Page 26 of Wolf

If I had spoken to Joy before I left the house last night, she could have talked some sense into me. My fears of being in a relationship like my parents caused me to make an irrational decision. I ran from Wolf thinking I needed space only to be right back here with him. Before Wolf took the covering off my head at the warehouse, I knew by his touch that I was safe. The look of relief on Wolf’s face when he took the covering off matched the one I had when he woke up in the hospital. I was happy we survived both situations and still had each other.

“Thank you. I needed to hear Joy’s voice. I’m so sorry for not listening to you. If I would have listened to you none of this would have happened,” I sobbed.

“Sshhh, we are not doing the blame game here. We don’t know that if they got impatient enough, they could have tried to find us another way. I don’t care about any of that. You’re safe and they didn’t harm you. We’re moving on from here. I love you,” Wolf declared lovingly.

“You love me? Are you sure?” I questioned him. It felt silly to question him, but I needed to make sure I heard him correctly. I wanted to make sure he wasn’t speaking out of fear or trauma. We had now seen each other in two very traumatic situations.

“Lexxy, when have you known me to say something I didn’t mean? Why do you think I was willing to risk my relationship with your brother? You are it for me. I don’t want anyone else. When I realized you were kidnapped, I was ready to kill that dude. There was no way he could live after what he did to you. I love you, and I fully intend on showing you that for the rest of our lives,” Wolf expressed.

“I’m so scared, Wolf. What if we mess this up?”

“There’s nothing to be scared of. I could have died, you got kidnapped, and we are still here. All of this just showed me nothing can keep us apart. Abel gave us his blessing. I don’t need any more confirmation than that,” he said with a light chuckle.

I let out a low chuckle as well. He was right.

“Listen, Lexxy, we are not our parents. We have to learn from their mistakes and do things our way. It doesn’t have to be traditional. It doesn’t have to be what anyone else would do. You and I are the only two people in this relationship,” he assured me.

I nodded in agreement. “Can we go downstairs so I can finish watching my show?”

“We can do whatever you want. It’s your world, baby,” he murmured softly. He grabbed my hand and led me to the living room. After being apart from him, I didn’t want to be out of his presence. I didn’t want him to let my hand go as we reached the couch. After he sat down, I sat right on his lap. This was how I wanted my nights with Wolf to always be.

Happy Birthday

Three Months Later

We had come a long way from me being shot and Alexis being kidnapped. She finally went back to work about a month after the kidnapping. Initially I watched her so closely that if she left the room I would be on alert. I never took another painkiller because that was the reason I didn’t hear Alexis leave the house that night. My arm healed and I went back to work as well. It felt good to get back into my routine. Alexis and I found our rhythm with our opposite schedules. She worked nights at the hospital and my schedule was all over the place.

Alexis didn’t want to go back to her apartment, so I hired movers to pack her stuff up and place it in storage. Whatever she needed we picked up and brought to my condo in the city. When Alexis was off from work, we would go out to the house to relax. She learned to love the quietness of the country as much as I did. I think her therapist helped her appreciate the serenity the country offered. She started sessions a week after the kidnapping. I encouraged her to talk to someone because she needed to talk out her feelings concerning everything that happened. Alexis also wanted to heal past her parents’ death as well. Even though therapy was her thing, I would accompany her whenever she asked me to.

Abel and I had gotten back on track as well. I invested in his retail property like I offered. Tonight, we were heading to the grand opening. The space held five different businesses and one restaurant. I was really proud of my friend. It was also Alexis’s birthday so I secured the party room of the restaurant so we could celebrate. I had a surprise for Alexis, and it was killing me keeping it from her. Since we had gone to therapy together, we really improved our communication. I wasn’t used to sharing my day-to-day movements with someone. It was easy for me to communicate with Alexis, but there were still things I would never share with her.

I heard the door to our condo open as Alexis came in from work. She had her scrubs on, and her hair was in a bun. I loved it when she wore her scrubs. Something about it screamed she was ready to save lives. My lady was a doctor, and I was so proud of her. She cared so much about her patients. Her big heart made her perfect for the job.

“Hey, baby, give me an hour then we can head out,” she said as she hurried past me to the bathroom to shower.

“Okay, babe,” I yelled from my spot on the couch. I would wait until Alexis put on her makeup before I got up to get dressed. A quick shower before I threw on my suit wouldn’t take that long. Alexis would say she needed an hour, but it could have been longer if she decided she didn’t like her hair or her makeup at the last minute. Twenty minutes later, I heard the shower turn off. I waited another ten minutes so the water could warm up. Another thing I learned while living with Alexis was her love for steaming hot showers. I tried to shower behind her and was met with ice cold water one too many times.

I finally headed to get ready. After I showered, I put on my suit. It was custom for tonight’s surprise. I felt myself break out into a sweat and went to turn the air conditioner up. Perspiration stains on my shirt weren’t going to look good in our photos for tonight. It was my nerves getting the best of me, but I refused to let that happen. I took a series of deep breaths while I put my shoes on. Alexis came into my view and spun around in her fitted black dress that matched my suit.

“You look beautiful, love.” I gushed over her.

“You’re very sexy in your suit, baby,” she spoke softly. I stood up and kissed her lips.

Alexis picked up her phone and snapped a photo of us.

“Come on, Lexxy, we don’t want to be late. Abel will have a fit if we miss his ribbon cutting ceremony,” I explained.

She checked her lipstick in the mirror next to the door. Once she was satisfied with her appearance, we grabbed the elevator down to the parking garage to get in the car. I opened the passenger side door for Alexis to get into the car. My chest filled with pride as I looked at Alexis smiling and all dolled up. I had to be the luckiest man to have her on my arm. I got in the car and made the short drive to the retail property.

Alexis chose the music while I focused on the road. I appreciated the silence of the drive. If we engaged in conversation, there was a chance I would accidentally let the surprise slip. By the time a few songs were played on the radio, we entered the parking lot. Abel pulled out all the stops tonight. He had valet and the local news to witness the grand opening. We pulled in front of the restaurant, and I put the car in park. Alexis and I exited the vehicle as the valet driver approached the driver’s side door. I passed him my key fob before going to Alexis.

We walked over to the crowd and spotted Abel and Joy. Joy waived us over as Alexis noticed Abel engaged in conversation with a familiar face.

“Gina, what are you doing here?” she asked her work bestie Gina.

“Abel was kind enough to invite me. He kept bragging about how good the food at the restaurant was when he brought you lunch yesterday,” she explained.

“Oh, great. We’re having dinner there as well. We can all sit together. Have you met my cousin Joy? Joy, this is Dr. Gina Mallard. We’ve been friends since our residency. Gina, this is my favorite cousin Joy,” Alexis said as she introduced two of her favorite people.

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