Rescued By The Wolf

“I hope it’s just a casual interest. You know I’m not looking for anything more.”

“Not all men are jerks. Some can be trusted not to break your heart, Grace.”

In her experience, they always did.

Her dad had been the first. Strict, unemotional and mostly absent, he’d broken promise after promise. Birthdays, holidays, award presentations, he’d sworn to attend them all. She only needed one hand to count the number of times he had attended anything.

Derek, her college sweetheart turned ex-husband, swore he loved her, but after the miscarriage he couldn’t get out of their marriage fast enough.

Even Matt had crushed her heart, joining the military after he promised he wouldn’t. Now he was paralyzed.

“Hey, Goldilocks.” Rafe strolled into the kitchen. “If you’re ready to go, I’ll walk you to your room.”

Grace regarded his outstretched palm.

Though his voice had sounded indifferent, his eyes dared her to take his steady, open hand.

So she did.

As he pulled her to her feet, electricity sparked in his fingertips and zipped through her neural pathways. The jolt flushed her skin, a flutter disrupted the rhythm of her heart. Her eyes, mouth and throat immediately turned dry as all the moisture in her body pooled between her legs.

Something dark and primal flickered in Rafe’s eyes.

She jerked back her hand.

They said their goodbyes to Cassie and Brice, then walked down the corridor to the hidden entrance to the resort lobby.

“How did you know I was ready to leave, or was it a lucky guess?”

“When I came into the kitchen for another bottle of water, I saw you rub the tattoo on your wrist.” Rafe reached around her to open the heavy mahogany doors.

“Lucky guess it is.”

“You touch it when you’re anxious.”

“I do not.”

“You rubbed it while we waited for the emergency responders after the accident, again at the hospital, before you fell asleep, at the diner when we ate breakfast.”

“Oh,” Grace said softly.

So Cassie hadn’t been off the mark about Rafe’s observation skills.

Strange that he would watch Grace so carefully after he confessed no interest in becoming friends. She bit back a smile. Maybe he was warming to the idea.

Music filtered over the chatter of people spilling from the lounge into the lobby. Rafe cupped the back of her arm, navigating them through the masses.

He stabbed his finger at the elevator call button and mumbled something about the damned crowd.

“There’s a singles convention going on.”

“Is that why you came down this weekend?” Raw surprise registered before he blanked his expression.

“Um, no. I don’t hook up with strangers.”

“You prefer friends.”

“That would be the benefit I mentioned.” She poked the button as if that would help the elevator to appear faster. “You’re not eligible, you know. Since we aren’t friends.”

Rafe’s face tilted up.

“Did you hear that?” Grace looked around for the source of a growl. Not a service or therapy dog in sight.

Maybe she’d imagined the sound.

The elevator dinged.

Ushering her inside, Rafe’s hand slipped down her back and skimmed her bottom.

Her body, having just cooled from his last touch, ignited again. She couldn’t remember a man revving her up as fast as Rafe could, and he wasn’t trying.

“Thanks for the escort. I know the way from here.”

Rafe studied her for a moment, then stepped forward. The doors closed before she could push him out.

Mercifully, the stone-silent ride to the fifth floor was quick. She shoved the card-key into the electronic lock. The device blinked red to taunt her. She tried again.

Still red.

No matter how she jammed the card into the reader, the light blazed red.

Rafe’s fingers closed around her wrist. The gentleness of his touch scrambled her brain and jellied her knees. He drew back her hand and eased the key from her death grip. Turning it over, he drew the key through the slot.

The result?

A perky, green glow.

Grace wanted to slap him.

Rafe pushed opened the door.

Her breath caught in her throat. The maids had turned off all the lights after they’d cleaned the suite.

“Wait here.” Rafe entered the room.

Grace lingered in the doorway, watching his muscles bunch and flex as he moved silently through the cozy living area to turn on the lights. He stepped into the bedroom. Thankfully, housekeeping had straightened the rumpled queen-sized bed and picked up the towels she had dropped on the floor.

He turned on the television and turned down the sound. “Better?”

Nodding, she nearly choked on emotion.

Rafe, a man who barely knew her, showed more concern for her deep-seated fear of the dark than her own family.

He crossed the room as she stepped inside. Lifting his hand to her face, he grazed his thumb against her temple. He frowned, gingerly fingering the residual bump at her hairline. Then, he drew his hand down the side of her face and brushed her hair behind her ear.

She stood still, not daring to breathe.

His soft-whiskered jaw skimmed her cheek and he nosed the shell of her ear before nuzzling the sweet spot behind it.

Her heart seemed to flutter into her throat. Her breaths quickened and her body hummed.

“Sleep tight, Goldilocks,” he murmured.

Grace didn’t remember closing her eyes. By the time she opened them, Rafe had vanished.

Chapter 9

Rafe cut off the lights on the truck and stared at the simple little A-frame house, the personal touches he remembered screamingly absent.

A fragile, feminine she-wolf, his mate, Lexi, had loved soft, frilly, pretty things. She had transformed a plain, wooden box house into something akin to a fairy-tale cottage filled with flowers and pillows, candles and gnomes.

She’d loved garden gnomes.

Now the wildflower patch in front of the house had withered away and the gnomes had been relocated to Maico’s Botanical Conservatory where she had worked. He always thought the gnomes would be happy there because she certainly had been.

