Page 34 of The Wolf's Surrogate

Damn it, I didn’t want to start crying right now. I didn’t want to lose it in front of this guy who was doing more for me as a stranger than anyone else had as my boyfriend. To say I was shocked was just the understatement of the decade. As I leaned into his tensile strength, I closed my eyes. I breathed in the delicious scent of him.

Leather and spice, and everything nice.

“How much time do you have left on your lease?” His voice rumbled through his chest, vibrating my left ear so soothingly that I almost mistook it for a dream again.

I rested my hand on his shoulder. “Six months.”

“When we get back to my house, give me your landlord’s information. I’ll buy out your lease so you don’t have to worry about it.”

I practically staggered out of his arms. I headed for the bed, the only fancy thing I truly owned at this point in my life, and leaned against the post at the foot of the bed. I was just trying to catch my breath, trying to figure out what was real and what was fantasy.

This post under my hand felt real, a little bit cold. Liam was real. I knew that because I could hear him breathe just a few feet away from me. If I looked at him, I could see how the pale light highlighted the reddish strands in his auburn hair.

He gave me a reassuring smile. “There’s no use arguing, Ani. I always accomplish my goals—and my main goal now is to make sure you’re safe.”

“I already feel safe when you’re around.”

Oh, that wasn’t supposed to leave my mouth. Why had I said that to him? It was like my lips and tongue were working together to defy my brain’s instructions to stay quiet.

Even worse, the energy around Liam shifted, enhancing his ruggedly handsome features and piercing eyes. Car lights flashed over the fire escape window, casting an odd shimmer to his eyes that reminded me of an animal. It was gone as abruptly as I’d seen it, and I found myself stumbling toward my dresser to start grabbing more clothes.

Within twenty minutes, I had a couple of totes packed up and several books I’d been meaning to read. I had partially typed up a paragraph to send to Sterling and the rest of my team atthe clinic about calling a substitute vet, but I couldn’t manage to send it yet.

I felt like I was disappointing them.

I rested my hands on the plastic tote on my bed as I watched Liam haul one over his shoulder like it weighed nothing. Seeing his muscles flex beneath his windbreaker made my slit twitch and my cheeks flush with heat. He glanced at me then as if heknewwhat I was feeling, and the smirk that flashed over his lips worsened my reaction.

Or maybe it made my reaction better. I had no idea at this point. All I knew was my heart was racing, my palms were tingling, and I had enough tension in my core to cause an earthquake. I wanted to hide—and at the same time, I wanted to race over the bed and leap into his arms.

I broke eye contact, choosing to look at the clear plastic tote under my hand, tracing the handle nervously. “How can you afford to buy out my lease?”

“What?”

“I mean, if you’re paying me the surrogate rate, then how can you buy my lease? You must have a lot of money.”

He coughed once, set the tote down, and rummaged through his pockets. “I, uh…need to call Fred and make sure he can fit these in his truck.”

“Sounds like a deflection.”

“You mean how you deflected earlier about Phil?”

Damn, he got me with that one. I couldn’t even argue against it. That triumphant grin made me irritated as much as it made me want to launch across the room like a rocket.

Just as I started to formulate a snappy response, he pointed to the bathroom nook. “Have you grabbed your toiletries?”

“Who calls themtoiletries?”

And then I blushed at how his eyes narrowed. Like he was trying to figure out the best way to make my bratty mouth stop moving.

A kiss would do the trick. I pinched my lips together while I passed him, taking barely three steps to get to the nook. That was how cramped things were in here. He was right about it being small—and I couldn’t imagine living in this place with a huge belly.

As I fumbled in the compact shower to gather my stuff, I lost my footing and fell over the toilet, my face nearly colliding with the caddy that stored tissue and other items just to the right of the toilet. Liam cackled behind me, the sound bouncing off the tiles and taunting me as I dropped everything in my hands and tried to stand.

“It’s not even big enough to be a closet,” Liam commented through his remaining chuckles. “Ani, how did you even—? How did you getstucklike that?”

“Ham it up, go on,” I grunted while trying to push myself up, but another dizzy spell came and tilted my whole world. I groaned with defeat. “I might need help.”

“Say no more, fam.”

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