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Bruce once again stepped between them. “I’ll get the damn thing.” He started to walk toward the phone that was still ringing in the distance. “Oh, wait. I don’t have opposable thumbs. Sorry.” He held up his paws as if proving his point.
Raina rolled her eyes at Bruce’s antics. “And here I thought I missed you.”
“You love me.” Bruce countered back with a cheeky grin.
“Don’t press your luck, Bruce.” Raina snorted as she turned back to the direction of her phone but was once again stopped by Zane, who was glaring down at her. “Excuse me.” At least she was polite, though she did add a sneer to her words.
Zane didn’t respond; he just stood there blocking her path with his tall, muscular body wrapped in light ripped blue jeans and a tight black t-shirt that hugged his body like a second skin. Wow, she thought, trying not to drool as she glared at him. Too damn bad his personality didn’t match his handsome looks. He may be candy to the eyes, but his sour disposition certainly didn’t wow her.
“Listen, mister.” Raina felt her anger boil to the surface. She definitely hated being told what to do, but a ringing phone…her phone…drove her absolutely crazy. “Obviously, someone is trying to get in touch with me, so I need to get to my phone.”
Zane was staring at her like she had lost her mind, which wasn’t far from the truth; she had lost her mind years ago. “Did you happen to forget while you were tromping through the woods, you almost got yourself killed?”
“And did you happen to forget I live in New York and tromp through that jungle every day?” Raina snorted at her own joke, then looked down at the wolf, who was beginning to move, and frowned. “Is there more of those out there?”
“Possibly.” Was all Zane replied. His hair had fallen over the scarred side of his face, making him look even more handsome, if that was at all possible.
“Fine.” She sighed and then glanced at Bruce. “Come on.”
“Huh?” Bruce stopped licking his paw, looking up at her.
“Come with me so I can get my damn phone.” Raina frowned at Zane before looking back at Bruce.
“And you think a cat is going to protect you from a wolf? Wasn’t Bruce clinging to your leg in terror when I came up on you two?” Zane asked with an unbelieving smirk.
“Hey!” Bruce looked offended, then shrugged. “Actually, he’s right. I almost shit myself. I don’t think I can control it again, and cleaning shit out of my fur is not on my list of things to do tonight.”
“Cleaning shit out of your fur is on your list of things to do?” Zane cocked his visible eyebrow at Bruce.
“Ask your panther how hard that is.” Bruce gave Zane a narrowed glance. “It’s definitely on the list.”
Raina watched a genuine smile light Zane’s face, and the transformation was unreal and very unnerving. Her heart pounded in her chest as the rest of her body throbbed with a need she hadn’t felt in a very long time. Yeah, this visit was going to have to be shorter than she had intended. Glancing once again at his smile, straight white teeth encased by full lips had her itching to taste his mouth. Damn, she was in deep trouble.
CHAPTER4
Zane was doing his best to ignore Raina, but she was hard to ignore. As the breeze picked up, strands of her light blonde hair landed on her face. His hand itched to brush it away from the perfection of her cheek. He wanted to see if her skin felt as soft as it looked. Women like her were the type he usually stayed clear of. They found him handsome until they caught sight of his scars. He was used to his disfigurement by now, as well as the rejection it brought, and yet, this woman didn’t seem fazed by his scars. She saw them, he knew, but instead of looking uncomfortably away, making excuses to get away from him as quickly as possible, she just stood toe to toe with him, looking him straight in the eyes. He was good at spotting disgust, but he saw none staring back at him.
“What the hell is going on?” Thorne’s voice broke through his thoughts.
“Raina?” Wicked squealed, rushing past him and hugging Raina. “What in the world happened? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Raina laughed with a huge smile. “Man, it’s so good to see you. I’ve missed you all so much.”
“What’s not to miss?” Bruce puffed his chest out, looking proud.
“Shifter?” Thorne was asking, gaining their attention. Zane glanced at them before looking back at Thorne. “Yeah. No wolves around here grow that big.”
“True,” Thorne said, then cursed. “Why don’t you take your friend to the house, Wicked? I need to call Mac, and then we will be there.”
“So, you’re Thorne,” Raina said cocking her eyebrow, looking Thorne up and down, which irritated Zane more than he cared to admit. What the actual hell was wrong with him?
“And you’re the infamous Raina Rayne.” Thorne chuckled with a nod.
“The one and only.” She laughed, then gave Thorne a hug. “It’s finally nice to meet the man who swept Wicked off her feet. I always told her you were out there somewhere.”
“You’ve got it all wrong. It was her that swept me off my feet.” Thorne pulled away, giving Wicked a wink before looking down at Raina. “And it’s finally nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot of things…” He smirked without finishing his sentence.
“Oh, I bet you have.” Raina finished for him and then grinned. “But I bet Wicked left out some very interesting stories.”
