He sat down at the table and she put one of the bowls in front of him followed by a basket of breadsticks. She felt his intense stare all over her body as she brought the plates and other condiments to the table one by one. She sat the wine bottle on the table and without hesitation he popped the cork with little to no effort and then poured some into each glass.
His gaze ran over the offerings. “This looks almost too good to eat. You’re a Master, indeed.”
Heat spread across her chest, up her neck, and over her face. “Maybe have a bite before you decide,” Nina suggested.
She pulled her salad bowl toward her and Raoulf followed her lead. He poured a hefty three tablespoons of dressing on his salad.
“That’s our family’s homemade house dressing. It’s my father’s recipe. Initially, it was his mamma’s recipe and then he tweaked it a bit. He used to make it by the batch and then hand-sell them to local restaurants in France when he was a kid. One of the restaurants offered him a job in-house and that’s where he got his start.”
“Then you come from a line of pros,” he said.
“I guess you could say that. We don’t really specialize in any one style of cuisine. I’m like my father in that I love a little variety.”
“That explains things,” he noted.
“Please…” She made a gesture toward the dishes. “Don’t mind me rambling. Help yourself. I have a couple more steaks left if you’re still hungry after that one.”
“Thank you,” he said.
For a long moment, they were both quiet as they immersed themselves into eating dinner. Raoulf moved from one dish to the other, ravenously attacking the food with gusto. He seemed a little uncomfortable with a knife and fork, especially when it came to cutting into the steak. After seeing him throwing his utensils down and shoveling food into his mouth without them more than once, she made the assumption that he was more comfortable eating with his fingers. She didn’t know what appealed to her more. Raoulf licking his fingers clean or Raoulf running his tongue across the seam of his lips after every bite.
He cleaned his plate and then looked at her expectantly.
“More?” she asked.
He nodded. “Please.”
She felt a triumphant smile cross her lips and she got up quickly to put more food on his plate. He dived in again before the plate could fully hit the table. Meanwhile, she ate small rabbit bites of her food as she secretly watched him. This time he didn’t even bother with the knife and fork, except to occasionally shovel the home fries down. On top of that, he even spooned down two bowls of the cobbler.
Good Lord, where had he put all that food? He didn’t have an ounce of fat on him. Did he really eat this much? Was he just super hungry or was the food that good?
“You were really hungry…” She just couldn’t help herself.
“That too.” He picked up a napkin, wiped his mouth, and then cleaned his fingers. “But that was the best damn plate of food I’ve had in a while.”
“Why thank you.” She blushed.
“You’ve barely eaten anything,” he said.
“I like to snack as I go along to make sure everything tastes great.” She winked. “I’ll be fine.”
Nina got up and began clearing the table.
“Let me help you clean up.”
“No need. You’re my guest. You should sit down and let all that food digest.”
“How did your search go today?” he asked, as she ran some water in the sink.
“Excuse me?”
“The other day you mentioned you were looking for a place to set up your catering business.”
“Oh,” she said. “It went great actually. I looked at two places and both have ample space and are reasonably priced. I just want to make sure I’m making the right decision to set up shop here, ya know. I kind of chose Alastar out of the blue.”
“Don’t you like this town?”
“Oh, I love it out here. It’s quiet and the folks are super nice. I just don’t want to make any more mistakes. I have to make sure I do what’s right for my business and not make this a personal decision.”
“What do you mean?”
She scrubbed at a cast iron skillet for a few minutes before answering him. “Once…I used to be a personal chef to a very busy executive further down south.”
“Further down south…where?”
“Texas,” she answered.
“Texas?” he mumbled. “Virginia is far away from Texas.”
“Yeah, I absolutely loved Texas and I loved my job there. I signed an employment contract that pretty much stated that I was set for life as far as full-time gainful employment goes.”
Raoulf had leaned up against the kitchen counter, watching her work and listening to her intently.
“That sounds like a lucrative job. Something unexpected must have happened,” he said.
“He was dealing with family problems all the time. I didn’t ask what was going on right off the bat, but I had come to trust him and he told me that he needed to enter a marriage for a couple of months to inherit something that was left in his grandparent’s will. Anyway, one thing led to another and I entered into an agreement to help him. I was already at his home all the time, so no one would suspect anything if we entered this marriage agreement for a short while. Plus I was getting something out of the deal too. While he was finalizing things on his end, he fronted me the cash to get my side catering business up and running. I was supposed to marry him some time afterward. I couldn’t do it after what I discovered, so I backed out. To get out of the agreement, I sold my business and paid him back what I owed him. I know this is strange…”
“It’s not strange to me,” Raoulf replied.
“It’s over and done with anyway and I’m trying to move on with my life. I wasn’t able to do that for a long while after I didn’t go through with what I’d agreed to do for him.”
“Why did you decide not to marry him? Was something wrong with him? Did you suspect something was wrong?”
