The Traitor Panther

Chapter Five

 Present....

I sat on the edge of the bed for a moment, collecting myself before I began my day. It was sure to be a crazy one.

The challenge ceremony will start at ten o'clock tonight. Which meant I would have an entire day to be anxious about it. I was supposed to be going shopping with Willow and Levi for something to wear before and after all the fighting was done, something nice was what Ike told me to get when he gave me his credit card two days ago. They hadn't really given me a time, so I guess I would just get ready and go find them.

I heard moving coming from the bathroom across the hall from the bedroom. I scrunched up my brow and moved to the door, pushing my ear against it and listening.

It wasn't Ike, I could tell by the lack of his smell. It must've been Nate then.

I felt bad. After my shower last night, I had claimed to be tired and gone right to bed. I left him to fend for himself in a stranger's home. I already knew you were rude.

I opened the bedroom door at the same time Nate opened the bathroom door and I was greeted with a shirtless mate staring at me while he rubbed his hair dry with Ike's decorative towels he loved so much. I felt myself smirking at the thought of Ike getting mad over someone using them to dry themselves.

"Good morning, sunshine." Nate grins ear to ear at me, and I smile back. I look down at my bare feet, already feeling embarrassed about what I was about to say.

"Hey... I just wanted to say I'm sorry for not being a good host last night. I totally ghosted you and I feel-"
"You can stop that now." I snap my mouth shut. "You clearly had a day yesterday. I get why you wanted to be alone." I nod, sneaking a glance at him. He smiles softly as we make eye contact, and I feel my heart jump. He was fucking cute when he wasn't smiling like a maniac. Then he was just sexy. "So. When is the fighting supposed to start?" He asks, leaning against the bathroom door frame and throwing the now damp towel over his shoulder. He crossed his arms and stared down at me. I could feel my lower stomach burning at the sight of his arms flexing, water dripping down his neck and shoulders. I wanted to reach out and catch the stray drops with my tongue. Talk about morning wood, woman. Focus.

I shake my head and finally produce a sentence. I had a lot to get done today. There was no time for this. "Not until ten tonight. But I am going to town with Willow and Levi to get something to wear before and after the whole event. Will you be okay alone while I do that?"

He's squinting at me now and I can see him clenching and unclenching his jaw.

He closes the distance between us and leans down to bury his face in my neck. I freeze out of shock. I can feel his hands sliding up the back of my shirt and touching my bare skin, making me shiver with delight. He ran his hands all over my waist and back while nuzzling my neck and gently licking my ear lobe.

"I'm coming with you." He whispers into my ear softly. It tickles. He pulls away, smirking down at my now flustered face. "When are we leaving?"
"Um... well." I stammer, scratching my forehead and avoiding looking at Nate. There was so much sexual tension between us it was driving me insane. Focus. "I was just gonna get ready and then go and hunt down Willow and Levi." I finally manage to spit out.

He nods and then turns around and heads to the living room without saying another word. What a tease. You can't tell me he didn't know what he was doing.

I shake my head clear and head into the bathroom. I wipe the steam from the mirror and make eye contact with myself. My eyes look puffy. I didn't sleep well last night. I was wondering what Ike was doing all night and wondering if Angel was still alive. The few hours of sleep I did get were filled with dreams I didn't want to have.