by C. D. Gorri
Time to fess up, she thought as her heartbeat increased wildly by just listening to the deep rich laughter coming from the man who was interrupting her thoughts, even her sleep. This man had gotten through her armor and he did it with his easy smile and soul-shattering kiss.
“Hey, can I help with anything?” Her thoughts were interrupted by the deep baritone of Randall’s voice. My, oh my, even his voice was sexy!
“What? Oh no, I got it under control. I am sorry if Danny is bothering you, I can send him outside for a little while until dinner is ready-”
“No way, that’s my buddy in there! Seriously, that kid is some little gamer!”
“Oh, he spends too much time on that thing-”
“Look, you are his mom and I’d never go against anything you say where it concerns your son, but he’s really good. I mean he understands the rules and he’s got better eye-hand coordination than most adults. Outdoor play is important, but there is nothing wrong with being good with technology. For some kids, it’s all they have.”
She was prepping that night’s dinner and stopped to listen to him, noting the sadness in his brown eyes and the tightness of his voice. She put a hand on his and gave him a small smile. She should have been frightened of the way she felt, the desire welling in her to soothe his mind, but she didn’t. She felt calm and right. The skin under her hand was warm and she felt an overwhelming need to touch him again.
“Anyway, uh, he sent me in here for some drinks, and he said to call you, ma’am,” he gently pulled his hand out from under hers and thumbed his pants, shrugging as if hadn’t revealed a little bit about himself to her just then.
“Oh, he did, did he?”
“Yes ma’am,” his smile was infectious.
“Um, well, you tell that little man, only water on the couch! Here you go,” she handed Randall two small cups of water. Her fingers brushed against his in the exchange and she sucked in a sharp breath.
It was like little sparks of awareness were shooting up and down her arm from that one, tiny, little touch. She only had to look in his eyes to realize he felt the same charge of attraction. Uh oh. Tulla licked her lips.
A nervous habit from when she was younger. She realized her error when his gaze locked onto the small movement. Heat flooded her body and she felt a wave of desire rising inside of her like the tide. If her heart survived this man in tact, she’d be surprised.
“You and I are gonna have a chat about this thing between us, one day when Daniel is tucked in his bed or at school. There’s not gonna be any more running, okay?” Randall sucked in a breath and closed his eyes. His large body seemed to sway under some kind of magnetic pull that existed between them.
She felt it too. As if the stars and fate had deigned that they would meet like this. Here and now. She nodded absently. Yes, a reckoning of sorts was bound to happen soon. They were going to have to do something about this attraction for lack of a better word. If only to get it out of their system. He left the room and she stood there for a moment or two until the sound of the timer going off made her turn. Time’s up!
Dinner was a cozy affair. After those first few nights of eating in the formal guest dining room Randall had insisted they take their meals together. She agreed, but that was before the tension between them was thick enough to cut with a knife.
The three of them ate their meal outside on the clean wood deck overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Tulla loved eating out there, though she and Danny rarely did as the space was reserved for their guests. Daniel decided to mimic Randall bite for bite and nearly ate the entire tuna steak she had grilled for them. He was supposed to share that one with with his mother, but she would make due with the vegetables and rice.
She was surprised when Randall took half his tuna steak and placed it on her plate. He continued talking to Danny as if it were no big deal, but she felt the gesture all the way to her toes. Naturally, she’d grilled him a larger portion than the one she had cooked for herself and Danny. Food was part of the package and she prided herself on her ability to cook satisfying meals for her guests. It’d been a long time since someone had taken care of her. Even in such a small way.
“Danny, you are going to get a tummy ache if you eat all that,” she chided gently but he shook his head.
“Uh uh, Mama, I need protein so I can grow up big,” the innocent hero worship in his eyes as he looked at their houseguest made her chest tighten.
Her boy had grown up without a father. She wondered when he would start to feel it. When he would yearn for a man to look up to, to teach him things, to be a role model. Had it happened already? She tried her best to be everything to him and it stung that she simply couldn’t be. She was certain to fall short. It was one of her greatest fears as a parent.
The other, well, she’d rather not think about that. So far, the man who had called her that night so many years ago had stayed away from her and Danny. Maybe it was all a prank? Maybe he couldn’t find them on the island? Tulla didn’t care the reason as long as he left them the hell alone.
Danny seemed to bond with Randall, a virtual stranger, right off the bat. She watched him replace his fork for his glass of sweet tea and take a long chug like their guest did. Randall’s eyes twinkled when he looked at her. So, he did notice, was her only thought as she watched him switch from his fish to his grilled Brussel sprouts.
She silently applauded his tactics as the little boy ate every single vegetable on his plate. If only she could let herself indulge in the fantasy that the three of them were a family, but that was too dangerous. She only hoped it wouldn’t be too bad when it came time for him to leave The Sea Mist. She prayed that she and Danny would be okay when the dust settled.
Randall’s promise to have a chat with her about the little problem of their growing attraction for each other stayed foremost in her mind all through dinner. Maybe he was just teasing? Maybe it was time she take a little something for herself? Would that be wrong of her? She was not sophisticated enough to keep on pretending she didn’t want him, but she wasn’t quite sure how to go about telling him.
