The shadow along his jaw and chin felt more natural than a clean-shaven face so he put the razor back in the cabinet over the sink.
Instead of combing his hair, he ran his fingers through the damp strands, spiking it instead of slicking it into place. A little wild, but not unkempt.
He liked it.
The tiny changes he’d started making were more freeing than he imagined. He didn’t feel quite so constrained. Until he’d stopped drinking, he hadn’t realized how confined he’d always felt. The first seven years of his life, he’d been raised on the outskirts of civilization. More wolf than boy, he’d loved running free in the forest, tracking rabbits, pouncing on fish in the streams.
He still liked those things.
He wondered if Grace would mind that he did.
* * *
“Rafe?” Grace knocked on the door. “Are you almost done?”
She shifted on the balls of her feet. How long did a man need in the bathroom, anyway?
She’d been waiting over twenty minutes and she had to pee so badly her eyeballs were starting to water.
“If you don’t come out soon, I’m gonna—”
The door opened. “Gonna what?”
Rafe peered at her with sharp, intense eyes. His damp hair was tousled but not messy and he hadn’t shaved. Bare chested with a white towel draped around his hips, he leaned against the door frame.
Her heart stumbled over itself. No man should look that sexy in the morning when she had bed hair, crust in her eyes and a really bad taste in her mouth.
His dark blue gaze took its sweet-ass time assessing her. “You’ve seen me naked. You could’ve come in at any time.” A smile played on his lips. “I have nothing to hide.”
She ducked past him, closing him out of the bathroom. “Some matters deserve a little privacy.”
He chuckled beyond the door, but in case he was close enough to hear, she turned on the water spigot to mask any noise she made emptying her bladder.
When she was through, Grace grabbed a clean washcloth from the small wall cabinet fastened above the toilet. Every cloth and towel was meticulously folded and lined up perfectly on the two shelves. Everything in Rafe’s apartment was crisp, clean and symmetrical. Nothing out of place, nothing out of line.
Her father had demanded military orderliness with white-glove cleanliness. As soon as she left home for college, she thumbed her nose at his regimented compulsion.
She didn’t rebel so far as to turn into a slothful slob, but she did messy very well.
At least Rafe didn’t yell at her for leaving a hand towel on the sink rather than hanging it on the bar with the edges perfectly lined up, or leaving a glass on the coffee table without a coaster or dropping cookie crumbs on the counter, the couch, the bed.
She dampened the cloth and scrubbed the sleep from her face. Rummaging through the medicine cabinet, she found the hair tie she’d dropped last night and Rafe’s comb.
After untangling the knots in her hair, she did a quick, loose braid and fastened the ends with the tie. She rinsed her mouth and wrinkled her nose at her reflection.
Certainly not the face of a runway model, but at least she was presentable.
“I smell coffee.” She walked into the kitchen.
Dressed for work, wearing a white T-shirt beneath his coveralls, Rafe lifted a cup from the Keurig and offered it to her. The delicate aroma wasn’t the usual rich, bold fragrance of the brew that brought her up to speed in the mornings. Still, she gratefully accepted his offering. Weak coffee was better than none. “I thought you didn’t own a coffeemaker.”
“Saw it on sale.” He turned, putting the half-decaf, half-regular K-cup box in the cabinet over the sink.
Wish I had known, I would’ve had a cup or two while I tutored Alex.
Grace blew over the rim of the cup before taking a sip.
“That’s why I didn’t tell you.”
Grace choked on the sip of coffee she’d just swallowed.
“Ya all right?” One reddish eyebrow inched up.
“Went down the wrong pipe.” She coughed again. “How did you do that?”
“What?”
“Respond to something I thought but didn’t actually say.”
He stared at her for a long moment. “I think you didn’t realize you said it out loud. I can’t read your thoughts, Grace. That would be...crazy, right?”
“Yeah.” Except she was pretty sure she hadn’t said it. Maybe her reduced caffeine intact yesterday had messed with her brain.
She took another drink of coffee, noticing he kept his hair in the same sexy, wind-blown, tousled style he’d worn stepping out of the bathroom, and the stubbled shadow on his chin and jaw made her want to test if it was soft or prickly. “I like the new look.”
She’d thought him sexy before, all straight-laced and whatnot, but the looseness in his limbs and posture, and the touch of wildness called to her in a way no man ever had.
“You mentioned that last night.” He leaned against the counter, his legs stretched in front of him, his arms loosely folded across his chest.
She inched toward him.
Interest flared in his eyes and suddenly the kitchen filled with high-octane energy. One spark and kaboom!
She needed some kaboom.
Sitting the cup on the counter, she sidled right up into his personal space. He stood straighter, pulling his legs back so she could get close. Closer.
Closer still.
His breathing remained calm, steady. Hers, she held.
He leaned in, nudged along her jaw, drawing a deep sigh as she was finally forced to breathe.
He lightly kissed her lips, and his hands slid beneath her shirt, skimming her ribs until he found her breasts.
Her hands roamed his chest down to his groin. Her palm ground against the hardening bulge.
The alarm on Rafe’s phone went off.
