Rescued by the Wolf Read online

“Damn it, Brice. You could’ve knocked.” Rafe helped Grace button her blouse.

  Embarrassed, she peeked over his shoulder. Brice leaned in the kitchen entryway with his arms folded over his chest. His eyes smiled in tandem with the grin broadening his mouth.

  “I did.” Amusement tinged his voice. “You didn’t answer, so I came in to make sure everything was all right.”

  “We’re fine.” Rafe lightly tapped Grace’s nose, then drew his finger down her chin to the hollow in her neck before giving her blouse a quick tug.

  After checking that they hadn’t missed any buttons, she gave Rafe a ready nod. He moved aside.

  “Don’t you dare tell Cassie.” Grace glared at Brice.

  “I have no secrets from my wife.” Brice wiggled his brows. “Besides she knows what happens when a man and a woman who make googly eyes at each other are left to their own devices.”

  “Why does it matter if Cassie knows?” Rafe looked puzzled.

  “She’ll get the wrong idea.”

  Brice’s gaze bounced from Grace to Rafe and back to Grace. “Oh, I think her idea hits the mark dead-center.”

  “Why are you here, Walker?”

  “Co-op business.”

  “You could’ve called, texted, emailed.”

  “Yeah, but this was a lot more fun.” Grinning ear to ear, Brice strolled out of the kitchen. “And very enlightening.”

  * * *

  Grace gripped the football in a mad dash to the goal line.

  “I’m open! Throw it!” Waving his hand in the air, Alex ran ahead.

  “I can make it!” Grace dodged his friend Lucas, only to collide with Alex’s other friend Jeremy. They tumbled to the ground in a tangled heap.

  “Grace!” Rafe’s voice boomed through the park.

  Jeremy’s weight suddenly lifted from Grace’s body and Rafe crouched over her. “Are you all right?”

  “That depends.” She gulped for air. “Did I make it into the end zone?”

  “You sure did.” Lucas peered down at her with large whiskey-colored eyes. “You were awesome!”

  “She could’ve been hurt,” Rafe snapped, shoving the trio back. “I told you boys to be careful.”

  “Oh, please.” Grace accepted Rafe’s help to stand. “Matt knocked me down harder than that when we played our made-up game of tackle croquet.”

  “You sure you’re okay?” Worry replaced the delight in Alex’s eyes.

  “Absolutely.” Grace hugged him. “I haven’t had this much fun in a long time.”

  Rafe pulled her into him. “You’ve been playing the wrong games.” He nuzzled her neck while his hands roamed her shoulders, her back, the curve of her hips, awakening every cell in her body and discombobulating her nerves at the same time.

  He licked her earlobe. “Go. Sit. I’ll take your place on Alex’s team.”

  The boys didn’t seem to mind the player switch, which pinched Grace’s pride, although her body was grateful. Running up and down the length of the park with three teenagers had overworked her muscles. She managed not to limp over to the park bench.

  As Rafe ran with the boys, Grace realized Alex and his friends had held back their strength and speed with her. They were fast, cunning, and their laughter made her smile. Well, mostly it was Rafe’s laughter.

  After a few minutes, the play shifted to three against one. Every time Rafe outplayed, outmaneuvered or outran one the boys, his laughter electrified the air.

  Or maybe just electrified her.

  At the end of each play, Rafe’s gaze landed on her, giving her heart a little flutter. The tiny glimpse of domestication rekindled a yearning for a home and family to fill it.

  She snapped a picture, noticing the phone would soon run out of memory again. Later, she needed to sort through the albums and delete the old images no longer worth keeping. A few of the more recent ones, she planned to print and put in frames.

  Grace smiled. She couldn’t remember the last time she hung pictures. Usually, she didn’t bother decorating. It simplified packing when the time came to move.

  All three boys dove to tackle Rafe. He went down amidst a roar of laughter.

  This, she thought. This was the sound she wanted filling the halls, if ever she had a real home.

