Page 32 of The Enforcers: KANE

Even though he wanted to take her back to his cabin for dinner. Or up to the waterfall. Or anyplace where there weren’t a lot of people, and he could kiss those amazing lips again, and feel her pressed against him.

And then maybe, very politely, rip her clothes off and ravish her entire body until she screamed his name over and over.

But who was he trying to bullshit? He couldn’t do that. He couldn’t trust Wolf not to lose it. As it was, he’d been walking around all afternoon with at least half a boner, and Wolf bouncing around inside him as if fucking the girl he’d thought of as a little sister for ten years was the best idea ever.

Wolf always thought fucking was a great idea, until he freaked out.

Kane stood by the grill, waiting for the burgers to get a little more done, because Rachelle liked hers medium-well. She was talking to Emma about something, gesturing with her hands, and they were laughing together like instant besties.

He loved seeing her laugh. He loved being with her. It was crazy, and nerve-wracking as hell. All afternoon he’d found himself watching her, wanting to figure out what she needed before she even realized she needed it. He wanted to learn what she liked—beer or wine, burgers or hot dogs, ketchup or mustard. He kept checking to make sure she was okay, even though she seemed to be having a good time.

He’d thought the other guys were just pussy-whipped, fussing over their mates and bringing them flowers and little presents and making sure they had whatever they wanted. He hadn’t realized how good it would feel to see her smile, to see the appreciation in her eyes when he did something nice for her.

It gave him a warm feeling inside his chest, as if the ice around his heart was melting. Which was probably a bad thing, but he still wanted it to happen.

Maybe too much.

He slid Rachelle’s burger onto the bun and added lettuce from the plate by the grill. He smacked Rafe’s knuckles with the spatula when he tried to snag the last slice of tomato. “Taken,” he said, tweaking it away from Rafe’s grasp. “It’s for Rachelle. And don’t even think of playing the ‘my mate is pregnant’ card, because I know Terin doesn’t like tomato on her burgers.”

Rafe grinned at him. “Kaaane’s in loooove,” he singsonged in a low voice.

“Shut up,” Kane said. “I just have good manners, unlike the rest of this zoo.”

Rafe snorted. “You wouldn’t recognize good manners if they introduced themselves and invited you to tea with the queen,” he said. “Rachelle looks like she’s having a good time, though. You’re welcome.”

He wandered off with his tomato-less burger, whistling. Kane glared after him. Little prick—as if the only reason Rachelle was having a good time was because the pack had taken over his date.

He took Rachelle her burger, scowling. She smiled up at him, and then frowned when she saw his face. “What made you all grumpy?”

Kane swung his leg over the picnic table bench and thumped down next to her. “Fucking Rafe,” he muttered.

Rachelle looked over at Rafe, two tables away. He shrugged elaborately.

“What did he say?” she asked Kane.

“Nothing,” Kane said. “I’m just not used to spending this much time with fucking people. Doing peopley things.”

Rachelle moved closer to him, so her leg was up against his. The touch made him feel a little calmer. “It is kind of a lot of people,” she said. “Maybe we could go for a walk or something, after we finish dinner.”

Relief flooded through him. She didn’t want to just hang out with the pack. “I wanted to show you the waterfall,” he said. “I kind of had something planned.”

“You did?” Her eyes sparkled with pleasure.

“Nothing much,” he added quickly. He didn’t want to get her all excited over nothing. “But I thought you might like it.”

She ate her burger and chatted to the other people at the table while he watched the sun, wanting to make sure they weren’t too late. When it slipped past the top of the trees, he pulled Rachelle to her feet.

“We have to go now.”

Mick, who was sitting across the table from him, shook his head. “Nice conversational segue, Kane. I was in the middle of a fucking sentence.”

“Sorry,” Kane muttered. “We have to go.”

Rachelle raised her eyebrows. “You heard the man,” she said. “Nice talking to you, Mick. See you later.”

Kane led her across the lakeside toward a trail leading up through the woods. “Hold up,” he said as they passed one of the pickups. He grabbed a small six-pack cooler from the bed of one of them, and a blanket.

“What’s that?” Rachelle asked, curious.