Next time, she’d trust her gut instincts. Hopefully, there wouldn’t be a next time. Hopefully, Andrew had learned his lesson the hard way. She sure had.
* * *
It had been a long time since Antonia’d last been near open water before last night, and she had no problems walking the short distance back to the lake by following the smell of fresh water.
There were many people loitering around the lake. More than there were at one A.M in the morning that was for sure. Today was a Saturday, which was a leisure day for most, and she could tell. In addition to a handful of men lining an overpass, she spotted at least two families out on the lake in their expensive boats. She even saw a yacht or two docked near the edge.
Her objective was to get to the other side of the lake and back to the city. According to Connor, she was already aware she’d have to catch a ride either by boat or by car.
After walking for what seemed like at least a mile, she was utterly exhausted. Too bad it had taken an event like this to warn her that she was out of shape and that it was time to get back to the gym. But when faced with the decision of whether she’d clock out of work and go to the gym, or clock out and head home to study, she’d always chosen the latter.
If she didn’t get back to the city soon, she could already bet that her job would be gone and she’d miss her upcoming exams. The same exams she’d planned to study for using her vacation days. Now that the cops had busted in on Cobra’s operation, Antonia was willing to bet that Andrew hadn’t collected any cash that night. And if he had collected it, did he get away with it?
Something else loomed over…
The fear of losing another apartment again.
Well, it was time she found out one way or the other what she was up against. Chances were, they’d have to get the hell out of dodge once again.
Antonia spotted on older couple in the process of hitching up a boat to the back of an SUV. She approached them slowly, mulling over what she might tell them.
“Can I help you?” the lady asked.
Her eyes were wide with conviction as she stared Antonia up and down. She looked to be in her early sixties.
Antonia cleared her throat. “I somehow got lost out here, and I don’t know my way around. I was wondering if you might give me a ride back to the city…if you’re going that way.”
By that time, the man, who was probably the spouse, fell in step beside the lady. “What’s the matter?”
“Where in the city?” the woman asked.
“As close as you can get me. I can find my way to a bus station once I get there.”
The woman turned with the man and they whispered quietly amongst each other.
The man turned back around. “Where are your bags?”
“I don’t have any.” Antonia shook her head. “I’m out here with just the clothes on my back.”
The woman frowned. “Are you with someone?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Carol,” the man said in a warning tone.
“Harry, she’s a young woman all by herself. It will be dark soon, and you know there are wolves out in these woods.”
Antonia swallowed. “I would really appreciate it.”
Carol must have convinced Harry because a few seconds later, she motioned to the back passenger side door of the SUV. “We can get you to the nearest bus stop that runs into the city.”
“Thank you. I re—”
Heavy feet shuffled behind them and then a man cleared his throat deeply. Without turning around, Antonia paused in her tracks.
“Mr. And Mrs. Rutherford, it’s nice to see you two out here on a Saturday afternoon.”
It was Connor. There was no mistaking his voice, and there was no denying the sandalwood scent flowing toward her that belonged to him.
“Max,” the woman spoke joyfully. “Dear, we haven’t seen you in months. We thought you’d stopped coming out here.”
Antonia turned around just in time to see Connor finish up his handshake with Harry Rutherford and then give Carol Rutherford a motherly hug.
The man was just unruly and gorgeous. He had on a pair or relaxed fit jeans, but he wore no shirt. Sweat glistened on his skin, and beads of it slid down his muscles. His dirty blond hair looked wind-tousled, as though he were running like a fiend. His chest rose and fell quickly, but he held his composure quite well.
“What have you been up to?” Harry asked Connor.
“I got caught up in lots of small contract jobs, literally one after the other. I barely have enough time to catch my breath these days.”
Harry patted Connor on the back hard. “It sure does look like it. Take a break once in a while. Before you know it, you’ll be old and hairy just like me.”
Before she could divert her gaze, Connor caught her looking. For what seemed like the longest five seconds of her life, he stared her down.
“Well, we were just heading out,” Harry told Connor. “We’re going to give this pretty lady here a ride to the city and circle back around town.”
“She needs a ride?” Connor exclaimed, the tone of his voice a mixture of amusement and confusion.
“Yeah, we—”
“—can I have a word with you?” Connor asked Antonia directly.
“Wait!” Carol said. “You know her?”
Connor nodded. “Yep, I know her.”
Carol glanced at Antonia questioningly.
Antonia sighed. “Yes, I know Connor.”
“I can give her a ride back to the city. I need a word with her anyway.”
“Well, see? That was easy. Connor can probably find his way better ‘round the city than we can.” Harry directed his wife to the SUV. “He’ll drive a lot faster, too.”
“Don’t worry, dear. Connor will take care of you,” Carol called out from the car window. “We’ve known him for years. We know his mama. He’s a good boy.”
The old couple pulled off, leaving Antonia and Connor standing in the dust they left behind.
“Well, there goes my ride,” Antonia said, breaking the ice.
