Celeste was glad that Nancy was finally gone. Her patience was hanging by a thread. She wouldn't know what she was going to do had Nancy stayed for one more second.
She thought Jeremy was going after Nancy, but she was glad when hearing the click of the lock. Turned out he just went to lock the door.
And now… she and Jeremy were alone again.
The heat of her anger had been scorching Celeste, but now it fizzled out entirely, leaving her feeling empty and hollow like a deflated balloon.
She could feel Jeremy walking back toward her. Then, suddenly as a clap of thunder, realization struck her again. Jeremy was her mate.
She wished she could just shrink and disappear from under the quilt. She calmed her breathing to maintain the illusion of her still being in a coma.
Shame went through Celeste as she realized she was just a coward who ran away from her problems. But damn it! She just couldn't bear the thought of talking to Jeremy right now.
Her mind raced as she recalled the secret Jeremy had been trying to tell her. She had a hunch about what it might be, but now, hearing it from her wolf, she was still taken aback. And the same as Jeremy, the first thing she thought was running away.
She wasn't ready. And she didn't know when she would be ready.
Yes, she and Jeremy had always been close. He was undeniably attractive, with a sculpted body that made other guys jealous. But they were siblings, for God's sake – twins, even! They were twins! It was beyond any moral or social code, and even if the pack was the most accepting group on the planet, Celeste couldn't imagine them condoning her and Jeremy being together.
A forbidden romance between twins? This was the stuff of sordid novels, not real life. And yet here she was, smack dab in the middle of it all.
What the fuck?
What was she thinking? Was she even thinking about the forbidden romance between twins? The mere idea of Jeremy and her together sent shivers down her spine, the kind that made her cringe uncontrollably.
She should have known better than to let her thoughts run wild, she thought bitterly. As she lay there, feigning sleep, she realized that Jeremy might have caught on to her fidgeting.
Had he suspected something? Was his mind racing too? Celeste was too afraid to open her eyes to check what he was doing. This was a mess, she realized.
"Celeste? Are you awake?" he asked.
Shit! No, she was not awake!
Her body went stiff as she attempted to make Jeremy believe that she was only dreaming.
'I'm still unconscious. I'm still unconscious. Ignore me. Ignore me.' she prayed desperately in her mind.
But it seemed that her prayer was of no use because she felt Jeremy leaning closer toward her.
Celeste almost panicked. She held her breath and flattened herself on the bed, but then she realized that the stupid moves would only serve to give her away.
So she forced herself to relax and breathe normally. But as she did so… Could someone please tell her what normal breath was like? Was she inhaling for too long? Exhaling for too short a time?
Goddess… She was helpless.
Her heart pounded like a drum, and she couldn't help but wonder if the sound of her racing pulse was audible to Jeremy even if he stood ten feet away from her.
However, to her surprise, Jeremy seemed completely oblivious to her peculiar behavior.
Was he just too dull to notice she was awake? Or was he still caught up in his conversation with Nancy?
In any case, Celeste could feel the heat of his body lingering beside her. She could feel his wolf so close to her that her fingers itched to touch him.
The heat hovered on her for a few seconds. But it felt like hours for her. And by some miracle, she managed to remain still.
When she finally sensed the heat moving away, her heart was filled with disappointment. Her inner wolf cried unhappily.
But the man didn't leave. Instead, he sat down on the chair next to her bed, moving so lightly as if afraid of disturbing her sleep.
Celeste had no idea what expression was playing across Jeremy's face, but she could feel his eyes on her.
His gaze was long and penetrating, fixating on her for so long. Celeste felt increasingly uneasy under his unwavering scrutiny, her face turning hot and her ears burning.
Desperately hoping for the dark night to conceal her embarrassment, Celeste heard her wolf's longing call from deep within her heart. But she chose to ignore it, focusing instead on the thumping of her own heart as Jeremy's gaze bore down on her, unyielding like the mighty jaws of a predator.
Celeste didn't know why Jeremy wasn't going back to his bed. She wondered how long Jeremy would be here staring at her. For a brief moment, she almost wanted to open her eyes and tell him to go to bed. But the thought of having an actual conversation with him only made her restless.
So, in the end, she decided to pretend to be asleep. But her heart just wouldn't calm down.
As if sensing her struggles, Jeremy finally turned his gaze away from her. Celeste let out a silent sigh of relief, but then she felt something warm slide over the back of her hand before a large, dry, and firm hand grasped her.
Startled, her heart skipped a beat.
She should have felt uncomfortable at the sensation of their skin touching. But on the opposite, her wolf somehow took relief from that and actually calmed down a bit.
Celeste tried to ignore the pressure of his hand on hers, but she failed.
The warmth of his hand made the rest of her body feel cold. She couldn't focus on anything but her left hand. It was so warm she felt like she was being held by a small sun.
Through his hand, she felt the rhythm of his heartbeat – strong and steady. As she listened to his pulse, her heart began to slow down from its previously frantic pace.
This was not so bad, after all.
Just as Celeste thought she could go back to sleep with warmth and peace, her stomach growled loudly and gave away her façade mercilessly.