  The boys peeled off Rafe and raced to grab bottles of water from the cooler. Rafe sat up, grass in his hair, a dirt smudge across his shirt.

  Grace walked over and handed him a bottle of water. Rafe downed the contents in one long gulp.

  She took his hand to help him stand, but he tugged harder than Grace did and she sprawled on top of him.

  Before she knew what was happening, he’d rolled her beneath him and captured her mouth in a long, luscious kiss.

  A burst of warmth and immense happiness filled her being. She felt utterly content.

  Strange how the phenomenon only happened around Rafe. Something about him quieted the restlessness within her. She couldn’t help but wonder how long it would last.

  Chapter 27

  Rafe stood inside the pack’s exclusive party pavilion. Separate from the resort, the building was located on the Co-op’s vast community park where the pack held their gatherings. The spring festival was an all-weekend event, starting with the Friday night social.

  It had been ages since Rafe attended one of the events the Alpha family hosted throughout the year. He had mixed feelings about being at this one.

  The lights were dim, the air was charged with energy from the band, and the smell of sizzling steaks on the flaming grill behind a large glass window in front of the kitchen made Rafe’s stomach turn on itself. Hungry, tired and all keyed up, he pivoted toward the large table reserved for the Alpha family. Brice and Cassie were snuggled in quiet conversation. Gavin and his mate, Abby, moved among the pockets of people.

  Where the hell is Grace?

  Scanning the crowd, Rafe focused his olfactory sense. He detected her scent after a few seconds and stopped to watch her kick up her heels in a fast-paced country one-step. With her broad smile, flushed cheeks and golden ponytail bopping to the rhythm, she was the prettiest woman on the dance floor.

  His anxiety level dropping, he headed to Brice and Cassie’s table.

  “Who are you and what have you done with my antisocial friend?” Brice smiled as Rafe took a seat opposite his friends.

  “I’m here for Grace.”

  “I bet you are.” The teasing tone in Brice’s voice irritated Rafe.

  Stepping forward too soon, Grace almost bumped into another dancer. From behind, Shane cupped her shoulder, pulling her back in sync.

  “If you would have been here sooner, Grace would be dancing with you.” Cassie’s broad smile said she knew about the cupcake incident.

  “She can dance with whomever she wishes.” Although every time Shane touched her, every time he made her smile, Rafe dug his nails into his palms to keep from pounding his fist into Shane’s face.

  “Don’t fight it, man.” Brice laughed.

  “Fight what?” A possessive, instinctual growl rumbled in his throat as Shane spun Grace into his arms and slid his hands over her hips.

  Diverting his gaze to his tablemates, Rafe flattened his palms against his thighs; his stiff fingers curved like claws, pressing through his clothes, digging into his muscles to keep him impaled in his seat.

  “Serendipity. When a human female sees a wolfan male naked, they end up mated.” Brice winked at Cassie. “It’s a proven fact.”

  “That kind of talk isn’t a damn bit funny.” Especially considering the pull he felt toward Grace. All smiles, mostly, tender and kind. She deserved a far better man than he was.

  “From this side of the table, it certainly is.” Brice’s grin broadened.

  Cassie sucked in a sharp breath, leaned forward and grabbed her belly.

&n
bsp; “Cas?” Brice paled.

  “I’m okay.” She blew a long breath. “The baby has a strong kick.”

  “Should I call Doc over?” Rafe’s gaze targeted his father across the room in a conversation with Ronni and Alex.

  “No. I’m fine, the baby’s fine. There’s nothing to worry about.” Cassie’s eyes looked a little tired, but otherwise she appeared okay.

  “I’ll be back.” Rafe made his way to the dance floor. He gripped Shane’s shoulder and pulled him away from grinding against Grace.

  “Whoa,” the younger wolfan said.

  “Take a hike.” Rafe didn’t say anything else, considering his thoughts were primal and less than coherent.

  Shane’s eyes narrowed. One brow crept up. Amusement curled one side of his mouth. “I think Rafe intends to have the next dance.”

