Chapter 9
“So, tell me about your life back in Raleigh,” Abraham requested as he pulled onto the gravel road leading away from the cabin.
“Okay, well, I’m a junior associate at Hildebrandt & Moore in Raleigh. Hopefully, the meeting on Tuesday is for my promotion to senior level.”
“And what comes with this promotion?”
“Well, more pay for one. I’d also get a bigger office, more say in which cases I take, things like that.” I thought hard for a moment before continuing. “When I make senior associate, there’ll be no question about whether I can pull my weight. Everyone knows you only make senior if you work your butt off and have a great win rate. A boob job, and a bottle of bleach might be enough to land a job as a junior associate, but that’s about it.”
He shot me a sidelong glance. “You don’t seem like the type to get a boob job, and I can see from your roots you don't need bleach.”
I laughed. “No, I am not the type to get a boob job. Besides, you think I’d spend twenty grand for a B cup? Not likely.”
His knuckles turned white as they gripped the steering wheel.
“And how do you know anything about roots?”
The corner of his lip twitched. “I have four sisters.”
“Ha. That’s right.”
“So, you’re obviously intelligent, and it sounds like you’ve worked hard enough to earn this promotion. Who’s doubting that?”
I rolled my eyes. “Just about everyone there. That’s what I get for taking a job at a firm with only four other women associates. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a few genuinely good guys there, but most are chauvinistic, narrow-minded neanderthals that are about as useful as a trapdoor on a canoe.”
Abraham’s deep laugh reverberated through the confines of the sedan. The sound satisfied me in a way I couldn’t explain. Like crawling into your bed after a long day. Peace, security, and familiarity swirled around me, and I relaxed muscles I didn’t know I’d been tensing.
“What else is in Raleigh?”
“Well, there's Charlie.”
The car swerved violently to the right for a split second before regaining its place between the lines.
“What the hell is wrong with you?!” I screeched.
“Who the hell is Charlie?!” He yelled at the same time.
I stared at him in shock. His jaw clenched so tight, I swore I could hear his teeth grinding from where I sat. His knuckles were ghostly white, and I feared he’d break the wheel in two.
“I’m sorry. I thought I saw something on the road,” he answered through gritted teeth. “Who’s Charlie?” He repeated only slightly calmer than before.
“Charlie’s my cat, Abraham. What’s wrong with you?” I repeated.
He released a huge sigh, and his entire body relaxed. “Nothing’s wrong with me. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. You just surprised me. I thought Charlie might be a boyfriend of yours.” His words were phrased as a statement, but I knew they were meant as a question.
I scoffed. “No. Charlie is not my boyfriend. I don’t have a boyfriend.” And I don’t want one, either. “What about you? What do you do?”
Abraham’s demeanor had completely changed from just a few minutes ago. His smile was wide when he responded.
“I own a construction company. We mostly flip houses, but we also do reno’s whenever they come along. We have enough men now that we can work on multiple projects at once.”
“You seem too young to own a big construction company.”
He shrugged modestly. “Well, we started out pretty small, just me and my cousins taking on projects in the surrounding counties. But we've expanded to South Carolina, and plan to move into Tennessee and Virginia in the next three years.”
Strangely, I felt proud of him. “That’s pretty impressive, Mr. McCoy. You must be really good at what you do.”
He shrugged again, but his pink cheeks told a different story. “You tell me.”
My brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”
Abraham jerked his chin forward, and I turned to peer out the front windshield. Up ahead loomed his massive lodge. When we left earlier, it had been from the side entrance and I hadn’t been able to see much. Now, however, I could see the house in its entirety, and it was magnificent.
A large wrap-around porch jutted off the main floor, with intermittent wall sconces between the various doors. Those walls were covered in river rocks while the rest of the house was red cedar with a gray shingled roof. The large home looked like it might have had more windows than walls, and they all reflected the afternoon sun brilliantly. Beyond the house sat a serene-looking lake, and a long dock leading out into its depths. A warm breeze blew through the open windows, bringing with it the smell of lake and pine.
“You built this?” I asked in awe.
He nodded. "It’s the first home I built."
When we pulled around back, there was a tall woman with short, straight, brown hair pacing in front of the garage doors. Her beautiful features were pinched in disapproval, and I shrank in my seat.
Abraham unfolded his large frame from the car, and strode around to the other side, calling to her over his shoulder, “Hey, Bea.”
The woman stopped in her tracks, and I felt like I could feel the flames from her icy blue eyes.
“Hey, Bea? You bail on an important meeting, and are gone all afternoon gallivanting around with…” her harsh gaze raked me up and down, “her, leaving me to clean up after you and all I get is a friggen’ ‘Hey, Bea’?”
Abraham ignored her, helped me stand from my seat, and lead me toward the house. We were about halfway there when Bea stepped in our path.
With a sigh, Abraham introduced us. “Beatrice, this is Elizabeth. Elizabeth, this is my sister, Bea.” I nodded my head, and tried for a tentative smile, but felt like my effort probably fell flat judging by the look on her face.
She glanced at me before turning to Abraham. “This her?”
He nodded.
Her eyebrows rose until they disappeared beneath her bangs. “And how do you suppose this will end?” Her tone was biting and sarcastic.
Abraham took a menacing step forward, a low growl rumbling through his chest. “It’ll be fine. There’s no other option.”
Bea’s eyes widened, her eyebrows still hidden from view. With her jaw slack, her gaze darted from me to Abraham, and back again a few times before she closed her mouth, and shook her head. “Oh, Abey. What did you do?” she asked sadly.
“It’s none of your business, Bea, so stay out of it. Just do your job, and I’ll take care of everything else. I assume the meeting went well, and there were no disasters while I was gone?”
