Sighing, I rolled my eyes . “Fine .”
16
Raif
I had a headache the size of Texas. I’d spent a sleepless night going over the case while trying like hell to keep my mind off Denny. Scanning the memory cards in Denny’s office had only exacerbated the shooting pain behind my eyes .
I had to find Anthony Waters before he tried to have another go at her. Right now, she was the only one who could identify him. If I could find the memory card, and if he was in the background of any of the photos, then Denny wouldn’t be his only identifier. Lots of ifs .
Unfortunately, I’d gone through every card and come up empty. No poodle in the park pics. I was no closer to solving my case and Denny was salty to me. Not a good start to the day .
I probably deserved it for tidying her apartment. She was a chaotic mess, but truth be told, I found myself growing fond of her unique brand of chaos. It fit her. And, as sorry as I was for pissing her off, I couldn’t deny the thrill I got when she raised her voice to me. Even more so after watching her interact with her clients that morning .
She was polite and timid. Endlessly polite. To everyone, not just her customers. Everyone but me. Even when people were assholes to her, she avoided confrontation and just smiled and carried on. I hadn’t seen her lash out at anyone the way she did with me, and for some reason, it turned me on knowing that I got a special part of her that no one else did. Even of it was her vitriol .
That was where my warm fuzzies for the day ended. I was squeezed into an uncomfortable chair in some dickhead’s studio apartment watching my mate brush his hair from his eyes. So it looked windswept she said. Whatever the fuck that meant. Every part of me was pissed .
Denny straightened and smiled. “There. That looks perfect. Don’t move .”
I clenched my teeth when dickhead’s eyes followed Denny’s ass as she walked back to her camera setup. I got it. She had a job to do. But, I was ten seconds from pistol-whipping pretty boy. Or ripping his head off his scrawny little shoulders. That’d serve him right .
“Do that little smirk thing with your mouth.” Denny peered at him through her camera. “Yes! That’s perfect .”
“Fucking hell, Denny.” I growled and stood up .
Dickhead looked at me like he wanted to say something. I glowered at him, daring him to try. He wised up and studied the floor instead .
Denny marched over to me and smacked me in the stomach with her knuckles. “Stop it. You’ve been back here growling the whole time we’ve been here. He’s a human. He’s going to call the men in white on you if you don’t knock it off. I’m taking his pictures for his headshots. Nothing else. Not that it matters .”
“Not that it matters?” I glared down at her. I was fighting my wolf who wanted me to throw her over my shoulder, take her into dickhead’s bedroom and put my claiming mark on her right there. I knew better, but fuck, was it tempting .
“Well, I’m just a romp in the woods to you, right? So, what’s it matter if another man flirts with me?” She was challenging me. Foolish. She didn’t know how close I was to losing it .
I took a deep breath and forced myself to take a step back and sit down. I could feel the fur sprouting on my arms, and had to focus all my concentration on controlling my wolf .
Denny shook her head and turned back to dickhead. Her spine was stiffer than it had been. She looked tense. “Alright, Ben. You ready for the last set ?”
Dickhead nodded and reached behind him to grab his shirt, pull it over his head, and toss it to the floor at Denny’s feet. Jesus. Who the fuck did he think he was, James? “I’ve heard good things about you .”
Denny giggled. She fucking giggled .
I stood up, crossed the room in two steps, snatched Denny’s camera off the tripod, snapped several pictures of dickhead without looking, and shoved the camera into its bag. “That’s all. We’ve got all we need. Have a great fucking day .”
Denny tried to protest, but I had already gathered the rest of her equipment and was leading her by the arm out of the apartment. She yanked her arm away from me and turned back to dickhead. “I’m sorry about this, Ben. I’ll call you to reschedule .”
If I had to see Ben smirk at her one more time, he was going to swallow his teeth, so I slammed the door shut and carried her down the narrow stairs and into my truck. Only once we were driving away did I start to loosen up a bit .
