Howl.

"I'm working late tonight, so you won't see me until tomorrow morning, alright?" Mom stared at us from her position behind the couch. "And I don't want any funny business while I'm gone. You hear me?"

I laughed quietly, but nodded, squeezing Embry's hand. It'd been almost two weeks since we'd been back from Arkansas, and although Sam and Emily insisted that they throw another bonfire, Embry and I were content with just.. being home. "Go to work, Mom," I said, waving her away.

She said something else about working late, but I wasn't listening anymore. My attention had turned to Embry's oversized hand, and as I traced my fingers along the lines in his palm, I pondered. Mom left quietly, and it wasn't long before Embry took his hand from me and sighed.

"What?" I whined.

Embry grabbed my waist and pulled me into his lap. "I love you. I really, really love you." He kissed my neck and cheek. I smiled, and laughed quietly, shifting my weight around so that I now straddled him.

Bringing my hands up to his face, I pecked his lips with a kiss. "I'm glad you said it first," I whispered, "because I have been trying to say that for ever." He looked at me, a small smile on his face. Embry's golden brown eyes glimmered in the flourescent light of the lamp at the end of the couch. We were quiet for a few long moments, and as I listened to him breathe, I chewed on my bottom lip in thought. "I love you, Embry," I finally said, letting out a breath.

When he kissed me, I closed my eyes and twirled my fingers through his short hair (and despite how much he told me that my long hair would affect the length of my fur, I still refused to cut mine). Embry played with the hem of my shirt, and pushed it up only slightly, brushing his fingers across my skin. A shiver went down my spine.

"Are you alright, Lil?" Embry asked after breaking his lips away.

"What do you mean?" I pressed my forehead against his. I loved being close to Embry. "I'm fine."

"I just .. we've got the house to ourselves and you're sitting in my lap." He made a weird face, but I tried not to make too much of it. "I don't want to do anything you don't want to."

"Oh." I sat back, and brushed my fingers down his cheeks. Embry only stared at me, but I couldn't tell what he was thinking. He was normally pretty easy to read. I licked my lips. "I'm ok. If I want to stop, you'll know." With a small smile, I leaned in and kissed him, my eyes closed. Embry smiled into the kiss, and started playing with my shirt hem again.

Taking a handful of his shirt, I climbed out of his lap and dragged him with. I bumped into the coffee table as I tried to walk backwards up the stairs, and right as we came to the first step, I fell. "Do you need help?" Embry asked, laughing. I stood up and snatched his hand, pulling him up the staircase to my bedroom.

"I love you," I whispered against his neck. He shut the door behind him and we stood there for a moment. Embry wrapped his arms around my back and held me against him.

Without hesitation, I reached through his arms and pulled my shirt over my head, revealing my ugly black bra, the one that I'd been wearing since the end of my freshman year. It was old, and at any moment I was expecting the underwire to come out, or the clasps to break. Embry slipped out of his shirt and threw it on the floor. I tried not to get distracted by his body, because it wasn't something that I hadn't seen before. But maybe it was the situation. We inched over to my bed, staring at each other.

The sheets felt good against my skin, and I became overwhelmed with all of the strange new sensations: Embry's skin on mine, that weird tingling feeling between my legs, the breeze from my open window, the crisp temperature of the sheets...

Embry pressed his face into the crook of my neck, and kissed my skin softly. He said something like, "I love you," but it was hardly a whisper and almost inaudible against my neck.

I took in a deep breath, and closed my eyes. With a grunt, I reached down to my hips and unbuttoned my shorts, wriggling them down to my ankles so that I could kick them off. When I lied back again, Embry pulled himself on top of me and reached behind me, messing with the clasp of my bra. It took him a moment, and when he finally got it undone, he slid it down my arms and kissed my mouth gently. "You sure?" His eyes looked directly into mine. I nodded, and kissed him again, and again.

I helped him with his shorts, the meshy material staticy and clingy. Throwing them onto the floor beside the rest of our clothes, my heart pounded against my ribcage. I knew that I was ready for this - but sometimes, more than often, I would think about Freddie. Stupid bastard. I hoped that he got what he deserved.

My fingers clawed at Embry's skin, leaving trails of red along his back. He kissed me, slipping his tongue into my mouth. Hesitantly, I did the same, trying to get used to the strange feeling. Everything moved in slow motion, and I held in my excitement. Embry's excitement was entirely too obvious, though, and as we kissed, my thoughts clouded together, making it impossible to try and overthink the situation....

"You still have that thing?" Embry asked, smiling. His chest glistened with a thin sheen of sweat, and even though we'd been lying in my bed for about an hour afterward, it hadn't gotten any cooler. He reached over me and flicked the dream catcher that hung from the bed post.

"Yeah." I wrinkled my nose, smiling. "It's my favorite."

He looked at me, and kissed my nose. "It's so old." The sheets rustled as Embry lied back again.

"You made it in seventh grade." I turned on my side and looked at him, folding my arms in front of me. Embry had kicked most of the blankets off during our escapade, and so I had mostly the sheet to work with. "Do you even remember why we fought?"

"You probably got mad at me for something stupid." Embry shrugged. "That was a long time ago."

I pressed my lips together and snuggled up beside him, tucking my head underneath his chin. "Thank you, Embry."

"For what?" He slung his arm over my waist.

"Being absolutely incredible at everything."

He kissed my hair, and let out a soft breath. "Any time."