The one and only time she’d engaged in a sexual relationship had been with her husband. Once she told Tom she was pregnant he insisted they marry. Afterwards, he told her they needed to wait until she got approval from a doctor to have sex again.
She’d seen the OB/GYN and was told it was okay to proceed with that physical aspect of their relationship. She wasn’t exactly jumping for joy, but still, she told Tom what the doctor had said hoping it would improve things between them. Tom had shown less enthusiasm than she at the prospect of sleeping with her again. In fact, he seemed to grow tired of their marriage bed before he even made a dent in the mattress.
He said her lack of sexual knowledge was a buzzkill. Her innocence was not enough to keep him interested. His exact words were something like “the novel of fucking a virgin is gone, babe”. He preferred a more skilled and experienced lover. She was glad when he began working longer hours and going away on frequent business trips only to return home to sleep in the guest room. The only thing he really asked of her was that she stay home.
She was more than happy to give up her waitressing job to stay home and grow their baby while he left for work. She learned to appreciate the days he was away on business the most. When he was home he was always unhappy, discontent, blaming her for why he had no money. She stayed because she believed they could be a family. That was all she wanted, but Tom was never the family type. She could see that now.
Not like Randall, she thought to herself. He seemed to like everything about playing with her little boy, but he wasn’t afraid of the tough questions either. She liked that about him she really did. If she were being honest she’d admit she could picture herself falling for the man. Head over heels.
It was one thing to be lonely and foolish when you were twenty, quite another when you were widowed and a single mother at twenty-eight years old. One thing was certain, she could not afford to lose her heart to
Randall Graves. Her body; however, was another thing entirely!
CHAPTER 11
A warm breeze drifted in through the open window. South Carolina was starting to grow on Randall. After all, he was a southern boy at heart, born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida.
He called New Jersey his home these days, but for some reason he wasn’t looking forward to going back to his cold office at the Manor or to his one bedroom in the most isolated part of the big house. Indeed, he found nothing about returning to his solitary life appealing. Even his company could survive without him. Hell, except for the Pack and his position as Wolf Guard, he had nothing.
Don’t get me wrong, he thought to himself, I’d die for Rafe, Charley, heck, for any one of them, but just once it’d be nice to have something to live for too. He inhaled deeply as he took a long sip of the deep red wine Tulla served him after dinner.
Werewolves didn’t get drunk as easily as normals. Heck, it was damned near impossible for them to get drunk at all. But still, he enjoyed the taste and the feeling of the dark liquid as it slid down his throat. Things like taste and smell were heightened for Werewolves. The wine was really good, he acknowledged.
He listened with his supernatural hearing to every giggle and whisper of clothing coming form inside the house as Tulla helped Danny get ready for bed. She tucked him in, sang to him in her fine if slightly off-key voice that made Randall smile, and kissed him goodnight. Damn. He was jealous.
He wished he had the right to go in and join the fun. Imagine him, tucking in his child and kissing his mate on the lips before turning in for the night. Lying beside her, knowing she was his to protect, that they were both his. To keep safe, and fed, and warm. A lovely dream, he thought as he tossed back his head and downed the entire glass.
The tightness in his chest was from the wine, he told himself. It had nothing to do with the fact that he wanted that dream. So fucking much. He wanted to march right in there and stand by her side. He wanted to drop a kiss on the little boy’s head and whisper goodnight to him before turning on the little dinosaur nightlight at the foot of the bed. Then he wanted to gather the little boy’s mother in his arms and kiss her until she moaned her pleasure.
It’s definitely the wine, he told himself. Randall wasn’t a family man. He was a computer hack. He had no time or room in his life for complications and that’s what women and children were, right? Isn’t that what his father had called him. A complication that caused his mother to die.
He winced at the sharp pain he felt in his heart as he remembered the cold words his father had spoken to him all those years ago. Werewolf or not that man was a drunk. He poisoned himself with Aconitum, or Wolfsbane as it was commonly known.
He added the stuff to his liquor so he could feel the effects. He was a cruel son of a bitch. He had hard rules and was quick with his fists if they weren’t obeyed. Randall admitted now that his reason for never wanting a mate or family stemmed from his fear that he would be like his father.
That was an idea he could not tolerate. He would deny himself the right to be a father before he’d harm a child with either fists or words. Children were to be protected and cared for by someone worthy. Was he worthy, though? He’d lived a long life and done a lot of things he wasn’t exactly proud of. He’d been selfish, mean, and sometimes even petty with his time and his feelings. What right did he have wanting things he didn’t deserve?
Then he thought of Tulla. With her sun streaked hair and golden-tanned body. She made him forget about all the promises he ever made to himself to stay away from women, to never have children. The thought of her body swollen with his baby made him hard with need. He readjusted himself in his shorts and shook his head.
Damn, Randall, you’re not a kid anymore. Someone should tell his dick that. Fuck, he ran a hand through his hair and stood up. Sure, he’d spent plenty of nights with women whose names he never got and faces he didn’t remember, but this was different. Tulla was special. She was the only woman who made his Wolf stand up and take notice. The only one to make his blood sing. My God, he wanted her. And badly.
