A Craving Like No Other
Reader Note: This story takes place before Collected (prequel novella) and Coveted (Coveted #1). So this is a prequel to the whole series.
The University of Pittsburgh campus was dead. Not that there were zombies lurking about, but Pitt tended to have a few students who looked undead during midterms. Spring break had hit earlier this week and now Pitt had quieted a bit. After the weekend ended, everything would be business as usual.
Right now I lugged a suitcase and backpack across campus to meet my ride for a weekend of fun. As to why he didn’t just meet me outside of my dorm was another story. He’d sent me a brief text message not too long ago: Meet me outside of the Chevron Science Center. If you don’t show up, I’ll still make you come.
I snorted even though a delicious shiver went down my spine.
I’ll still make you come.
I’d only known Thorn Grantham for a few months, yet just thinking about him tossed my mind headfirst into the gutter.
I hit a bump in the sidewalk, and my black luggage teetered a bit. The honeyed feeling left quickly as I tried to reach my destination.
I’d tied my hair back, but a wind had pulled several light brown strands into my face. They got into my mouth often enough to frustrate me to no end.
“Son of a bitch.” By the time I reached the Chevron Science Center, I was ready to perform evil science experiments on Thorn for making me haul my stuff this far. And the science center was a perfect place to dish up a chemical cocktail or two.
A black Ford Explorer was parked in the nearby car lot. Even though it was running, I wondered if it was his, until I spotted a tall blond man waiting outside. The wind blew toward me, and there was no mistaking I’d found him.
He leaned against the truck, watching the cloudy sky. Spring had arrived, but the bleak weather still lingered. Just looking at him sparked every nerve in my stomach. He was beautiful to behold.
“What took you so long?” he grumbled. Then he looked at my suitcase and bag and frowned.
“If you would’ve picked me up at Langley you wouldn’t have waited so long.”
He grunted. “First of all, I had to turn in a report. Second, don’t think we’re heading into the woods with your super suitcase there.”
I patted my bag, which might’ve looked a bit bulky, but everything I needed to feel comfortable was inside. “It’s just a few things.”
“You won’t need all that.”
“How do you know what’s in there? Your vision isn’t as good as Superman’s.”
Thorn opened the back of the SUV, then he waited with his arms crossed. Did he want me to take a peek inside? I checked and couldn’t miss the obvious: only a single camping backpack was there. Apparently, he’d left his life behind in his apartment.
“I don’t need x-ray vision to know you packed half of Pittsburgh in there,” he said. “Was there a few students who didn’t have a place to go and you threw them in there as snacks?”
I sneered for good measure. “It’s my chemistry professor if you really want to know.”
Thorn smiled and I about melted. “Yeah. I would’ve packed him, too.”
He took my suitcase and tossed it in the back. When I watched the way his jeans hugged his ass, I was just a little bit ashamed. His gray T-shirt molded over his chest and offered the best view I’ve had all day.
I looked at my clothes. Thank goodness, I had a pair of jeans to wear or I would’ve looked out of place. Normally I’m set in my ways when it comes to clothes. I like things in a certain manner. The placement of my suitcase was one of them. After Thorn went around to the side of the car, I added my backpack and turned my suitcase so it lined up properly with my backpack and his. I could’ve left it alone, hell things might get jostled on the way to the park, but at least I’d worry less about it.
Then I reached for my suitcase again.
“Let’s go, Natalya!”
I slammed the back shut and hurried to the front. He seemed to get a lot bossier when he was around me. Not that I minded it. It was more of a “push” as we werewolves would call it. A gentle bite on the scruff of the neck. I liked it.
“Keep moving, woman. Daylight is running out.” He grinned.
“You cleaned out your truck,” I said.
The seat was free from fast food bags and candy bar wrappers. Thorn had a sweet tooth and did little to curb it. When I’d first rode in his truck a few weeks ago, I’d been horrified. Not that it was nasty or anything—I’d seen worst in most of the dorm rooms near mine.
Now that he’d recently washed and vacuumed everything out, the car smelled nice.
Had he done that for me?
“There wasn’t much.” He kept his eyes on the road as we left campus. I did the same, but I still squirmed a bit.
“How long until we get there? I wish you would’ve told me where we’re going.”
He chucked. “And spoil the fun?”
I groaned. “Just because I planned out our study date doesn’t mean I’m that way all the time.”
“I didn’t mind it. At first. But when we had exactly thirty minutes per subject, and I had to drink that god-awful tea, I thought you were pushing things a teeny bit too far.”
“Green tea is good for studying, and based on your attention span, you have me to thank for completing all of your assignments that night.”
Less than a foot separated us while we spoke. His hand lingered on the armrest just a few inches from my leg. The fingers twitched twice and naturally my imagination drifted to the wrong place. He had such long fingers. Thick forearms that flexed as the fingers moved. What would those hands feel like on me?
“I did get everything done,” he said, hopefully unaware of my thoughts. “But you need to loosen up. We could’ve had more fun.”
My heart sank. “You were bored?”
“Not in the way you think. There’s nothing wrong with sitting next to a pretty lady in a quiet study room.”
My mouth went dry and I broke my gaze away from his hands.
I wasn’t sure what to say. He was often a man of few words when we were alone.
Eventually, we left campus and Thorn drove us northeast on I-80. I still had no idea where he planned to take us. There were a few state parks north of us—they were ideal places for werewolves to run during the full moon. Not that I had done research. I was too busy completing homework due after spring break. A few teachers had given me assignments. Didn’t they expect most of the students to relax and waste perfectly valuable time? Perhaps sit around on beaches drinking fruity drinks? Since it was my first year at Pitt, I’d never had the spring break college experience. Until Thorn had poked me to go with him I’d planned to go home and hang out with my parents in Jersey.
“Are we going back to South Toms River?” I asked.
“Nope.”
I guess I would have to wait. The city of Pittsburgh slowly disappeared and turned into the countryside. Trees surrounded the highway. I rolled down the window and inhaled. There were so many wonderful scents: small birds, rabbits, maple trees, and even pine. The wolf within me twitched in excitement. Small game hid nearby. They lurked among the trees.
Thorn turned on the radio and oldies rock music blasted through the speakers. I hummed along to Credence Clearwater’s Bad Moon Rising.
He actually liked mellow music, which surprised me. When I first met him I thought he’d be one of those types who liked grunge or hard rock, but when he picked me up to take me to the coffee shop for our first date, I’d learned he loved jazz music—just like me.
“There’s just something about the rhythm and beat in those days,” he’d said to me at the time. “It gets under your skin and it stays there. I do a lot of thinking by myself and that’s the music I listen to.”
Less than an hour into the ride we approached the turnoff for the first state park. I looked at him, but he said gruffly, “Not good enough.”
He practically had a reply for every park we passed for the next two hours. “I wouldn’t run in that place if you strapped a rabbit on my back and told me to run.”
“Then what is good enough? We’re only an hour or two from New York?”
“You’ll see. Don’t you have any patience?”
“When I’m kept in suspense, I don’t.”
Four hours into the drive and the landscape had changed. We’d traveled for a while east and now the terrain was full of rolling hills covered with trees. We passed so many state parks—until we made the turn to go south on Highway 594. A straight shot to Hickory Run State Park.
“About time we got somewhere,” I said.
Thorn merely chuckled.
