I stomped back into the living room and straight to the door to find Duncan climbing the steps and frowning at the opening and splintered doorframe. He was the father of Carter’s mate, Alec, and a master carpenter. I was so grateful to see him that I almost hugged him. “Duncan! Thanks so much for coming over .”
Duncan’s eyes landed somewhere behind me. “Anytime. Do I even want to know what happened here ?”
Growling sounds arose from behind me and an arm wrapped around my waist possessively. Raif tugged me against his chest and held me there .
Duncan shook his head and chuckled under his breath. “Relax, son, I’m just here to fix this door and give you two some privacy .”
Annoyed and desperate to get my body away from Raif’s, because every second close to him was torture, I elbowed him in the side and wiggled away. “Just do what you can to fix it, Duncan. I really appreciate it .”
Duncan stepped aside and let me scoot past him, but Raif was right on me. “Hey, where do you think you’re going? You can’t just run off. Not while you’re some scumbag’s target. Not on my watch .”
I ignored him and scurried down the stairs and across the street. I stumbled over a rock in the road and my arms windmilled as I fell forward. That familiar strong grip caught and held me. “Dammit, Denny. You’re going to get yourself hurt .”
“Wouldn’t that be convenient? Bet you’d love to have me laid up in traction so I’d have to stay in the house like your prisoner.” I winced after I said it. I hadn’t meant for it to come out so whiney and ‘poor me.’ I sighed. “Just let me go. I’m going to Carter’s house. There will be at least a bear and a lioness there. I think I’ll be safe .”
He stared at me for several seconds before he stepped away from me and held his hands up in surrender. “Okay, but have one of them walk you home.” I turned and walked the rest of the way to Carter’s house with my back stiff and my lips silently moving. I knew he was still standing there watching me .
Carter’s door opened before I even knocked and Sonnie pulled me inside. She tugged me down onto the couch beside her. I stumbled and flopped down unceremoniously .
Charlie had clearly been waiting for me to arrive. “Spill, girl! Muddy said Detective Hottie moved in with you! What the hell do you have going on over there?” She grinned and winked. I wished I could share her enthusiasm .
Sonnie leaned closer. “Hell, yeah, that man is drool-worthy. Even if he is a little rough around the edges.” My stomach turned and I was close to emptying it. Muddy and her big mouth, of course she’d told everyone .
“Tell us everything, Denny. Are you two bumping uglies?” Carter’s voice shouted from the kitchen .”
“Bumping—What the hell, Carter?” Muddy came through the kitchen doorway to the front room carrying a plate of baked goods from Carter’s bakery. My expression must have clued them in .
“You don’t look happy.” Carter set her plate down on the coffee table .
“What did he do? I’ll maul that mangy mongrel.” Muddy sat in front of me on the ottoman and put her hand over mine. That one touch was all it took for my floodgates to unleash .
“It all has to be a mistake. Why would fate do it to me? Why would she give me a mate who is a big bully, alpha jerkwad?” I bawled great big tears .
Charlie’s head about snapped off, she spun so fast. “He’s your mate ?”
“Yeah!” I sobbed out. “He’s my mate. And y’all know the last thing I want is a mate .”
“Hold on, hold on, He’s a wolf shifter.” Muddy was slowly processing the situation. “You’re a doe …”
“Oh, honey!” Carter kept handing me tissue after tissue from the box on her lap .
No one spoke as I blew my nose and sniffled a few more snotty tears before accepting another tissue. “Doesn’t matter I guess, since he doesn’t want me .”
“He rejected you?!” Muddy shot up, claws like daggers poking out of the tips of her fingers .
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Neither of us has brought up the mate thing yet .”
Carter made a face . “What ?”
“It hasn’t come up .”
“What do you mean, it hasn’t come up? It has to come up. As soon as you see your mate, you know. He knows. You know. Why hasn’t it come up ?”
