Chapter 37

DOE

“Thank fuck,” Ace breathed as he looked around the cabin’s tiny kitchen and living room area.

He hauled me to his side and pressed his nose to my hair, sucking in lungfuls of my scent as if it were his oxygen. “This is much nicer than the places I imagined you were staying.”

I giggled. “Where did you think I was staying?”

“Some shithole with no running water or air conditioning, where any random creep could walk in off the street and have his way with you.”

I scoffed. “Do you think I’m an idiot or something?”

“No,” he chuckled. “But my imagination ran a little wild while I was stuck in that cell back home with nothing other to do than worry about you.

“I knew you had your father’s money, but I still couldn’t help but imagine the worst, assuming you’d try to use as little of his money as possible and end up somewhere unsafe and rundown.”

He was right, in a way. Perhaps I would have ended up somewhere like that if I hadn’t promised myself that I would pay back every cent I had spent.

The cabin wasn’t cheap, but it wasn’t the most expensive either. With enough shifts at my mom’s bakery, along with some other odd jobs here or there, I would be able to pay it all back eventually.

“It puts my wolf at ease to know you had a roof over your head and a decent lock on your door,” Ace continued, lovingly rubbing his hand up and down my waist.

Goosebumps sprouted everywhere he touched, and I had to swallow down my whine.

My senses were overloaded, my body a ticking time bomb. My heat hadn’t even started, and yet, the junction between my thighs was practically soaking, and my clit was buzzing with need.

“Jesus, Doe,” Ace growled, barely controlling himself.

He flipped me around, pushed me against the counter, and pressed his hard length against my pelvis. I realized that I must have accidentally let out a burst of perfume.

My cheeks filled with blush. “Sorry,” I squeaked. “I can’t control it.”

Ace growled and lapped at the spot beneath my ear, just above my mating gland. I think he knew we’d both completely lose it if he so much as breathed on the place where he was supposed to mark me.

“Stop apologizing for your perfume. I fucking love it. I almost wish you smelled like this all the time.”

“You wouldn’t be saying that when all of your werewolf buddies start attacking me.”

Ace’s feral snarl sent shivers down my spine. “I’d end anyone who even thought about touching you.”

The terrifying part was that I knew he was telling the truth.

Ace suddenly stiffened against me like a man turned to stone. He released a bone-chilling growl deep from within his chest.

“What?” I asked, looking up at his pitch-black eyes. His wolf was obviously at the surface. “Ace, what is it?”

“There’s a man approaching the cabin.”

“What? A man? How do you know?” I searched the windows near the front door but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary outside.

Ace bared his teeth. “I can smell him. Hear him getting closer.”

I felt his muscles flex and grow. He was on the precipice of a shift.

“He’s an older man.”

My heart leaped. “Oh, it’s probably just Ottis! I’m sure he’s just coming over to check in on me. He did file a police report saying I was missing, after all.”

“I don’t care who it is. I don’t like strange men around my mate right before she goes into heat.”

“He’s not a strange man! He’s my neighbor. And he’s harmless.

“I’m glad he’s here. It’ll be nice to let him know I’m all right. I hate that I worried him and his wife after they’ve been so kind to me.”

It was as if Ace didn’t hear a single word I said. He pushed me behind him and took several steps toward the front door. “I’m going to get rid of him.”

“No!” I shouted. I lunged forward and grabbed his arm, stopping him from going any further.

I wasn’t exactly sure what he meant by “get rid of him,” but it couldn’t be anything good.

“If you hurt that man, Ace Stoll, I swear I’ll never forgive you.”

Ace snarled. “I don’t like you making threats on behalf of other men, mate.”

“And I don’t like you hurting old men who have been nothing but kind to me. Unless you want me to kick you to the curb right before my heat starts, you’ll keep your hands to yourself while we talk.”

Ace’s jaw flexed. “I don’t like it. I don’t want you talking to him.”

I lifted myself onto my tiptoes and pressed a quick kiss to his mouth. “Then it’s a good thing you’re not the boss of me.”

A knock on the front door cut off whatever Ace was about to say.

“Dorothy?” a voice called through the old wooden door. “It’s Ottis! Are you home?”

What little progress I had made at calming Ace down was instantly destroyed.

“He knows your fucking name?” he seethed.

“Of course he knows my name!” What a silly question. “I’m renting his cabin. I think I’m legally obligated to give him my name.”

I walked toward the door, only to be pulled back by Ace.

“What are you doing?” he demanded.

I rolled my eyes at my mate. “I’m going to open the door. He obviously knows we’re here. It would be rude to make him wait any longer. I’ll make the interaction quick, I promise.”

There was another knock. “Dorothy?” Ottis asked.

“Coming!” I called back. “Just one second, Ottis!”

Ace growled at the door concealing the old man.

“Fine,” he finally conceded. “But I’m standing behind you and making sure he doesn’t get any ideas. You smell far too good. Even a human might be attracted to your scent.”

I held in my indignant sigh. As if Ottis would ever look at me that way. The man still had heart eyes for his wife even after being married for over fifty years.

I didn’t have time to process what was going on before Ace whipped his shirt over his head and tossed it to the side, revealing his impressive torso.

“I…” I almost choked on my dry throat. “What are you doing?”

