#sam fics

She hesitated for a moment, nerves silencing her briefly until she could unstick her tongue from the roof of her mouth. “First—I just—I’m so sorry… I don’t deserve forgiveness from you, and I’m not asking for it. There’s—there’s no possible excuse for what I did. I don’t have one. But I want you to know that I’m sorry. I won’t say ‘I never meant to hurt you,’ because I knew that it would hurt. And I knew you would probably find out eventually… But I was selfish. I was—you didn’t deserve that. You deserve so much better than that.”

Sam gulped and stared at her, perplexed and a little apprehensive about where this was going.

“And I guess that’s why I’m here; because you do deserve better than that, and I’m not it,” she said, her cheeks coloring with guilt and shame. “We were okay when we started dating, but—I don’t think we were even ever great, you know?” She studied his handsome face and sighed, clasping her hands together nervously. “Even in the beginning, we were never great.”

Sam shifted uncomfortably. It was true. There had been good times in the beginning, but even then, something always felt… not whole, not complete. Something seemed to be missing. He hadn’t known at the time what it was and he’d talked himself into believing he was happy, but now he knew he’d always wanted you. Quite simply, he and your sister just weren’t a good match. But Sam so badly wanted some part of his life to be normal. He wanted some part of his life to work. And then there was the fear in the back of his mind that if he broke it off with her, he’d lose you too. And that was an unbearable thought, even if he didn’t register it consciously.

“I think—I think eventually I realized that you were starting to pull back,” she went on. “It didn’t happen all at once, but suddenly there was such a distance between us. Or, I don’t know. Maybe it’d always been there and I’d just been masking it with ‘new relationship’ flutters, you know?” Sam felt a pang of guilt at these words. “I felt like I was a part of something. Close to my sister, close to you and Dean, who she was always gushing about…”

“It wasn’t anything you did,” Sam said softly. “The distance. It wasn’t—"

She lifted a hand to reassure him that she wasn’t laying blame on him. “I know. I know that… And you do deserve better from the person you’re with, but so do I. And neither of us was getting what we wanted, what we needed. And that’s where it should have ended. But instead, I just—” She sighed and hung her head, her eyes closing in regret. “I fucked up. I wanted all of it. I was afraid to lose what I had if I went looking for more and didn’t find it. So, I snuck around and I cheated and I hurt you… and maybe lost my sister in the process… And I’m just so sorry.” Sam could hear the depth of her remorse and regret. There was a thick, heavy silence before she went on. “But I’m determined that something good comes out of this whole mess.” She studied his face for another long moment and Sam shifted uneasily again, waiting with bated breath to see where in the hell this was all going...

She continued in a soft voice that rang true with goodhearted care. “That distance? The holding back that I felt from you? There’s a reason for it. And I think I was in denial about it, purposefully forcing myself to be unaware. But I’ve had a lot of time to think since this all happened, a lot of time to replay everything and now looking back, hindsight being 20/20, I wish I’d acknowledged it ages ago. I could have prevented a lot of bad feelings for both of us.”

Sam’s heart was pounding in his chest and he anxiously slipped his uninjured hand into his pocket and shifted again.

Your sister suddenly laughed lightly, good-naturedly and it caught Sam off-guard. “Kind of seems like I was an idiot now not to realize it sooner…”

“Uhh—realize what?”

She smiled at him, a little pensive smile. “The way you lit up whenever she came in the room. How the two of you always seemed to be standing so close. How you each stole glances at the other when you weren’t looking. The late nights and deep talks you had with her that we never had… Your god-awful same sense of humor. How you’d always stare just a little too long when she was walking away, how’d you’d be looking at her instead of at me… I didn’t want to see it at the time, but it explains the way we drifted apart. And I guess it’s better late than never,” she said with a dry laugh. “The distance, the holding back? Sam, you’re in love with Y/N. And the two of you are—” she shrugged, “much better suited for each other than you and I will ever be.” She gulped, her eyes searching his face and trying to get a read on him. “And the last thing I want is to be the one that keeps the two of you apart any longer. You both deserve to be happy. And it’s about time I let this all go. So, please get off your ass and do something about it with a guilt-free conscience. That’s really why I came here.”

Sam’s mouth dropped partially open and his eyebrows lifted in understanding and relief. He let out a wry laugh and brushed a hand through his hair. “Uhh—” He stared down for a moment at his shoes. “I’ve got to say that I’m—extremely relieved to hear you say that,” he said, hazarding a glance up at her. She tilted her head inquisitively, her eyebrows lifting. “You’re right. About all of it. And there are plenty of things I should apologize to you for—”

“There aren’t,” she interrupted.

Sam shook his head. “There are. I was… unavailable to you. And you’re right when you say that we both deserve better than that. I won’t say that it didn’t hurt or that I wasn’t angry about how this all ended… but what’s done is done.” She smiled fondly at him and felt a sense of relief and peace come over her. She’d played this conversation in her head a million times before she had the courage to show up, imagining the worst-case scenario and the best… and even the best hadn’t gone this well. “But, uhh—” Sam rubbed a hand over his mouth and let out a nervous laugh. “Your timing is pretty impeccable.” She gave him another questioning look. “I got off my ass finally and did something about it. Just—like, last night.”

A genuine laugh bubbled out of her and Sam smiled because it sounded so much like yours. “You’re joking.”

“Thank God I’m not,” he said with a grin. “I—I hope that isn’t weird for you to hear?”

“Weird? Are you kidding? Besides needing to apologize to you in person… like I said, it’s the entire reason I’m here. I—I hope it went well?” Sam’s smile widened into a grin and she laughed again. “I’m so glad. I really, really am.” But her smile faded a little quickly and Sam rocked on his feet.

“I don’t think you lost your sister,” he said. Her eyes shot back up to his. “She’s right downstairs. If you’d like to see her.”

“Would—would she see me? She sounded pretty pissed when we last spoke…”

Sam nodded. “You know, I think she would,” he reassured her. “Just wait here in the front room and—I’ll go get her. If you want?”

She hesitated a moment longer before she nodded, her eyes look a little glassy. Sam led her down the stairs and headed back toward the kitchen.

Dean was leaned up against the kitchen counter, his green eyes following your progress as you hobbled back and forth across the room endlessly. “Would you please for the love of my sanity and your goddamn leg, sit down?” he growled.

You only shot him another anxious and somewhat annoyed look. “No! How the hell am I supposed to sit still right now?” you remarked heatedly. “She’s—she’s—UGH!” You rubbed your hands over your face. “This is the worst. This is the worst possible timing… what could she possibly—” Your mind was whirling with anxious thoughts and scenarios. “What if—what if Sam gets back together with her?”

