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My heart trembles like a plucked harp string. Unconsciously, I press closer to Wolf. He slides his arm around my shoulders and rubs my cold, goosebumpy skin.
“There was a paralegal at that firm, young woman named Sue Perez. Sue Perez made the news, though not for any case she was workin’ on.” Wolf hesitates. “It was a case she was involved in, though. Directly. Because it was hers. She vanished without a trace. Still ain’t been found to this day.”
“Oh, my god.” I clap my hand over my mouth.
“Tracker sent all the relevant articles to me. I can forward them to you if you want.” Wolf tightens his arm around me. “I guess Sue didn’t have much of a social life. Her neighbors said they only ever saw one person visitin’ her.”
“Malcolm.”
Wolf growls and his face clenches. I put my arm around him and some of the tension holding his mouth in a rictus snarl eases. “Yeah. Him. Cops looked into him hard once they found out the two of them were seein’ each other. They were pretty steady. Partners on the job and in bed. But he was cleared. Was only ever a person of interest, not a suspect.”
My mouth has gone completely dry. I probe at my lips with a tongue that feels like a desiccated sea sponge, failing to moisten them. “Could be a coincidence.”
“Could be. And it could be that the moon’s made of cheese, baby.” He shakes his head. “If he didn’t do it, he had someone else do it. She was probably too smart for him and he threw her away.”
“Stop,” I almost sob. “This is awful.”
“Hey, listen to me.” He holds my face and stares down into my eyes. “Nothin’ like that will happen to you. I’ll fuckin’ burn the whole world down before I let him lay a goddamn finger on you a second time.”
“Wolf…” I press closer to him. My body makes the next move for me. I tilt my face to his and kiss him.
He makes a small groaning sound in his throat and rubs his hard lips over mine. His hands roam over my shoulders and down my back. My breasts push hard against his chest. My nipples tingle and I wriggle to get even closer to him, as if I’m trying to become a part of him.
His hands work their way lower as our lips collide again and again, the meetings growing in urgency and ferocity. He cups my buttocks in his palms and massages them, pushing his fingers in deep enough for me to feel the pressure echoed in my pussy.
“This is what I need,” I moan, and arch my back to push myself more firmly in his hands.
Suddenly, he’s standing, untangling himself from me. I flop against the back of the couch, stunned by the coldness of his sudden absence.
He waves a hand and paces further away, putting himself across the room. “No,” he says, and swipes at his hair. “No, this isn’t what you need, not right now.”
“What are you talking about? Get back over here!” I reach for him.
“I can’t,” he says, sounding strained. Another part of him strains, a bulge pushing his jeans zipper to its limits. “You just got some upsetting news. You’re vulnerable. I can’t do this and take advantage of you.”
“You’re making decisions for me again!” I stand up on shaking legs. “What’s next, you’re going to start ordering for me at restaurants?”
“If you were trying to order something you were allergic to, that would harm you, yes, I would do that.” He lets out a sigh. “You have no idea how much I want to. I just couldn’t forgive myself if, if things went wrong. This time, it’s not because I’m making a choice for you, Julia. It’s because I don’t trust myself.”
My shoulders slump as a new sort of gravity settles on me, dragging me down low. I guess I get what he means. I did just get some awful news. I’m not in a good headspace.
“I’ll see you home,” Wolf says. “We can get together some other time.”
I’m sure I’ll want him some other time too, but what about needing him like I do right now? Needing him to block out the bad stuff with what feels good.
I don’t have the right words to explain myself, so I just let him take me home.
Chapter 19
Wolf
Artie fiddles with the wrench I gave him, spinning the screw mechanism that tightens and loosens the jaws. I rumple his hair. “Be careful with that, bud. Don’t pinch your finger.”
“If I pinch my finger, I’ll do this.” He loosens the jaw with a few spins and beams up at me, pleased with his own reasoning.
My heart squeezes like someone’s using it as a stress ball. “That’s right. Better not have to do that in the first place though, okay? And don’t pinch nothin’ else, either.”
His brows lower as he puts on his serious face, but his eyes are sparkling. “I won’t.”
