Chapter Nine
Three Days Later
Rocco stepped onto the back porch and the moment he smelled the coffee, he felt at ease. Graham was curled up on a chair, complete with a mug of coffee and a blanket. He’d been tense the last three days, living with Rose, aware of another man close to her. The only reason he’d been able to cope was the fact Graham had no scent, which was fucking weird.
He didn’t like the camouflage that had clearly been added to Graham’s DNA, or whatever kind of shit Milton messed with.
“Morning,” Graham said. “I made a whole potful.”
“I know.”
“You wanted to make sure I’d not done a runner?”
“It could happen.”
“True,” Graham said with a sigh. “I’d be lying if I didn’t say I’d thought about it. Just so you and Rose could figure out your shit. You know.”
“Why didn’t you try to run?”
“And go where? I ran into this place and I didn’t even know where I was going.” Graham laughed. “You guys are fucking real-life wolves, and I’m this experiment. You don’t have a clue what hope I have with the human world. Knowing my luck, they’d hunt me down, stuff me, or worse, throw me in a cage and experiment on me. None of those options are good. I’d rather take your kind of cage, thank you.”
“Rose’s place is not a cage.”
“I wasn’t talking about this place. I was talking about your actual cages. They were comfy, and I even got a hot woman to give me a care package.”
Rocco growled. “Be careful. You’re lucky you don’t stink, otherwise, you and I would have a problem.”
“Yeah, I am curious, though, I wonder if my farts stink.” Just then, Graham tensed up and then let one out.
“Are you for real right now?”
“Rose isn’t around, and it’s just you and me. I don’t smell, so I guess neither do my farts.” His face scrunched up and he seemed to go a little green. “That was a bad idea.”
Rocco couldn’t even believe he was entertained by this man. In the last few days, he’d come to the conclusion he wasn’t a bad guy, and because of that, he also found it incredibly sad because there was no way of helping him. One day, he was going to die.
“So, now that we know my farts do in fact stink, why don’t you tell me how you’re going to fix things with Rose?” Graham said.
“Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t meddle in something that is not your business.”
“Seeing as I live with you, and I can see you stealing little glances at one another, I kind of think it is my business. Besides, last time I checked, you were still trying to make up for being an asshole. I’m a guy, I might be able to help.”
Rocco laughed. “You think you might be able to help me?”
“Well, I can tell you not to pick your dog over a woman, and I don’t see you with a dog, so I guess that won’t be happening.” Graham shrugged.
“You picked a dog over a woman?”
“Hey, Buster wasn’t just any kind of dog, all right? I truly believe he was my soul mate, and I loved him. I loved him enough to help with an experiment that, let’s face it, has gone very badly.”
Rocco leaned against the wall of the porch and turned his full attention to Graham. “Doesn’t it scare you?”
“Dying?”
He nodded.
“I guess. I mean, I don’t want to die, but if I do die, and what people say is true, there is a Heaven and Hell, hopefully I’ve done everything right, and when I do, Buster will be there waiting for me.”
There was an odd smile on Graham’s lips, and Rocco knew what it meant. The man was happy with the thought of finally seeing his dog again. He’d never had that connection with a pet, or anything. He thought about Rose and how he’d messed up big time.
“So, tell me how to fix this with Rose,” Rocco said.
He couldn’t believe he was asking a human to help him, but he didn’t see what else he could do.
Graham laughed. “I know this is going to sound crazy, but have you ever thought of just hanging out with her? Getting to know her, talking to her, learning what she likes?”
Rocco ran a hand down his face. “I have not had time to do any of that shit.”
“Well, seeing as you’re on guard duty, why don’t you try? It can’t be hard, can it?”
He didn’t get to ask him to elaborate as Rose stepped out to the back porch. She’d pulled her long blonde hair back from her face, and she wore an off-the-shoulder sweater in a pastel blue, as well as a floral skirt.
She offered him a smile, and then handed him a cup of coffee. “I saw you didn’t have one.”
Rocco had come straight outside, wanting to make sure their infected hadn’t done a runner.
“Thanks, I was checking on our prisoner,” Rocco said.
“Hey, I am no prisoner, I’m a forced guest.”
Rose laughed. “There is nothing forced about you being here.” She took a seat beside Graham, and Rocco’s wolf didn’t like that.
Even though the man beside her didn’t emit any scent and didn’t appear to be a threat, his wolf still wasn’t happy about it. Gritting his teeth, he tried not to growl or allow the sight to affect him, but it was next to impossible.