Denny was just getting started, though. “What the hell is wrong with you? This is my business, Raif! My livelihood .”
“You fucking giggled. Like he was the funniest thing ever. You giggle like that and he thinks you’re into him.” I knew I was acting like a crazed psycho, but I couldn’t seem to help myself. I felt like a crazed psycho .
“Well, maybe I am!” Denny screamed at me .
My wolf was a snarling, frothing beast. He demanded that I go back and destroy dickhead. “Watch it, Denny .”
She turned to face me. “Why? Why would I watch it? I don’t owe you anything, right? Why would it matter to you if I liked Ben? Why would it matter if I planned on going back to his apartment without doing a photoshoot? Why would it matter if I had sex with him against his door ?”
Breaking point. I didn’t realize I’d stopped the truck, but apparently I had. I reached across the console and grabbed Denny’s hips. Dragging her over the console, I held her in my lap and used her hair to pull her head to the side, exposing her neck. “You are mine,” I snarled .
The only thing that stopped me from sinking my fangs into her flesh and claiming her right there in the truck was the sound of someone honking behind us. It jarred me enough to realize I was about to mark her without her permission. And that I was parked in the middle of the road .
Dropping Denny back in her seat, I shifted the truck into gear and stomped on the gas pedal. “Don’t say another word until we get back to your apartment. Not a word .”
Denny remained quiet, which was almost as bad as her taunting me with dickhead. I couldn’t even look at her. I fucked up again. She was probably terrified .
Back at her apartment, I slowly followed her up the stairs and waited for her to unlock the door. She had the keys in the bottom of her purse again and it took forever for her to dig through the contents to locate them, but I waited silently .
When she finally got the door open, I followed her in and watched her cross to her bedroom and disappear inside. I sank onto a stool at the kitchen counter. I was hanging on by a thread. Denny deserved better than the dickheads of the world, but she also deserved better than me .
My apartment back in Chicago was a one room flat with a card table, folding chair, and pullout sofa that doubled as my bed. There was a reason it was sparse and no-frills. It was nothing more than a place to get a couple hours shut eye before heading back to the precinct .
I worked sixteen hour days, and that was when I wasn’t in the middle of a big case. The thought of Denny being there when I got home was great, but it wasn’t fair to her .
What kind of life could I give her? The same kind I watched Mom live. I could count on one hand the number of times I saw my mother smile, and even those never reached her eyes. Being with my dad ruined her. That was the same life I had to offer Denny. The life of a cop’s mate—a cop who was already married to his job .
Mom had lived sad, lonely, and neglected. Until her single car collision into a telephone pole. Then, she was just gone. Even at sixteen, I’d had my doubts about the word accident .
17
Denny
A nother impromptu meeting at Carter’s house that night. I absently ran my hand through my hair and wondered what the hell had come over me. Taunting Raif like that? That wasn’t me. That was someone else, some needy, manipulative, neurotic chick. Girlfriend from hell style .
“Denny? You listening?” Charlie shook her head and grinned at me. “What am I saying? Of course you’re not listening. Probably thinking about visits to pound town with Detective Sexy Pants .”
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Alec stuck his head into the kitchen wearing a pained grimace. “I never want to hear the term pound town from you bunch ever again .”
I laughed and stuffed my mouth with half a pumpkin scone with cinnamon butter to avoid answering. I wasn’t ready to talk. Not about pound town, or about the outfits and upcoming calendar photo shoot which was why we were really there .
Muddy grinned at me. “To preserve your modesty, we’ll change the subject. And, to trounce all our modesty, we’ll discuss how we want the calendar layout to look. I know we’re all a little uncomfortable about this, but if it means more business, well, that’s the whole point of it. Besides, if it works for the firefighters, why not us ?”
“I want to be March.” Sonnie grinned. “I’m going to be covered in flowers and nothing else .”
“Denny should be November. You know, the start of deer season and all.” Carter chuckled at her own joke .
I tossed a wadded up napkin at her. “Not funny. How about I don’t wear a costume and just say I did ?”
