Unclaimed

Chapter Twenty-Four

Grady was already looking at me when I opened my eyes. "Good morning," he said with a smirk. "Did you sleep well?"

I stretched, feeling weakness in my shaky legs. "Yes. Did you?"

His fingers brushed against my cheek lightly as he pushed a strand of hair behind my ear. "I did. You still smell very strongly of me. You might want to shower again before you come downstairs."

I shook my head, chuckling. "I'll just have to get used to being called Miss Charli."

His arms around my tightened me to his chest. "You're not worried about what they'll think?"

"No. I guess I probably should've introduced myself to more people first, that way I would've known if they didn't like me before I got in too deep."

"Ah, yes, before you fell in love with me. Too late now," he teased, making me blush.

"Hush. I'm not... ready to admit to that yet. I'm attached to you. I have strong feelings for you, but I'm not-"

"It's okay. I'm not trying to pressure you. I don't want to scare you away. I know you've got things to uncover within yourself. What if we come up with a code word or a secret phrase that doesn't imply as much... commitment?"

I balked at his sentiment, leaving my mouth hanging wide open. "I'm the commitment-phobe. I didn't even know it, and I almost broke you. I'm so-"

"You did not break me," he muttered forcefully.

"Then why do you apologize and ask me not to run away every time emotions come up? I don't want to run, Grady. I'm tired of it. I'm hurt and I'm scared, but I want to stay. I want to be with you. I'm just sorry I hurt you so much."

He sighed. "I guess I do, don't I? I apologize a lot. That's okay. I'll just stop doing it." He tilted his head to one side, studying me. "You're really not running?"

"I don't want to anymore," I admitted. "I don't want you to feel like you have to run after me. I think I want to talk to more of the pack. I want to get their reactions and let them get to know me. I need to be part of everything. They're my pack now, too. I feel weird hiding in here this whole time."

His hand moved up and down my back in lazy circles. "You've been leaning on me for protection. You needed to feel safe. That's okay. You've had a hell of an ordeal your whole life. No one will fault you for taking some time to acclimate on your own before opening up to everyone."

"I hope you're right. I guess we'll find out when I go galavanting through the pack and introducing myself to everyone I see. Are they going to do the whole 'Miss Charli our future Luna' thing just because I smell like you?"

His laugh rumbled against my chest and made me feel warm inside. "Yes. They've never seen me with a woman before. Remember, I didn't date anyone seriously before. They're going to think that its pretty serious if they see you here."

"Are we? I mean, I probably shouldn't have to ask that. I should probably already know, huh?" I felt panicked at the idea that we might be so differently understanding what stage of our relationship we were in. "I do spend a lot of time here. We've only known each other a couple weeks but you've helped me with a lot of things. You seem-"

"Baby, please relax. It's not so bad. Take a breath. We can figure it out in time. Go walk around and talk to people. It doesn't have to be a serious thing. Everyone will wait until we're ready. They are going to talk about it, and if you're uncomfortable, then tell them you aren't ready to discuss it. Be honest with them. They could be looking up to you some day, and you want them to trust you."