headlights. Before he could respond, he realized Colt was right in front of him, close enough to feel his warmth and be enveloped by his scent.
Thump, thump, thump.
His heart threatened to break out of his chest. He knew the other ghoul could hear it. Colt’s senses were heightened as an Alpha, probably even in this form. If he couldn’t tell the effect he was having from the sound of Ronnie’s thundering heart, the blush on his cheeks would make it obvious enough. He couldn’t look away, though, or do anything other than just stare up at Colt like a lovesick idiot.
The look in Colt’s eyes was one he had never seen in them before.
No, that wasn’t true. He had seen it before. It was the way Colt looked at Jason. Ronnie had dreamed countless times about Colt looking at him that way, but now that it was actually happening, it felt all wrong.
Ronnie wasn’t sure exactly what had happened during Colt and Jason’s most recent interaction. He just overheard bits and pieces of gossip from his mother and Evelyn. Enough to know it was bad. Ronnie was not delusional enough to think it was a coincidence that Colt was suddenly paying attention to him, freshly out of a breakup with the guy he had loved since he was a kid.
Colt opened his mouth as if to say something, but he seemed to change his mind. Instead, he cupped Ronnie’s face in his hand. Ronnie froze for a moment that felt like forever, but just when he was sure Colt was going to kiss him, he leaned back from what he’d always wanted.
For a few seconds, they just stared at each other, neither seeming quite willing to admit what had just happened. Or rather, what had almost happened.
“I should get to bed,” Ronnie said suddenly, sweeping an annoying strand of hair back behind his ear. He really needed to get it cut.
Before Colt could answer, Ronnie rushed past him and back into the house.
“Ronnie—”
By the time he heard his name being called, he was already almost around the corner and figured he could get away with pretending like he hadn’t heard anything. It was safer than sticking around and letting his heart betray him.
The moment he was in his room, he shut the door and sank back against it. He let out the breath he had been holding and cursed himself underneath it.
Only he could find a way to turn the thing he wanted most into something awkward, but he knew what would’ve happened if he’d stayed. When whatever buzz or malaise that had come over Colt wore off, things would be even weirder between them.
He had promised himself he would never go there again. Especially not now that Colt was desperate enough to see him as a rebound, or whatever the hell that had almost become. Now that he was alone, he had already convinced himself he’d imagined the whole thing. He knew he probably looked like a complete flake running off, but that was nothing new.
He crawled back into bed and buried himself under the covers, wishing he could stay there forever. For once, the dream world was more appealing than the waking one.
It felt like he’d only just fallen asleep when he opened his eyes again. He knew he couldn’t have been asleep long, and yet, when he looked around, he realized he was no longer in his bed. Or the house, for that matter.
Ronnie wasn’t sure where the hell he was, just that he was lying in the dewy grass of a large clearing somewhere in the middle of the woods. For all he knew, he wasn’t even in Rhode Island anymore.
What the actual fuck?
Chapter 29
Colt
Colt got up earlier than usual the next morning, which wasn’t difficult, considering he hadn’t managed to fall back to sleep after what happened on the balcony.
Truth be told, he wasn’t even sure what had happened. It had started out as him just being worried about the kid, and he still was, now more than ever. How things had escalated from that point, he had no idea. There was no doubting where they would have gone if Ronnie hadn’t bolted the way he had. Colt had come to terms with the fact that he was an Olympic champion at denial, but even he couldn’t spin his own actions without coming to the conclusion that he had, in fact, been about to kiss Ronnie.
What the hell was he thinking? Of course Ronnie had