Dean let out an aghast laugh. “Are you out of your mind? The guy just admitted he’s in love with you after pining for you for months, maybe even years! Why the hell would he do that? You were just about to tell him that you’re in love with him. I could tell! I know it! That isn’t just going to go away.” Dean watched as your face blanched.

“Oh, God. Oh—oh my God,” you suddenly murmured, leaning onto the counter.

“W—what? What’s the matter?” Dean urged, now genuinely worried by your reaction.

“She’s—Dean, what if she’s here because she’s pregnant?” you asked, your expression tortured. “Sam’s—Sam would want to do the right thing! He wouldn’t be able to—”

But a smug look grew on Dean’s face and he let out a gruff laugh.

“How the hell could you possibly be laughing right now?!”

“Look, this may be TMI, but I’m pretty sure that’s not likely,” he said.

“How the fuck would YOU know?!”

“First of all, I found her chick anti-baby pills or whatever one time and second of all, I’mmmm pretty sure there hasn’t been much of anything happening in the bedroom between those two for, uhh—quite a while…”

You weren’t sure whether to feel relieved or disgusted or concerned about why Dean knew this. Maybe all three. “…why would you know that?”

“It’s not like I was listening at the door! Jesus! Don’t look at me like I’m a perv!”

You cocked your head, your brow furrowed. “You can be kind of a perv…”

“Alright, that’s fair… BUT. He’s my damn brother! We’ve shared motel rooms since we were kids. I know his, uhh, frustrated habits, shall we say?”

“…You’re telling me that you know Sam so well you can tell when he isn’t getting laid by some sort of sexually frustrated tell, like this is an abstinence poker game?”

Dean looked proud of himself and nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, that’s what I’m saying.”

You looked skeptical. “Uh huh… and what is it exactly?”

Dean laughed again. “It’s not rocket science! The guy gets particularly OCD about me getting water on the bathroom floor when I take a shower or about me leaving dirty glasses around. Basically, he turns into our dad, the anal-retentive Marine veteran. One time Sam stepped in a puddle of water in his socks after I’d cleaned up and I really thought he was going to murder me. I tried to take him out the next night and set him up with this super-hot brunette at the motel bar but—”

“Alright! That’s enough!” you groaned. “Ugh… Why did I think this conversation would help…” you murmured, slumping over on the kitchen island.

“What’s the matter?”

You spun around to see Sam standing in the doorway and you straightened up, a worry line creased between your brows. “What’s going on?” you asked hesitantly.

Sam smiled widely and closed the gap between the two of your quickly, clasping your face gently and crashing his lips down onto yours in a fiery kiss that left you feeling dazed and weak at the knees. You almost stumbled backwards to regain your balance but Sam’s hand on your lower back steadied you.

“Get a room!” Dean scoffed from the other side of the kitchen, but he was roundly ignored.

Sam brushed your hair away from your face when you broke apart and you were just looking up at him with a doe-eyed expression that made him laugh. “There’s nothing to worry about,” he said. “She came to apologize and—” he shook his head and laughed again.

“What?” you pressed him.

“—and inform me that I’m in love with you,” he explained, giving you a pointed look.

You stared at him, stunned, trying to process what he’d just said.

“And she wants her sister back,” he added. “I told her that I didn’t think she really lost you in the first place,” he said.

You felt a bubble of emotion grow in your chest, fit to burst, and you nodded as you looked up at Sam. He wrapped you into a tight hug briefly, and then laced his fingers with yours and started back toward the hallway. “Wait—” You stopped him and he looked back at you. “She’s—she’s okay with this?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I really think she is. That’s why she’s here. She said you and I deserve to be happy.”

You blinked away the tears stinging your eyes and nodded, following Sam out and under the high ceilings of the war room. And there she was. Your sister. Standing nervously in the middle of the room, her hands wringing anxiously. You gulped and let Sam help you hobble across the floor to her.

“Hi,” she said weakly, almost afraid to meet your eyes.

“Hey,” you returned.

“I’ll give you two a minute,” Sam said, his hand slipping from your lower back. Your sister watched the way you glanced at him over your shoulder, and how he looked back at the threshold. Anyone could see that the eye contact between the two of you was magnetic and there was an unmistakable softness.

“I guess the big, dramatic newsflash I thought I was bringing wasn’t needed,” your sister said.

You turned and met her eyes, your cheeks coloring. There was a tense pause and then she blurted out, “I’m sorry” at the same time as you burst out with the same thing. The two of you gave each other surprised looks before you both started laughing with relief.

“Me first,” she said. “I’m so sorry I lied to you. And—and about all the rest of it. I behaved like a piece of shit…”

You sighed. “I’m sorry I was so hard on you.”

“You shouldn’t be,” she said, shaking her head. “You weren’t. I deserved it.”

Another long silence settled before she stepped forward suddenly and wrapped you in a tight hug. You returned it eagerly, wrapping your arms around her and squeezing extra tight.

“I’m so happy for you and Sam. Truly,” she murmured into your shoulder.

You pulled back, hesitant. “Are you? Really? I was worried—”

She shook her head. “It feels like our relationship ended a long time ago. I shouldn’t have held on so long. Any idiot could see he was already gone,” she said with a sad smile. “I’m not here to charge back into your life or anything. I need to find my own place in the universe but—I miss my sister,” she said, a tear breaking free and rolling down her cheek. She hurriedly wiped it away.

“I’m right here. You’ve still got me,” you said. “And I miss you too. Even when I don’t like you, I still love you. We’re family.”

“But you and Sam need space. You deserve space,” she said. “I’m gonna stay back home for a while. Figure out who I am and what the hell I’m doing with my life.”

“You have to at least stay for dinner,” came a voice from the doorway. Sam. “I insist.”

Your sister glanced at you with a question on her brow. You nodded. “Please.”

She smiled and nodded. “If you’ll have me.”

You linked your arm with her, and although you hadn’t completely forgiven her, you felt like a weight you hadn’t realized you were carrying on your shoulders was suddenly gone. But your thoughts were quickly interrupted.

“Um—Are you going to tell me what the hell you did to yourself?” she asked, watching you limp and taking in the bruises she could see.

You laughed. “Oh, you know. Witches. The usual.”

Sam linked his hand with yours as you reached him, and the three of you found Dean in the kitchen. His initial reception of your sister was understandably icy, but he warmed slowly as you all sat down over a beer and he watched you and Sam interacting with her easily. That meant something, and that was good enough for him.

After dinner, you hugged her tightly again and she waved from the threshold of the door leading outside, promising to call. As Sam shut the door behind her and heaved a relieved sigh you grinned at him.

“Well, I didn’t see that coming,” he said as he reached the bottom of the stairs. His hands landed on your hips.

“Me either,” you agreed, smiling up at him. “But I’m relieved. I didn’t realize how worried and stressed I was about it.”

“We can’t have that,” Sam said. He bent and kissed the top of your head as you wrapped your arms around him tightly and leaned against his strong chest. “I’ve got a favor to ask you,” he said.