Although he’d given the box Ronni packed to the director, Rafe had not actually visited the public gardens since the shooting. He couldn’t.

Same with this place.

The counselors at rehab had said his ability to face his former home would be a ruthless challenge to his sobriety, but one he needed to overcome.

Instead, he’d given the house and small parcel of land to Ronni and Alex upon their arrival. He’d never visited them here, preferring to meet them at the diner or talk briefly on the phone.

He wasn’t giving them the brush-off. He simply wasn’t much of a talker. Most people found his silence awkward and thought he wasn’t paying attention. If he didn’t have anything pertinent to add to the conversation, he didn’t join in. Didn’t mean he wasn’t listening.

The porch light came on and the front door opened.

He climbed out of the truck.

“Rafe? Are you here for more boxes?” Ronni stood in the entryway. Since moving in, she had slowly packed away the remnants of his former life. Box by box he distributed everything to where he thought Lexi would want her things to go.

Clothes went to the charity thrift store. So did the dishes and housewares. Ronni had brought her own.

More personal items he planned give to his former mother-in-law.

“I’ll take what you have.” He stepped on the first porch step.

“Are you all right? You look a little peaked.”

“Rough day.” Being surrounded by baby stuff, and Grace.

I should’ve kissed her.

No, his lips needed to stay far away from hers.

He had a bad feeling about the situation. One of those gut-twisting “no matter what you do it’s gonna get fucked up” type of feelings.

“Do you want to come inside?” Ronni squinted at him with a worried-mom look.

“Maybe next time.” He’d had too much upheaval today. “I want to talk with Alex.”

“I grounded him for being out after curfew on Friday night. He won’t do it again, I promise.” Ronni rolled her lips together.

“He’s a good kid and hasn’t done anything the other wolflings haven’t tried.”

Ronni breathed a sigh of relief.

“We need to make some changes so he doesn’t get into any more trouble. Would you call him out?”

“Alex, come here,” she yelled over her shoulder. “Bring the boxes on the kitchen table with you.”

Loud thuds fell on the stairs inside. Seconds later, Alex appeared and helped Rafe load the boxes in the tow truck.

“Later.”

Ronni hooked Alex before he disappeared into the house. “Rafe wants to talk to us.” Tension hardened Ronni’s body.

“I heard you skipped school a few times.”

Ronni gripped Alex’s shoulders and shook him. “What have I told you about missing school?”

“I hate school!” Alex’s mouth twisted. “It won’t do me any good.”

“It won’t if you keep missing classes,” Rafe said. “Starting tomorrow, I’ll take you to school and bring you home after I close up.”

“I don’t need a friggin’ babysitter.”

“If you aren’t responsible enough to do what you ought, then, mister, you certainly do need one.” Ronni crossed her arms. “And watch your language.”

“This ain’t fair!” Alex stormed inside.

“Be ready at seven,” Rafe called after him. “Or I will hog-tie you and drop you off dressed the way I found you.”

Ronni snickered. “He’s at the age where he thinks he’s too old for pajamas.”

“That’s why I said it.” Rafe noticed the tired droop around Ronni’s eyes and the slight hunch in her back. “How are the GED classes coming?”

“I’m holding my own.” Ronni straightened. “Alex comes by his dislike for school honestly. His dad and I weren’t the best students.”

“You have a fresh start here,” Rafe said.

“You do, too.” Ronni eyed him curiously. “The woman with you at the diner, her scent is still all over you. Who is she to you?”

“A friend of a friend.”

“Not your friend?”

He shook his head.

“Well, why not?”

Rafe thought for a moment.

“She talks a lot.” When Grace wasn’t talking, she hummed. Her voice had a nice, soft melody that stayed on his mind after they parted.

That’s what really bothered him. She shouldn’t be on his mind at all.

“You must be kiddin’ because you ain’t that dumb. Unless this docile pack has sucked the wolf right out of you.” Ronni, two steps up from him, leaned forward with her hands still tucked beneath the arms crossed over her chest.

She was only ten years older, but the one cocked eyebrow and the side-scrunched mouth were a perfect imitation of his mother. He still had memories of his life before coming to Walker’s Run and she wore that look in a lot of them.

“Don’t get me wrong,” Ronni said. “I’ve met some fine people here, but they’re outta touch with their nature. You’re getting yours back. I see it in your eyes. Don’t be afraid of it. Be proud of who you are. Proud of where you come from, because you come from good stock.”

Silence hung between them but neither felt any urgency to fill it. They were family by blood, still getting to know each other. Still testing the boundaries of trust and confidence.

“So, blondie talks too much. That’s it?”

“It’s a lot of words to absorb. She doesn’t stop until she’s asleep.”

“Huh. You know this how?”

Somehow he was digging himself a deeper hole in a conversation he didn’t want to be in.

“I see.” Ronni pressed her lips. “Does she get your heart racing and your blood pumping straight down to your cock?”

He did not want to have this discussion with a woman who favored his mother way too much.

“I can see by your face, she does. Well then, don’t worry too much about her talking. Find something better to do with her mouth.”

Not the advice he was hoping for.

“One thing she can do is eat,” Ronni called after him. “Bring her to supper. Thursday is good. I’ll have the rest of your things packed by then.”

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