Page 96 of Big Bad Wolf

“I got us some pie from the diner.”

“Pie!” Ruby’s face lit up as she grabbed the bag. She was still wrapped in blankets, her bare arms a teasing reminder of what was hidden beneath the covers. “Apple and blueberry!” She pulled the containers from the bag along with plastic forks and napkins. She laid it all in front of her like a picnic.

Rafe leaned back, his forearms resting against the side of the truck.

“Pass the blueberry.”

Ruby leaned forward to pass him the container, and he pressed a kiss to her apple-flavored lips. Her eyebrows rose in surprise. “You’re awfully affectionate this morning, Rafe.”

“Yes.” He watched her, wanting her reaction, needing to know if she still wanted him or if she’d satisfied her curiosity. “I’ll stop, if you want me to.”

“No.” Ruby’s answer was quick and Rafe bit down on a smile. “Don’t stop. I like it.” She took a bite of pie, licking the crumbs off her lips. Her tongue traced slowly around those full lips and Rafe’s human brain shut off. Fuck it. He should tell her. Tell her and then claim her. He should fuck her until she understood that she was made for him and he was made for her. Until nothing else mattered.

“Does this mean you’re done running away from me?” she asked, interrupting his insane werewolf instincts.

He coughed. “Maybe.”

“Maybe?”

“Still not convinced I’m good for you.”

Then those lips tipped into a sinful grin. “Oh Rafe, you must know by now that I don’t want things that are good for me.”

Chapter Thirty-Nine

She waited for him to argue with her. She expected him to. But the long list of reasons why she shouldn’t be with him never left Rafe’s mouth. Instead, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. Ruby melted into him but he pulled away before things could escalate again.

“We really do have to go,” he said, pushing the hair from her face. This new Rafe, the Rafe that touched her and kissed her and looked at her like that, was enough to make her want to stay in the bed of this truck for the rest of her life. What if they walked away from here and everything disappeared? What if this tenuous, fragile thing between them broke as soon as they left?

But then Rafe smiled at her, and she knew whatever was between them wasn’t fragile at all. And she was damn well going to fight for it. This wasn’t about sex anymore. One month with this man and she knew this was it. He was it. The certainty of the thought struck her hard in the chest, squeezing her heart. Rafe was it for her.

She finished her pie and got dressed as Rafe rolled up their bedding and threw it in the cab, letting this new realization settle into her bones.

He paused to watch her apply the lipstick she never left home without. Hopefully he didn’t notice her hand tremble as she smoothed it on.

He smirked. “Really?”

“It’s my signature look, Rafe. I can’t just go traipsing through the woods with pale lips.” She grinned at him, feigning bravery. He laughed, shaking his head as he moved around the truck. He extended a hand and helped her down from the bed.

Her boots hit the dirt, and the bubble from last night was broken. Reality flooded in.

“Ready?” he asked.

Nerves flared in Ruby’s belly and not the good kind. She was about to walk into a werewolf pack with a man the current Alpha tried to kill, and all because her sister was slowly dying. The pie she’d been so excited about sat heavy in her gut.

Rafe laced his fingers with hers and gave a squeeze. “It’s going to be fine,” he said, but the relaxed lines of his face had tensed again as though the truth of the situation had settled on him too.

“Yep. Super fine.” She wrapped her Aunt Millie’s cloak around her, suddenly grateful for its comfort.

Rafe tugged her along, and Ruby tried to focus on the trail in front of her, and the birds in the trees, and the sunshine, and the breeze blowing across the back of her neck. But all she could really think about was Rafe’s calloused hand in hers and what it felt like to be wrapped up with him last night and what the hell “werewolf reasons” were. When her brain got tired of that, it looped back around to what horrors they might find amongst this pack and how she would ever help her sister.

She would be lucky if the pie stayed down.

“You’re quiet.” Rafe’s rough voice broke the silence, derailing Ruby’s cycle of super-unhelpful thoughts.

Ruby glanced up at him. His hair was pulled back today, revealing the full force of his face. The strong lines and coarse stubble. The soft lips.

“Just thinking.”