“I came out of the shower to find that you had hauled ass without a word,” Connor said.
“I left a note. Didn’t you see it?”
He closed the distance between them. “When I found out that you were missing, the last thing I was worried about was looking for a note.”
“Please, let me go. I can answer your questions by phone. I promise I will.”
“You think it’s the questions I care about?” he asked.
“Connor, I almost got you killed. I’m begging you to let me go. My brother and I have been making it on our own for years now. We know what to do, but time is really pressing me right now. I wish I had more time to spend with you, but I don’t. You don’t want the kind of life I have.”
His shoulders slumped. “And I’m begging you to stay. You don’t understand…” In that instant, the animal revealed himself. His eyes morphed into a wolf’s eyes. “Stay with me. I will do whatever you want. Just ask.”
Antonia pressed her lips together, pushing her protest back down her throat. “I don’t know what to say.”
He held out his hand, palm up, offering it to her. “You don’t have to say anything.”
She accepted the gesture, and before they’d even taken the first step together, her heart filled with hope. For once, she felt like her life could be peaceful and with purpose.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“Do you sketch all the time?” Antonia asked, looking at some pictures, most of them perched on every surface with a few of the biggest ones nailed to the walls.
“Yes,” Connor replied. “I have more sketchpads back at my condo. I’ll draw anything I see really, whether it’s in my dreams, something physical or something that I imagined.”
He was bent over a tablet on the kitchen counter, pounding away at the keyboard. It hadn’t taken them long to return from the lake to the ranch. The first thing he’d done when they’d arrived was make a few phone calls.
She figured what he hadn’t wanted to discuss in front of her was what occupied him at the counter.
“Have you been doing it all your life?”
“I discovered I had the talent late in elementary school. Drawing kept me sane really. I was a shifter at a human school and I couldn’t tell anybody, so I kept to myself. Peaceful solitude with my pencil and a pad were what I enjoyed the most. I used to get teased about it by my classmates.”
“You? Teased?”
“I was.” He chuckled. “I looked pretty awkward too at that age, and I don’t plan on showing you those pictures.”
“You’re pretty good-looking right now,” she blurted out then blushed.
He grinned. “You can blame that on good genes and hard work. I’m glad though. I needed these good looks to lure you back to me after your escape attempt.”
“Lure me?” She laughed. “Is that what you did back at the lake? Hmmm…”
He winked. “It worked.”
“Despite the teasing, I bet you had a good life,” she said. “You grew up with both parents and lived the normal American dream. You own a business where you provide protection and safety for others. Even the couple that I asked for the ride to the city with vouched for you, saying that you were a good man. All that leads to good upbringing. I’ve known men like you before, so I know how to spot the traits. I find it hard to believe that you’d want to deal with my troubles.”
He came to join her near the empty fireplace and followed her gaze above it to the large sketch of the mountains and a small pack of wolves at the foot of it.
“I’m not as squeaky clean as you would like to believe,” he said. “And what do you mean, you’ve known men like me before?”
“Not shifters. But men, in general, like you, who live in this perfect world, yet find themselves constantly battling over whether they want to do what society expects of them or whether they should go against the grain.”
Connor fell quiet for a moment and they both stood there in the silence. His attention never fell from the picture over the fireplace.
“You’re right,” he finally said. “My duty has always been to remain neutral. My dad’s a human, and my mother’s a shifter. Because of my dad’s ranking with the Feds and my upbringing alongside humans, the most natural fit for me was to act as a liaison between my kind and human authorities. This is what is expected of me. Before our two dominant Packs forged an alliance, I’d never identified with either of them. Neither Caedmon nor Arnou. Because of the alliance, all shifters are forbidden to declare sides. They can identify with one of the Packs, but they can’t declare allegiance. It’s not my duty to question the decision of either Alpha, but it is within my scope to take orders from both. Can you see how that would be a problem?”
“Wow, yes…it’s like the equivalent of having two presidents ruling over the same board.”
“Exactly. Now, tell me how my conflicting duties relate to your human men?”
“Don’t laugh, but I haven’t had good luck with men. I attract two different extremes. Either they’re criminals and they promise me the world, which doesn’t sit right with my brother. Or they’re filthy rich and want to move way too fast, which doesn’t sit right with my brother. He scares them all off.”
Connor chuckled.
She swatted at him. “I told you not to laugh.”
“Not laughing at you or the situation, really. I was just thinking that I want to thank your brother for scaring them all off.”
“Why? That’s so rude. I deserve love, too,” she said.
“Why? Because you, beautiful lady, are mine. My mate.”
Her face heated with her rising temperature and her pulse skipped a few beats.
Connor closed the gap between them, bringing his palm up to stroke her face.
“Connor, I don’t get it. You could have any mate you want.”
“It doesn’t work that way.”
“I like you…” she replied. “But I’m confused about the way it all works.”
“Are you afraid of my wolf?”
“No. He’s still Connor. You’re just a little different, that’s all.”
“Do you scorn him?”
