Chapter 7

Dagger's POV

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I knew as soon as I got home, that Serenity was awake. For one, the curtain that had been closed in my room was now open. But other than that, it was a gut feeling more than anything. This was immediately confirmed when I walked in the door, nearly dropping the carton of eggs.

There were a few things I prided myself on, my self-control one of the biggest. However, that damn near went out the window along with the eggs when I opened the door to the cabin to find Serenity in nothing by my shirt, a pair of lacey panties, bent over. What she was doing? No idea. All rational thought left my brain.

Probably due to the fact all the blood was rushing to other areas of my body.

Also probably because the wolf inside me was roaring to life, determined to mark her now.

And Benny? Gone. Who fucking knew where he went?

After a moment, Serenity stood up, oblivious to the fact I was just...staring. Well, she was oblivious until the wind caught the door and slammed it shut behind me. Serenity whirled around, nearly dumping the dustpan in her hand all over the floor. Her big, doe-eyes widened at the sight of me.

"You're back."

"Eggs." The aching erection in my pants was making it really hard to form a coherent thought. Fuck.

"Oh...well, Benny and I already made breakfast." She moved her shoulder like she was trying to gesture to the kitchen. "We left you a plate for when you got back...it might be a little cold now, so I'm not sure if it will be any—"

"I have a microwave." My tone was not very nice—thanks to more pressing matters—and Serenity looked a little taken aback. Fuck.

"I know, I was just was saying...nevermind," Serenity took her broom and dustpan as she walked to where she'd set the trash can. Emptying the dustpan, she went back to sweeping—which I guess was what she had been doing before.

"That came out wrong." I took a step toward her but froze when she looked up at me. I was not in any state to hold a full-on conversation. Not when she wasn't wearing any pants. Not when my dick was doing the thinking. Closing my eyes, I held up a finger, "I'm going to need a minute before we continue this conversation."

"Why would you...OH! Oh my god! I am so sorry, I didn't even think about it because you know...Benny can't see, and you were gone and the house was just such a mess...and I was nervous and I clean when I'm nervous—" Serenity's rambling was not helping clear my head at all, so I brushed passed her and set the eggs on the dining table.

"I'm going to shower. Please have pants on when I get out."

My plan was to take a cold shower and think about anything other than Serenity's perfect ass on full display. The problem? It was the only thing I could think about. Maybe I was going to need to cross self-control off my list of strengths.

Bracing my hand on the shower wall, I let the water run over me as I came to terms with reality. First, the cold water was doing fuck all to help. Second, Serenity was always going to turn me on. Third, my self-control was paper-thin at this point. Lastly, this erection was not going away on its own. So what the fuck did I have to lose? It wasn't like Serenity had to know.

When I finished taking care of the Serenity-induced problem, I allowed myself a moment to collect my thoughts. My breathing was hard as my eyes remained closed, but all I cared about was the ability to think clearly again. Or at least...mostly clear. Serenity would always haunt my thoughts. That wasn't going to change.

But at least while I was sated, I wasn't on the edge of letting my wolf take over. That was the last thing I needed to do with Serenity. Especially with how her ex had treated her.

I finished my shower and got out, drying off. Then I wrapped the towel around my waist and made it to my room, which, thankfully, was right across from the bathroom. Tugging on some boxers and sweats, I tossed on a t-shirt for good measure as well before heading back downstairs where Serenity was waiting for me.

The eggs had been put away, and so were the broom and dustpan. Or at least, she'd leaned those up against the wall for now. But more importantly, she was sitting at the dining room table, dressed fully in her clothes from the previous night. She gestured to the seat kitty-corner to hers.

"Are you ready to talk now?"

Was it the smartest thing to sit so close to her? Absolutely not. Especially not with the way she was staring at me, not with the way she bit down on her lower lip. But I was going to Hell anyway...so screw it.