“Hmm?”

“Would you let me hold you all night? You seem to be a magic cure for poor sleep,” he said, feeling a little sheepish asking but wanting it more than anything.

“Alright, cheater. I’m gonna go get us some more drinks while you finish out your ill-gotten turn,” he said, giving you a last scolding look. You only returned a satisfied smile and began lining up your next shot. You didn’t see Sam pause on his way over to the bar to take another look at you over his shoulder. There was warmth on his face as he laughed to himself and signaled to the bartender. He returned in a couple minutes with two drinks and immediately let out a laugh when he saw the table was cleared except for his balls and the cue ball.

“Looks like you lost, Sam,” you said accepting a glass from him and wiggling your eyebrows.

“It looks that way, but did I actually lose if my opponent cheated me out of the game?”

“It’s not my fault you can’t shoot based on pure instinct like me,” you retorted, grinning at him and taking a deep drink of the whiskey in your glass. “If I had waited for you to take that shot, you’d probably still be standing there ‘doing geometry’,” you teased him.

Sam laughed and crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m not playing with you anymore!”

“Good,” you said, putting your pool cue away in the rack on the wall. “Because I usually like to finish a game faster than if I were playing my dead grandmother.”

Sam gave you another look and shook his head, but he too stashed his cue away on the wall rack. You grabbed a nearby stool at a high-top table and he came over to join you, sipping his drink. “This is good,” you said with a content sigh and a small smile still on your face. “I needed to blow off some steam after today.”

Sam nodded in agreement, his eyes wandering over your face freely while you glanced around the bar. “Yeah. Same here. But I hope Dean isn’t too upset we went out without him…”

You laughed. “Who cares? We invited him. He’s the one who decided to stay at the hotel and pout.”

Sam nodded in agreement. “It’s true,” he said, sipping his drink. “I just hope he doesn’t purposely try to be unpleasant when we get back…”

You snorted with laughter into your drink. “He can be unpleasant enough without trying,” you laughed also drawing laughter from Sam.

“Yeah… imagine growing up with him. Add some father issues and teenage hormones into the mix… Yikes.”

You smirked at Sam. “You mean to say that you don’t have father issues?” you teased him, your skepticism lifting one eyebrow.

Sam let out a loud laugh that lit up his whole face. “No, I don’t mean to imply that at all. I have father issues. I have hella father issues,” he laughed and you joined him, giving him a somewhat sympathetic look. “No point in trying to lie to you, Y/N, we all know it.”

You nodded and stared down into your drink. “Well, hey, um—same,” you laughed. You downed the rest of your drink and continued your evening with Sam full of laughter and also quite full of drinks. The time passed easily, swapping hunting stories and goofing around. And by the time the two of you left the bar to walk back to the motel only a few blocks away you were a little unsteady on your feet. In fact, you missed the small step coming outside and Sam put an arm out to catch you as you stumbled.

You pressed a hand to your face, which was red, and laughed at yourself. “Woops. I seem to be a little bit drunker than I expected,” you laughed.

“Shocking with the way you’re always bragging about how you can hold your liquor,” Sam teased you. His arm was still around you and there was a beat where you looked up into his hazel eyes and your lips parted slightly to speak, but you suddenly couldn’t get the words out. Sam’s eyes were just… wow. Both of you seemed to perceive the sudden tension in the air between you and Sam felt a tightness in his throat and slipped his arm from around you. You cleared your throat a little nervously and tucked a stray strand of hair behind your ear.

What the hell was that? you wondered, your heart still racing in your chest. You’d never felt that before with Sam… Had you? You walked the short distance back to the hotel, managing to fall back into conversation easily but the mood seemed to changed again as you neared your room, which was only a few doors down from the one Sam and Dean were sharing. Sam hovered nearby to make sure you got in okay. You slipped the key into the lock and turned it, the clank of the deadbolt unlatching sounding loud in the quiet of the parking lot. You turned around to look at Sam and gave him a small smile. “Tonight was fun,” you said. His hands were crammed into his pockets, and you didn’t know it, but it was because he was suddenly inexplicably nervous. And he couldn’t stop looking at the color of your eyes, richer and deeper in the shadows of the inky night around you.

“Yeah, it really was. I should let you cheat at pool more often,” he joked, his heart leaping a little when you laughed.

“Or maybe we should piss Dean off more often?”

“I don’t think he needs any help with that,” Sam laughed again. “Well…”

“Well.” You didn’t know you were doing it, but you subconsciously were biting your bottom lip, and there was a wave of warmth slowly expanding in your chest, rising up like the tide.

Goddammit, Sam thought, and he just went for it. The tension between the two of you was unbearable and he couldn’t just let it fade again. Maybe it was just the booze… Probably it was just the booze, right? But he wrapped an arm around your lower back and his other hand slid into your hair, and he was suddenly pulling you in against him and kissing you with a heat and insistence that was overwhelming, and you were stunned but instantly kissing him back with the same fervor.

Suddenly he pulled back, out of breath, his eyes wide, searching your face, which was locked in an expression of stunned surprise, but with a disbelieving smile thrown in. “Wh—what was that?” you asked, your voice breathy.

Sam shook his head, his eyes still wide. “I don’t—I don’t know,” he said, still holding you. “Oh God—” he said suddenly. “I shouldn’t have done that. You’re drunk,” he said guiltily. “I don’t want—I’m not trying to take advantage of you. I’m so sorry!” He started to release his hold on you and back away but you interrupted him.

“Shut up,” you said forcefully. “And kiss me again. And I swear to God, Sam, I am giving you permission to take advantage of me.” Sam gulped at your words. “I want you to take full advantage of me and if you don’t I will 100% take advantage of you,” you said, a smile growing on your face with each word.

Sam stared down at you still in his arms for another moment with wide eyes, disbelieving. “…Are you sure?”

You nodded. “God, yes.”

And that was it. Sam was kissing you feverishly again and you were sinking into him. He pressed against you and you backed up into your hotel room, Sam carelessly kicking the door hard to shut behind you. You suddenly felt his hands on your ass and laughed into the kiss as he picked you up so you were straddling him, your arms around his neck. You sighed as his lips moved from yours to your neck, one of his hands now splayed out on your back and wandering up to tangle his fingers in your hair. His lips found yours again and you gently bit his bottom one. Sam immediately deepened the kiss and the next moment you let out a gasp as you tumbled down onto the bed with Sam over you. You broke apart for a moment, both wearing matching grins, out of breath, hearts racing, searching the others eyes and seeing the same fiery desire. Sam bit his bottom lip and shook his head vaguely, like he couldn’t believe this was happening, which only widened your smile.

