Page 122 of Wolf

His eyes are wide as he studies me before his lips pull into a devilish smirk. “It’s a road handle, baby girl and dirty or clean. You’re mine.”

“Wolf,” I moan and touch his chest, tracing my finger down the fabric of his shirt.

“Fuck, Lilli,” he groans.

With a little thrill, I brush my fingers over his happy trail, and he grabs my hand, pressing it flat against his belly.

“You’re killing me,” he rasps, and I look up at him from below my lashes.

“I need you,” I say, and he shakes his head.

“No. No way, you’re hurt. You’re in fucking pain.”

Pouting, I pull my hand free and touch his cheek. He covers my fingers, his eyes bright, and says, “Soon, baby girl. Not now.”

With a shudder, he carefully maneuvers until he’s wrapped around me and says, “Sleep.”

With a yawn, I murmur, “Yessir.”

His groan makes me smile as I drop into sleep, warm in his embrace.

Unfortunately, I was too exhausted to make the moment last and when I woke in the morning, Wolf was gone.

Still, there’s a lightness to my heart that I haven’t felt in a while as I grab the glass of water by the bed.

My hand brushes a piece of paper lying beneath a small black box. After taking a few sips of water, I return the glass to the nightstand and pick up the piece of paper.

I will burn the world to the ground for you.

That’s it, one sentence. But I'm grinning from ear to ear when I open the box. Inside, nestled on black velvet are a pair of gold earrings. They’re remarkable. One stud is formed in the shape of a wolf’s head with a tiny ruby gem for the eye. The other is the wolf’s body, lean and proud.

I’m still staring at the earrings, charmed when Toni appears with a tray of food and my meds.

As she sets the tray down on the bed, I ask, “Toni? Do you know how to pierce ears?”

Her brows rise before she glances at my hand. With a chuckle, she says, “Eat.”

“After?” I plead and dig into my food when she nods.

The process is worth the sting, and I admire my new earrings in the mirror as Miriam enters and slams the door behind her.

“Everything okay?” I ask as Toni slinks out with a grimace.

“Fine,” she snaps.

“It’s not fine,” I say, and she turns her glare on me before throwing up her hands.

“The guys are going on some super-secret mission and Duke refuses to tell me what or where.”

I wisely refrain from repeating what I overheard last night because Miriam is approaching her due date and stressed enough as it is.

Unlike her, I’m not worried about Wolf because I know he's the strongest man I’ve ever met. There’s nothing he can’t do, as far as I’m concerned.

“Anyway,” she says with a sigh. “He said they’re going to get Mercy later this evening.”

Just a few more hours until I can see her and hold her, knowing she’s okay. Is she scared? Hurt?

Shaking my head because I can’t change anything between now and tomorrow, I say, “Wanna watch the Twilight marathon with me?”

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