Chapter 27 #2
“I wanted you to see me as more than I am.” Krys leaned in so we were face-to-face.
“In case I wasn’t clear about my intentions, I’m asking you to be my life mate.
You act like I’m going to lose interest—like I need to try out other men.
Don’t cheapen yourself. You’re not a carnival ride.
I don’t want to leave the pack, but let me make this crystal clear: I’ll go anywhere if it means we’re together. You got that? I choose you.”
My heart constricted at those words. The fact that he’d give up everything for me filled a void, and I wanted to surrender to the promise.
Krys stroked my jaw. “Well? What’s your answer, little wolf?”
His declaration rendered me speechless.
He canted his head and squinted. “Are you blushing? That’s a first.” After a beat, his tone lost all confidence. “You don’t love me back?”
“Yes, I love you, and I don’t want anyone else. Dammit! I’ve been avoiding relationships all my life, and here you come with those tight pants and swoony lines. Now I’m sitting here, confessing my love like one of those saccharine-sweet Hallmark movies Cici watches.”
He moved his hand to my inner thigh and kissed my neck. “Is Hallmark rated R?”
I kissed him on the mouth and nibbled his bottom lip, which made him growl. “When did you get all gung ho about relationships? We used to make fun of them, remember?”
His kiss stirred a fever in me as he massaged my thigh. “We’ve always had one. Now it’s better.”
“You’ll eventually realize I’m not enough,” I added.
Big mistake.
Krys gripped my chin and leveled me with his steely gaze. “You’re fucking enough. You got that? My wolf knew you were enough before I did. I guess those shitheads always know.”
That made me smile. “Is that why you’re always sitting outside my bathroom door when I’m showering?”
He shrugged. “I like the way you sing.”
“Ah, my first groupie.”
“When you come home after a long day roofing, I want to be the one to clean you up. When we go out, you ride with me.” He stroked my neck. “And no cheating. Nobody’s getting between us.”
“Tell that to the ghost in the back seat.”
Krys leaned around me. “Nobody’s getting between us. You got that, Ghostylocks?”
I slipped my hand beneath his tight shirt so I could feel his warm skin.
He was so familiar—his delectable scent, his demanding touch, his smoky voice.
Our relationship had strengthened over the years, and every morning I woke up looking forward to seeing him.
The thought of waking up next to him for the rest of my life made me happier than I’d ever known.
I liked hearing him fight for us, and it made me realize how much I wanted this.
Krys gazed at me ardently. “You don’t have to worry about being too much. But can you handle a guy like me? Am I enough for you?”
I kissed his neck. “Lover boy, you’re all the man I need.”
“If any ghost ever bothers you, don’t keep it from me. You got that? We’ll figure it out. Either that or I’ll make you forget all about them.”
My eyebrows arched high. “And how do you plan to do that?”
A wicked smile crossed his lips, and he hit the automatic seat recliner. “Like this.”
“Oh brother,” Darcy said from the back seat. “Can’t you two wait until we get home?”
Krys unfastened the button on my jeans. “Are you my good little wolf?”
Boy, was I.
Krys’s eyes slanted to the cubby when his phone rang. “Unknown number.”
I reached for the seat adjuster and moved it back up. “That’s called fortuitous timing. It probably means there’s a cop around the bend. If they catch us doing naughty things, we’ll have to call Tak to bail us out.”
“So?”
“Is that how you want him to find out about us?”
The phone continued ringing, and he cursed under his breath. After disconnecting the charger, he backed up and turned away. “Yeah? …. Slow down. What’s going on?” Krys faced me and put the phone on speaker.
“Please!” a fragile voice whispered. “I’m scared, and I don’t know where I am.”
It was Cleo, and she was hyperventilating.
“I can’t do this again,” she whimpered. “They’re coming back soon. I have to erase the call history.”
“Cleo?”
The call ended.
“Cleo!”
When Krys swiped the screen, I jumped out of the car. “Wait! You can’t call her back.”
“The hell I can’t.”
“Take a breath. She said, ‘They’re coming back.’ If someone has her, and she’s not supposed to be on the phone…”
Krys swung his arm as if to throw the device but didn’t. Instead, he faced the woods and roared.
My blood chilled. “We should call the authorities.”
“You think they give a shit?” he snarled. Krys stalked around the front of the vehicle and jumped into the driver’s seat.
I climbed back in and shut the door. “Hold up. It could be dangerous.”
“Are you saying we should leave her?”
“Calm down. I’m saying we should call the local Council. Call her mother!”
He turned the vehicle around and gunned it.
“Not until we find out what’s going on. Something wasn’t right with that woman.
Why didn’t she have tears in her eyes when she hugged her own fucking daughter?
I shrugged it off because not everyone’s a crier.
Hell, I’m not a crier. But that should’ve meant something. ”
“We don’t know if she has anything to do with this.”
“We’re about to find out. She lost Cleo once already.”
I looked at his phone to see if there was a number I could send to Lucian, but it was listed as private. I plugged the charger into the phone in case she called back. “Why don’t you want to call the authorities?”
“People go missing every day. Do you really think they give a shit about some kid from the wrong side of town?” Krys put his sunglasses on. “They don’t have the manpower, and we don’t even have a phone number.” He paused for a beat. “I have to go.”
“Why?”
A single tear rolled down his face. “Because nobody came for me.”