  “Okay.” Grace smiled up at him, slightly winded but obviously having a good time.

  Shane gave Rafe a slight nod and left them in the middle of the dance floor.

  “Better late than never.” A trace of annoyance weighted Grace’s tease. “I thought you had changed your mind about coming.”

  “I got a last minute roadside assistance call. A mother and three kids broke down near Brasstown Bald. Didn’t want them waiting in the dark for someone to come from Hiawassee.”

  “I’m glad you’re here now.”

  “Me, too.”

  The band changed tempo and Rafe eased Grace into his arms.

  “I didn’t like seeing you with Shane.”

  “I noticed.” Grace snuggled closer as the sounds of a sultry ballad swirled around the room.

  Rafe left no distance between them. Gently molding her body to his, he allowed her scent to filter deep into his lungs. Only then did the snarling chaos in his head quiet, allowing a single thought to emerge.

  Mine!

  God help him.

  God help them all.

  * * *

  “It’s beautiful up here.” Grace stepped forward, drinking in the night beauty. Below them, civilization. Above them, constellations.

  “Careful.” Rafe’s arm roped her waist and he lifted her off her feet. “Don’t get close to the edge. It’s a mighty long way down the mountain.”

  He stepped backward, taking her with him.

  He set her down. The soft sweep of his cheek against her neck turned to featherlight kisses. A nip in the air added to the goose bumps his touch created.

  They sat down on a blanket he’d unfolded on the ground.

  “What is this place?” She leaned back against his chest and tipped her face toward the sky.

  “Walker’s Pointe.” His voice lowered. “One of the highest peaks around here. On a clear day, you can see several states, depending on the direction you look.”

  The warm press of his palm against her belly made it tingle. He kissed behind her ear, nibbled her lobe and down her neck.

  His fingers trailed beneath her shirt. Warm, rough and without hesitation.

  His scent, fresh, clean, masculine, filled her lungs. She loved the perfect fit of her in his arms.

  He unhooked the front clasp of her bra, his thumb caressing the curve of her breast. The muscles in her stomach tightened and her sex clenched. She knew where this would lead. And she couldn’t wait.

  She pushed his hand away, then pulled off her shirt and tossed it over her head. Her bra was next.

  Rafe scrambled to whip off his shirt and it became a competition to see who got naked first.

  It was a tie.

  “God, you’re beautiful,” he whispered reverently, laying her down.

  She didn’t know how he could see much of her. The moon was clouded over and there were no lights.

  Maybe he pictured her by touch, as he caressed every inch of her body.

  She pulled his face to her lips and teased him with a near kiss. He seized her mouth, his tongue slipping inside to duel with hers. Each parry and retreat heightened her awareness and sensitized her to every brush, every stroke, every caress.

  Sealing his mouth over hers, he kissed her madly, deeply, thoroughly, until she was breathless. Cupping her breast, he strummed his thumb across her sensitive nipple.

  Grace lightly scored her nails down his back. Encouraged by his sensual hiss, she ran her palms across his shoulders, then down the soft swirls of hair on his upper torso. Beneath her touch, his muscles quivered. Or maybe her hands simply trembled after the slow, sensual lick he gave to the sensitive spot behind her ear. She rocked her hips against him.

  Capturing her hands in his fist, he brought them to his lips and kissed her inner wrists. “Not yet,” he said in a hoarse whisper.

  His mouth found her peaks and he swirled his tongue across one budded nipple and then the other before gently sucking one into his warm, wet mouth. Grace arched, gripping the back of his head. A moan rumbled in the back of her throat, raw and needy.

  Rafe responded with a deep, sexy growl that caused delicious shivers to run wild through her body. With a soft pop he released the tip of her breast to press light kisses along her collarbone and up the column of her throat. She became lost in the sheer vibration of his lips moving across her skin. He pinched her nipples and she cried out, sinking her nails into his muscular back.

