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“We’re still in the same pack, dingus.”
He chortled. “I reckon that’s true enough.”
“You can turn down the southern charm, Slater. I’m not one of your pickups or whatever.”
“And how do you know that?”
Tension crackled in the air around us, evident by the breeze that swept in circular waves across the porch and around Slater. The wind brought tattered leaves, twigs, and an assortment of other things—a lone sheet of crumbled paper and a plastic bag. Slater caught the trash without so much as blinking, crumpled it up even more, and shoved it into the pocket of his jeans.
The motion dragged my eyes to his snug jeans and his junk. Gods, I hated the way my mouth watered just thinking about his physique. I knew he was ripped under that muscle shirt, and I knew his taste, and I knew his shape, length, thickness…
I cleared my throat and shrugged my shoulders. “What are you doing out here, Slater?”
“Watching.”
“For what?”
He nodded toward the road. “I wanted to make sure your little friend didn’t come sniffing around again.”
Consider my heart warmed over. “Alright.”
“Alright?”
Plates clinked in the sink. The faucet ran. The twins were done with their breakfast, and they were probably gathering their things for school.
I stood up. “I have to take the kids up the road.”
“I’m going with you.”
I glared at him. “Like hell you are.”
He drew closer to the window, dropping to his knees in half a second and peering through the mesh like he’d been looking for me for the last ten years. Energy spilled from him like water tumbling off a cliff. “Damn it, Ginny. You don’t have to be stubborn about it. Until I speak to the alphas, I’m going with you everywhere. Is that clear?”
Relief. Confusion. Anxiety. Which one would my body choose?
How about all of the above?I rubbed my forehead, trying to think things through. But there wasn’t much time to think things through when the minutes ticked away the time and my kids were already heading toward me.How about no time for any of them?
I shot Slater a playful smirk. “Gee, even to the bathroom?”
His face darkened with a familiar look I didn’t want to acknowledge. “You just worry about yourself there, Miss Denton.”
If the knot in my throat got any bigger, I wouldn’t be able to breathe. And it wasn’t panic or terror that brought it there. It was sheer passion waiting for its chance to appear, words unspoken that had been left in the past with Sarah Walsh. Letters unwritten. Phone calls unanswered.
Sara was in the past. Slater had to stay there too.
But how could I do that when he was standing right in front of me?
Adhara touched my shoulder. “Ready, Mom.”
“Alright, buggies. Let’s get moving.”
Anthony shrugged his backpack over his shoulders. “Is Mr. Slater coming with us?”
“Yes,” I blurted.Dang it, now I can’t say no. I gestured to the door. “Yes, let’s get moving before everybody crowds up the streets.”
After securing the window and sliding on my Chucks, I guided my kids out the door and past the watchful Slater. He smelled of vetiver and amber mixed with a certain musk that came from sleeping outside. The scent went right to my knees. I had to catch myself on the column of the porch before I could get to the stone path leading to the road.
Slater caught my lower back. “Easy now.”