I flopped back into the couch cushions, exhausted and coming down from full melt down mode. “He never mentioned it. I felt silly trying to bring it up. He’s not interested in me, obviously, or he would’ve said something about being mates .”
Sonnie rubbed my shoulder. “Well, what has he said ?”
“He called me a romp in the woods. Said I was distracting .”
Muddy shot to her feet again. “He did what ?!”
“Calm down, Muddy. I know from experience that mates can be stupid.” Carter handed me a maple glazed cupcake. “Tell us everything and, for Sonnie’s sake, don’t leave anything out .”
I did just that and by the time the story was over, I felt better to have gotten it all out. My deer was still throwing a hissy fit wanting her mate, but I was forcing myself to ignore it. As best I could, anyway .
“I don’t want a mate, either. Men are jerkwads. They leave and they don’t ever love you like they should and they’re mean. I hate them .”
The trouble was, even though my head didn’t want him, mates were naturally drawn to each other. At least, I was drawn to him , and it hurt like hell that he didn’t seem to feel it. Who was I kidding? He was rejecting me .
Carter squatted next to me and patted my leg. “I thought the same way, honey. But, love is messy. Give it a chance, It’ll all work out .”
Easy for her to say. Her mate was awesome. As if on cue, Jellybean bounded through the front door, with Alec in tow. We took that as our cue to leave, but I was in no mood to go home. Instead, Muddy and I stripped down in the woods behind Carter’s and went for a long run .
I lost all track of time and let everything go, which was the purpose of the run. We ran until I was exhausted but still, I couldn’t stop thinking about Raif. My body ached for him .
14
Raif
I sat on the edge of Denny’s couch, bouncing my legs without thought. I was anxious. It was late. Too late. I’d started to worry about her hours earlier. Carter said she’d gone running with Muddy, but where the hell were they ?
This worrying was all new. I’d never had anyone to worry about before. Yet, there I was, nerves twitching, staring at the fucking clock .
I figured out that the asshole who’d come after Denny earlier must have learned about the photographs the same way I had. People were often more apt to spill information to criminals than they were the police. Criminals were more threatening. Whoever this creep was, he was desperate to stay hidden .
Desperate men did dumb things .
I ran my hands through my hair and growled. Where the fuck was she? As if asking myself that same question for the thousandth time was the cue she’d been waiting on, Denny opened her door and stepped in. Naked .
I wanted to shout at her, shake her, grill her about where she’d been. I’d been worried sick. She stood in the doorway all gentle curves and long legs, but with an innate weariness. Fuck. My heart thudded erratically in my chest .
I crossed the room, grabbed her roughly, and pulled her into my chest so I could wrap her in my arms and hold her. She struggled feebly at first, but I held fast and rested my chin on her head, thanking the heavens she was safe .
She ducked and tried to get free. “I need a shower.” She did. She had dirt smudges everywhere, twigs in her hair, and she smelled like wilderness .
I pushed the door closed behind her with my knee, but couldn’t bring myself to release her. “I’m not letting you go. Please, just let me hold you.” She let out a little breath when I squeezed her. Didn’t she understand the danger she could have been in ?
She slumped into my body. I could hear how hard her heart was beating. I stroked her hair and back. My dick
hardened in response to the bare skin and soft curves pressed against me .
I scented her arousal, but when her body squirmed against mine and her thighs rubbed together, my fear became desire; my anger became passion .
My mouth explored hers. She tasted like autumn leaves and fresh cut grass. Her hands clenched my shirt, knuckles digging into my stomach .
I wondered if I was being too rough until she grasped my t-shirt and ripped it off my back until it was shreds in her hands. When she backed away, holding handfuls of my torn shirt, her naked body was completely on display for me. Full breasts, nipples hardened into tight rosy-pink pebbles, big brown doe eyes that met mine. The scent of lust and desire hung thickly in the air .
If I thought I was hard before, when her knuckles brushed my lower abdomen and she unbuttoned my jeans, my cock strained painfully against my zipper, aching to be released .