Nina promised herself that she’d never talk about this to anyone, but the circumstances had been weighing so heavy on her over the last few weeks, that she felt relief now that she’d gotten some of it off her chest.
“He’s corrupt. That’s all I can say. Look, I don’t like to talk about it. The matter is private.”
Raoulf frowned. “Understood.”
She didn’t miss the look of suspicion that set in across his face as his attention turned from her to something just outside of her kitchen window. When she followed his gaze, there was nothing there. He was deep in thought, and most likely trying to figure out what could have led her to agree to such a thing and then not go through with the marriage. She’d confided in a best friend about this same issue and even she voiced the same concern. What had been going through her head when she agreed to something like that? Too bad Nina was still bound by the confidentiality part of the agreement. She’d never broken that stipulation and she doubted she ever would. It had been months since Warren Chestnut had tried to get a hold of her. The more he searched for her, the further away she moved. Only this time she felt that she was truly free from him spying on her. Or maybe he’d just gotten tired of running after her, hoping she’d change her mind and actually live up to her end of the agreement.
Chapter 9
“So, um…I guess this is it.”
Nina shrugged, making eye contact with him for a moment and then diverting her gaze.
He wanted to tell her that he wasn’t going anywhere—that he wasn’t going to leave just yet. He wasn’t certain that he wanted to leave at all.
The entryway lamps were on, shining in their faces as they stood out in the night by the door.
“I’m not scheduled to leave just yet,” he said, instead.
“Just so you know, if you ever feel like a good meal again, you can give me a ring. I’m usually home every evening, but you’d have to call me about an hour or two before so I can actually, you know, cook the f
ood.”
He smiled. “You love cooking, don’t know?”
She grinned.
“Is tomorrow evening too soon?” he asked.
“Actually, I’m scheduled to make and freeze lasagnas for another food drive this weekend. If you want to stop by and be my taste tester, that’ll be a big help.”
“You’ve got yourself a taste tester.” He looked down at the take-out trays in his arms. “Thanks for the leftovers. I don’t think this will make it until lunch tomorrow.”
“Well, if anything changes, you know how to reach me,” she said, her hand on the doorknob.
He swallowed. “Nina, I…”
No, Raoulf. Now’s not the time. The wolf inside of him protested. The wolf wasn’t patient.
“You what?”
“Just wanted to say thanks again,” he said. “You should get inside. I’ll see you later.”
“Good night,” she said.
Her fluff of curls bounced as she turned around and slipped inside. She held the door slightly open and he took one last look at her. He wanted to grab her by the small of her waist and pull her right back outside and in his arms. Just thinking about his fingers gripping the soft, delicate plumpness of her skin had him straining hard against the zipper of his pants.
Christ, he wanted her. Badly.
In that moment, he knew that he couldn’t turn Nina Moore back over to Warren Chestnut. He just couldn’t. Not because he knew she was innocent and had the right to renege on an agreement that wasn’t in her best interests and that she seemed to never want to be a part of it in the first place, but because he wanted her for himself.
Nina finally closed the door, leaving him on her doorstep to speculate what he’d have to do next.
After checking in at his hotel, Raoulf hadn’t completely made up his mind and the same feeling of uneasiness threatened his train of thought. He had to get out. Had to talk to someone other than himself about this. His brothers were probably too busy handling their own business and personal dealings. Plus, how would he explain to them that he was thinking about not doing what he’d already been paid to do? How would he explain to them that his wolf was hell-bent that he had found something special in Nina.
“What the heck is wrong with you?” he mumbled to himself as he pulled into the parking lot of a local bar.
It hadn’t taken him long to ask around and find out where the shifter-friendly places were around here. He scooted into a vacant seat once he was inside the establishment and ordered himself a beer. Even with the dozens of shifters mulling around the bar, eyeing him like fresh meat and probably wondering what he was doing in their neck of the woods, he couldn’t get Nina off his mind. Heck, she was the bounty. The person he was getting paid to find and turn in. His next step should have been devising a plan to get her back across the state line to face his client, not how he could get closer to her to appease himself.
Something Nina mentioned stuck with him. She had been in Texas when she worked for Chestnut, which matched up, with the time frame given to him by Chestnut. It was all starting to make a little bit of sense. With Nina now living in Virginia, she’d managed to put hundreds of miles between them. It was no wonder he was having trouble tracking her down. He wondered if either Nina or Chestnut knew how close they really were to each other.
His phone buzzed at his hip and he brought it up to eye level to look at the caller ID. One name flashed on the screen: Warren Chestnut.
“Fuck,” he uttered.
He sent the call straight to voicemail and chugged down the rest of his beer.
If he broke protocol by withholding information from a paying client, he’d be in a whole heap of trouble.
One thing was certain, if anyone laid a hand on Nina Moore to harm him, they’d pay with their life.
Chapter 10
“As much as I’m enjoying your company and your help with making sure my car is still safe to drive, I know you’re not here to stay forever,” Nina said, folding her legs under her on the couch.