“Don’t you want attention for your business? Stuff like this is a hit every year. It’s awkward, but think of the bottom line .”
I sighed and held my palms up. “Fine. In the interest of a healthy bottom line .”
We talked for a while longer about meeting the next day to do the shoot and then we just gossiped about things in town. There was wine and baked goods, and wine and more wine .
“Has he mentioned being mates yet ?”
“No. He almost marked me today, though. I told him that I was into another guy and he just pulled the truck over and dragged me into his lap like some Neanderthal caveman !”
Sonnie groaned. “Did you just orgasm right on the spot ?”
I knew I was being loose-lipped, but the wine was getting to my head. “He didn’t, though. He pushed me away and was weird for the rest of the evening .”
Muddy leaned towards me. “He’s a fool. You’re going to have to be the one to take charge, obviously. Just do it. March back over there right now and tell him that you’re mates and you want him to mark you .”
“I can’t do that!” The thought horrified me .
“ Why not ?”
“Because!” I hesitated. “Because he doesn’t want me as a mate .”
Sonnie sighed and sank back in her chair. “Impossible. Just do it .”
Carter wiggled her eyebrows. “Or you could seduce him into it. Try on your costume for him. Prance around the apartment and bring him to his knees .”
“Is that my mate I hear being devious?” Alec walked into the kitchen and hugged Carter from behind. She melted into his embrace and we all kind of swooned over watching them. Or I did .
They looked so natural together. I wanted Raif to hug me like that. “I’m going to do it. I’m going to go over there and tell him what I want .”
They all cheered me on and it was the extra boost I needed to get going. I stood up from my chair, a little too fast ‘cause the room spun for a second. Weaving only slightly, I grabbed two extra cupcakes to go .
I waved them in the air. “After sex cupcakes .”
I left to a chorus of laughter and cheers and headed across the street. Raif had made a big deal about me walking home with someone else, but I was fine. I marched up the stairs and threw open my apartment door to find Raif sitting on the couch, drinking a beer .
He looked so natural there that I almost melted. Instead, I stumbled over and straddled him .
Leaning back, I smiled down at him. “I want to talk to you .”
“ Oh , yeah ?”
I licked the top of one of the cupcakes. Mmm, yummy . I licked it again, then gave it to him. “Yeah. I think it’s silly what we’ve been doing .”
“ You do ?”
“Yes. Yes, I do.” I licked the other cupcake and handed it to him, too. “I just don’t know why you don’t want me. I’m a nice girl. I would be a good mate. I work and I support myself. I’m a little messy, but I know where everything is . And …”
Raif’s eyes were wide and his mouth was hanging open .
“I’m maybe not the cutest, but I make up for it with genuine kindness and a good sense of humor. At least, I think I’m funny. You almost marked me today. It felt good. Like you wanted me. I liked it a lot, but then you changed your mind and…You’re tough on a girl’s ego .”
I was maybe slightly more than slightly drunk. Nothing I was saying phased me as being too out there and I felt solid in saying it all .
“You’re. Tough. On. A. Girl’s. Ego.” I smacked his chest to emphasize each word, then sighed. “It’s hard to be rejected .”
I was beyond tired and saying what I’d just said was exhausting. I wanted to hear what he had to say, too, but his chest looked so inviting and warm that I couldn’t help curling up and resting my head on him. Without trying, I was unconscious in seconds .
18
Raif
S he passed out. She dropped a bomb and then just passed out. I stared down at her curled up on my chest and released a long, slow, breath. Everything I was doing to avoid hurting her was hurting her .
She was beyond drunk and so fucking adorable that I wanted to hold her for the rest of the night. I had a cupcake in each hand, though .
She’d let the cat out of the bag and there was no going back. I couldn’t not respond. It killed me that she’d felt the need to recite her qualities. As though they weren’t obvious. And she’d completely sold herself short. She was beautiful and sexy and amazing. Everything any man could want. Even her chaos and disorder were attractive because they were her .