“Absolutely not. He was beautiful and he saved my life. You saved my life,” she said.
Connor kissed her forehead and then tilted her chin slightly until their gazes were locked. “The only woman in this world that can complete me is you. Nothing else can compete. My wolf and I share the same soul, and whenever I’m with you, I can feel his happiness surging through me. The only other times I’ve ever shared that feeling with my wolf is when I shift and let him take over, or when I’m drawing. Because of my duty to my kind, I don’t shift often enough. Look around at my drawings and my sketchbooks. There are hundreds more just like them.”
“I’ve had a very bad past, Connor.”
“But you’ve risen above it. I can’t take your past away. Our memories mold us into who we are today. But I’ll do anything to make you happy. Will you give me a chance?”
Antonia parted her lips to answer in the affirmative, but he crushed her answer with a kiss. He took her mouth gently, molding his lips to hers. With one hand pressed to the center of her back and the other hand clinging to her waist, he held her tightly to him.
She kissed him back, falling deeper into the kiss and letting his tongue enter her mouth. He tasted sweet, like heaven, and she nearly melted under his touch.
He knew exactly what he was doing to her, alternating between small sips on her lips to deep, soul-stirring kisses.
Antonia grabbed at his bare chest, running her fingers against the ridges and gripping at the hard contours. She wanted to tell him how much she loved this and how long she had craved a man who could set her soul on fire, but she couldn’t keep her lips off of him.
Suddenly, he broke the kiss and planted a trail of kisses across her jawline and down her neck.
She gasped, and her center clenched with need when he reached the overly sensitive spot behind her ear. He laved the area with his tongue, pushing against her raging pulse.
Antonia became putty in his embrace. At that moment, she would’ve given anything to stop time and experience it again and again.
For now, Connor was hers. As surreal as this felt for her, she couldn’t think about what tomorrow may bring. Tomorrow he may very well change his mind, but right now, he was hers.
There was a loud ring on the other end of the ranch and they jumped apart.
Connor ate up the distance with a few short strides and scooped up the phone.
“This is Max,” he said into the receiver.
There was complete silence as Connor listened to the caller. His gaze lifted to meet hers and his pupils shifted left and right as he waited.
“All of the above. Yes, do it. I’ll wire the money to your account shortly,” Connor ordered the caller on the other end.
When he hung up the phone, he delivered the news to her.
“They found your brother,” he said. “He had been arrested following the shootout. I’ve made arrangements to have him bailed out.”
“Oh, my God,” Antonia exclaimed, her breath trapping in her throat. “I’m glad he’s okay. Thank you for doing that.”
Connor grabbed his tablet again, brought it into the main area, and plopped down on the sofa. “My time is limited. The Alphas are scheduled to arrive here first thing in the morning and I have to report back to my dad regarding the deadline. Please forgive me.”
“I understand. You’ve helped me enough. If you point me to where your stock of meats and veggies are, I can make you supper while you handle your business,” she offered.
Connor glanced up from the computer and threw her a questioning look. He seemed taken aback by her offer.
“I’m a good cook. I promise.”
“I’d like that,” he replied, his lips turning up into yet another sexy grin.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“I haven’t had a home-cooked meal like
that in months,” Connor said, folding his linen napkin on the table and sitting back in his chair.
“I thought you were just very hungry,” she said, looking from the empty plate and serving bowls to the content smile on his face. After all, the man had gobbled down three T-bone steaks and two large helpings of scalloped potatoes.
“That was so delicious, I’m thinking I want you to make it for dinner again tomorrow night.”
“I’ll make something else I think you might like. You didn’t strike me as the sort of man to eat a lot,” she replied. “There’s not an ounce of fat on you.”
“I burn a lot of energy. I’m working to sustain both my human and wolf body. I can eat three or four servings in one sitting if I’m hungry enough at the time. Depends on what I did that day.”
“Makes sense. When I saw your wolf the other night he was twice as big as the dog.”
“That’s because I’m not an ordinary wolf. My weight carries over when I shift. Most months, that ranges anywhere from two hundred to two hundred and ten pounds.”
"Well, you won't get my weight. Ever. So don't even ask," she teased.
His eyes sparkled as he admired her from across the table. "You're the perfect size for me."
Antonia's cheeks heated thinking about how much attention he was paying to her. She'd never been one to call this much attention to herself, but suddenly she wanted it and was unsure how to react to it at the same time.
He sat up and leaned forward across the small table. Placing his elbows on the table, he reached out and stroked the underside of her chin. “Thank you, by the way.”
“I enjoy cooking,” she said. “It keeps me busy and it keeps my mind off certain things.”
“What else do you like to do in your free time?”
“I go to school and study. That’s about it.”
“What are you studying?”
“I’m attending the tech college in the city and studying to become a paralegal. I got a late start since I was out of high school for a year.”
“Well, all that matters is that you did start. It’s important to pursue what you want, after all, you did say we only have one life, right?”
Wolf’s Honor: Caedmon Wolves Book Six Page 8