“Fine. I’ll be there.”
He grunts. “If that dog isn’t home by morning, I’ll come out and take a look.”
“Thanks.”
MY TRUCK HUGS THE TURNS IN THE ROAD. I’m not the pretty-boy she loved. I’ve turned back into the wolf that recognized his mate eight long months ago. I just wish things turned out different… that I could’ve stuck with my original plan to make her mine. But Club business got in the way of that.
But now, I’m erasing the miles between us. The stars overhead shine a path for me as I race into the night. With any luck, I’ll surprise her by morning.
I’m breaking and entering, baby, and the lock on her heart is the first thing I’m gonna break right through.
I’m gonna crawl in her bed, right before dawn and wake my baby up, by pressing hot kisses on her sleep-warmed skin.
She’ll moan.
Smile in her sleep while her mind is lost between planes of consciousness. I grin, the engine on my truck changing gears as I climb the next hill. She’s gonna smack the shit outta me when she wakes; finding me hard and hot between her thighs.
But I don’t care.
I’ll welcome it.
Hell, taming my little spitfire… making her purr for me is the shit I’m gonna live for, now that all obstacles to being with her are gone.
With thoughts of her keeping me warm, I continue to race up the Pacific Coast Highway making it up to Springdale in record time. I slow my truck to a crawl until it finally stops shy of the dirt drive that leads to the house where she’s curled up under her covers—with no idea the big, bad wolf is about to huff and puff and claim his woman.
Whistling, I cut the engine and climb out, stretching my legs under the watchful gaze of a barn owl about to take flight.
I breathe in deeply, smelling the crisp late-winter air. It’s full of pine, dew, and woodsmoke. Fuck, I feel brand new every time I come up to the woods.
Spring comes late here.
Winter likes to cling.
But the frost will melt, flowers will bloom again, a new cycle of life will begin—and hopefully, so can Luce and me.
It’s another reminder how wrong my life’s been without this… without her. My breath comes out in puffs of white vapor as I stalk closer. I told Rog I was coming. He left the key to her log cabin exactly where he said he would—under an eave on the roof of the porch. But he left more than a key. He left me a goddamn note.
Don’t screw this up, again. My woman will kill ya’ and I’ll let her.
Through the corner of my eye, a dark shadow moves behind me. Pretending I didn’t notice, my hand reaches for the Glock holstered at my ankle.
“Relax, boss. It’s just me.” Mac steps closer. Rog put a man back on my woman ever since Canada. He’s reliable as fuck.
“I’m glad you’re here, brotha. I thought maybe Rog had left my woman unprotected.” We clasp hands, thumping each other on the back. Mac’s younger than the rest of men in Creed. He’s somewhere in his early twenties. But he also grew up rough. Devon took a real shining to him and the two of them are tight. It pissed Rog the hell off, thinking the two of them were more than just friends. But it turned out Devon was helping him get his GED. I expect Mac will take off soon and I’ll let him go. I see it stirring in his blood—the need to see what else is out there beyond the dense forests and bullshit of Club life.
“She’s a wild one. I didn’t think so at first. But fuck—I thought Dev was a hellion, until I saw what Luce can do. She’s right pissed at you. After you came on so strong only to ghost her… and then abandon her in Canada? She’s gonna claw your face off.”
“That’s why I grew out my beard again. Protection,” I grin.
He shakes his head. “I’m out. I’ll see you at Sassy’s later?”
“Not if things go well. I plan to be here for days.”
“I bet you don’t last an hour.”
“I’ll take that bet,” I reach out, shaking his hand.
“How long has it been since you’ve seen her?”