Jazz’s house looked exactly how she’d left it yesterday. The grass was calf-high because the lawn mower had broken. The siding needed to be scraped and painted. Same with the porch. Cars under blue tarps were stored in the field alongside the garage. And boxes of car parts were piled near the door to be carried up to the loft for storage.
Everything looked the same, yet her life had taken an unexpected turn overnight. None of the concerns that had bothered her yesterday seemed important, not when there was a crazy shifter on the loose who had set his sights on her family. She’d always lived with the worry of attracting the wrong kind of attention. It was why she lived in near seclusion.
Cindy had hit it on the mark the other night. Her life revolved around Seth, Levi, and her garage. And why wouldn’t it? Everything she needed was right here.
Or had she been fooling herself?
She peeked at Rafe’s profile. Maybe she didn’t have to face life alone. Maybe the man she’d always wanted was the one right in front of her, the one who wasn’t really a man but who’d captured her attentions. He’d tempted her from the minute she saw him. Even after learning he was a shifter, she still desired him.
The car hit a bump and dragged her out of her inner musing. Her relationship with Rafe wasn’t the most important concern at the moment. Her family’s safety was her top priority. The problem was, the longer she thought about it, the harder it was to keep the two issues separate. Rafe had a tie to both—the threat to her heart and her life.
Rafe parked in the grass. “Stay here until I can check out the house and the outer buildings. I want to make sure it’s safe before the others arrive.”
She knew that was the plan. Her boys, along with Megan and Josh, would make the trip over to her place after a couple more of Rafe’s brothers showed up. She’d agreed it was best and had planned to use the short drive over to talk to Rafe about Jon. Her wandering thoughts had stopped her.
Watching Kade, Devin, and Rafe interact with the kids all morning had saddled her with guilt. For five years, she’d feared running into another shifter. The ones who’d kidnapped her were beyond sick. She hadn’t realized how much until they’d ushered her—gagged and in chains—into their “medical center” and tossed her into a cell next to Seth and Levi’s mother.
The three men who’d played memory matching games and shared milk and cookies with her boys didn’t fit her view of shifters. Nothing about Rafe did, actually. Attentive and loving described him, not depraved and cruel. It was for those reasons she’d agreed to leave her kids with Kade and Devin.
She trusted them.
“Hey?” Rafe covered her hand with his. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, just lost in thought.”
They were alone. It’d be a good hour or two until everyone arrived. She could tell Rafe the story of how she got her boys. She wanted to get it off her chest.
She turned toward him. “I want to talk to you.”
“So do I. I have many things to share with you.”
The seriousness of his tone gave her pause. “What about?”
He glanced at where his hand covered hers. “This. That. The future.”
Her breath caught. “The future? As in our future?”
“Yes.” He laid his fingertips against her cheek. “Our very long future.”
So he was also thinking about them as a couple. Growing old together. She grinned. She couldn’t help it. “Oh.”
He matched her smile. “I’ll be back in a couple of minutes. Scream if you need me, but I don’t think Jon will strike here, not after learning we’re on to him. He’ll either have run or he’s planning his next move.”
His words didn’t exactly comfort her, but his tone did. He’d protect her and her family. His determination rang true.
“Okay.”
He locked her door, then jogged toward the barn.
She followed his retreating back with her gaze until he disappeared inside before closing her eyes. The moment of solitude was a godsend. Her emotions had been through the wringer over the past few days, but the couple of hours since she’d woken had left her shaky. Her family’s safety had a lot to do with it, but so did Rafe.
She couldn’t stop thinking about him. Men had never ruled her before. She didn’t know if she was okay with the change or not. Luckily, she didn’t have to focus on the answer. An hour. Two at the most. After the rest of his family arrived, Rafe would be occupied with them, planning how to take out Jon. She’d be on the sidelines. As much as she wanted to be a part of what was being done to protect her family, she needed space to think.
The car door opened.
She jumped. “Rafe.”
“Everything looks safe. No sign of Jon.”
“That’s good to know.”
“Will you show me around before the others get here?”
His gaze drifted from her face to her chest. Her lower belly warmed.
She cleared her throat. “Sure. How about I give you the tour of my garage? I’m really happy with how my latest car is turning out.”
“Great. I’d love to see it.”
Before she knew it, they were at her garage, an old barn her pappy had converted into his workspace over forty years ago. It housed Classic Wyns, the restoration shop she’d taken over after he died. Being a mechanic wasn’t exactly what she’d planned to do with her life.
The fancy Physics degree she’d been so proud to get had gone to waste. Cindy had been right about that, but Jazz had found she liked working with her hands and being in charge of herself. It was all about looking for the good in things. It wasn’t always easy, but she tried.
“What’s on the upper floor?” Rafe asked.
She glanced at the stairs on the outside of the building. How many times had she dragged herself up them over the summers she was home from college? She grinned at the memories of her carefree pre-mother years. “An apartment. I lived there on and off after high school and right after I moved home with the boys. Now it’s my office.”
“Let’s check it out.”
Lust gave his words a deep timbre. She cut him a quick look. The hunger stamped on his face matched his tone. He’d devour her the minute they were alone.
“Rafe, I—”
“No arguments. You promised to give me a tour.”
Jazz swept her gaze over Rafe’s body. Loving him wasn’t how she’d planned to spend their time together. They needed to talk.
Rafe slipped an arm around her waist and drew her close, letting her feel his need for her. He brushed his nose along her cheek to her ear. “What happened to you today messed with my head. Pushed me to the edge. I need an outlet for that tension. For a shifter, that’s either fighting or fu—”
“Rafe.” She cut him off. “I need to tell you about the boys. How I—”
“The boys aren’t going anywhere. Neither am I, but we need this. I need this.” Rafe pressed his mouth to her ear. “The physical contact, the reminder of what we shared last night, the knowledge that we’ve found each other. Now, Jasmine. Before our families get here. Before life crashes in on us. We won’t be able to do anything but talk.”
Jazz studied the man holding her. He looked about two seconds away from ripping her clothes off. His instincts drove him to this state. She’d bet money on it. The lover she’d welcomed into her body last night wasn’t a man. He was ruled by primitive drives she had no hope of understanding. But she did know one thing. “You need me to tame you. That’s what you’re saying.”
He pressed an openmouthed kiss to the edge of her ear and exhaled a warm breath, making her wet skin tingle. “More than you could even guess. I need you to bring me peace. Can you do that, Jasmine? Can you do what no other woman has managed to accomplish?”
His words rocked her. Made her feel incredibly special. She wanted to believe them, that she had some power over Rafe no other lover had.
She curled her hand around the back of his neck. Instead of answering with words, she kissed him, letting her actions speak for her.