Silverbacks and Second Chances

by Raines, Harmony

  She cried out, her inner muscles tightening around him, setting off a chain reaction in his body. As one they reached the edge of their climax and grabbed hold of it and didn’t let go, driving each other to new heights with kisses and touches.

  At last, he strained forward as he jerked into her, completely spent. In his arms, a completely sated Haley let out a sigh of contentment as she rested against him.

  “That was incredible,” she said as she rolled onto her side.

  “More than incredible,” he agreed as he stroked her face and gazed into her eyes.

  She rested her head on the pillow and ran her hand over his chest. “I never knew it could be like that.”

  “Like what?” he asked, lifting her hand to his lips and kissing the backs of her fingers.

  “The connection. It was almost spiritual. Rather than simply physical.” She inched forward, and he wrapped his arms around her and held her close.

  “We are joined by more than the physical,” he told her. “The bond between a shifter and their mate is unbreakable.”

  “I hope so,” Haley replied sleepily, snuggling closer to him.

  “Hey, don’t go to sleep, we’re both due back at Mason and Tiana’s and you have to go to work.” He sat up and looked down at his mate. “I’d offer to look after you and tell you to quit your job, but Mason tried that, and Tiana insisted on carrying on at work.”

  Haley turned onto her back and covered her eyes with the back of her hand. “I’ve always worked and paid my way. Except when the girls were very young. The job at the restaurant fit around Harrison’s hours so it was perfect.”

  “But?” Buck asked, easing her hand away from her face.

  She reached out and stroked his face. “It won’t be the same if T and Sorch go off and have babies.” She gave him a half smile. “And no, that doesn’t mean I want to have a baby just so that I can be part of the mommy club.”

  “So what do you want?” Buck asked.

  She blew the air out between her lips. “I don’t know. Something different.”

  “How about working with me?” Buck asked, and he could see from the expression on her face she was tempted but unsure if he meant it. “When we start work on the warehouses you could come along, and I can teach you how to project manage.”

  “Really?” Haley asked, suddenly awake as she sat up in bed beside him. “You aren’t just saying that to get in my bed?” Her eyes widened. “Because you’ve already done that.”

  “No, I’m not just saying it. I think you’d be great. And you can help me with the small print in all the damn contracts and instructions. Words are not my thing.”

  “You can’t read?” Haley asked with surprise.

  “I can read. Just…I’m dyslexic. The words jumble themselves up. Or my brain jumbles them up.”

  “I can’t believe you’ve gotten this far in life without being able to read properly,” Haley said in surprise. “I’m proud of you.” She slipped her arm around his shoulders and rested her head on his chest. “If there’s ever anything I can do to help, just ask.”

  He turned his head and kissed her. “I will. It’s never held me back, but sometimes I’d love to sit down with a good book and read. I love stories, I love watching movies. When I can, I like to listen to books on audio.”

  “Maybe I could read to you. Or help you read yourself. I know you’ve said you’ve tried, but there might be a way. We can persevere together.” Haley’s sweet offer only made him sure she was the right one for him.

  “I’m not sure if I’m too long in the tooth to learn to read now,” Buck confided. “I’ve scraped by this long on what I know.”

  “Never say never, right? If I can become a project manager for your construction work, then why can’t you learn to read better?” Haley asked.

  “We can both try,” he agreed.

  “That’s all you can do. Although it’s different for you. I realize dyslexia isn’t something you can overcome by making yourself get out there and do something.” Haley slipped out of bed and retrieved her clothes. “Come on, you are right, I have to get back to the girls and then go to work.”

  Buck flung the covers off and got out of bed. “I can’t remember the last time I was in bed at this time of day.”

  “Good, that means you don’t fall into bed with every woman who gives you a smile.” Haley pulled on her pants and then her shirt, which she hastily buttoned up. “Coffee before we go?”

  “Sure.” Buck dressed quickly and went downstairs to join Haley in the kitchen. “I’ll go out to the truck and grab the tools I need. I want to inspect your ceiling before we go.”

  “Since that is why you came over.” She gave him a knowing smile.

  Buck held up his hands. “You got me.” He backed out of the door and then turned around, heading for the front door, hating to leave his mate. Yes, he was coming straight back in, but still, the idea of walking away from her made the breath catch in his lungs. The invisible thread connecting them pulled him back toward her.

  With an effort, he opened the front door and walked out to the road where his truck was parked. Opening the back door, he retrieved his tools. That’s when he saw the flat tire.

  “Damn it.” He slammed the door shut and went around to the rear driver’s side wheel and sat down on his haunches as he examined the damage. Running his fingers along the jagged edges of rubber, he cursed again. This was no accident, he hadn’t driven over a sharp object that had punctured the tire. No, this slash was too high.

  Buck stood up and looked around. The street was quiet, no one walking along the sidewalk, and yet he had a feeling someone was watching him. He rubbed the back of his neck. Who?

  Keeping his head down as if he were looking at the truck, he circled it, using his peripheral vision to seek out the person who was responsible. No one. Nothing.

  The sense of being watched passed. Perhaps he’d imagined it.

  Grabbing his tools, he went back to the house. “I have a flat tire,” he told Haley.