“You know what, I’ve got to go take a shower. I stink, and I did an awful lot of sweating last night.” Graham let out a dramatic sigh. “Once I’m done, I’ll make us all breakfast.”
Graham gave him a wide stare, and he suddenly realized the other man was leaving them alone.
Shit and fuck were the first thoughts that rolled through his head, as panic started to assail him. Followed closely like relief, as he moved closer to Rose. He didn’t know what to expect at first, part of him figured she’d get up and leave. Rocco was even more shocked as she rested her head against his shoulder.
“Morning.”
“Morning,” he said.
The wolf inside him, as well as himself, was cheering that she’d chosen to lean on him. He felt on top of the world.
“Are you worried our prisoner is really going to escape?” Rose asked, and turned toward him.
He stared into her eyes, and couldn’t help but look into those beautiful depths.
“No, but we don’t know how he is going to react.”
“He’s not like the others, is he?” she asked.
Rocco thought about all the other infected humans he’d seen. Most of them were in a state of panic, sweating, scared, unable to control their bodies. Most of them struggled to form a coherent sentence. Graham was nothing like that.
“No, he’s not. I know you’re not going to like this,” Rocco said.
“Then don’t tell me.”
“I have to. I don’t want you getting to close to him. Not because I don’t trust him, but in case he doesn’t make it. I don’t want you to be hurt because of his loss,” Rocco said.
“That’s sweet,” Rose said.
He turned to look at her and found her staring right back at him. Those eyes and lips, it was like he couldn’t control himself, and as he leaned in close, he waited for Rose’s rejection, but it never came. He took possession of her lips, kissed her, and knew there was going to come a time when a kiss would not be the only thing he wanted.
****
Rose tried not to stare across the yard at Rocco. Even though it was cold out, and Graham and Rocco were helping her complete the final part of her weeding, Rocco had gotten hot and taken his shirt off. She shouldn’t be staring.
“You know, you could have him any moment,” Graham said, leaning over to whisper in her ear.
“Shut up,” she said.
Graham chuckled. “I’m just saying, I don’t know if you’ve noticed but he is trying to do everything he can to grab your attention.” He let out a low whistle and she reached out to slap his arm.
“Stop that.”
“What? You think he’s not doing this to gain your attention?”
“You don’t understand, things are a little more complicated between Rocco and me.”
“Ah, I see, they’re more complicated.” He raised his brows and she shot a glare at him. “This isn’t funny.”
He held his hands up in surrender. “I’m not laughing, although I guess I kind of am.”
“What? You think I should just go up there and start touching him?” she asked, expecting him to deny it.
“I think Rocco would love that.”
She shook her head. “You’re wrong. You do not know him like I do.”
“Ah, you mean the guy that shot your mating down and has been a complete and total dick to you, in the past?”
Rose couldn’t argue with that. “So, I guess you do know him and our situation a little better.” She’d only briefly talked about it with him. He’d been the first and only person she’d said anything to. This was because she didn’t have any friends. She just wasn’t close to anyone. Rose knew when her parents were alive, they had felt so guilty at not working harder to convince her to be with people her own age. She’d just been awkward with people her own age. It was better this way.
How odd that it had taken an infected human for her to find any form of friendship.
“Look, you know men make mistakes, and I guarantee you, Rocco has made a massive one. One that he regrets. You don’t see anyone else from the club, do you? It’s just you, me, and Rocco. Every chance he gets, he finds a reason to talk to you. It’s why we’re all out here, because he asked you what your plans were for the day. If he didn’t want to spend time with you, I’m sure he could have used club stuff as a way of getting out of it, and yet, ever since we got here, he’s stuck around.”
Rose couldn’t help but glance over toward him, only to quickly stop and spin around to glare at Graham. “You knew he was looking at me.”
“Well, it’s not exactly hard to, seeing as he is so focused on you alone.” Graham winked at her. “Why don’t you go and offer him a drink or something? Come on, Rose, you know you want to.”
“I will go and offer him a drink because I want to, not because you’ve suggested it.” Also, her wolf rather liked the idea of getting closer to him, which was insane. She should be trying to get as far away from him as possible.
Why? You like him, and yes, he’s an asshole, but he’s your kind of asshole. He’s your mate, and you cannot deny him forever.
This was a complete change to how she felt a few weeks ago. After what he did to her when they learned they were each other’s mate, she’d been determined to cut him out of her life. She had succeeded and knew it would be easy, because, well, she had nothing to do with the pack, other than work.
Then he had to come and knock at her door, and now she struggled to ignore him, to deny him. Being close to him every day as they took care of Graham made it harder for her to deny him.
