Her eyes shot open and she bounded out of bed, grabbing the gun he had given off the nightstand and peeking out a hole in the curtains and then the peephole before unlocking the door and letting him in. She flung open the door, and she almost launched herself into his arms before remembering that he hadn't actually been there for her dreams. He drew back as she stepped forward and she thought of how he had left suddenly after their kiss and left her to sleep alone. She wrapped her arms around her, more to keep herself from doing something regrettable than from the cold.
"I may have found something on your brother," Jackson said, locking the door behind him. Excitement bubbled up in Chloe's chest. Maybe his disappearing for the night hadn't been a complete waste after all.
"What did you find?" she asked, hope creeping into her voice. She handed Jackson back his gun and he carefully holstered it and then crossed his arms.
"I found some top-secret orders for your brother to go to Afghanistan."
Chloe sat back on the messy bed and ran her fingers through her hair. It was tangled from thrashing in her sleep, and so she untied it and combed it with her fingers. It gave her something to do while she digested the information.
"Afghanistan? What about the file?" Chloe frowned and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. It was still tangled, but at least it wasn't as bad.
Jackson's brows came together, emotions darting across his face faster than Chloe could register them. Finally, he sighed and dropped his arms to his side.
"I don't think the orders are authentic. Something about them is fishy and it doesn't correlate with the other intel you've dug up. It may just be a false report to keep the info classified, but it is possible that he's just in theater," Jackson said. His mouth was a thin line. He hadn't wanted to tell Chloe they were fake, but he couldn't lie to her either.
"I see," she said quietly, looking down at the floor. She took a breath and looked up. "Thank you for looking. I appreciate it."
"Of course." Jackson nodded and went to reach for the door.
"Where are you going? You just got here." Chloe tried to keep the pout out of her voice. Even if he obviously didn't want to kiss her, she didn't want him to leave. Just having him in the same room made her feel better. Safer.
"I can't stay," he said. His voice was low and his face troubled. He took a small step toward the door.
"Why not?" Chloe stood. She didn't want him to leave. They had shared a magical kiss. Chloe had never felt anything like it in her entire life; they had a connection
and she knew it. She wasn't about to just let him walk out and leave her hanging without at least a decent explanation.
His brow tightened. "I just can't. It's not safe." His eyes pleaded with her to understand and betrayed that he wanted her just as much as she wanted him. She stepped forward, slowly approaching him as though he were an unfamiliar dog.
"I don't want you to go. Ever." She gave an embarrassed smile, and bit her lip.
"Chloe," he started, his voice husky. "This won't work. We won't work."
"I disagree. The past two nights, I've barely slept because of dreams of you. I close my eyes to sleep, and there you are. And the weirdest part, is that I know they're true."
"Chloe..."
"I know that you like to sleep on the right side of the bed. I know that you have a scar on your shoulder and one on your back. I know that kissing your ear drives you crazy. I know you have nightmares about fire, but that you aren't afraid of them when you're with me." She stopped just short of touching him, her green eyes wide and searching his. With every word, his eyes had grown a little wider and told her that she was right.
She reached out and touched his chest where the bullet had entered his shoulder. Electricity traveled up her fingers, igniting a hot flame in her core. She looked up at him and his eyes flickered golden. The change was startling, but it didn't frighten her. The wolf wanted her as much as the man.
"Chloe... please, I don't want to hurt you," he whispered, desperation and desire dueling in his voice. She smiled and moved her hand to his cheek, feeling the stubble under her fingertips.
"You'd never hurt me."
He shook his head, but didn't pull away. His eyes were golden and mesmerizing. "You don't know that."
"Yes, I do. I dreamed it." This time, Chloe didn't hesitate. She just moved her hand to the back of his neck and pulled down, and rose to her tiptoes to kiss him. The moon and the stars spun in her mind as their lips met. Galaxies collided and twirled, their light paling compared to the heat growing inside of the two of them. It was even better than their first kiss, and Chloe lost herself to it completely.
She pulled back after a moment, breathless and shaky. Jackson's eyes still glowed with a golden light and his body was pressed against hers, warm and hard. He searched her face, concern flitting across his features as he struggled to find words.
"You saw what I did to those men," he finally whispered, but he didn't let her go. His arms were wrapped around her, pulling her to him. She nodded and nestled her head into the hollow of his shoulder where she could hear his heart.
"Yes. I saw."
He pushed her gently away, putting his hands on her shoulders and peering into her eyes. "I can't control what's inside of me." The gold in his eyes glowed brighter for a moment. "The wolf is howling to get out, and I can't keep him caged.
"Then don't," she said softly and reached a hand to his cheek. She smiled. "I think the wolf likes me."