Gavin was well aware of his responsibilities to lead the way in not only keeping their existence safe, but to ensure its continuation. After setting eyes on Aislyn again, seeing the tension pouring off her and the fear in her eyes was threatening his ability to put his obligations before her.
“Sometimes, Drake. I live for the day your turn comes.”
“Not me, nope, no way.” He emphasized his denial with an emphatic shake of his head, to which Gavin and Cody shared a quick grin.
“He won’t listen, so we may as well save our breath,” Cody said before turning serious. “You can’t keep ignoring our parents.”
“Watch me.”
Gavin returned to the stables in a good mood after catching three fish, but that only lasted until he saw Aislyn’s pinched face as she sat in Lily’s stall feeding the foal. Looking up as he approached, it irritated him to watch her struggle to hide her feelings. She never used to keep anything from him.
“Tell me what’s troubling you, Aislyn,” he demanded, his tone harsher than intended. She winced and averted her face, her hand tightening on the bottle. He throttled back the urge to go all Dom on her and threaten dire consequences if she didn’t fess up. He’d lost that right when he’d broken off their Dom/sub relationship.
“I’m working on it, Gavin.”
“Work harder. Meet me at the truck when you’re done.”
She was quiet on the way back to the house and all through dinner. At least her appetite had improved tonight as he watched her clean her plate with her usual appreciation. “That was so good.” She leaned back with a contented sigh that went straight to his cock. “Thank you. I haven’t had salmon since...” Her smile slipped and she looked away.
“Since our last dinner out,” he finished for her, hating the hurt he was responsible for. Frustration clawed at his insides, the secrecy that forced him to walk away from her in the first place angering him as much as her reluctance to talk to him. Pushing away from the table, he stood, fisting his hands to keep from reaching for her. “Regardless of our previous parting, I give you my word you can still trust me, Aislyn. If you don’t mind cleaning up, I have paperwork I need to do. I’ll be in my office.”
Gavin felt her eyes on him as he strode out of the kitchen. Reaching his office next to his bedroom on the opposite side of the house from the guest room, he shut the door behind him and stayed there until he heard her bedroom door close. The need to vent, to run until he was out of breath and tired enough to sleep, consumed him. Slipping out the back door, the night and the woods beckoned with an irresistible pull. He jogged toward the trees, stripped off his clothes as soon as he reached cover and braced for the bone-wrenching, muscle-stretching pain of transformation. His body rippled and twisted, fur replacing skin as he landed on four paws and took off as if the demons of hell were after him.
****
Aislyn didn’t know what drew her to the window before she crawled into bed, but she padded across the room, pulled the curtain aside and peered out. She could barely make out Gavin’s shape before he entered the woods and disappeared into the night. Curious and worried, she ventured onto the front porch and stood watch, holding her breath for what seemed like hours, waiting for him to return. When he did, she held it for an altogether different reason.
He approached the house breathing heavily, as if he had been running, his shirt flapping open to reveal his sweaty, thick chest, his jeans zipped but left unsnapped, baring enough skin to draw her eyes down the narrowing line of dark hair until it disappeared inside his pants. She grew warm recalling where that sexy trail of hair led. Gavin never paused in his stride, coming straight up the steps and walking right by her to sink down on one of the cushioned chairs. Sighing, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes, his face and neck shining with perspiration under the dim light, his black hair clinging damply to his nape, his wide, bare chest lifting with each labored breath. She should run away from the temptation to trail her lips and tongue over all that glistening skin. Should, but didn’t
“What are you doing out here?” he asked, his deep grumble washing through her with a slow heated roll.
“Waiting to ask you the same thing.” He shrugged but she forced herself to hold her ground. “That’s not much of an answer.”
Opening his eyes, he glared at her and she realized her mistake before he pointed it out. “Now you know how it feels. Why did you come here if it wasn’t to ask for my help? I don’t believe you’re just in need of a place to stay for a few days. Is some guy giving you a hard time?”
If only he knew how celibate she’d stayed these many months, he wouldn’t go there. “God, no, not like you’re inferring.”
His body vibrated with an impatient wildness that, God help her, appealed to her as much as his calm dominance once had. She ached to get to know this rougher side of him even as she shied away from trusting him enough to risk bringing trouble to him and his ranch. She hadn’t thought that far ahead when she’d taken off, her only intention to go to the one person who