She tugged my jeans, and I wiggled them down to my ankles and kicked them off .
Her long legs wrapped around my waist when I lifted and spun her to pin her against the wall. My teeth and tongue slid over her, sucking and nipping her flesh—shoulders, breasts, stomach—before returning to her mouth to swallow her impassioned cries .
I pulled away from the wall and headed toward the bedroom. She was tiny in my arms and clung to me, her heated skin rubbing against mine with every step as I careful to wove through the maze of piles of her shi— stuff .
I made it through the living room to the bedroom, but then my foot caught on the strap of a flimsy blouse and I stumbled. I righted myself and tried to kick it off. But it only slid farther up and around my ankle. Fuck it .
Denny’s nails dug into his shoulders and she clung as I dropped us on to the bed without releasing my grip on the soft flesh of her hips .
Our chests rubbed together and I reached down to brush lightly against her clit. When she moaned, I slid a finger into her hot, wet channel. She groaned, her walls squeezing in response .
I was so lost in her. I rolled her to her hands and knees to rut on her like a wild animal. With her urging cries, I couldn’t hold back and sunk into her in one thrust. I slid almost all the way out, but she screamed for me to continue and wiggled back against me. I thrust back into her, harder .
Her fingers dug into the headboard. I pulled her hair as I pumped her from behind. Her moans were loud and she cried out as she contracted around me and her body came apart, I was ready to follow .
As the tremors still rocked her, I could feel myself ready to fill her. I tugged her head to the side exposing her neck. My cock twitched and my canines extended, prepared to sink into her tender flesh and stake their claim . Fuck .
What the fuck was I doing? I pulled out of her and shot off the end of the bed, my back pressed against the far wall .
Denny was still on her hands and knees, her ass to me, baring all, swollen and slick. She looked over her shoulder, hair a tangled mess, eyes heavy-lidded .
My heart lurched. I was horrified. What had I almost done to her? I’d almost claimed her. In my selfishness, I’d come a breath away from tying her to me for the rest of her life. I’d almost ruined her. Ruined her entire life .
I willed my legs to stop shaking and turned and ran out the bedroom door, slamming it behind me. What the fuck was wrong with me? I vowed to guard her. Protect her. Keep her safe. And what had I done ?
I dropped to the couch, and hung my head in my hands in shame. It was the last time I would touch her. Ironic that I had vowed to shield her from the Ricco Moretti’s of the world, yet I was the one who had posed the biggest danger to her that night .
My heart twisted as I stared at the blouse still wound around my ankle. I had to do better .
15
Denny
I woke up and stretched. My body was sore in the best possible way. I couldn’t help smiling. Then, frowning. Once again, Raif ran like a bat out of hell .
Memories of the night before threatened to surface, but I shut them out. I just didn’t want to go there. He was probably gone anyway. Probably left in the middle of the night the way men always did. Good. Fine. Better sooner than later .
I hurried into the shower and washed up before dressing in a long maxi dress. When I opened the bedroom door, I froze in stunned silence. My living room was completely different .
All my possessions were stacked against the back wall, the bookshelf was moved and Raif’s evidence board was displayed against the wall .
“What did you do?” I picked up my laptop from the top of a stack of books and held it to my chest. “Why did you move all of my stuff ?”
Raif glanced over his shoulder and shrugged. “It was a mess. I needed some space to work. You’re welcome .”
You’re welcome? I stomped past him into the kitchen and opened a cabinet, but my coffee was already out on top of the counter. The canister was empty. As was the coffee pot .
I was buzzing with anger. “This isn’t going to work. You have to go .”
Raif turned to face me, his bare, sculpted chest on display. “That’s not going to happen .”
I shook my head and walked to the front door. “I’m going to Muddy’s for coffee .”
“I’ll go with you. I finished your coffee hours ago .”
I crossed my arms and stared at him. “I want to go alone .”
“ Too bad .”