Ace rolled his massive shoulders back. “I want him to know I’m stronger than him.”

“He’s nearly seventy years old! He uses a cane to walk!”

“Then there should be no question about who would win in a fight.”

I stared at him, trying to determine whether it was our time apart or my impending heat that had caused my mate to lose his mind so completely.

Either way, he had officially regressed to a caveman state.

“Dorothy!” Ottis exclaimed as I pulled open the door of the cabin to reveal his familiar, smiling face. “Oh, it’s so nice to see you.”

I greeted him with a smile of my own. “Hi, Ottis. How are you?”

Whatever Ottis was about to say, I’ll never know. His words caught in his throat when a looming presence appeared over my shoulder.

Ace pressed himself against my back and wrapped an arm around my waist so his hand was over my stomach in a possessive hold.

“Oh, hello,” Ottis greeted. “I don’t believe we’ve met.” He sounded surprisingly chipper for a man getting glared down by a half-naked giant.

“This is my boyfriend, Ace,” I explained. “He came to visit me and join me on my little retreat for a while.”

“A boyfriend!” Ottis exclaimed. “Oh, Lacy is going to be so disappointed. She was hoping to set you up with our grandson.”

My eyes widened. Ace’s muscles flexed behind me. I braced myself for the explosion.

“But I’ll just have to let her know that Ace here looks more than capable of taking care of our Dorothy,” Ottis continued in a cheerful tone, completely unaware of how close he was to death.

His eyes traveled up and down Ace’s massive form. “I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a young man quite so…sturdy before. You two make a beautiful couple. Really, like two models.

“And, Dorothy, there’s a color in your cheeks that I’ve never seen on you before. You’re practically glowing. It’s so nice to see you looking so happy.”

Ace’s form released some of its tension. I slumped with relief.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ace,” Ottis said. He held out a hand for him to shake.

Ace stared down at Ottis’s hand with a blank expression. He made no move to return the pleasantry.

I let out an awkward laugh. “Oh, sorry, Ace is getting over a cold, so it’s probably best that we all keep our hands to ourselves.”

Ottis dropped his dangling hand to his side.

“But it really is so nice to see you, Ottis. I’m glad you stopped by. I always love catching up with you.”

Ace squeezed my stomach.

“I’m glad I stopped by too,” Ottis said. “I have to tell you, Lacy could’ve sworn she saw you disappear at the edge of the dock out back a few days ago.

“We went searching for you. She was worried you might have fallen into the water or drowned or something—”

Ace growled and hugged me. Ottis’s eyes widened.

I cleared my throat, attempting to make it sound like the snarl Ace had just unleashed. I did not succeed.

“Ace has a nasty cough too,” I explained. “It makes his voice really rough. You’ll have to excuse him if he doesn’t speak much.”

Ottis nodded slowly. I didn’t blame him for looking so unsettled. Ace was an unsettling dude.

“Well, that’s fine,” he muttered, still eyeing Ace.

He readjusted himself against his cane. “I’m just happy to see you won’t be alone in this cabin anymore. Lacy and I have been worried about such a young lady like yourself all on her own.

“We know you’re capable of caring for yourself, but with no one else around, we were nervous something might happen to you and no one would know.

“We even called the police after Lacy thought she saw you fall in the lake. That’s why I rushed over here when I drove by and saw the lights on in the cabin. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Oh, no! Well, as you can see, I’m fine. I’m sorry to worry you both. I was just visiting some friends out of state. Please tell Lacy that I’m sorry for scaring her.”

“I told her something like that must have happened, but that woman lets her mind get away from her sometimes. I’ll let her know that you’re safe and sound.

“Now, I’ll get out of your hair and let you two get back to”—Ottis’s gaze fell to Ace’s bare chest and then his arm around my body—“whatever it is you two were doing.”

My cheeks flushed. I hadn’t considered that Ace’s naked torso might make it look like we were getting up to funny business. Talk about embarrassing.

“Thanks, Ottis,” I said. “Say hi to Lacy for me. Can you get back to your car okay?”

He was already shuffling unsteadily down the front steps. That bad knee of his must have been bothering him.

“I can help walk you there if you want.”

“No,” Ace snapped in my ear, quiet enough that Ottis wouldn’t hear. His prison-like arms wouldn’t allow me to take even a single step forward.

Thankfully, Ottis waved me off. “Oh, I’m fine!” He paused at the bottom of the steps and looked back at us. “You two behave now…or don’t. Just keep the noise down. I’ve got sensitive ears.”

I watched him go with a slightly heavy feeling in my heart. I was going to miss him and Lacy after we left. They had been like my family during my stay.

I had already paid until the end of the month, so as far as they were concerned, I would be living in their cabin for at least the next two weeks, and I didn’t have it in me to say goodbye just yet.

~Maybe I can convince Ace to stop by Ottis’s farm on our way home so I can say goodbye to them properly before we head home.~

As I closed the door, I felt Ace slowly begin to relax, although the energy around him remained charged.

“Okay, despite the incredibly embarrassing fact that he thought we were having sex before he got here”—I cringed—“that wasn’t so bad, right? Isn’t Ottis nice?”

“Ottis, I don’t mind. The grandson they want to set you up with, on the other hand… him, I might have to kill.”