  “No.” She turned to face him, a folded T-shirt in her hands as she sorted through the laundry she’d done earlier. “I feel bad.”

  “It’s not your fault.” He dumped his toolbox down on the floor.

  “If you hadn’t come here, you wouldn’t have gotten a puncture.” She came around the counter to stand next to him.

  “It could have happened anywhere.” It was true, even if the tire had been slashed, it could have happened anywhere. The chances were, it was someone walking past who thought it was funny. So he decided to keep his suspicions that it was slashed to himself.

  “I guess.” She didn’t sound convinced and he stood up and wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close.

  “Honestly, I would trade a flat tire for the time we spent together in a heartbeat.”

  Haley clasped her hands around the back of his neck. “You say the sweetest things.”

  He chuckled as he lowered his head and kissed her lips. “It’s a gift.”

  Chapter Eleven – Haley

  Buck was a gift. All wrapped up in an incredible body, with a wonderful sense of humor.

  His mouth, soft and yet firm, moved against hers, his tongue sliding along her lower lip and she opened her mouth, sucking on his tongue before he pulled back and nipped her bottom lip. “I should get this done.”

  “You should. I don’t think Mr. Monroe will accept you as an excuse for being late.” She let him go and went back to folding her laundry while Buck stood on one of the kitchen chairs and looked at the water damage in the ceiling.

  “Well, he should. I’m the best excuse you’re ever going to have.” He took a flashlight out of the tool belt he’d clipped on and shone it at the ceiling. Placing his hand on the wooden supports and the floorboards above his head, he examined the extent of the needed repair.

  “How does it look?” she asked, hoping his reply would be positive.

  “It still needs to dry out some more, but it should be ok
ay for us to repair tomorrow.” He finished looking and then switched off the flashlight. “We can check it again before we start work. If it’s not dry, you might have to spend another might at Tiana’s.”

  “As long as it’s not in a tent, I’m good with that.” She smiled at him as he got down. “I swear I have a bruise on my hip from tree root poking through the foam mattress.”

  He jumped down off the chair. “I have a bed you can share.”

  “That sounds like a plan.” She kissed him then went back to her laundry. “Do you need a hand with the tire?”

  “I can handle it, thanks.” Buck collected his tools. “Are you ready to leave?”

  “No, I have a couple more chores to take care of. You go ahead. I’ll follow when I’m done.” She watched him as he left the house. She wished he could use her hands instead, but that would have to wait until tonight.

  Then she would be his once more.

  Haley turned her full attention to her chores. However, her brain wanted to constantly conjure up images of Buck. How did she get so lucky?

  He was everything she could ever want. And more.

  Buck was the kind of man who knew how to take care of a woman, but also knew how to let a woman take care of herself. He’d be there when he needed her and cheering alongside her when she didn’t.

  Folding the last of the laundry, she went upstairs and put it all way, before cleaning the bathroom and vacuuming through the house. A glance out of the window had shown her Buck changing his tire. Although she longed to go to him, she wanted the house cleaned from top to bottom. It was almost like she was building a nest, making it comfortable for her family.

  Haley’s thoughts turned to the house Buck wanted to build. That would be one hell of a nest.

  How would she feel working alongside him, though? Giving up her job at the restaurant would be like giving up her independence. Or was she simply afraid of giving up her security blanket? Working at the restaurant was safe.

  “Time to step out of your comfort zone.”

  “I can help you with that.” Harrison’s voice filled her with dread. He stood leaning back against the counter, a cup of coffee in his hand.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” Haley asked, resisting the urge to grab hold of the countertop to steady herself. Her knees were like water, her blood like ice in her veins and her lungs seemed to have lost the ability to draw in air.

  “I came to check up on my girls.” He sipped his coffee as if he belonged.

  He didn’t, and she planned to make damn sure he knew it.

  “They aren’t here. So get out,” she spat.

  He pushed off from the counter and circled toward her. Haley stood her ground. She would not let him intimidate her. She no longer feared him.

  So why did her hand tremble as she brushed her hair back from her face?

  “You’re my girl, Haley.” She hated the way he said it, so sickly sweet.

  “No, I’m not. I haven’t been your girl for a long time. I asked you to leave.”

  “No, you demanded I leave.” He put his hand to his chest. “And that wounded me. After all we shared. You carried my babies in your womb, I held your hand while you gave birth. We have an emotional connection.”

  “You severed that connection when you hit me.” She took a step toward the door. If he wanted her, he’d follow and the closer she was to the front door, the easier it would be to get him out of her house. And he was going. She just wasn’t sure how she was going to make him.

  “That was a mistake. I admit it. But you are still my wife.” He didn’t follow, he simply stood sipping his coffee, framed in the doorway of her kitchen where only minutes earlier she and Buck had stood talking about their future. Harrison was her past and she didn’t want him invading her privacy or her life.

  “We’re divorced. Remember?”

  “Not in my eyes. You promised me until death do us part.” He placed his hand over his heart. “I’m still alive. And so are you.”

  “Get out, Harrison. We’re done.”

  “No, we’re not.” He took two quick steps toward her.

