Fighting to go on

Chapter 20

       *A/N: Holy crap, we've reached chapter 20!!* 

          He was standing on the sidewalk, looking at the ground. I know he heard me come out, but he didn’t look up. I walked over to him and stopped in front of him. “Want to go for a walk?” I asked.

            He nodded and we set out down the sidewalk. He was silent for a few minutes, but when we turned into a park, he stopped and faced me. I stopped as well and he finally looked up at me. He had dark circles around his eyes and his whole face was drawn and pale. “Sammy, I’m so sorry,” he said hoarsely.

            I crossed my arms over my chest to prevent myself from reaching out to him. “What are you sorry for?” I asked.

            “For acting like a jealous idiot and for overreacting. I should have listened to you, but I couldn’t control my wolf. I was fighting with him while we were standing in the hall and I reacted badly.”

            Hell, that was more then I was expecting, but I wasn’t ready to let him off the hook completely. “And you apologized to Mark?”

            He looked down again as his cheeks turned a little red. “Yes, I did. And I felt like the worlds biggest idiot after he told me that he was gay.”

            “Good,” I said, but I finally relented. “I accept your apology, Ryan. But don’t do something like that again, okay? And I want Fluffy to apologize to me as well the next time I see him.”

            His lips twitched a tiny bit at that and he looked up at me again. “Can I touch you now?” he asked quietly.

            In response, I stepped forward and his arms came around me immediately. He pulled me against his hard chest and held me tightly to him. I wound my arms around his neck and clung to him, inhaling his scent. It felt as if a part of me had been missing, and now I was complete again, as corny as that was.

            Ryan buried his face in my hair and his hands started running up and down my back. “I can’t handle being away from you like that angel. I hated knowing that you were mad at me, and I couldn’t even talk to you on the phone.”

            I pulled back a little and framed his face in my hands. “Maybe next time Fluffy will think twice about pissing me off then.”

            He grunted. “I doubt it. He’s ornery when it comes to you. Although I’m hoping he’ll listen to me a little better now. He doesn’t really understand how the human mind works, especially a woman’s.”

            I chuckled. “Well, no man understands how a woman’s mind works, so he shouldn’t feel too bad.”

            Ryan smiled a little. “That’s true,” he said. Then he lowered his head and brushed his lips against mine. “I missed you,” he whispered.

            I slid my hands around to the back of his head and pulled him back down. “I missed you too,” I murmured against his lips. He deepened the kiss quickly as his hands slid down to my ass. He lifted me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist, needing the close contact as much as he did.

            “Well, well, isn’t this sweet,” a voice cut in.

            Ryan’s whole body stiffened and he placed me on the ground swiftly. He maneuvered me around until I was behind him, keeping one hand on my waist while the other one curled into a fist.