Here I was fighting my every instinct to claim her, and she interpreted it as rejection. As though she wasn’t good enough for me when it was the opposite that was true. I wasn’t good enough for her. periods times when I went undercover on a case for months at a time. It had been the same with Dad. He was shit at being a husband and a father, but he was an excellent detective .
I was cut from the same cloth as my old man. What kind of mate would I be to Denny if I was gone on cases all the time chasing dirtbags like Anthony Waters and Ricco Moretti? Chicago was huge and there was never enough law enforcement to get a handle on the crime. Always overworked and understaffed .
I looked down at Denny snoring lightly. Maybe there was a way I could make it work. Do better than my father had. I transferred both cupcakes to one hand and wrapped my other arm around Denny. There was an underlying peacefulness that came with the thought of claiming her as my mate. There was also a frenzied panic. I wanted to learn to embrace the peacefulness and stifle the panic .
I gently picked her up. She moaned and curled tighter into a ball when I stood, but she didn’t wake up when I carried her to her bed. I laid next to her, needing to keep holding her .
She drew her leg over my thighs and balled her fist up on my chest with my shirt clutched tightly in her fingers. Her breath puffed against my neck, hair everywhere, in a way that was truly Denny. She was special and I didn’t want to give up the best thing I’d ever had .
I stayed there with her for hours, awake, envisioning our life together. I dozed off for a few hours, but when the morning sun started coming up, I showered and made a call to the station in Smith. If I was going to do this mate thing, first I needed to put Ricco Moretti and Anthony Waters behind bars .
19
Denny
“H e made me swear not to leave the B&B.” My voice was like an icepick through my brain. I winced and covered my ears. “I need some Tylenol .”
Muddy handed me a plate of fried eggs, bacon, and toast. “Eat it. It’ll make you feel better .”
I took a drink of the bloody mary she made me and groaned. Raif had dropped me off before he headed up to Smith and Muddy, who I’d caught right after she’d cleaned up the breakfast mess, insisted on cooking for me. She was still in an apron and looked beautiful, even with her red hair frizzing wildly around her head .
“I guess that means our calendar
photo shoot is cancelled .”
“Not a chance. I’m not cancelling my whole schedule because detective worry wart thinks I’m not safe unless I’m holed up in a bunker. Not that the B&B is…uh… no offense .”
“None taken.” She stared at me like I’d just grown a second head .
“What?” I grabbed a slice of bacon and nibbled on it .
“I just want to know who you are, and what you did with my friend Denny. She was shy, and submissive and nothing at all like the defiant woman in front of me .”
“I’m my own woman, that’s who I am. I’m going to eat this and take some Tylenol. Then, I’m going to go back to my apartment and sleep for another several hours. After I wake up, it’s photo time .”
She nodded .
I cursed and stood up with the plate. “I’ll bring this back to you. I’m going to start my nap early so I can be alive for that .”
“Go on. I’ll see you sometime after lunch .”
I gave her a quick side hug and then shuffled off to my apartment. I finished the breakfast and crawled back into bed, only to be overwhelmed by Raif’s delicious scent .
Unfortunately, I remembered most of what I’d said to him the night before. I’d bared my soul, I remembered that. He’d hardly said a word in the morning. Just woke me up and said he had to go to Smith and I was to stay at Muddy’s. When I refused, he actually carried me to the truck, then forbade me from leaving the B&B. Right, Detective Bossy, like that’s gonna happen. Ugh. I was never drinking wine again .
Sleep was a joke, but I still tried. Fruitlessly. Mostly, I stared at the ceiling, remembering how badly I had humiliated myself the night before .
Eventually, I gave up and showered. I dressed in the costume Charlie made for me, and felt more alive. The costume was pretty cute. A bra and boy shorts panty set in a soft brown velvet suede material. The panties included a white tail and it was paired with a headband that had doe-like ears. A deer shifter dressed as a deer .
Wolf Detective Page 7