You pulled him in again to crash his lips into yours again, feeling his hands wandering over your curves and edges hungrily, and yours doing the same. You slipped one hand underneath his shirt and scratched your nails lightly down his back. The feeling of the powerful, tense muscles under his skin making your head feel suddenly fuzzy. Sam let out a sigh and his hand squeezed your hip. What happened next was a sizzling whirlwind. Suddenly you were both just skin on skin, gasps and moans of pleasure, your nails digging into his back, his shoulder. Sam planting kisses along your collarbone, his breath hot on your neck, hair rising with goose bumps and electricity. His fingers fitting between yours, palms squeezed together, hips moving in unison. Sam’s fingers tangling in your hair, tugging it just enough to turn your head so he could kiss your neck, drag his teeth lightly over your earlobe, the feeling of the rough stubble on his face exhilarating. You laughed and squealed as Sam pulled you on top of him, his fingers digging into your hips, his face overwhelmed with the feel of you, the sight of you. Another few minutes and he had you pinned below him again, his eyes locked with yours for a long moment before your lips met again in a passionate kiss. The waves of pleasure were building toward the top of the crescendo and you were overcome with sensations. Sam’s fingers interlaced with yours and he broke the kiss to look down at your expression as you reached the height of pleasure, gasping out his name and squeezing his hand tight in yours, completely overcome. Sam did the same, capturing you in another kiss as the waves white-capped and started to recede, his kiss growing softer, and soon you were both just heaving gasping breaths through unsure smiles.

He fell into bed beside you and let out a disbelieving laugh, looking over at you, his eyes flitting between yours. You could feel that your face and chest were flushed and you shyly smiled at him, nervously chewing the inside of your cheek. Sam’s fingers lightly brushed the strands of hair away from your eyes, studying your expression. You giggled and bit your bottom lip again, rolling over on your back to stare up at the ceiling. Sam watched your eyelashes flicker as your blinked.

“That was, umm… a little unexpected,” you said, turning to catch his eyes again.

His mouth fell slightly open and he mouthed wordlessly for a moment, which only brought another wide smile to your lips and a hot blush in your cheeks. “I didn’t—did that really just happen?” he laughed.

You nodded. “I’m pretty sure…”

Sam propped himself up on one elbow so he could study your face again and then clasped it gently and kissed you. It was soft but somehow still intense and you felt starry-eyed when he drew away. You could see every fleck of multifaceted color in his eyes and you were grateful to be laying down because it felt like everything suddenly shifted at that moment. You were dizzy from Sam.

“Can I just say… it’s weird how natural that felt?” he said. “I mean—nothing was awkward or… I don’t know.” A surprised smile was on his face and your heart skipped a beat.

“I was kind of thinking the same thing,” you said. Sam reached over and slipped his arm underneath you before pulling you close against him. You rested your head on his shoulder and your hand on his strong chest. You could feel his heart still pounding like yours.

“I mean, honestly,” he said, “I’ve been dating people where our first time was waaaay more awkward.”

You laughed and pressed a hand over your face as you blushed again. “Same,” you agreed.

“Hey, come on. Don’t be hiding those blushes! I earned those!” Sam said, gently taking your hand and pulling it away from your face. He laced his fingers with yours again and his expression softened. “What are you thinking right now?” he asked you.

You chewed your bottom lip thoughtfully for a moment. “Mmm… I’m thinking ‘Thank God Dean didn’t come out tonight.’” You grinned up at him and he returned it.

“Me too.”

Not long after, both of you sunk in to one another, and after Sam captured you again in another soft kiss, you drifted off to sleep.

_ _ _ _ _ _

Dean woke up fairly early, having gone to bed much before his usual time in frustration with the research he was attempting. He was surprised he didn’t wake up when Sam came back in but a glance over at Sam’s bed explained why. It was undisturbed. And the next moment Dean was on his feet in alarm, his mind immediately rushing to worst case scenarios. He checked his phone to see if Sam had left a message or sent a text with an explanation. Nothing. Dean quickly threw on some clothes and stepped out into the early morning light, pistol at his hip, making a beeline straight for your room to see if you knew where Sam was.

He faltered as he approached. Your room key was still in the lock, dangling down. Dean gulped. Something was seriously not right here… Adrenaline started to flow into Dean’s veins and he gulped at the tightness in his throat. He withdrew his pistol and carefully grasped the doorknob, testing it ever so slightly to see if it was unlocked. It was loose. He heaved a steadying breath, gritted his teeth, and burst in through the door.

The crash startled you and Sam awake and you let out a scream and instinctively reached for your knife on the bedside table. Sam had his gun up and aimed at the figure in the doorway, who was silhouetted by the morning light and thus difficult to make out clearly until his eyes adjusted. Sam was protectively shielding you behind him. When you saw who had just burst in you let out a string of expletives and in your attempts to duck beneath the sheet accidentally fell out of the bed.

Dean’s face contorted into shocked perplexity and he lowered his gun. “…Sam?”

“Uhh…” Sam’s eyes went round as he stared at his brother, now also lowering his gun. He turned his attention to you where you were on the floor by the far side of the bed, thankfully still wrapped in the sheet. “Are you alright?” Sam asked you.

“I’m fine,” you said softly, looking up at him, feeling your face burn. You stayed put on the floor, hiding just below the edge of the bed.

Dean was watching the scene before him with his mouth hanging open in confusion and disbelief. “This is—this is Y/N’s room,” he said. He turned to look at the number on the door as if to confirm he hadn’t gotten the room wrong and burst into a random one that simply happened to have Sam in it.

Sam cleared his throat uncomfortably and looked back at his brother. “Uhh… yep…”

Dean’s brow lowered heavily over his eyes. “Did you—“ he cleared his throat and asked in a near-whisper, “—did you bring a girl back to Y/N’s room???”

Sam’s lips tightened into a thin line. Dean was really not putting this together. Apparently in his mind you and Sam hooking up was not even the shadow of a possibility. Sam avoided his eyes and pulled the blanket up. “Dean—would you mind getting the hell out of here?”

“Oh—right. Yeah, but… umm… where’s Y/N? Did she hook up too?” he asked in surprise. Down on the floor your pressed an exasperated hand to your face.”

Sam nodded, his eyebrows lifting. “Mhm. You know, I think she did. So. If you don’t mind…”

Dean seemed to come back to his senses. “Heh—right. Sorry. I don’t normally burst into hotel rooms but your bed wasn’t slept in and I thought something bad had happened and—” he pulled the key out of the door and tossed it on the spare bed, “—then I saw the key in the door—Y’know, sorry. I’m sorry. I’m going,” he said, his face finally cracking into a boyish smirk. “Way to go, Sammy,” he said over his shoulder as he stepped out and shut the door.

Sam let out an exasperated noise and fell back onto the pillow, one hand in his hair. He glanced over in your direction, but you were still apparently hiding on the floor. “Hey—Y/N?”

