Page 24 of Wolf's Midlife Baby

She picked it up and set it back near the gear shifter. “Kyle…”

“Yes. Say my name, Holly. I like hearing it come from your lips like that. We both know we can only resist this attraction between us for so long.” He put his hand back on her knee, sliding it up a little.

“Hey!” He’d always just been a creep from a short distance before, but he’d never gone so far as to touch her. She picked up his hand and once again put it back on the console. “I’m here with you because we’re working together,” she reminded him.

Kyle let out a scoffing laugh. “If you’re concerned about workplace ethics, don’t be. I’ve spoken at length with Lorelei in HR, and we don’t have anything to worry about since we don’t work in the same office.”

“I bet you have,” Holly retorted. “You’re not listening to me, Kyle.”

“That’s because your body and your mouth always have two very different things to say, Holly. I think it’s time we shut one of those up for good, don’t you?” He leaned further toward her, bringing his lips in toward hers.

Holly’s hand shot out, grabbing his throat as she shoved him back onto his side of the car. “I never wanted anything to do with you, Kyle, and I never will. For someone who prides himself so much on discovering the truth, you sure don’t know how to get the hint!”

Kyle floundered against the car window, gagging and choking from the force of her rebuttal. “You didn’t have to do that!” he gasped.

“Obviously, I did.” Holly’s bear had made her, but she didn’t regret it for a second. “I’ve tried being nice, and I’ve tried being direct. If you think we’ve been spending all this time together for any reason other than the story, you’re a complete imbecile.”

“Fine.” He rubbed his throat, scrunching his face at the pain. “I get it, okay? We’ll just focus on the story from now on.”

That was exactly why she’d stayed in Eugene in the first place, but she knew she couldn’t be in close proximity to this man any longer. “Hell, no. I’ve wasted far too much time on you and your story already, especially since there is no story!”

He had the nerve to look offended. “Are you saying you don’t believe me?”

“Are you fucking kidding me? No one will believe you!” She knew the truth, the very truth that he was after, but that didn’t matter anymore. “Despite what you think you’ve seen, and whatever proof you think you’ve got, this story won’t be accepted anywhere. You sound like a raving lunatic, following random people around and insisting that they can turn into animals. No decent media source or even any other journalist will support you in this, and I refuse to have my name associated with yours in any capacity!”

His jaw dropped. Kyle gaped at her for a long moment, his eyes ping-ponging back and forth as he studied her face. He slowly started to nod. “I think I see what’s going on here. It’s that Pierce guy.”

Panic and rage moved through her body, boiling under her skin. She couldn’t let him think he was onto something, not when the shifters Kyle had seen could very well have been some of Pierce’s packmates. Her bear was furious at the idea of Kyle saying anything against her mate. Guilt immediately swallowed her, knowing that she’d lied to him. “The more you talk, the less sense you make.”

“No, I understand now. That Pierce guy must be one of them. That’s why he brought you to Selene’s. He knows the place because that’s where they all hang out. He’s got you brainwashed, or maybe even worse. Holly, there’s no telling what he’s going to do to you. Come on, I’m going to get you out of here.”

“The fuck you are!” Holly snagged her bag and shoved open her car door before Kyle could get the ignition going. “Go home, Kyle. There’s nothing here for you.” She slammed the door and charged down the sidewalk.

His headlights followed her. True fear rose inside her now, wondering if and when he’d become suspicious of her as well. That bouncer Max was probably just across the street in the shadow of the doorway of Selene’s. He would probably help her, but getting him involved would put him at risk. She couldn’t do it. She was alone.

Finally, at the intersection, Kyle turned off. She breathed a sigh of relief and opened the rideshare app on her phone.

“Hey, are you okay?” the young man behind the wheel asked when she opened the backdoor.

Holly sensed the animal inside him and relaxed her shoulders a little. His identity didn’t make him safe, but it still made her feel better. “Yeah. I’m just having a bad night.”

“There are snacks in the seat pocket and a cooler of bottled waters back there if you need anything. Help yourself.”

“Thank you.” Holly hesitated, but when she reached into the seat pocket and found a little bag of dried cherries covered in chocolate, she tore straight into them. They wouldn’t make the whole world better, but they helped. She was going to leave a generous tip for this guy.

“Um, ma’am?” he said when he pulled up. “I just want you to know there’s a man on the porch.”

“What?” Her heart skipped a beat, then skipped another when she looked. “I know him, but thanks for the heads up.”

Yeah, he was definitely getting a good tip. It was easy to just get a ride back to her rented house, but now she had to figure out how to deal with the problem that was waiting for her. “Pierce? What are you doing here?”

“I came to ask you the same thing,” he replied. His voice was gruff but not harsh as he stood and came down the stairs. “I thought you left.”

“I planned to.” How could she explain it all to him now? “I had something come up.”

“Work?”

She couldn’t quite see his face with the porch light behind him, but she heard the hurt and the hope in his voice. “Sort of. Come inside and I’ll tell you.”

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