Grace nibbled his bottom lip. “Sorry, sweetie. Time to pick Alex up for school.” She peppered the hollow of his throat with kisses. “How about a rain check?”
“Are you seriously going to leave me like this?” Rafe’s gaze panned to the erection tenting his coveralls.
Grace gave him her best smile and she strolled out of the kitchen.
Chapter 21
“Keep spending the night with Rafe and this could be your future.” Cassie pointed to her belly. Her eyes smiled as much as her mouth did. Settled in a recliner in her in-laws’ family room, she appeared rested and alert after her overnight in the hospital.
Brice, Cassie reported, hadn’t slept all night, so he was passed out in their bedroom, snoring to the rafters.
“So not funny.” Grace grimaced. Cassie didn’t know about the miscarriage so her friend had no idea how much the idea of pregnancy scared her. “It was all very innocent. I slept in the bed, he crashed on the couch.”
“What about this morning?”
“What about it?” Guilt made Grace’s voice a little squeaky. “We got up. He made coffee and dropped me off here on his way to pick up Alex.”
“Nothing spicy happened?”
“Uh, no.”
“Why are your cheeks red?” Cassie giggled.
“They aren’t.” Grace touched her face, and her skin felt warm against her fingers. “Okay, we shared a little touchy-feely time. Nothing serious.”
“So? You’re both single, have lots of sexual chemistry. There’s nothing wrong with you having fun.”
“Things could get complicated. Rafe is a down-home, let’s make a commitment guy. I’m looking to have fun.”
“With a steady partner, right?” Cassie sipped her hot tea. “You won’t find anyone steadier than Rafe.”
“How are my girls today?” Gavin entered the room, stopping at Cassie’s chair to give her a fatherly hug, then ging
erly rubbed her belly.
“I’m fine,” Cassie said, reaching behind her to adjust her back pillow. “Your granddaughter must be dreaming of chasing rabbits. She’s moving a lot.”
“Maybe she’s burning off the nervous energy from last night. Should I call Doc?”
“No. It’s nothing out of the ordinary for her.”
Gavin kissed the top of Cassie’s head. “Do let me or Abby know if there is anything we can do for you.”
“When Brice wakes up, keep him occupied. He gets panicky over every little thing.”
“Abby will tell you, I acted the same way.” Gavin smiled and turned to Grace. “We’re grateful you’re here. I know Cassie feels better having you so close. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”
“You’ve been very generous, Mr. Walker, but I don’t want to wear out my welcome. I’ve already asked my brother and his partner to pick me up on Saturday.”
“I was hoping you would change your mind.” The disappointment in Cassie’s voice squeezed Grace’s heart.
“You’ll miss Co-op spring festival.” Gavin sounded surprised. “Didn’t Rafe invite you?”
“Um, no. He hasn’t mentioned it.” Grace noticed a flicker of irritation in Gavin’s eyes. “Besides, I’m not a Co-op member. Wouldn’t it break the rules for me to attend?”
“Nonsense. You’re practically family.” Nothing sinister registered in his smile but it gave Grace the uncanny impression he wasn’t as straightforward as he seemed.
“Oh, please come.” Cassie’s face lit up.
“It will be an excellent opportunity to meet Co-op members other than those who work for the resort.” Gavin paused, with a crafty smile in place. “I’ll tell Abby to add one more to the count.”
Grace didn’t appreciate Gavin seemingly making the decision for her, but there wasn’t any pressing reason she couldn’t extend her visit. She was keeping up her client’s work orders and Matt was doing fine without her.
“I’d love to attend the festival.” Grace enjoyed meeting new people. Besides, something explosive was happening between her and Rafe and she didn’t want to miss the kaboom.
* * *
Rafe rubbed the back of his hand across his itchy nose for what seemed like the hundredth time. The sickly sweet odor from the pan of drained antifreeze dominated his sense of smell.
He poured the yellow-green liquid from the drip pan into a can, capped it with a tight lid and placed the container in the corner where he stored automotive waste until his monthly trip to the county’s hazardous waste disposal center.
The old radio on the shelf provided company in a steady stream of country songs. A soft spring breeze provided just enough cool wind that he didn’t need the oscillating fan sitting quietly, out of the way.
Returning to the vehicle in the second bay, Rafe double-checked that the drain valve was closed before he opened the radiator pressure cap to fill the reservoir with water. Next, he cranked the engine, turned the heater on high and let it run for about ten minutes while he made notes in his logbook.
Someone drove into the back lot. He reached inside the car to shut off the ignition for the engine to cool. Heels clicked across the concrete floor.
Rafe cleaned his hands, tossed the towel into a small laundry basket and turned to face his customer.
“Hey, sugar.” The tall ebony-haired she-wolf sauntered toward him, wearing tight-fitting jeans, a low-cut red blouse and a sensual smile that caused an uneasy prickle in Rafe’s gut.
Ah, hell.
This visit wasn’t going to be about a routine oil change.
Loretta sauntered so close Rafe had to step back and bumped against the grille of the car behind him. Crossing his arms over his chest only prompted her to curl her long fingers around his biceps.
“Got a minute?” she asked, her voice light and teasing.