Your voice drifted up over the edge. “Yeah…”

Sam laughed a little to himself. “Are you okay?”

“…yeah.”

“Well, Dean’s gone. You can come back up here,” Sam said, a question in his voice.

“Umm… I know…”

Sam heard some uncertainty in your voice and he rolled over across your side of the bed to peer down at you. “What’s the matter?”

You chewed your bottom lip and shrugged. “I mean, that wake up call wasn’t great…”

Sam laughed and nodded in agreement. “Yeah… Listen, I had something much better in mind, so can we start over?”

Your eyes flitted up to his but still looked a little unsure.

“Please? I need you back up here though…”

You took in the pleading expression on his face and the soft, warm light in his eyes and you couldn’t resist. You slid back into bed beside him and Sam’s face immediately broke into a warm smile.

“Alright, now come here,” he said, wrapping an arm around you and pulling you in close just the way you had been before Dean burst in. Your heart was beating fast with nerves. “Now, close your eyes,” Sam said. You did as he asked and for a long moment he just studied your face and waited for you to sink in against him. Sam gently turned toward you and you felt his hand caress your cheek so lightly it was like a breeze, and then his lips met yours with a soft, sweet kiss. “Good morning,” he said. You could feel his voice reverberate in his chest and your eyes shot open to look right into Sam’s. You couldn’t help the small smile that grew on your face to match his. “Better?” he asked.

“So much better.” You had hardly finished answering when Sam captured you in another kiss, and this one you returned with fervor.

Sam’s eyes were flitting between yours when you broke apart and he relished the sight of the blush on your face. “Listen, if you don’t feel this way that’s okay but I want to put this out there. On my end,” Sam started, licking his lips because he was feeling suddenly nervous, “this did not feel at all like a ‘hook up’ regardless of how it may have started.”

You laughed through a wide smile. “You mean, you taking ‘full advantage of me’?”

Sam laughed. “You remember that, huh? Not gonna lie… that was super hot.” This only drew more laughter from you and increased the heat in your face and chest. “But really, I think I always wanted this, but I didn’t admit it to myself until it was already happening.” He rubbed a hand anxiously across the back of his neck. “If that makes any sense.”

You felt wildly happy in that moment and you grabbed him and pulled him into a passionate kiss, his arms wrapping around you immediately, his fingers lightly tracing over the bare skin on your back. “It makes perfect sense,” you said. “Because I feel the exact same way.”

Sam’s face lit up with a huge smile.

“One thing,” you asked. “How exactly are we going to explain this to Dean?”

Sam sighed and shook his head. “You know, it’s funny. I really don’t care.” He leaned back down onto his pillow. “The only thing I can think about right now is carrying you into a hot shower and taking advantage of you again.” Sam’s eyes darted over to your face.

Soon they were climbing into the Impala and Dean was speeding them out of the underground garage and down the road, going a lot faster than he usually did on that stretch of gravel. They turned onto the highway heading toward town. Sam’s heart was rushing and he had that unstable feeling of anxiety in the center of his chest right between his lungs. “Dean—is—” he had almost asked if you were okay. That was his first and worst thought. “Is everyone okay?” He watched his brother’s jaw tense.

“Healthwise? Technically speaking, yes,” Dean answered. His voice was deep and gruffer than usual and he was staring out through the windshield unflinchingly, his hands tense on the wheel. He accelerated the Impala even faster, far exceeding the speed limit.

“Well, what the hell is going on?” Sam asked again.

“There’s just something you need to see,” he said. “Just… trust me, okay?”

The silence without the usual blaring rock music was almost deafening, only the sound of the road noise humming as a backtrack to Sam’s muddled and uneasy state. There was another car visible ahead suddenly and Dean slowed, falling back to approximately the speed limit.

Sam patted his pocket and withdrew his phone, pressing his finger to the fingerprint sensor when he saw he had a text message. It was from your sister explaining that she gotten up early to go into town to have brunch with a friend. There was a second text from you. “Hey, Sleeping Beauty! Hope you slept okay on the couch. Where did you and Dean run off to and will you be back in time for waffles?” Sam shoved his phone back into his pocket and audibly sighed.

Dean finally glanced over at him. “What?”

Sam shook his head. “I just—I don’t know…” He rubbed a hand over his face. “What the hell am I doing?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean not being with Y/N! What the hell am I doing?!” he blurted out. “My actual girlfriend couldn’t even make time to take me to the doctor for a broken hand. And have you noticed she’s been gone basically… all the time lately?”

Dean cleared his throat his eyebrows lifting slightly before settled low over his green eyes again. “Yeah. Yeah, I have noticed actually,” he said.

Sam stared at him for a long moment. “So, what the hell am I doing?” he said again. “I should have been with Y/N this whole time… How exactly am I supposed to stop dating one sister and start dating the other? There is no way that ever happens in reality.” Sam pushed a hand back through his hair in frustration. He stared out the window without even really seeing the scenery flying past, and in no time they were in town and the Impala was crawling down Main Street and then suddenly Dean was pulling over at the curb across the street from the park in the center of town. Sam sighed again and shook his head. “Dean, will you please tell me what—”

“Look, across the street. About four cars up,” Dean interrupted.

“Is—is that—” It was your sister’s car. Sam sat up in his seat and there was suddenly a hard knot in his throat. “She said she was going to brunch…” he muttered.

“I don’t think they serve brunch in the park,” Dean said.

The brothers watched your sister climb out of her car. “Dean… pull up,” Sam said. He was staring through the windshield with the focus typical of a hunter on a stake-out. Dean shifted the Impala into gear and pulled forward. Now they had a clear view of your sister as she waited on a park bench not far from her car. They didn’t have to wait long before she stood up with a wide smile to greet a dark-haired guy who approached her. “She did say she was meeting a friend,” Sam said tentatively. But any doubt he had left about what he was really watching happen was dashed as she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, her body arching into his and his hands wrapping around her to her lower back.

“I don’t kiss my friends like that. Do you?” Dean said.

Sam gulped and his teeth clenched. That knot in his chest seemed to have grown and was stifling. He felt like he had been punched in the stomach. He felt sick. Sam watched as she laced her fingers with his and the two started out on one of the walking paths, eventually disappearing around a bend in the trees.

Dean sighed heavily and rested his hands on the steering wheel. “I’m really sorry, Sammy.”

The muscle in Sam’s jaw twitched and he finally tore his eyes away from the park across the street and stared straight ahead through the windshield. “How long?” he asked.

“I honestly don’t know,” Dean said.

Sam nodded vaguely, clearing having some internal dialogue. “I’ve been trying to find a way out of this thing for weeks… Longer even. But somehow this still feels—really, really shitty.”

“I know. No one feels good being lied to. And regardless of your feelings now, at one point you two did really like each other. I’m sorry, Sammy. We just couldn’t let you go on without knowing.” Sam’s eyes snapped over to Dean’s.

