.  

“I’ve never seen you ride a
bike before.”  

Daniel turned directions, moving
back into a full sprint. “I used to do street races when I was younger.
It’s not something I like to talk about. It’s dangerous, a lot of broken bones and cracked
skulls.” 

“I can imagine,” I responded, suddenly finding a
lot of things about Daniel a lot sexier.  

After what seemed like a half
hour, he finally slowed down and I glanced around to realize we were standing
in a storage rental place. He placed me down and I stumbled a bit, dizzy and
windswept from all the running. He ran over to one of the storage units,
opening it. I curiously leaned over to get a better look at the place. It seemed to have a couch and a
small television in it set up like a living room. Was Daniel living out of this
storage unit? 

Daniel rustled inside of it for a
bit, then came back out with a bike rolling under his hands. I eyed the bike up
and down, the sex appeal I felt melting away.  

“What the heck is
that?” I asked incredulously.  

Daniel looked at me confused,
“What do you mean? It’s my 21-speed racing bicycle, titanium frame, with
reinforced chains.”  

“When you said you had a
bike, this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.”  

“Oh, it’s alright, it’s got
a seat in the back for you.” Daniel seemed so proud of his little bike.
 

I eyed the seat he was talking
about. It was a little screw-on side seat for an extra person to ride sideways.
I sighed; it just wasn’t the same thing.  

“Alright, let’s get a move
on.” I groaned, a little disappointed at the downgrade.  

Daniel jumped on the bike,
waiting for me to sit comfortably on the seat behind him before turning back
and handing me a bicycle helmet while he mounted one on his own head. I sighed
again, glancing it up and down before strapping it to my head. Better safe than
sorry, I supposed.  

“Hold on, I tend to drive
fast.” Daniel boasted. 

“Just pedal wolf boy.”
I teased him slightly in order to relieve a bit of my disappointment.  

It was at that point that I
realized two things. The first was that Daniel had the settings on his bike set
to the hardest gauge. The second was that he had mentioned the chains had been
reinforced. They were far thicker and stronger than anything I had ever seen on
a traditional bike. I realized I had completely underestimated the capabilities
of a werewolf.  

The bike exploded forward. My
butt lurched back, and I lunged forward, desperately grabbing onto Daniel to
keep myself on the bike. He flew forward with full force, his legs moving at
much the same speed they had while he was running with me. The bike chain
tugged with each rapid rotation, propelling the bike at preposterous speeds. We
flew out on the street and I let out a scream. The wind whipped at me, threatening
to tear the backpack right off my back.  

We may not have been riding a
motorcycle, but the bicycle certainly moved at comparable speeds. I looked as
we flew past a four-door sedan, the
driver watching us with wide-eyed wonder. Daniel said he was a competitive
racer? He should be beating the Tour de France with these neck-breaking speeds.
 

I was getting used to the
momentum when he turned directly into the forest. The bike peeled off the road,
landing on a narrow dirt path. The trees buzzed past us and I held onto Daniel
even tighter. I buried my head into his soft, warm back. I didn’t have the
capacity to be embarrassed, I just didn’t want to go flying off the back of his
bike.  

The wind whipped by us for what
seemed like forever. When Daniel finally slammed on the breaks, I flew forward,
my head landing on his shoulder, my body pressing up against him. I took
several stammering breaths as Daniel gently grabbed my hands and pulled them
off of him. I realized I had been digging my fingers into his skin. His arm had
red fingerprints on it. I blushed in embarrassment, but Daniel smiled gently at
me.  

“Sorry about that, sometimes
I don’t realize how far to go. You were right though, this was a lot faster.
We’re already at the cabin.”  

I nodded numbly, getting off the
bike and rubbing my bottom. I had been clinching myself so tightly that my
entire lower half ached. I finally glanced up to see a quaint little cabin in
the woods, exactly as Daniel had described it. He offered me his hand, and I
took it, letting him lead me into the cabin. It was almost surreal. I took off
in the middle of the night with a boy, and now we were going to spend the night
together in a log cabin.  

Daniel led me into the entrance.
The small building consisted of two rooms. The receiving room and a bedroom. It
seemed to be stocked with the amenities of travel
and had recently been cleaned. It wasn’t dusty at all. The room was a little
chilly though. Daniel went over to a fireplace. After turning a tossing down
some lighter fluid and dropping a lit match, a fire erupted between the
partially burnt wood logs.  

“You should take a hot bath.
Make sure to scrub yourself thoroughly. I’ll go outside and chop enough wood so
that we can make it through the night.” Daniel said softly before turning
to leave.  

As if in a trance, I moved into
the bathroom and began undressing. I filled the tub, using bubble bath I had thankfully remembered to pack
in my haste. In short order, I was fully immersed in the hot tub. It was only
then that I realized how cold I had been. The weather was getting pretty chilly
this time of year, and at the speed
Daniel had moved I was a bit wind burnt.  

After I dried myself off, I
stared at the mirror. Should I be doing something special? I had fairly basic
pajamas. I didn’t really own any sexy lingerie. Should I be wearing lingerie?
Daniel and I were going to sleep in the same bed, but it’s not like I had to
impress him or anything. We were just friends. Besides, we’ve both seen each
other naked. I quickly realized that imagining Daniel naked right now wasn’t
exactly helping the situation.  

