“Shit! No!” I shake my head. “Just to talk, I swear. After everything that happened, I…”
She smiles. Raven is so fucking beautiful. “I’m only teasing you. It’s—” Barrett walks outside in his bathing suit. He has a towel over his arm.
“You were right, it is difficult to find privacy here,” she says under her breath.
Barrett stops in his tracks. He widens his eyes. “Am I interrupting? I don’t have to swim right now. I could…I don’t know…catch a movie, or make a sandwich.”
Raven laughs. “Go ahead and swim. You’re not interrupting because we were just leaving, anyway.”
“Oh?” He raises his brows. “Where are you headed?” He looks at me and then back at Raven.
“None of your business.” Raven folds her arms across her chest and fuck, but yellow is a beautiful color. Triangles are—
She pulls a dress over her head, giving me a look as soon as it’s on.
I swallow thickly. “Sorry…yellow is a good color on you.” I’m fucking this up.
Raven turns away. “Enjoy your swim.”
“Thanks.” Barrett looks sheepish. He drops the towel on a nearby lounger and dives into the pool with a loud splash.
“Ready?” I ask, trying hard not to look too desperate because I am. I’ve never been this desperate before. I want a chance with this woman so badly.
She puts her feet into a pair of flip flops and then nods. “Yes.”
“Okay, then.” We go inside and then down the hall that leads to the garage. I open the door for her. I help her into the Jeep.
We drive to Rage’s place in silence. It’s awkward. I don’t want to make small-talk. She didn’t like it when I tried earlier. Thank god it doesn’t take long to get to there. I haven’t been here often. It’s on the outside of town. A big log cabin that borders on shifter land. It’s all hills and grassy fields with outcrops of trees. There is a small lake behind the house.
“Wow!” Raven says. “This is nice.” We just stand there for a few moments, taking it in. I’m so fucking terrified my hands are shaking.
I need to just tell her how I feel and not assume anything. I think if I do those two things, I will be okay. Bolt knows his stuff. His advice made sense.
“I wanted to—” I start.
A dog barks. It’s loud and menacing. It comes at us from its place…was it at the front door?
It’s her.
The Doberman.
“What?” I say, frowning. “Easy, girl.” I hold my hand up. The dog growls at us. She’s only about five or six feet away. “Don’t move!” I warn Raven. “I’ll protect you. You need to slowly move behind me.”
“What are you talking about?” she says, dropping to her knees next to me. “We know her. Hey, girl,” she coos.
“Don’t! You—” I gape as the big Doberman comes in for ear rubs.
“I thought Rage said he took the dog to the pound.” I am frowning.
“I can’t believe he went through with it,” she says, her voice sad.
“Me neither.”
“Look, she’s panting hard,” Raven says, still rubbing her ears. “She looks tired and thirsty. I’ll bet she’s really thirsty. Maybe she escaped?” She lifts her brows. “Did you escape?” The dog whines. Raven stands up. “Let’s get her inside.”
We head to the front door. I insert the key, but the door is already unlocked. I push it open. Raven and the dog go inside. She heads for the kitchen. “Wow, it’s lovely inside, too,” she remarks.
The cabin is cozy and homey. It’s not at all what you would expect when you look at Rage. There are paintings and a fireplace. The furniture is comfortable. There are rugs and throws. It’s nice. It’s really nice.
I hear lapping. The dog is drinking like she’s never seen water before in her life.
“See, I told you she was thirsty,” Raven says, looking down at the dog, who’s still drinking. “Do you think she ran all the way here from town?”
“I’m not sure how she would’ve found a way out, but,” I shrug, “it’s possible. I know how much the dog loves Rage. I wish he would lighten up about her. There’s nothing wrong with having a dog.”
“The responsibility is not for everyone.” Raven shrugs.
“I guess.” Then we just stand there. Looking at one another. It’s gone back to being awkward as fuck.
“Do you want something to drink? A coffee? I could make tea. Rage might have—” I start walking to the refrigerator.
“I don’t want anything. Why am I here? What do we need to talk about?”
“Maybe this was a mistake,” I say, turning to face Raven.
“That’s it, then?” she asks. “What do you want from me? Why am I here? What do you want to say? You should have a very good idea since you’ve had two days to think about it.” She folds her arms, her chin is jutting up. Her eyes are burning with determination.
“I would have talked to you sooner, but…” How do I put this all into words?
“But what?” She’s starting to sound pissed.
“I’m so terrified of fucking this up, okay? I’m so afraid of saying the wrong thing…of… I have no idea where we stand with each other. None! You might shoot me down. I’ve been agonizing over every conversation we had. Every touch. Every…everything. I still have no idea. Back to you shooting me down. Maybe we’re on different pages. Hell, maybe we’re not even in the same library.”
“Try me!”
“I like you, Raven. I really like you very much…” I pull in a deep breath. “That’s not true.” I scrub a hand over my face. “It’s not true at all.” I pull in a breath.
“It’s not?” She sounds shocked. “Don’t you…um…like me?” She suddenly looks unsure. For the first time, she seems hesitant.
Maybe she’s not as angry. Maybe I have a shot. Maybe, just maybe, I’m still in that window. I might still be in this with a chance.
I’m in the goddamned window!
“It’s more serious than ‘like’. I’m falling for you. I know it’s really soon and that it’s one big mess, but I think I’m falling in love with you.”
She smiles and licks her lips. “Why did you wait so long? There has to be more to this. You’re shy. You’re not used to the whole relationship thing, but I get the feeling that’s not the main reason you took two whole days to talk to me. I watched you fight West. You’re no coward, Stephan.”
“I’m worried you still have feelings for West.”
Her mouth falls open, and she gets this incredulous look. “Are you crazy? Out of your mind, maybe?” she growls.
“You told Maddox not to hurt him.”
“Maddox is the son of Ares. Hurting turns to bleeding which turns to death. He’s accidentally killed a few people. They were all bad, but still…” She widens her eyes.
“You were afraid Maddox might kill West?”
She nods. “I was very worried that Maddox would regret it. That was my biggest fear, right then.” She rolls her eyes. “And then, although West probably deserves to die after all he’s pulled…I don’t want him to die. Old habits die hard.”