Page 22 of Widow

"The last time he turned wolf, he was at Lou's place and pissed all over Lou's favorite pair of shoes. I had to go over there to stop Lou from killing him. Luckily that's the only bad thing he's done in his wolf form so far."

He seemed harmless, but he shifted into a wolf, so how harmless could he really be? I looked harmless on the outside, but on the inside, I wasn't.

All I knew was that for the first time in a long time, I felt alive again. Like maybe my world hadn't completely imploded. I had people on my side. I just hoped they could help me before I killed again.

* * *

If I was honest,I enjoyed having Ric around. And not just because he was still in his wolf form, which was like having a dog as a pet. He kept me company, and I didn't feel so lonely.

On the second day he was a wolf, I had to leave him and go to work. I had felt so guilty leaving him inside all day but didn't have much choice. Lou worked the same shifts as I did, and Kai was always at his restaurant.

We couldn't take a wolf to either of those places without raising some serious eyebrows.

When I got home, he had sat there with his tail between his legs. I couldn't really blame him for peeing in my condo. I had left him for over twelve hours. It was the exact reason I didn't have a dog.

We were pushing on the forty-eight-hour mark of him being a wolf. I was growing increasingly concerned he would be stuck that way forever. Lou and Kai didn't know how long he would stay that way. Picard said it was the longest he'd gone.

I woke up on what should have been the third day of him being a wolf to find arms wrapped around me. It took me a second to realize they were there. Picard was curled up in front of me, so I couldn't slide out of bed.

Ric was snoring softly behind me with his face buried between my shoulder blades. He was so warm that I felt sweat forming on my lower back. I tried to relax, but it had been a while since I had a man in my bed.

I tried to lift Ric's arm from my waist so I could attempt to slide out of bed, but he made a grumbling noise and tightened his arm. He moved one of his legs in between, and I bit my lip.

If he just brought his knee up just a tad, it would be in that sweet spot. I sighed and took a few deep breaths to try to calm down my libido.

"Good morning," he mumbled against my back. His hand was splayed against my stomach, and he moved it to my hip.

"Why are you so hot?" I groaned internally at my choice of words. I felt his body shake with laughter from behind me, and his thumb rubbed against my hip.

I don't think he really knew what he was doing to me.

"You think I'm hot? I think you're pretty hot too." He moved his head from against my back and let out a yawn. "So, about the past two days…"

I was hardly listening to what he had to say. I was more focused on his thumb that was caressing the thin line of skin between my pajama bottoms and my shirt. I should've pulled away, but I really didn't want to.

"Thank you for taking care of me. I probably need to find a place where I can shift safely and run around. There's just not many places here where I can risk being seen. What I need is some land somewhere."

I shifted slightly, and my crotch rubbed against his leg. Dammit, I forgot how good it felt to be touched. And his touch was light and feathery and was sending tingles straight to my clit.

"We need to figure out better sleeping arrangements for you. I have an office that we could set up an inflatable mattress in. How long exactly do you plan on staying with me?" I moved my hand to put it over his and stopped his rubbing. If I didn't stop him, I was liable to jump his bones.

"I must seem like a complete bum to you. I actually did have a place of my own, but they kicked me out because they were remodeling." He sighed and rolled away from me. I immediately felt the chill and rolled onto my back. I pulled the covers tightly over me.

He sat up and rubbed his hands over his face. His hair was a mess, and he had dirt streaks all over him. He grinned down at me and then stretched his arms over his head.

"If you're staying here for a while to make sure I don't kill anybody else, we have to set some ground rules." He nodded his head for me to continue. "No sleeping in my bed. Clean up your mess. No putting the moves on me."

The last one got an even bigger grin out of him. "Who said anything about putting the moves on you? Did you think this was…" He gestured between us and the bed. "I slept in your bed because the wolf side of me sees you as part of my pack now. Pack members sleep closely together to protect each other and to keep each other warm. I guess if that makes you uncomfortable… I'll sleep on a blowup mattress."

He got out of the bed, and my eyes went wide. Jesus, he was naked. Luckily, or unluckily, he hadn't turned around, and all I could see was his firm ass cheeks. I bit my lip because, good God, did he have a nice body.

"Also, wear clothes." I threw a pillow at him, and he grabbed it and held it against his front before he turned around.

"I'm going to go take a shower and put on some clothes. Can't be breaking any of the house rules, now, can I?" He left the bedroom, and I heard the guest bathroom door click shut and the shower turn on.

I wanted to stay in bed where it was warm, but I had work. I shuffled out of my room and down the hall.

Kai and Lou were sitting at my kitchen table. There was a box of doughnuts in the middle, and both men were reading the paper. It was an odd sight, seeing them sitting there nonchalantly, drinking coffee and reading.

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