“Is Grey going to need to put a choke hold on you again?”  As I spoke, I eased back a step.

The shaking grew worse.

“Come here.”  The softly spoken command made my stomach flip weirdly.

I took another step and gasped when Carlos blurred before me.  One second he was five feet away; the next, he was coming at me with open hands.  He brushed my forearm, and I batted him away.  He caressed my bare shoulder, and I jabbed him in the gut.  He leaned in, and I freaked out and slapped his face.

Why did I always go girly on him?  Next time, aim for the nuts, I scolded myself.

The slap did the trick, though.  He straightened away, and the shaking eased.

“I apologize,” he said.

Then he left the room.

“What the hell was that?”

Unfortunately, the exercise equipment had less of an answer than I did.

I took my time walking back to the room and opened the door warily.  Ethan lay back on the bed, his head propped up with several pillows.  The room was otherwise empty.

When he heard the door click, Ethan turned and looked me over.

“Looks like Carlos worked you good.  I like it when you’re all sweaty,” he said, grinning at me.

I stepped into the room and closed the door behind me.

“Yeah.  I’m empty for real, this time.”  But I shouldn’t have been.  As soon as Carlos had started acting weird, I should have started pulling.  Even though I couldn’t pull from Carlos, there had probably been other people nearby.  Enough to feed me the energy I would have needed to protect myself.  Why hadn’t I tried?

I crossed the room and grabbed some clean clothes out of the bag.

“I’m hitting the shower.”

“Want some help?”

“Keep dreaming,” I said; and, with a laugh, I closed myself into the bathroom.

When I came out several minutes later, clean and refreshed, Ethan hadn’t moved.

“So, are we going to talk about the big guy?” Ethan said without taking his eyes from the TV.

“What do you mean?”

“He keeps watching you.  You move; his eyes follow.”

“Yeah, right.”  I stretched out next to Ethan on the bed.  It felt good to lie down despite the recent nap.  Some days that felt like my routine.  Sleep, eat, exercise, repeat.

The show Ethan watched didn’t interest me, so I closed my eyes.

“I’m serious,” he said.  “What do you feel from him?”

“Nothing.”

“Ever?”

“Ever.”

“Don’t you find it weird that he doesn’t have any emotions to pull?  You always said you couldn’t be with anyone because you’d drain the guy.  Z, you can’t drain him.”

I opened my eyes and turned to look at Ethan.  He was still facing the TV.  He looked relaxed, and I couldn’t feel anything from him, but his words told me he was feeling something.  What, though?  Worry?  I gave a little pull, testing his hold.

“Don’t, Z.”

“Then tell me what’s going on in that head of yours.”

He turned and met my gaze.

“I never had you, and I’m losing you.”

My heart went “aw!” and my brain went “oh, crap.”  I took a moment to sort through the two emotions.

“You’ve always had me, and you always will.”

“You know what I mean.”

“I’ve never loved anyone more than I love you, Ethan.  What we have has to be enough.  If it’s not, if you push for more, I’ll leave because I love you.  I won’t hurt you.”  Guilt hit me.  “More than I already do.”

He closed his eyes and heaved a sigh.

“I can handle a bruise from a girl.”  The derogatory way he said that made me smile.  He lifted his right arm and pulled me to his side.  I gently laid my head on his chest, avoiding his bruised shoulder.

*    *    *    *

Soft sounds brushed my consciousness enough to pull me from sleep.  I lifted my head from Ethan’s chest.  The room was dark, and Ethan breathed evenly beside me.  The clock showed it was the middle of the night.

The hushed rustling stopped.  No doubt one of the other two had shifted in their sleep.

I eased myself from Ethan’s side and stood, needing to go to the bathroom.  I kept my hand on the mattress to guide my way around the bed.  Where was the light from the hall?  I didn’t think hotel rooms got so dark.  I moved slowly, so I wouldn’t trip on anything.

A thread of worry soured the air, and I paused by the end of the bed.  Someone wasn’t sleeping.

“Who’s awake?”

I strained to hear something and was rewarded by a whisper of noise right in front of me.  Something brushed my cheek.  I jumped a little, and a hand gently cupped my bruised jaw.  I knew the hand...that gentle touch.  My pulse leapt when both of his large hands cradled my face, and his fingers burrowed into my hair.

His hold should have made me feel trapped or threatened.  However, I felt anything but.  For a moment, neither of us moved.  Then, his thumb brushed over my lower lip.

My breathing hitched, and my lips parted in surprise.  I felt him move closer as his thumb continued its soft caress.

“Z?”

Ethan’s tired voice stopped the gentle touch on my mouth, and the fingers at the back of my head twitched.

“Going to the bathroom,” I said quietly, as if Ethan and I were the only two awake.

I listened to him roll over and grunt when he jarred his right shoulder.  Guilt poked a hole through the moment and whatever might have happened next.  I turned my head slightly, freeing myself from Carlos’ hold and walked the rest of the way to the bathroom.

I closed the door before I turned on the light and almost screamed to see Carlos standing right behind me in the mirror.  He spun me around and backed me against the wall before I could blink.  My eyes grew wide when he leaned in, and my heart started to feel like it was trying to beat free from my chest.  But he didn’t kiss me.  He rested his cheek against mine, breathed deeply, and spoke close to my ear.

“You’re sleeping in the other bed.”

His words were a rumbled growl, and my insides went crazy.  He wanted me to sleep in his bed?  I didn’t think so.  I remembered my knee and lifted it with every intention of bringing him down.

One of his hands dropped to deflect the move with ease.  At the same time, he brushed his lips against the shell of my ear.  I struggled to breathe.

Then, he moved away and plunged us into darkness.  The door clicked softly.  I reached out, found the wall, and then the light switch.  I checked the mirror.  My reflection looked pale and shaky.  Pale was my norm, given the red hair.  The shakiness wasn’t.

Ethan had been right about everything so far.  It was weird that the other girls were all matched with a werewolf.  And, though I desperately wanted to deny it, the black hole was interested in me.  Worse, my pulse jumped and my stomach reacted like I’d swallowed a bowlful of butterflies around him.

I took a calming breath, used the bathroom like I’d intended, and then opened the door with the light still on.  If Carlos thought I was going to sleep with—

Grey lay on the far side of his bed, closest to Ethan.  Carlos lay near the window.  In the same bed as Ethan.  The light reflected off Carlos’ eyes as he watched me.  He wanted me to sleep with Grey?  I studied Grey.  His eyes were closed, and he was on top of the covers.  A thread of worry drifted from him.

What was Grey worried about?  Maybe he was afraid I’d spoon him.  I shook my head, turned off the light, and shuffled to my new assigned spot.  As long as it wasn’t with Carlos, I was too tired to care.

I pulled back the covers, and as I slid under, another wave of worry washed over me.

“Relax, Grey,” I said softly.  “Your virtue is safe with me.  No spooning unless requested.”

Rolling on my side, I grinned as amusement replaced the worry.  It tapered off, and I let myself relax.

I hadn’t lied when I’d told Michelle I didn’t care about what made werewolves tick.  I was just along for the ride.  The almost kiss in the bathroom, Carlos’ apparent jealousy, and my sudden girly hormones didn’t change a thing.  Once I was done with these people, it would be just me and Ethan again.  An E-Z future.