I shrug and head out. I should have at least ten minutes. If that’s not enough, then nothing is.

I move along the façade until I spot the door, then I slam my palm against it.

Summer

“Stephan?” My voice is shaky.

Mom throws down her knitting project—a ginormous scarf in all colors she’s been working on since before last Christmas—stands and moves in between me and the door, then she opens it without hesitation. I step forward enough to catch her expression when she sees the man before us. I understand. I feel the same, seeing him again. As if he takes over the whole world with his presence.

“What do—” she begins.

He doesn’t let her finish. Pushing the door open all the way, he steps in, and cuts off our only escape route. He looks impossibly wild— he’s clearly slept rough. There’s my wolf again. A wolf with a dark green Fjallraven in his hand. The sight does me in. Our eyes meet, and all I want is to thrown my arms around him. I need to feel him again. He looks back to my mom, but his attention is on me.

“With all respect, Gracie Jones, I’m here to talk to your daughter.”

“I know who you are, Stephan Kirby. I’m not leaving her alone with you.”

Stephan sticks his hand in his pocket, retrieves the keys to his bike, and tosses them on the bed. He then shrugs off his jacket and throws it the same way. “I’ve got ten minutes before the cops get here. Let me talk to Summer alone. I promise you’ll get her back, Mrs. Jones.”

I fetch his jacket and my own, but leave the keys on the bed, then I step forward. “It’s all right, Mom.”

She nods. “I trust you. Not him.”

“I deserve that,” he says to my surprise.

I kiss Mom on the cheek, toss the jacket to Stephan, and put my hand on his strong arm. “We better hurry, then.”

He grabs my waist and pulls me to him. Mom closes the door while eyeing us suspiciously. I fully understand, but I also know something has changed.

My heart is in my throat, aching, swelling. My whole body wants to unite with his and never let go. “What did you do? Cops?”

“I got a little rough when I got your room number.”

“Tell me you didn’t hurt them.”

“No, bunny, I didn’t hurt anyone. A phone took a hit, and I was probably a bit scary.”

“Nothing surprising, then.”

He laughs, pulls me around the corner to the back of the house, then pushes me up against the wall and puts his nose to my neck. “I missed you,” he murmurs.

“You need to get talking.” My voice is unsteady, my pussy already responding. I want to climb up in his arms, but he’s got like one thousand apologies to do first.

“I was an ass.”

“Yes, you were.”

“I love you, Summer Jones. I love you with all my heart, and all my soul, and you’ll never know how miserable I am that I made you hurt. It’ll never happen again. Of course, we’ll care for your mom. I won’t take you from what you love, who you love, no matter how much I still want to steal you away.”

I lack words to describe the turmoil in my chest. Flabbergasted, joy, a scream, want. I can’t move.

“Y-you can’t expect me to… I… I was afraid, and cold, and you hurt me!”

He rests his forehead against mine. “What have we said about stuttering?”

“Hey!”

He laughs and strokes my cheek. “I’ll let this one slide. And bunny, I’ll never give you reason to run again.” He takes my hand and puts my palm over his heart. “Feel it.”