“We?” he repeated.

“Hmm?”

“We. You said ‘we.’ Y/N knows about this, too?”

Dean awkwardly scratched a non-existent itch on the back of his head and couldn’t meet Sam’s eyes. He really didn’t know how he would take this news. “She’s the one who first found out.”

Sam’s face clouded. “How? When?”

“Look, this is a lot. Let’s just head home and let you process this for a while… and then you can ask all the questions you want of me or Y/N,” Dean said. He started the Impala again and chanced a look over at his little brother. “It’s gonna be okay.” He wished more than anything in that moment that he could tell Sam that you felt the exact same way about him as he felt about you… but that wasn’t his to tell.

Sam didn’t respond. He was just staring down toward his cast. Dean could see definite turmoil in his eyes.

Sam felt like they had teleported home, he was so lost in his head the whole way. All of a sudden he looked up and they were back in the garage in the bunker. He climbed out of the Impala, feeling a little like he was in a daze. Dean shut his door and leaned on the roof of the car, taking in Sam’s somewhat defeated posture. He wished there was an easy fix. But this was one thing Dean couldn’t completely fix for his little brother. Sam was going to have to go through it and get to the other side.

You heard the familiar cadence of the Winchesters in the hallway and looked up from your coffee with a warm smile, but the look on both their faces turned you suddenly cold.

You looked at Dean and he nodded stiffly, giving you a significant look. Your eyes went to Sam. His eyes were downcast and his shoulders were somewhat slumped. Your stomach dropped. He looked so… worn.

“Sammy,” you said. His eyes lifted to meet yours. Dean quietly stepped out of the kitchen, leaving the two of you alone.

“You’ve only ever called me that a few times,” he said, a tiny, sad smile flitting across his lips briefly.

Your expression was gloomy, the familiar lines in your knit brow. You went to him and gently took his arm. “Come and sit down,” you said.

He let you lead him over to a stool at the island and shut his eyes at the sensation of your hand on his arm. You didn’t lift it, even once he was seated. You just waited—waited to see if he wanted to talk. Finally, he cleared his throat a little weakly and looked over at you. Your eyes were strikingly beautiful, fixated on him. “Dean—” he started.

You nodded. “He told you?” you offered.

Sam let out a breathy, sardonic laugh and his eyes rolled upward toward the ceiling for a moment. “He showed me actually.”

You gave him a questioning look. So, you hadn’t known where they went that morning. At least your text message wasn’t a lie, Sam thought bitterly. “We went into town and there she was… with some guy. Practically making out with him in broad daylight.”

There was an expanding hollow feeling in your chest. “I am so sorry,” you said.

“It’s not your fault,” he said.

“I’m still sorry.”

He rubbed his hand over his face. His eyes stayed shut for a moment. “She texted me and said she was meeting a friend for brunch.” He sighed. “God, I feel so stupid.”

“Hey. She’s the stupid one. Honestly. I don’t even feel like I know her anymore…” Sam’s hazel eyes opened again and met yours.

“She’s your family,” he said.

“So are you,” you said forcefully. Sam felt himself soften a little at those words.

“How long have you and Dean—?”

“Only a few days. I—the day we went to get your hand looked at. Remember I stopped for that coffee while you were in the car? I was waiting for your meds to be ready.” Sam nodded. “I saw them there in the café together. Definitely not her friend Sarah. I mean, she’s been lying to all of us.”

Sam shut his eyes and drew his bottom lip in between his teeth. “That’s why she was too busy to take me?”

You gulped again at the lump in your throat. “I’m so sorry.” There didn’t seem to be anything else to say. “Part of me wanted to blurt it out to you, to tell you immediately, but I wanted to give her the chance to at least somewhat redeem herself. I confronted her about it. I told her she had to tell you or that Dean and I would. And she didn’t tell you. I felt horrible the past few days, just waiting… knowing what I knew…”

Sam’s face lit with understanding. “That’s why you seemed off since the doctor’s office.”

“Yeah. You’re annoyingly good at reading me,” you said. “It had nothing to do with anything you did.”

Sam pulled his phone out of his pocket and unlocked the screen. “I got two texts this morning. She texted me to lie about where she was and what she was doing. You texted me about waffles,” he said with a strange look on his face and a bitter laugh. “I just—how did I not see this? Now that I know, of course, it seems so obvious. I feel like a complete idiot…” and he was thinking it wasn’t just for not seeing that he was being cheated on but for how much time he had wasted on her when he should have just been enjoying any time he could have with you. Your heart was aching for him. You didn’t know that at that moment his heart was aching for you, possibly more than it ever had. He had spent all this time torturing himself about betraying her, about having feelings for you, about living this lie he didn’t know how to extricate himself from… He should just grab you right then and there and kiss you, and damned be all the consequences. It felt like they didn’t matter anymore anyway… But all he did was sigh heavily again and rest his other hand over his cast in a way that was becoming a habit. He felt you still looking at him and glanced up again. Your eyes were sad. “You okay?” you asked softly.

He stared back at you, looking up at him so earnestly, so full of anxiety on his behalf, and he couldn’t help but give you a sad smile and watch intently as you pushed a stray strand of hair away from your face. You stood there, looking at him for a long moment even after he stared back down at his hands, and then finally you collapsed onto the stool next to him at the counter.

It was hard to tell how fast time was moving, but it didn’t matter. You could see clearly that Sam’s mind was spinning and you would have sat there next to him as long as he needed. Every once and a while he would turn and catch your eyes, and they would stay connected with yours for a long moment. The longer he held them the more tension the air seemed to buzz with but… now certainly wasn’t the time for—for anything. He was hurting. You told yourself that’s all it was. Eventually you broke the silence again to reassure him. “I want you to know that even though she’s my sister, she fucked up royally and… and that’s it I guess,” you said.

Sam’s brow knit down and he was just studying your face. You felt your cheeks redden a little.

Eventually Sam sighed heavily again and rubbed both his hands over his face. “I’m gonna go just… try to process this, I think.” He climbed to his feet and looked over at you again. “Thanks for everything, for watching out for me, for being here…” You nodded.

“Of course.” His tall frame disappeared into the hallway and his footsteps faded deeper into the bunker. You headed for the front room, looking for Dean. You found him in the library listening to music and stepped in to join him.

Dean looked up. “Hey,” he said, pulling his headphones out. His voice seemed extra deep and gruff. You collapsed onto the other end of the sofa and copied his position, putting your feet up on the coffee table.

You looked over at Dean who was giving you a questioning expression. “How is he doing?”

You just shrugged.

“Did—did he say anything to you?” Dean asked, watching your expression carefully. Part of him thought Sam would just admit his feelings for you immediately.