  Without pause, he inched his calloused palms down her ribs; her muscles were coiled so tight that she felt her body would snap. He laved the planes of her stomach and nibbled her inner thigh, moving closer, closer to the spot where she really wanted him to be. He touched her with his tongue, sending shivers up her spine and down to her toes. His fingers slid between her folds and pushed inside her, sliding in and out in a slow methodical rhythm that charged every feminine cell in her body.

  He brought her right to the precipice of ecstasy and withdrew his fingers. She started to protest, until she realized he was simply moving into position.

  A sliver of common sense nearly blinded her.

  “Wait!” She slapped one palm against his chest while her other hand protected her mound.

  Rafe held still but she sensed the restraint was costing him dearly.

  “Condom.”

  He didn’t say anything at first, and she couldn’t make out the expression on his face. Finally, he said, “Be right back.”

  He rose and dashed to the truck. He whipped open the door, shielding his eyes from the light and fumbled in the glove compartment.

  “Got it.” He ripped the foil packet with his teeth and rolled on the condom.

  He slammed the door and darted back to her.

  His lips found hers as he crouched over her and surged inside her. The sudden invasion caused her to cry out, and his girth stretching her inner walls made them both gasp.

  He held his hips still, despite the tremor in his arms and legs. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves rather than to steel against any pain. Initially shocked by his thickness and quick entry, her body eagerly adapted.

  Her fingers glided down his back, squeezed the globes of his ass and she ground her pelvis into his. He kissed her fiercely, then thrust hard and deep.

  The sensations washing over her were like nothing she’d ever experienced. It was as if Rafe’s being seeped inside her and reached all the way to her soul.

  Grace’s breath caught in her throat as a fierce orgasm rocked her core. She clung to him, and he threw back his head and howled.

  She might’ve howled, too, if she’d had the strength, but her body felt like a wet noodle.

  Rafe’s chest heaved from his rapid breaths. “You okay?”

  “Yeah,” she said softly, her own breaths coming easier.

  He claimed her mouth in a soft, sweet kiss that left her warm and fuzzy even after he withdrew to dispose of the condom.

  She sat up and gathered her clothes. “Um, could you help me find my bra?”<
br />
  “Pretty sure it sailed over the edge of the cliff when you slung it behind you.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “Nope.” Rafe’s voice rumbled with laughter. “You were so hot for me, your clothes flew off.”

  “You were hot for me, too.” She felt her cheeks flame.

  “I didn’t toss my clothes over the side of a mountain, did I?”

  “If I could see your face right now, I’d probably slap it.” She shimmied into her pants and pulled on her blouse.

  “You probably would.”

  Chapter 28

  The flashing lights behind them illuminated the inside of the tow truck.

  “Oh, you’re gonna get a ticket,” Grace teased.

  Rafe glanced at the speedometer. “I’m five miles under the speed limit.”

  Flipping the turn signal on, he pulled off the road onto the shoulder.

  “I feel like a teenager caught making out.”

  Rafe looked at her, a slow sweep over her mess of tangled hair all the way down to her bare feet. She did have her pants on fairly straight. The blouse, now missing buttons, had seen better days.

  “You look the part.”

  Rafe shut off the lights and engine, and asked her for his wallet and registration stowed in the glove compartment.

  By the time Sheriff Locke reached the window, Rafe had his driver’s license, insurance card and vehicle registration in his hand.

  A blinding light shone in Rafe’s face.

  “Evenin’, Carl.” Rafe handed the sheriff all the documents before he asked.

  A twitch of irritation curled Locke’s upper lip. “Do you know how fast you were going?”

  “Forty in a forty-five zone.”

  Locke grunted. “What are you doing out this late?”

  “Late?” Grace piped up. “It’s ten-twenty-three. I haven’t been driven home this early since I was seventeen.”

  Surprise registered on the sheriff’s face. He whipped the beam of his flashlight on Grace. She shielded her face behind her hand.

  “Grace Olsen?”

  “That would be me.”

  The flashlight beam swept her head to toe. Slowly, methodically. Pausing on her chest and torso for longer than she thought appropriate.