They both felt it. That much he was sure about. Her little gasps and wide eyes whenever they accidentally brushed past each other coupled with the pounding of her heart told him everything he needed to know. She wanted him too.
It was a heady thought, being wanted. But was it enough? Desire was not anything to scoff at. It was an important part of any relationship. If he happened to long for true love, well, he’d keep that secret buried deep inside of him. He wasn’t the loveable type. But he could make her want him. That much he knew.
He stood by the open screen door and looked past the wood deck with it’s table and chairs and colorful pillows to the waves that crashed onto the shore. It really was a nice little spot. The house itself was cozy and quaint or maybe that was just Tulla’s influence that made it appear so.
The structure was nothing fancy. Randall had certainly slept in enough high scale hotels and been in enough mansions to compare it to, but still, he didn’t think he ever felt as comfortable and at home as he did at The Sea Mist. He’d driven through South Carolina plenty of times, maybe even stopped for lunch there, but this was his first time ever staying in the Palmetto State. He’d had to look that one up.
Tulla kept a fine house. Little bowls of potpourri and candles sat on dust free shelves, yellow and white flowers filled pots outside and in, and she cooked like a professional chef. He never was one for beaches and sand, but he liked the look of the palms swaying in the constant breeze and he liked the taste of salt on his lips.
The rocky shore and rough waters accounted for why a bigger corporation didn’t swipe up all the property on this side of the island as of yet, but Randall could tell it wasn’t too far off. Beachfront property was big business. A few man-made improvements to the coast and this place would be a hot commodity. Not that he approved of many so-called man-made improvements, but one thing he learned in his long life was that you could not fight progress.
This little house and others like it along this stretch of beach, though separated by miles, would one day be gobbled up by some greedy hotel chain or other. It was a damn shame. He wondered if Tulla would ever sell the place. He wondered if she could ever be at home in a place with cold winters and hot summers. Would she be willing?
It was dangerous, this idea of having Tulla and Daniel with him in New Jersey. It would change everything, but maybe that was what he needed. Picturing them with him, by his side filled his heart to near bursting. Mine. Inside his mind’s eye he heard his Wolf. The statement was made independently of Randall’s own mind. His Wolf wanted them both. His. Family. Pack. Mine.
It was dangerous, but Randall needed to admit that his Wolf had already claimed the two of them as his. Tulla was the mate his Wolf had been searching for, and her son was the son of his heart. He would be cared for and protected as his own. The man in him agreed with both assessments, but it wouldn’t be easy, convincing her that they belonged together.
He had never shared his secret with a normal. Would she be able to handle it? It all worked out for Rafe and Charley. Heck, better than worked out, the couple were wildly in love and they were expecting their first child in a couple of months. Randall was happy for them both. His Alpha deserved a family of his own, to love and cherish and shelter. Their matebond was the stuff of legends. The need to protect was strong with Werewolves and Randall realized he was already past that point with Tulla.
Damn, if he wanted her, he was going to have to do something about it. That would mean facing his fears and doubts and showing her how he felt. Then he’d tell her the truth about himself. A Wolf denied his mate was not something anyone wanted to be around. He would have to tell her and soon.
He was so lost in his thoughts he almost didn’t hear her approach. Her shoes were gone and her bare feet hardly made a noise on the floor. Her scent reached him before anything else, coconut, saltwater, and the cool ocean breeze. They all seemed to be a
part of her.
“Hey,” she smiled up at him and he forgot to breathe. It was like the sun coming out. Or in his case, the moon.
Her silver eyes and whiskey colored hair captivated him. His palms itched to hold her. A deep longing started to grow in his belly. She licked her lips, a small flash of her tongue, a subconscious invitation, and that was all he needed.
Randall put his glass down and did the only thing he wanted to do right then. The only thing he’d been thinking about for the better part of two weeks. He pulled her tight against his body. She felt good there, like she was made for him. When she didn’t show any signs of protest he lowered his head, his eyes locked on hers as he slowly moved in. Their breath mingled and he felt her shiver against him, Randall’s nostrils flared as the scent of her arousal flooded his senses.
Slowly, he told himself, go slowly. His lips settled on hers, testing their softness. He met hers once, twice, and again. Tulla sighed against his mouth and opened for him, allowing him access inside. She tasted like the chocolate mint ice cream pie she had served for dessert. His favorite.
He deepened the kiss, twirling his tongue with hers, drinking her in like a man dying of thirst. She moaned into his mouth and he tightened his hold on her. He felt his cock harden against her soft belly, but he did nothing to hide her effect on him.
No more hiding. He reveled in it, he was proud of her effect on him. She made him feel like more of a man than he had in years. He growled deep in his throat when she pressed herself fully against him and held on even tighter. Damn, this woman was killing him. Randall held her face and rained kisses down her throat and neck, licking her from the open neckline of her shirt back to her mouth.
Their pants and moans were like music to his ears. He wondered what other noises he could pull from her. His long-fingered hands roamed over her ample breasts in their thin cotton covering to her shorts and around to that luscious ass of hers that had been driving him crazy for days now.