You looked over at Dean, one eyebrow cocked slightly. “What do you mean? Like what?”

Dean shrugged; the corners of his lips pulled down in a frown. “I don’t know… Anything.”

“Not really. No. I think he’s just trying to wrap his mind around it still,” you said, shutting your eyes and leaning your head back against the couch.

“He wasn’t mad you didn’t tell him right away, was he?” Dean asked.

“No. Not at all.”

Dean nodded and sighed heavily. “Good. Well, this will be fun…” he said cynically, more to himself than to you. “What are you doing today?”

You blew out a jet of air, trying to get your muscles to cease their tensing. “ I don’t know. But I need to do something to distract me. If I just sit around here waiting for the other shoe to drop I’ll go insane.”

“Same,” Dean said, climbing to his feet. “Come on. Let’s give your car a check-up. It’ll keep us both occupied. And I can give you a pop quiz about the engine parts again,” he said, a small smile tugging at one corner of his mouth.

“I will for sure fail this quiz…” you said, but you got to your feet and walked with him to the garage. The door to Sam’s room was tightly shut and you glanced at it with a lurch in your stomach as you passed it.

You and Dean were both leaning over the engine compartment of your car when the overhead garage door opened and your sister pulled in. You felt your jaw tense but you simply turned back to what you were doing. “Dean, move your hands. I can freakin’ do it,” you said.

“Well, you’re not pushing hard enough. You have to push it in and then the whole thing will pop up.”

“I’m trying! If someone would move their giant hands and give me some room to work—”

“Giant hands? Really? My hands are normal sized, okay. You have tiny hands.” Dean snarked back. He straightened up and stared at you. “Big enough to hold a gun,” you countered with a pointed look.

Dean laughed gruffly. “You do remember that I am helping you right now? If you don’t start being nicer, I’m gonna start billing you by the hour for my labor.”

“Your labor?? I’m doing all the work here!”

“None of which you would know how to do without me explicitly telling you exactly what to—” Dean broke off as your sister came into view, heading toward the bunker with her head down. She chanced a glance over at you and Dean, obviously drawn by the sound of your bickering. You sent her a dagger of a look back and she quickly looked away.

Dean sighed audibly beside you and you looked over at him. “Here we go…”

_ _ _ _ _ _

You and Dean had delayed in the garage as long as you could, but at some point you had to come back in, and as you got closer to your bedroom you could now hear yelling coming from Sam and your sister’s room, echoing up the hallway even through the closed door. You exchanged an uneasy look with Dean whose jaw clenched.

“Great…” he muttered.

You frowned. “I can’t listen to this… I will literally sleep in my car tonight if I have to.”

“Whatever. I’m just gonna blast some Metallica in my headphones.”

“You can fall asleep to that?” you asked him, dubious.

“It’s like a sweet, sweet lullaby,” he said, smiling. His smile faded fast though.

“Kitchen?” you suggested. Dean nodded and you both rushed away from the sound.

Neither of you was really that hungry but you cooked dinner together anyway, again, just for an activity to occupy the time. You were hoping that by the time you had forced down some food and cleaned up that the worst of it would be over. However, when you and Dean dared to venture farther back into the bunker you were surprised to still hear a loud back and forth discussion.

Dean sighed. “Well… I guess we’ll just have to see what this looks like in the light of day.”

“I guess so,” you agreed. “I call dibs on the couch…”

“It’s all yours. Rock and roll time. Night, Y/N,” Dean said, giving you a friendly hug. You gave him a forced smile and murmured a goodnight in return.

_ _ _ _ _ _

You awoke, feeling a little groggy. Your night of sleep had been fitful and you didn’t feel well rested. You also had no idea what time it was. You got up and moved through the silent bunker and into the kitchen. It was quite early still, almost 5 am. You filled a glass from the tap, feeling suddenly thirsty, and leaned back against the counter. All you could think about was what the possibilities were as a result of the previous night’s events…

You were wide awake now, despite the bad night of sleep, and your mind was spinning. You were wandering back toward your bedroom, grateful that there was no sound echoing out from anywhere—but you were suddenly seized by an intense worry.

What if even after all that, they were still together… You froze with one hand on the wall of the hallway, feeling suddenly sick. That wasn’t possible, right? Sam wouldn’t stay with someone who had done that to him… Trust was important to him. You knew that. But still the thought circled in your mind, a nagging, incessant little thing. And it was just then that you heard a door opening down the hall and you looked up to see Sam wandering in your direction. He looked tired, worn. He was still in the clothes he had been wearing yesterday, just like you were. When he saw you, frozen with one hand on the wall, his forehead creased as his brow drew down.

You straightened up and met his eyes, crossing your arms over your chest a little in your anxiety. Sam drifted toward you and met you in the middle of the hall. It was almost a surreal moment, the two of you finding each other there in the early morning after what felt like a storm had blown through.

“Hey,” you managed.

“Hey.”

“Umm… are you… alright?” you ventured.

Sam rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “Yeah… I’m okay,” he said in a whisper, trying to keep his voice low since he knew Dean was probably still asleep down the hall. “Exhausted, but… okay. As much as I can be anyway.” You were wearing an expression of profound concern and he almost smiled at it. “Library?” he asked.

You nodded. “Sure. I’ll be right there.” Sam gave you a tight smile and headed down the hall slowly. You slipped into your room and stared at your reflection, smoothing the flyaways in your hair and trying to steady yourself and at least slow the swirling thoughts. You just wanted this whole mess to be over, to be done with. For everyone’s sake. You changed into some comfortable clothes, and wandered back to the library.

Sam was sitting on one end of the couch, a throw pillow in his lap, his cast propped on top of it. The blanket you had slept under was sprawled over the other end and spilling onto the floor.

“You slept here last night?” he asked as you sat down on the opposite end.

“Uhh… kinda. Not much actual sleep to be honest. Was kind of just worrying. You know me… I’m a worrier,” you said with a tight smile.

Sam nodded. “Not much sleep on my end either… I’m sorry about the noise,” he said, averting his eyes, clearly embarrassed.

“Don’t be,” you said quickly. “I considered beating the shit out of her so… so the yelling is more than understandable.”

Sam gave you a sad smile but was grateful for your words. You had concern lines between your eyebrows, but your eyes were warm and clear and quite steady on his face. “Do you want to talk about it?” you asked him.

Sam sighed heavily and rubbed his hands over his face, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. He was clearly exhausted, emotionally and physically. “There’s not much to say really. I mean… it’s over. She pretty hurriedly packed all her stuff and just left around 2:30.” He glanced back over at you. “I’m sorry—this must be weird for you,” he said. He had tried to talk himself out of it, but somewhere inside he was still clinging to the thought that losing your sister was going to result in him losing you in some way, and that scared him more than anything. “I’m sorry you’re in the middle of it.”