“Raif!” I was seconds from throwing a full blown tantrum. It was too early and I was cranky. More than cranky. I was inches from kicking him in the nuts. “You’re. Driving. Me. Crazy .”
He crossed the room stopping in front of me, so close I had to tilt my head back to meet his eyes. “I love the feisty side of you .”
“Yeah, well, this is my apartment and my stuff and…and… I could throat punch you right now.” It was still a threat, even if my voice was all breathy when I said it. Dammit .
He stared open mouthed. Then, he ran his fingers over his beard as he slowly looked around the room. “I’m sorry for rearranging your things. I should’ve asked .”
I was dumbfounded . “What ?”
“I said I’m sorry. I got in a zone and I wasn’t thinking. I should have asked.” One side of his mouth lifted in a grin. “I didn’t mean to mess anything up. Your brand of organization is just a little bit…different than mine .”
I blinked up at him and grinned a stupid little smile. I hadn’t expected him to apologize .
“You’re looking at me like I just sprouted another head .”
“I just… Yeah, I don’t know. I guess I’m just surprised .”
“We can talk all about it over a coffee. And another search of your office.” Raif studied his board while he grabbed a clean shirt from his duffel and pulled it over his head. “I really can’t get any farther without IDing this asshole .”
I was so thrown off by his apology that I just nodded and followed dumbly out of the apartment and down the stairs. It wasn’t until we arrived at Muddy’s front door that I realized how low my bar was set that a man apologizing to me soothed all wounds. Was I becoming my mother ?
Frustrated and confused, I remained quiet as we got the coffees and headed to my office .
“What’s wrong? You haven’t said a word.” After I unlocked the front door of the studio, Raif pushed it open and let me walk through .
I headed straight to my office and started rifling through the memory cards again. When Raif stepped in, I didn’t look up from my desk drawer. “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong ?”
“I’m wondering how pathetic I am that your apology was enough to make up for all of your poor behavior. Am I sad, or what? Nothing’s changed. Nothing. It used to be the same with Dad, too. He’d come back and say he was sorry and then I’d stupidly think he meant it and I had a good father. I wanted it so badly. But his apologies didn’t make him a good dad. They weren’t even sincere .”
Tears burned my eyes and I cursed them. “I just want to find this stupid memory card so you can arrest that guy and mov
e on. You obviously have better things to do and I obviously don’t have my life as together as I thought I did. I’m still weak as a doormat .”
Raif put my coffee on the desk in front of me and sighed. “You want to talk about your daddy issues ?”
I threw the memory card I was holding at his face and scowled. “What is wrong with you ?”
“It was a genuine question. We can compare notes. I’ve got some , too .”
I hesitated. “You’ve got daddy issues ?”
“I prefer not to call them that, but yeah.” He handed back the memory card that he’d caught midair. “I meant that apology. Just so you know. It wasn’t just something I said to placate you .”
I watched him for a few minutes. His expression was genuine and his body language was open. There was still the elephant in the room. We were mates and he hadn’t said a word about it. He was obviously attracted to me. Why did he keep running? I wouldn’t be able to fully believe any apology from him until I had a few answers .
“Things are weird right now. Let’s just get to work finding that card .”
I sighed and nodded. “Fine.” He stood drinking his coffee while I searched through each memory card .
When my first customer arrived, there were only a handful left, so I had him take over and go through them. He balked at first, but I finally convinced him that the single mother with her two young daughters were not contract killers for a mid-level drug dealer .
I did my best to work without letting his presence get to me. It was a fun shoot, a sepia toned backdrop of a B-24 bomber with both mom and daughters dressed as Rosie Riveters .
It wasn’t until after I waved goodbye, that I checked my calendar. Dang! I was late for a shoot in Smith. I yelled to Raif that I was late for my next client .
He stepped out of the office with a foul look and crossed his arms. “Then I guess we’re going to Smith .”
Wolf Detective Page 6