  His attempt to frighten her failed, this was one of his many tactics meant to intimidate her. Well, it wouldn’t work this time.

  Haley put her hand up in front of her and yelled, “Stop!”

  He did, the tone of her voice unexpected. “I wasn’t going to hurt you.”

  “So you always say.” She glared at him, willing him to leave, to disappear from her life. “Right before you hit me.”

  “I’ve changed.” He held up his hands as if protesting his innocence.

  “Prove it. Leave.”

  “But then I wouldn’t be able to warn you about that man of yours.” Harrison’s voice so friendly, as if he were doing her a favor, alarmed her more than his quick advance.

  “I don’t know what you are talking about.” There was no way she was going to discuss her private life with Harrison. It was none of his business, although he seemed to think otherwise.

  “It is my business when he is a threat to my girls.” Harrison inched closer. Haley didn’t flinch. He was an expert at mind games, but Haley had learned to play them well.

  “He’s no threat to anything other than your ego,” she retorted, taking a couple of steps back and lifting her hand to the door, ready to open it and call for help if she needed to. But she hated the idea of Buck being caught up in Harrison’s sticky web. “Why don’t we ask him?”

  “Do you really want to do that?” Harrison didn’t advance, he didn’t try to stop her. “Or do you want me to tell you who the man in your bed really is?”

  Her heart skipped a beat. Not because of what he was implying about Buck, but because he knew they were sleeping together. Had he spied on them, or was he simply looking for a reaction? “I know who he is.”

  “No, you don’t. Not really.” He gave her a sympathetic smile. “Poor, poor Haley. Made the wrong choice again. How does it feel to be such a bad judge of men?”

  She let out a long breath. “Get out.” She sounded bored. “I don’t care what you have to say. I just want you to leave. If not, you’ll be hearing from my lawyer.”

  “Or you’ll be hearing from mine. I can’t have my kids being around a man who beats women. Isn’t that what you said?” he taunted.

  “About you, yes.” She pressed her lips together to stop herself from saying more. Harrison wasn’t worth her time.

  “And yet you’ve shacked up with a man who has been accused of beating up a woman. It seems you have a type. What would the courts think of that?” He smiled benevolently. “I’ll see myself out.”

  “Make sure you shut the door behind you,” Haley called, but didn’t follow, she didn’t trust her legs to work. His accusations about Buck shook her to the core, even if they were just his way of trashing Buck.

  Turning around, he made his way back out through the kitchen, heading for the back door. But before he left, he turned and said, “Google him if you don’t believe me. It’s all there online.”

  With that, he left.

  Haley stared at the door for several minutes, unable to move. What the hell did Harrison want from this, other than to ruin her newfound happiness? More to the point, how did he know about Buck since they’d only known each other for just over twenty-four hours? Had Alicia or Marie told him?

  Did it really matter? That was the question it all came down to. Did it matter if Harrison knew?

  A knock at the door made her jump and she swung around, yanking it open, her face pale as she locked eyes with Buck. “Are you okay? I thought I heard you shouting.”

  “Yes.” She passed her hand over her face. “No.”

  She crumpled, the residual tension of her meeting with Harrison catching up with her and dragging her down into a pit of anger and resentment. He was trying to ruin her life once more.

  Buck’s strong arms caught her, and he held her close, while she slumped against him. “What happened?”

  �
��Harrison was here.” She watched his expression cloud over until he looked like a thunderstorm rolling down off the mountains. His hands tightened around her waist and his eyes scanned the house for any sign of her ex-husband. “He’s gone.”

  “What did he want?” Buck asked as he let out a pent-up breath and eased his hold on her.

  “I don’t know what his motives were.” Haley didn’t want to repeat the rumor Harrison had planted in her brain. But she needed to hear Buck’s denial. “He said you were accused of beating up a woman.”

  Buck’s sharp intake of breath alarmed her. But not as much as when he let her go and walked away from her, pacing the hallway like a caged lion. Her heartbeat increased as Buck kept his eyes averted, not wanting to look at her, not wanting to contradict Harrison’s words.

  She knew the answer before he opened his mouth to speak. “It’s true. I was accused of beating up a woman.” He put his hands on his hips and stared up at the ceiling. “Krella Josovich.”

  Haley reached out and placed her hand on the wall, needing its solid support as she fought to comprehend what Buck was saying. All those promises, all the trust she’d put in him, all for nothing. She didn’t care if she was his mate, she could not live with a man who had raised his fists to another woman.

  “I think you should go.” Her strangled voice was barely audible as she closed her eyes. Her happy ending was fading away and she hated the devastating disappointment that threatened to sweep over her.

  “No.” Buck swung around, his face contorted in agony. “You don’t understand.”

  “There is no excuse for hitting anyone, let alone a woman.” She abhorred violence in all forms, but a man, especially one as big and strong as Buck, should never hit a woman.

  “I didn’t,” he blurted out. “You have to believe me, I didn’t.”

  She shook her head. “Buck…”

  “Please, Haley.” He came toward her. She didn’t move, she didn’t run, because the expression in his eyes told her he was telling her the truth. “Krella accused me of hitting her, but I never did, I swear.”