You gave him a stunned look. “Sam… come on. I’m not in the middle of anything. I’m the last thing you should be worrying about,” you said, fiddling with the hem of your sleeve.

“Well… Anyway, to be honest, I think in some ways she and I were both to blame.”

You shook your head at him. “No. Whatever else was happening, there is no excuse to cheat on someone,” you said forcefully.

Sam shrugged vaguely. “I don’t know… I think I’d become sort of—distant and… inaccessible to her. So, I can’t really blame her all that much.” He rubbed at the shadow of stubble along his strong jaw. “I mean… I don’t know. Things didn’t feel right for a long time. But I wasn’t sure what to do about it.” He let out a scoff of a laugh. “I was scared, I guess.”

“Scared?” you prompted.

Sam’s eyes locked with yours again. “Yeah. Just… not sure what it would mean for everything… I mean, she was like family once. At one time things were better. And you’re like family. I was just scared about disrupting everything.” You nodded, your heart beating a little faster. You wanted to ask him more about what he meant but you also didn’t want to press him. “Where did she go?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t even ask…” he trailed off. “Sorry. I should have.”

You waved him off. “No. You had bigger things to think about, I’m sure. I can always call her later. If she’ll even talk to me…”

Sam glanced over at you and could read more worry on your face. “She wasn’t mad at you—I mean, not really. I think she was ashamed more than anything. I have a feeling that when the dust settles she’s going to need her sister,” he said.

You looked down at your hands again, picking at a loose string at the end of your sleeve. “Yeah, well… I’m pretty mad at her.”

The silence stretched then until you decided what you both needed at that moment was a hot cup of coffee. It was always like a fresh start to a new day. You climbed to your feet and Sam gave you a questioning look. “I’m gonna put some coffee on. I’ll be right back,” you said. You were just moving past him when he spoke again.

“Promise?” he asked.

You stopped and gave him an inquisitive look. “Hmm?”

“That you’ll be right back?”

Sam was looking up at you, sleep in his eyes, asking such a simple question, but it made your heart flutter. You gave him a fond look and slid your fingers gently into his hair for a brief moment, pushing it back away from his face, surprised at your own daring. His eyes closed at your touch. “I promise,” you said. “I’ll be right back.” It was a new day. And you felt like, maybe not right away, but soon there might be new possibilities for you and Sam.

Nola’s mouth hung open in awe. She couldn't believe the words she had just heard coming out of Sam’s mouth. He wanted her as his mate, to claim her and make her his for life. The mere rush of excitement those words sent through her body was unlike anything she had ever felt. She had a few guys over the years tell her she was beautiful and that they wanted to be with her, but having Sam say it awoke something in her. Something primal and long locked away. Something she hadn’t even known existed until now.

She moved a little closer to Sam. “You want me to be your mate?” She whispered, tongue darting out to lick her lips.

Sam watched her, eyes darkening with lust. He had to fight back the possessive growl that wanted to rumble out of him at having her so close. It had been one thing to have her touching him and in his personal space when he was a wolf and couldn’t actually do anything. Now he was human and he could easily scoop her up and take her. He wanted to lay her over the table, rip her clothes off and have his way with her. But he pushed that down. He needed to keep his head clear as they talked things out.

“Yes. That is exactly what I want.” He grabbed her hand and laced their fingers together.

“Why?”

He pursed his lips and hummed. “There’s something about you that calls out to me. To all of me. The wolf in me and the man. I want you as mine. I want to protect you, take care of you, and make you feel good. I want to claim you as mine in every way.”

She bit her lip, drawing his gaze there once more. “What would that entail exactly? Would I have to quit my job? Do I have to keep you a secret?” As much as she wanted this she knew they needed to work out some stuff before she agreed.

He frowned. “I would never ask you to quit your job. If you like it then keep working. I understand that you want some independence and that’s fine. You don’t have to keep me a secret, but you do have to keep what I am a secret. People can’t know what I am or it’ll bring hunters down on us. Even though my pack doesn’t harm people, there are wolves out there that will and those kind attract too much attention as it is. Also no going into the woods unless I’m with you. My pack will welcome you with open arms and never try to harm you, but the other pack will.”

She nervously nodded. The thought of some other werewolf taking her and doing harm frightened her. With Sam she felt safe and wanted, but these other wolves sounded like they may rip her apart for the fun of it. She curled up and shook her head. She didn’t want anything to do with the other pack or the woods if she could avoid it.

Sam squeezed her hand. “You’ll be safe with me. I can take you to my home anytime you want. My pack-mates won’t hurt you.”

“It’s not them I’m worried about or you, Sam. I promise not to go into the woods without you. Honestly after last night I had no desire to go into the woods ever again. I will though, to see your home and meet the others.”

“You will? So you’re okay with becoming my mate then?”

Nola kissed his cheek, lingering for just a moment. Sam smelled like the forest and peppermint. It was a musky smell and she was already hooked on it. “Yes, I’ll be your mate. I want to take things slow like a normal relationship and get to know one another, but yes I want this.”

He gazed into her eyes, searching for any hint of hesitation or fear. He found none. He grinned and pulled her into his lap. Pressing a kiss to the side of her neck he let out a soft sigh. “We’ll take it slow. Do things at your pace. I won’t claim you until you’re ready to be completely mine in every way.” He was a patient man. Eager and more than ready to have her as his, but patient. He would never push her to do something she wasn’t comfortable with.

A shiver went down Nola’s spine at the kiss. It had been simple and chaste, but the feeling of his warm, soft lips upon her skin had sent her mind running wild. She wanted to feel them elsewhere, to watch him devour her, let him swallow her moans. She pressed her legs together as she grew wet and a little needy. She had barely known Sam for a few hours and already her body wanted to know his in the most carnal of ways. It shocked her. This wasn’t the type of girl she was. Or was it?

Was she someone that would jump into bed with someone she hardly knew? Or was it just Sam with his lean hard muscles, his kissable lips, his broad shoulders, and animalistic pull that made her feel like a horny teenager; a woman in heat. She was inclined to believe it was all him as no one had ever caused her to react like this before.

Biting her lip she tilted her head to gaze up at him. “You said we could do this like a normal couple right? So how about a proper date before anything physical happens between us?”

“I’m perfectly fine with that. I could cook you dinner here if you want and we can watch movies. Or I could take you somewhere in town. I normally don’t venture there if I can avoid it, but I’m willing to do it for you.”

Nola hummed and tapped her fingers on the table. “How about we go to the hotel tomorrow? I can have room service brought to a room. It’s private and you wouldn’t have to do the work.”

“That sounds perfect. We can go there tomorrow at seven?”

“I’ll meet you at the Roadhouse Inn at seven tomorrow.”

It would be the perfect day. Nothing overly fancy yet still nice and the two of them would be able to spend the evening getting to know one another.

****