I sighed, putting on my rather
plain cotton pink top and bottom. Maybe Alex and I would need to go out when I
got back and find me something a little sexier for next time. Next time, what?
Next time I got abducted in the middle of the night by an attractive boy so he
can rub his scent all over me like a Cockatoo?  

How much perfume was too much perfume? Where should I put the perfume?
Should I put on a little makeup? Should my hair be loose or braided? None of
this mattered, we weren’t going to do anything. Or were we? Was that my
decision to make? He already said he wanted to be my mate, does that mean if I
wanted to have sex, he would? It would make it so we wouldn’t have to pretend
to the other werewolves.  

I slapped my cheeks. Stop that, Jane! Now was not the time to pull a Samantha.
You’re just doing a friend a favor. That was it. The front door slammed
breaking me from my thoughts. I sighed, turning away and opening the door,
stepping out into the common room.  

Daniel was standing there. He
wasn’t wearing a shirt, his body slick with sweat as he tossed a few logs onto
the fire.  

“That should last us the
night,” Daniel stood up from the fireplace, turning to me, “I think
we-” 

Daniel’s voice froze as his eyes fell
on me.  

“Is there something
wrong?” I awkwardly asked as the silence stretched.  

“No,” Daniel blushed,
“sometimes I forget how beautiful you are.”  

“I’m just in my pajamas,
just normal old me,” I tried to laugh it off as a joke. 

“No matter what you
do,” Daniel shook his head, “you will always look incredible to
me.”  

With Daniel’s words, a tingle
shot up and down my spine. He really needed to stop saying things like that.
 

Daniel snapped out of it,
breaking his eyes away from mine. “I’m sorry, I should go shower as well.
It’s already two in the morning. We’ll get a few hours of sleep and head off
early. It won’t be a lot of sleep, but the earlier we get there, the
better.” 

Daniel moved off to the shower,
leaving me standing in front of the fireplace, my cheeks as red as the fire in
front of me. I didn’t think I could do this. What was coming next was too much.
I didn’t know what I wanted. The back of my mind was screaming.  

I moved over to the bed, flopping
on top of it. It was amazingly soft, smelling much like a forest, much like
Daniel. The scent reminded me of the dream before Daniel had dropped by my
home. That gave me more blushes. Maybe if I had taken care of a few things in
the bathtub, my mind would be a little clearer right now. I couldn’t let little
Jane make the decision for me. I needed to be strong.  

The door opened and Daniel came
out. He wore nothing but his boxer briefs. I suppose I should commend him for
wearing that at least.  

“I’m sorry, but to in order
for us to smell like each other, I figured the more skin contact the
better,” Daniel explained seeming more embarrassed and out of sorts than I
ever remembered seeing him before, “Not that I’m saying you need to take
anything off. I just figured this was for the best.”  

Daniel put his hands over his
body as if to shield himself from my wondering eyes, and for the first time, I realized he was as nervous and
uncomfortable about this as I was. The proud little wolf that thought nothing
of prancing around naked wasn’t the Daniel I saw tonight. This was the real
Daniel, as vulnerable and self-conscious as myself. I didn’t say anything, instead of giving him a gesture to join me on the bed.  

He moved stiffly and lied down
next to me in a supine position, staring up at the ceiling. He almost seemed
afraid to turn towards me. He kept his hands at his sides with his fists clenched. I pulled up the blankets and lied my
head against his hard, muscular chest. He let out a long breath and I could
hear his heartbeat, beating fast. He was nervous, nervous like me.  

I took my other hand put it up on
his other pectoral, resting it there. I fought the urge to run my fingers over
his muscles, although to be honest, it was all I was thinking about.  

“Good night, Jane,”
Daniel strained, his voice several octaves higher than it should have been.
 

I snuggled my head into his
chest, “Goodnight.”  

Although, I didn’t expect I’d
sleep at all tonight. My body practically hummed. It took every effort not to start
kissing his neck. I knew that once we started, I wouldn’t be stopping. No, this
would be a very long night. His scent filled me. His heartbeat drummed in my
ears.  

I didn’t anticipate how
comfortable sleeping against Daniel would be. My eyes were heavy and before I
knew it, they closed and I started to dream. My dreams weren’t all that
different than what I was doing awake. I lied there, holding someone I cared
about. Of course, it wasn’t always Daniel. Sometimes, I cuddled Andrew, Rune,
Allan, Ryan, Victor, Xavier, or even Alex. I was incorrigible sometimes.  

Even Samantha started to show up
in my dreams. The two of us held each other under the sheets like we did when
we were younger, whispering about boys and irrelevant things. Her perfume scent
had a kind of woodsy appeal, her warm breath on my neck. Wait, that wasn’t
Samantha’s scent. I opened my eyes a little, letting some of the light shine
in.  

A woman sat on top of me. Her
face worked up into a kind of snarl. My eyes shot open, realizing the woman
held down both of my arms.  

“So, this is the bitch who
stole my mate?” The woman growled.  

Her face began to morph, her nose
becoming snout-like, her teeth growing into fangs. Her hands grew longer,
growing massive claws that wrapped around my wrists and dug into my flesh. She
was a werewolf! I let out a shout of
alarm.  

She gave me what I could only
interpret as a sneer, “Well, what am I going to do with you?”