Both of them had just satisfied their hunger on homemade lasagna, fresh bread, and key lime pie. The extra lasagna trays were on the kitchen counter cooling, waiting for her to stick them in the deep freezer later on.
Raoulf placed his half empty lemonade glass down on the coaster on the end table and then settled back on the couch. “I haven’t got anywhere pressing to be. I’m what you might call a free agent.”
“A free agent?”
“Yes. Freelance. I do jobs here and there. I ride from state to state.”
“And you make a living doing odd jobs?” she asked.
“I’ve been making a living doing odd jobs all of my life,” he replied.
“If I ask you something, would you tell me the absolute truth?”
He turned slightly in the chair to face her. His lips were set in a grim line and his eyebrows were drawn together.
“I wouldn’t lie to you,” he stated.
“That day when you fixed my drive belt…you said you were just riding through. Where were you coming from exactly?”
“A little town called Aspen Valley.”
“Aspen Valley…Tennessee, right?” She’d heard the name before. “Is that your home?”
He sighed, his chest visibly filling and then collapsing. “It’s my birth home.”
“You don’t sound so happy about it.”
“I’m on the road a lot. I’m leaving the family behind a lot. It’s just me and my brothers, ya know, but we inherited a Pa—we inherited some business things and it’s more important now than ever before for us to be together.”
“Business things?”
“We’re all about community where I’m from. We help each other out. It’s how we’ve survived this long.”
“Sure.” She ran her gaze across his face, wishing she had more time with him. “What happened to you?”
He frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Your…the scar on your face.”
He grinned. “Ugly, isn’t it?”
“No, it’s not ugly. It’s just a scar. I see you perfectly fine despite that.”
“I’m not exactly a saint, Nina. I got the scar because I deserved it.”
She shook her head. “No one deserves to be scarred, neither physically nor mentally.”
“Like I mentioned, I’m a free agent. I do very dangerous jobs for serious cash. This type of work requires me to risk my life. Sometimes I complete jobs without so much as lifting a finger or by making a few phone calls and there are times I end up doing more physical work than I vouched for.”
“I can see how doing handyman and mechanic work could be physically demanding, but there must have been a terrible accident to lead to a scar like that.”
After she said it, she realized how it might have sounded to him. From the look on his face, he seemed hurt by her assessment of him.
Nina scooted closer on the couch next to him. “I’m sorry.”
“No need for apologies.”
“But, I—” She placed her palm on his forearm.
The moment she touched him, her train of thought lingered and disappeared until the only thing present was the wave of passion fluttering through her. Her heart pounded. In that moment, she paused, observing his profile. The prominent vein on his throat pulsed furiously. Despite his sun-bronzed skin, she detected a blush flushing upward on his neck. He’d felt it too…the brief current that passed between them.
“Nina…” He turned completely to face her and slid his palm under her elbow. “I should tell you something…”
“It’s okay. If talking about your scar is uncomfortable for you right now, we can talk about it some other time.”
“It’s not that. I got the scar in a really bad fight when I was ten years old. It’s been a part of me for the better part of my life. I’m comfortable with it, but not many people are.”
“You’ve been doing dangerous jobs since you’ve been ten years old?”
“No…”
/> “But you said that your jobs are dangerous and physically demanding. If this scar was from your days as a youth…”
“These aren’t my only scars,” he said, quietly.
Without warning, he lifted his hand and wrapped one of her curls around his finger. The back of his hand brushed gently against her cheek as her strands molded around his fingers. His lips were slightly parted. He was so close that she could smell his cologne. She wasn’t even sure if the scent was cologne or just an aura that was uniquely him.
“Raoulf…I…” Nina diverted her gaze downward as a rush of arousal warmed her insides. She felt her nipples beading against her blouse. She didn’t know whether to be embarrassed or to play it off.
She did the only thing she could think of at the moment. She rested her forehead onto his chest, hiding her coy expression. If there was one thing that Nina wasn’t, it was shy. But she didn’t know what had come over her.
Taking her by surprise, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer into her. He pressed his lips against the top of her head and inhaled deeply. They held each other in a warm embrace for what seemed like forever, but then he pulled back and peered at her.
Had she remained coy with her eyes trained elsewhere, she might have missed it. If his green eyes were mesmerizing before, they were more enchanting now. But normal human eyes couldn’t have changed the way his did. His pupils widened and then narrowed in real time.
Suddenly, it dawned on her. He was like Warren! Her Ex. A shifter.
She gasped and pushed back from him. “Oh my God!”
“What?” He seemed just as startled as she was. After blinking a few times, his eyes had turned back to normal again, but it was too late. She’d already seen it. She knew what he was.
She pointed at him. “I know. I know who and what you are.”
He frowned. “I can explain.”
“Shifter,” she whispered. “You’re a shifter.”
She rose from the couch and took a few steps back. “Aren’t you?”
Her throat pained her as she swallowed down her shock.
Aspen Valley Wolf Pack (The Complete Series) Page 32