Page 80 of Big Bad Wolf

He was not good at this. He was not good at apologies, or words for that matter, and clearly Ruby had no intention of making things easier. Not that he deserved easy.

“For being a dick today. For calling you silly.”

“That was pretty dickish.”

He sputtered a laugh. “Yeah, it was.”

Ruby’s pinky brushed against his where his hand rested on the center console. Barely a touch, but his body stood at attention, completely cued into hers. She slid her hand into his, their palms pressing together. She gave his fingers a squeeze and he felt it echo in his chest.

He was so screwed.

“Ruby, I don’t know what I’m doing with you, with this…”

“Me neither,” she said with her own self-deprecating laugh. “So maybe just hold my hand?”

He nodded.

He could do that.

He could hold her hand.

But by the time they reached the house, Rafe could barely see straight. It was all a blur, the overgrown lawn, the crooked path through it, the squeaky hinges as the door opened.

Ruby peered into the house, looking uncertain, and he wondered how many times she’d come home scared. How many times she’d found Lena here in trouble and had to take care of her alone. He forced himself to unhook his hand from hers.

“I’ll take a look around. Go check on your sister.” He nodded toward the stairs and Ruby hesitated, uncertainty written on her face. “I’ll meet you in your room,” he added, and her features softened again.

By the time he’d walked back inside, up the stairs and opened Ruby’s door, he’d nearly convinced himself he could handle being near her.

“Everything okay?” She was asking about the house, about the other wolves. She was asking about her safety, but all Rafe could feel was how not okay he was.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Ruby sat perched on the edge of her bed, still dressed except for her bare feet. Tension radiated from her body. She looked tired, her eye make-up smudged around the edges, but the idea of either of them sleeping right now was laughable. She still hadn’t totally forgiven him, and he was wound too tight after thinking about it all evening.

About Ruby in his lap.

About her teeth biting his lip.

The night air was thick, expectant. Rafe’s lungs felt tight. Silence hung between them as heavy as the humidity. He stood stupidly in the middle of her room, unsure of what to do next. He always slept as a wolf around Ruby but now she looked up at him with big, dark eyes and he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

“Will you stay?” she asked. “I mean stay as you are?”

“Yes.” His voice was a raspy whisper. He crossed the room in two strides and dropped to his knees in front of her. She opened her thighs and made space for him to come closer. He let his hands fall to her hips, longing to squeeze the flesh under her skirt. She ran her fingers through his hair, tugging at the ends until pinpricks of pain tingled against his scalp.

Ruby’s body was a thing of tortuous dreams.

She was built to torment him—her small hands on his shoulders, her cinnamon scent bathing everything around them, her blood-red smile as he leaned toward her, pulled in by her every time. Ruby, Ruby, Ruby. Her name was the only thought in his head.

“Maybe we just need to…” The words were out of his mouth before he could think better of it. Ruby’s eyes widened, her cheeks flushing darker pink.

“We need to what, Rafe?”

He shook his head and Ruby’s smile turned wicked. “What do we need to do?”

“I can’t think of anything else,” he growled. “You’re all I think about all fucking day.”

“Oh yeah?” She raised a taunting brow. “What do you think about?”