Getting to her feet, she shot Graham a glare. “I’m doing this because it is the polite thing to do, not because you’ve told me to.”
Graham saluted her.
Rocco was right, she knew she had to try and keep her distance from this man, but it was so hard to do because he was so nice, and lovable. She didn’t have any romantic feelings for him, but she did like him. He was becoming a good friend, and she did care about him. She didn’t want to see him … die.
Approaching Rocco, he stopped and turned toward her, removing the perspiration from his brow.
“Uh, do you want a drink?” she asked. “Coffee, hot chocolate, soda, water?” The list was running out of her mind as she tried to focus on what kind of drinks she could offer. She struggled to not stare down at the rather expansive and impressive chest.
She’d never seen Rocco naked. This was new for her, and also a mega-struggle to contain.
“I’d love one. I’ll let you decide,” he said.
Rose nodded. “Right away.” She had to clear her throat as she suddenly felt so dry. Stepping around him, she entered her home and felt that warm flush assail her.
Get a grip, Rose. He’s just helping you out. Once it’s over with Graham, you probably won’t see him again.
She stepped over to the fridge and stared inside, hoping to figure out what to do about Rocco, but her mind was drawing a blank.
“I thought I’d come and help,” Rocco said, causing her to spin around and in the process close the fridge door.
She stared at Rocco, and he seemed to be puffing out his chest a little more.
“Did Graham send you?” she asked.
“Yeah, I think he enjoys meddling in other people’s business a little too … quickly.” It didn’t stop Rocco from taking a step, then another, and another. Words got stuck in her throat. “But, he does have some pretty good ideas,” he said.
“And what are those?” she asked.
“This.”
Before she had any chance to tell him no, he’d already gripped her neck and then pulled her close to him. She didn’t fight him because the truth was, she didn’t want to. Feeling his lips on hers was like she’d been craving him for so long and finally had a taste.
He growled against her lips, and she circled her arms around his neck, pulling him down to kiss him even harder.
“Fuck, you’re driving me crazy,” he said in between kisses.
She already knew she wasn’t going to deny him, not as his other hand went from her hip, curving down to her ass. He glided down, going toward her knee, and then lifting it up to slide over his hip. She cried out his name to which he growled.
“You’re so beautiful, Rose,” he said. “I want you so badly.”
“I want you as well.”
The full moon was fast approaching and it was like they both realized the ramifications of what that meant as they jerked back. Neither of them spoke for several seconds.
The full moon was so powerful. Rose had known how hard it was to deny her need for Rocco over the course of the last full moons. They had been able to avoid each other, but this was different. They were living together, which was going to make it impossible to ignore that impulse to mate. Rose knew it was stronger than both of them.
He ran fingers through his hair, and Rose stared at him.
“I’ll, uh, bring out your drink.”
“Yeah, it sounds good.”
Rose watched him go all the while her lips tingled from his touch. This was insane. What the hell were they going to do?
“Well, that is not what I expected,” Graham said, stepping into the kitchen.
She rolled her eyes and turned toward him. “And what were you expecting?”
“Simple, Rocco to not leave the kitchen like he’d been sucking on a bee. Did you bite him? Say horrible things?”
She took a deep breath. “Why is it always something I’ve said or done?”
“Oh, don’t take it personally. If I was talking to Rocco, it would totally be about what he had done or hadn’t done. Are you going to spill the juicy gossip, or do I have to figure it out myself, which, by the way, is in fact, exhausting! It is much easier if you just tell me what the problem is, then I can solve it and everyone is happy.”
Rose was tempted to tell him it was nothing, but that would be a lie. “It’s … the full moon.”
“And it’s happening soon, right?”
“Yeah, it’s happening.”
“And this isn’t a good thing? I know you guys are freaking out about what it means for me—”
“This time, it’s not just about you.” She interrupted him because she didn’t want to think about him going through the full moon, alone.
“What’s it about?”
“Rocco and I. We’ve been able to avoid each other for several full moons. It’s hard, as I know my wolf wants to go to him, but it’s easy not to, especially if we haven’t been close.” She shrugged. “It is just easier.”
“You’re closer than you have ever been.”
“Yeah, we are, but we’ve never had sex. We’ve never given in to our wolves.”
“And what is wrong with giving in to it?”
“I don’t know,” Rose said.
“You know what I think?” he asked.
“That even if I don’t want to know, you’d tell me anyway?”
“See, you and I are turning into the best of friends, so that is totally true. You’re overthinking it. Yes, I know you’ve had some major differences and he’s a giant dick, but you both are able to get along, and with all the crap, don’t you think it’s time the two of you have some you time?”