“No.” Since he’d closed up shop yesterday, he had a lot of catching up to do today.
“Instead of meeting at our usual spot on the next full moon, come to my place for dinner. Afterward, we’ll run the woods, make our way upriver to the falls. Let the moonlight bathe our bare skin.” Her voiced trailed. Tenderness pooled in her brown eyes. She caressed his cheek and leaned in to nuzzle him.
From any other she-wolf the unwanted intimate touch would’ve sparked a harsh, immediate response. However, Rafe owed Loretta kindness for the sake of their moon-fuck partnership.
“No.” He gently removed her hand from his face.
“I know your needs have changed.” She tipped her chin down and looked up at him through a veil of thick, dark lashes. “I can give you what you need.”
Loretta’s red-painted lips pressed against his mouth and her fingers clutched his hips.
Nothing in her kiss set him on fire the way Grace did. And Grace didn’t have to touch him for sparks to flame.
From her, a simple look, a laugh, a soul-warming smile could light up every cell in his body.
He turned his head to break the kiss and used the back of his hand to wipe away the wetness. “My needs have changed, because I have.”
Rafe straightened to his full height and peered down at Loretta. “What do you see when you look at me?”
Her mouth curved into a coy smile. She began describing his physical characteristics. Her words, her voice became a hissing noise in his head as her hands slithered up his chest.
“Not what I look like.” Rafe captured her fingers. “What do you see inside me? The real me?”
Confusion flashed across her features. She searched his face, her gaze settling on his.
Rafe dropped the practiced pretenses, the ingrained idiosyncrasies, the cultured lies.
Fear rose in Loretta’s eyes, a dawning discovery of his true feral nature.
“You’re afraid.” He released her with a laugh.
“No.” She stepped back, clearing her voice. “Surprised. I shouldn’t be, considering all you’ve gone through. You just need someone with the patience to help you find your way back.”
“Back to what?”
“Back to yourself.”
“I’ve never been more myself than when I’m with Grace.”
“She’s human, Rafe. She can’t tame the wildness in you like I can.”
“I don’t want to be tamed.” His wolf prowled in his conscience, irritable and restless, until a sudden rush of Grace’s essence filled him.
She was coming.
Visions of picking up where they’d left off this morning danced in his mind.
“I think it’s best if you find a new moon-fuck partner.” Rafe picked up a shop towel and cleaned the red lipstick smear from the back of his hand.
Loretta tossed her hair, jutted her breasts and cocked an eyebrow at him. “We’ve been together three years. I’m not walking out now.”
She stalked over to him, shoved her hand against his chest hard enough for him to stumble back against the car behind him and perch on the edge of the hood.
The distinctive sound of a truck engine hummed through the open bays. His nerves snapped with anticipation and his heart kicked up a few notches.
“Loretta, stop,” he said, wanting to dispatch her gently and quickly.
She grabbed the front of his coveralls, sealed her body against his and planted her lips on his mouth, swallowing his protest.
“Oh!” Grace’s gasp echoed in the bays. “I...um...” She spun around and hurried out of the building.
Rafe scrambled to push Loretta aside. Unfortunately, she seemed to have grown octopus tentacles. As soon as he freed her hand from one spot she latched onto another, including squeezing and pumping his cock.
“Enough!” He shoved her only hard enough to break free.
“When your fascination with Grace passes, call me.” Loretta thumbed the corners of her smiling mouth. Her
gaze dropped to his erection evident through his coveralls. “And I’ll finish what I’ve started.”
Loretta sashayed out the back bay to her car. Rafe dashed out the front, searching for Grace.
His heart drummed in his chest. His wolf howled. His erection grew more persistent.
Loretta had gotten it wrong. She hadn’t made him hard.
Grace had.
Chapter 22
Grace sat on a park bench, swinging her feet. Her ears rang, her vision remained tunneled and sweat broke out on her skin even as a hard chill rocked her body.
Rafe wasn’t supposed to have a current lover. If he did, it made her “the other woman.” She despised cheaters and didn’t want to be involved with one.
“Grace!” Rafe’s husky voice penetrated the chatter in her head.
He came into focus. Of course his erection would be the first thing she saw.
“Your girlfriend has time to take care of your hard-on.” Grace looked away. The park was empty except for them. “Alex has another forty-five minutes before school is out.”
“Loretta isn’t my girlfriend.”
“Could’ve fooled me.” Grace swung her head toward him.
His lips and chin were smeared with scarlet lipstick. The buttons of his coveralls were undone past his waist. One more button and the fleshy tip of his cock would be visible. “You should probably clean up.” She pointed at his face and groin.
“Damn.”
Yeah, damn. She’d caught a ride into town because she wanted that rain check before Alex got out of school.
He buttoned the coveralls to midchest, used his sleeve to wipe off most of the lipstick, then he sat so close to her that their hips touched.
She ground her teeth, resisting the tingle spreading through her body.
“You’re rubbing your tattoo again.” His hand gently closed over her fingers massaging her wrist. “What does it mean?”
Swallowing the burn rising in her throat, she slowly traced the loops of the design. “I had it done after I lost my baby.”
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