She huffed and rolled her eyes. “Yes, the meeting went well, and no, there were no disasters. I just like being kept in the loop.”
Abraham nodded. “I can do that. If that’s all, I’ll see you later, and you can brief me. I’ll call you when I’m ready.”
Bea jerked her head once in agreement and left without sparing me another glance.
With a sigh, Abraham placed a hand on the small of my back, and led me toward the door. “Don’t worry about Hurricane Bea. Her bark is worse than her bite. Most of the time.”
That was not reassuring at all.
It took us a while to get to the third floor because I refused to be hauled around like a sack of potatoes any longer. When we finally made it, Abraham stopped a few doors down from the one we’d left earlier, and led me inside.
The room was smaller than the other, but still large with soft looking tan colored sheets, and light blue walls except for the one made of glass. From vaulted ceiling to thick carpeted floor, the giant windows stretched, and above me, skylights were carved into the sturdy wood.
“Is this room all right?” Abraham asked.
I turned incredulous eyes toward him. “All right? It’s gorgeous! But why aren’t I sleeping in the room I was in yesterday?”
His cheeks darkened, and he averted his gaze. “That wasn’t a guest room.”
My mind raced to figure out what I was missing.
“Whose room was it?” I prodded.
He met my eyes. “Mine.”
I gulped, my breath catching in my throat, and threatening to choke me. I’d slept in Abraham’s room. I’d slept in Abraham’s bed. Is it wrong that it was making me hot just thinking about it?
Bad, Elizabeth.
I saw the heat in my blood reflected in his sky blue eyes, and my legs shook beneath me. He smirked and took a slow step forward. “I didn’t mind letting you have the bed the past two nights, but I have to admit, I didn’t sleep so well with half of me hanging off the sides of that little couch.”
Another step.
“If you’re willing to share, you could stay in my room again tonight,” he offered, his voice deep, and rough.
I inhaled a shaky breath and shook my head. “No, thanks,” I squeaked before clearing my throat, and trying again. “This room is just fine,” I assured him.
One last step, and he was inches from me, his warm breath rustling hairs on the top of my head, tickling my skin, and making my pulse pound in my ears.
He has to hear it.
“Are you sure?” he whispered, voice husky.
With jerky movements, I nodded my head, and squeezed my eyes closed. If I saw that heated look in his eyes one more time, I'd lose all control.
A feather light touch caressed my cheek for a second before disappearing. When I finally opened my eyes, Abraham was across the room, opening the door to leave.
“And,” he said with a mischievous grin, “in case you’re as curious about me as I am about you, you might like to know I’m not seeing anyone either.” He walked through the door, and called back, “I’ll be across the hall if you need me.”
With a soft click, I was alone, my heart beating painfully, and my legs just strong enough to get me to the bed before they gave out.
I eased back on the pillow-soft mattress and scrubbed my face with both hands. This is out of control. I’m out of control. A couple hours with the man, and I can hardly string two words together.
But, if I’m being honest, I’d had similar feelings as early as last night. The second he walked out of that steamy bathroom, my eyes had been drawn to him, and they’d barely moved an inch since. And if I thought back hard enough, I could remember feeling a kinship with him even in the woods. As I lay broken, bleeding, and dying, this man had moved me.
I was in so much trouble.
I needed to stop thinking with my hormones and start using the brain I’d grown and nurtured for years. Lusting after this man would get me nowhere.
And besides, he was my...alpha now. It still felt weird thinking about it, and to be honest, I didn’t even have a clear definition of what an alpha was.
Was he similar to a father figure? Gross.
A boss? Weird.
Was he like, the mayor of Wolf Town?
I needed questions answered, and I think I knew the right person to ask.
A knock interrupted my thoughts.
“It’s Evey!” The vivacious woman called.
I smiled. Evey was just the woman I’d planned on hunting down.
“Come in!”
When the petite brunette walked through the door carrying all my heavy bags in one of her tiny hands, I almost laughed out loud. “Those bags are about as big as you are! Why did you lug them all the way up here? I could have helped.” Which was a lie since I could barely walk across a room without assistance.
Evey didn’t seem fooled and arched a dark brow. “This?” She lifted my luggage. “Is nothin’. In fact, I coulda’ taken you and these bags from the car to here faster than you made it on your own.”
My cheeks heated. “I’m injured.”
“You’re stubborn,” she countered.
I could have argued–hell, I’d done nothing but bicker with Abraham most of the day, and it was just past noon–but shrugged my shoulders instead. She was right. I was stubborn.
Her eyes widened in disbelief at my concession and I couldn’t help but giggle. “Oh, shut up,” I said.
Evey grinned and walked closer to sling an arm around my waist. “How you feelin’ today?” She asked, concern clouding her pretty eyes.
“Better, for sure.”
Evey’s rubbed my side before giving me a squeeze. I found it odd how comfortable these people were with me, a perfect stranger. Did she go around hugging everyone she meets? Does Abraham hold and console every new member of this pack? These people were so far from my norm, I was having trouble keeping up.
That reminded me. “Evey, I was hoping you could help me.”
The bubbly woman nodded vigorously. “Of course. What’s up?”
“I feel like I’m completely in the dark here. I’m confused about what I am now, how things will change for me, where I fit in here…” I trailed off. Fitting in was not something I usually worried about. But, it was becoming clearer every minute, that I was connected to these people, whether we liked it, or not. And, I could tell some were more accepting than others.
I needed all the information I could get if I had any hope of keeping my head above water. And I desperately needed to do that. I couldn’t afford to go under again. Last time, I almost hadn't found the shore while the crushing riptide threatened to drag me into its watery depths. I’d crawled onto land with barely any life or sanity left. I feared next time, I’d sink instead of swim.