Page 35 of Redemption in the Dark (The Righteous 5)
A silver truck was slowly making its way down the driveway, and she stepped off to the side near Duke as he came running over and sat down.
Unole’s window lowered as he came to a stop. “Good morning, Maeve. Did you sleep well?”
“I did, thanks,” she said and gently ran her fingers over the soft fur on the top of Duke’s head.
His eyes traveled over the mismatched outfit she had on. Even though his smile looked amused by the baggy pants rolled up ten times at the cuff, and one of Wolf’s tanks drooped on her much smaller frame, she could still feel the heat in his stare.
Normally when she felt a man giving her the I want to fuck you look, she’d go over and lean against the door and offer for him to drive around behind the barn for some quick alone time. She’d done that more than once, with more than one man, and the answer was always the same.
Yes.
As the thought crossed her mind, so did the look on Wolf’s face last night and the discussion they’d had, and she found herself keeping her distance. She was also shocked that there was no instant searing heat in her pussy demanding that she need to do something sexual with this guy.
“Are you working today,” she asked even though he was here, making the answer obvious. She didn’t know what to say. Her go-to was sex and not words.
“Yeah, there is a lot to do today, and Waya wants to have a meeting,” Unole said.
Like saying his name had conjured Wolf, he stepped out onto the deck and raised his cup in greeting.
Her heart sputtered at the mere sight of him, but it turned into a little flutter as guilt crept through her system. It was totally out of character and strange to feel guilt over something, especially when she’d done nothing wrong. For the longest time, she didn’t even think guilt was a possible emotion for her. She wasn’t even going to do anything with Unole, but her subconscious knew she’d thought about it, and apparently, that was enough. At least now she knew what the saying, you have a guilty conscience, meant.
“Looks like coffee is ready. I better go, but have a nice day Unole.”
“You as well.” He started to drive and then stopped. “Hey, if you ever want to hang out, I’ll give you my address. I’m not far from here. Maybe I can show you the area and what all it has to offer.”
He drove off before she could tell him she wasn’t interested, so she stood staring after the truck, trying to decide if she should chase after him and tell him that the answer was no. Then again, that seemed overly reactionary and may come off the wrong way.
Why the fuck was this so difficult to navigate, for fuck’s sake?
She marched across the driveway, hands stuffed in the way too large pants that made it look like she shit herself, and stomped up the stairs.
“I wasn’t flirting with him,” she blurted when she reached the top.
Wolf slowly turned his head and looked at her, his casual position never faltering as he leaned against one of the porch posts.
“I know.”
She opened her mouth to tell him off and to tell him that she fucking wasn’t flirting but stopped as his words registered.
“Well, how would you know that? I mean, maybe I was.”
She had no idea why she was suddenly angry with him, but it felt like he shouldn’t know all this shit about her before she did. It was a seriously unfair advantage having this superpower-like ability to see her.
He smirked and looked away as he took a sip of his coffee. “I know because your eyes didn’t hold any heat like they do when you’re flirting.”
She wet her lips and once more was at a loss for what to say. He had a knack for shutting her up by saying very little. It was a magical feat all on its own that many a person had tried to do and failed.
“The coffee is getting cold,” he said and walked down the stairs leaving her to stare after him.
She had to pinch herself to stop staring at the man, so she could walk into the house to get the much-needed coffee. Once inside, the wonderful rich smell reached her nose as she poured a cup. Tossing in a couple of sugar cubes before blowing on it, she took that first sip, and it was almost better than sex…almost.
Leaning against the counter, she looked outside and found her eyes wandering to Wolf. Everything he did was completely fascinating to her. He was leaning against the fence while a small group of horses headed his way. He slipped through the wooden rails and pet the horses as he spoke. Making her way to the door, she stepped outside and leaned on the same pole he’d occupied a few minutes ago. He was intoxicating in this strange soothing way. Oddly he reminded her of a cobra doing its hypnotic dance to lure a person in.
She was undecided if he’d strike once she was in range, but a big part of her said she really didn’t give a shit and that she’d let him eat her whole if he wanted.
“Ohhh,” she squealed as a foal trotted over. The tiny whinny sound it made was the cutest thing she’d ever heard.
Wolf must have heard her because he smiled and waved her over. She couldn’t resist and jogged down the steps and across the lawn to lean on the fence.
